# Deadliest scorpion by far...



## The Snark (Jun 28, 2008)

... is any scorp along the lines of a het that has an attitude.
After the batteries in the camera  died of course, we dug out a mouse nest next to a disturbed and grumpy het like this one. It grabbed a baby mouse and stung it dozens of times for more than 5 minutes.






Around here you don't go outside barefoot or turn over _anything_ out in the yard with bare hands.


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## bigtyler1025 (Jun 28, 2008)

ow! That's pretty intense! Are you actually located in thailand?


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## The Snark (Jun 28, 2008)

bigtyler1025 said:


> ow! That's pretty intense! Are you actually located in thailand?


To be precise:


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## bigtyler1025 (Jun 28, 2008)

Haha! That's awesome! What other scorps do you have out there?


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## Xaranx (Jun 28, 2008)

That's pretty rad, I'm jealous.  Do you have any more pics of scorps you have found?


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## The Snark (Jun 28, 2008)

bigtyler1025: We have small brown scorps (grow up to 2 inches). I haven't bothered to memorize their make and model. Their sting is pretty painful, but nothing near as bad as a het.



Xaranx said:


> That's pretty rad, I'm jealous.  Do you have any more pics of scorps you have found?


Had. Lost my HD to a nasty virus a few weeks ago. Hets are so common here they aren't really worth shooting. I did catch a young king a couple of weeks ago. Don't let the nature books fool you. The kings love a snack of a few hundred tadpoles along with their usual board of fair.






Our biggest nuisance around here seems to be the myriapods. From 1 inch red centi's that have a bite like a burn from a match up to the deadly 4 inch chunkers. After the first rains they are coming out by the thousands.


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## bigtyler1025 (Jun 28, 2008)

kings? I can't deal with centipedes. That would really scare me!


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## The Snark (Jun 28, 2008)

bigtyler1025 said:


> kings? I can't deal with centipedes. That would really scare me!


Cobra. They are nice enough to be the only hefty bodied snake with a rich golden bronze color around here, making them easy to identify. In the picture note the mass of the front half of that 4 footer.

I have yielded to the wisdom of others and mercilessly slaughter the centipedes around here. They are highly aggressive and so common it's seems to be taking an unnecessary risk trying to live with them.


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## bigtyler1025 (Jun 28, 2008)

wow thats pretty awesome! I love snakes, so seeing cobras in the wild would be awesome to me! I agree with killing the pedes I couldn't deal with living with things like that. The constant fear of those just possibly being everywhere. What is the biggest king you have seen?


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## bigtyler1025 (Jun 28, 2008)

wow thats pretty awesome! I love snakes, so seeing cobras in the wild would be awesome to me! I agree with killing the pedes I couldn't deal with living with things like that. The constant fear of those just possibly being everywhere. What is the biggest king you have seen?


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## Aztek (Jun 28, 2008)

Pedes are awesome.


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## talljosh003 (Jun 28, 2008)

Aztek said:


> Pedes are awesome.


pedes are evil along with tarantulas. Just look em right in the face, you can see the evil in their eyes


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## The Snark (Jun 28, 2008)

bigtyler1025 said:


> wow thats pretty awesome! I love snakes, so seeing cobras in the wild would be awesome to me! I agree with killing the pedes I couldn't deal with living with things like that. The constant fear of those just possibly being everywhere. What is the biggest king you have seen?


Dingus here is an estimated 18-21 ft., and an estimated 35 kilo. We don't fuss or muss with him at all as any bite from a king that size would almost certainly be lethal. Note the marked difference between the color of a wild king and one that has lived extensively in captivity.


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## bigtyler1025 (Jun 29, 2008)

that's huge! But ofciurse they are the biggest venomous snakes in the world! I was gonna mention the noticeable difference in color. Gorgeous snake!


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## Trexer (Jun 29, 2008)

Apprently somewhere an antidote was found for King Cobra venom from the simple extract of a root of a certain plant. Can't remember where and which plant i just remember watching it on Discovery/Animal Planet


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## bigtyler1025 (Jun 29, 2008)

I would rather play it safe and not get bit in the first place.


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## hardlucktattoo (Jun 29, 2008)

bigtyler1025 said:


> I would rather play it safe and not get bit in the first place.


Im going to have to agree


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## The Snark (Jun 29, 2008)

Trexer said:


> Apprently somewhere an antidote was found for King Cobra venom from the simple extract of a root of a certain plant. Can't remember where and which plant i just remember watching it on Discovery/Animal Planet


I tend to think there is or could be an antidote or antivenin for almost every bite or sting. The problems would be extreme, possibly debilitating pain from animals such as the heterometrus, giant centi, or crotalidae, latent effects as from the recluse, or such a massive load of venom as from this chap or the Aus brown and black snake. And then of course, dealing with anaphylaxis. In the case of the king cobra, I believe most deaths occur because it delivers such a large quantity of venom, the antidote, if available, is unable to counteract the toxin in time. (Before respiratory arrest or liver or other internal organ failure).
Most deaths from kings occur in India with treatment commonly hours or even days away.
When I or the handlers regard this guy we always have in the backs of our mind he dishes out venom by the teaspoonful.


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## bigtyler1025 (Jun 29, 2008)

That is very interesting. I have always wanted to keep herps or other things as a job, not just a hobby. What do you do for a living?


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## The Snark (Jun 29, 2008)

bigtyler1025 said:


> That is very interesting. I have always wanted to keep herps or other things as a job, not just a hobby. What do you do for a living?


I'm a retired paramedic. At present I assist a local 'snake farm' in the capacity of a docent.
(snakefarm.thailandescape.info)


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## bigtyler1025 (Jun 30, 2008)

Thats awseome! Born and raised in Thailand?


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## davidbarber1 (Jun 30, 2008)

talljosh003 said:


> pedes are evil along with tarantulas. Just look em right in the face, you can see the evil in their eyes


Amen Josh!!

David


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## davidbarber1 (Jun 30, 2008)

The Snark said:


> I'm a retired paramedic. At present I assist a local 'snake farm' in the capacity of a docent.
> (snakefarm.thailandescape.info)


It's always good to have somebody around who knows how to pre-treat snake bites. I'm an EMT at Havasu Lake. We have a ton of rattlesnakes out here and fortunately no one has got bit yet this summer.

David


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## edventurous77 (Jun 30, 2008)

why does he keep talking about heterometrus sp's like they are deadly

they arent :?


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## talljosh003 (Jun 30, 2008)

edventurous77 said:


> why does he keep talking about heterometrus sp's like they are deadly
> 
> they arent :?


i think he is noting how aggressive the one he found was saying that if one stung you dozens of times like that one then it could be considered one of the deadlest scorpions? i think :? lol


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## talljosh003 (Jun 30, 2008)

davidbarber1 said:


> Amen Josh!!
> 
> David


im just happy to have someone who feel the same :worship:


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## The Snark (Jun 30, 2008)

The discussions regarding which animal is the most venomous should take several things into account, shouldn't it?
1. Venom toxicity.
2. Ability to deliver the venom effectively
3. Inclination to deliver the venom.
4. Quantity of venom delivered with each bite or sting.
In the case of the startlingly aggressive display of that particular het, #3 went right off the scale and #2 is something scorps in general are well adapted to. 
Obviously a determining factor in judging the hazard presented by most if not all scorps is in a neurological factor. If even a mildly venomous animal bites or stings enough times it can present a significant health hazard.
This is why I mentioned the king cobra. The toxicity of their venom is somewhat academic. They are a very powerful animal capable of delivering a full strike with good accuracy, they tend to strike with little or no provocation under certain circumstances, and most significantly, they deliver a large quantity of venom that appears to increase with the age and proportionate size of the animal.
In the case of stings, it appears that the venom quantity is very uniform and it can be the repetitive sting is a deciding factor. Take the 'yellow jacket' hornet. In many locales it is a docile herbivore early in the year making a transition to a belligerent omnivore as the year progresses. In full nest defense mode it will repeatedly sting, sometimes pursuing it's victim for many minutes without regard for nest proximity.

So, while the het may not have the most toxic venom, or the gravid or whatever, taking into account the number of times the animal effectively bites or stings, along with other factors, can be just as important.

In addition to this, venom can change from specimen to specimen. There are all sorts of causes for this variation. One glaring example would be the Russels viper which, in hot locales, has a neurotoxin but as the animal is found in colder locations the venom alters to contain a hemotoxin to aid in digestion. 

(I've been in Thailand 10 years now)

PS I was standing by a faucet cleaning a mop yesterday, wearing sandals, when I felt a burning sensation between two toes. A 2 inch long black centipede had crawled onto my sandal and just started stinging away.


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## bigtyler1025 (Jun 30, 2008)

haha I understood exactly what you are talking about! Thanks for explaining it to the others. Dang those pedes are crazy! I would have no problem killing them. How many times have you been tagged by them?


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## The Snark (Jul 1, 2008)

bigtyler1025 said:


> haha I understood exactly what you are talking about! Thanks for explaining it to the others. Dang those pedes are crazy! I would have no problem killing them. How many times have you been tagged by them?


I've been wondering how many times I've been tagged by any and everything. Scorpions: 4, Black widows 2, Rattlesnake 1, Horse 2, goat, monitor lizard, assorted non venemous snakes....
The worst was good old felis domesticus. Hospitalized me for 2 weeks. Pastuerella Multicidae that went systemic.


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## bigtyler1025 (Jul 2, 2008)

Damn cats! I don't understand what you said after that, but it doesn't sound good!


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## talljosh003 (Jul 2, 2008)

The Snark said:


> The worst was good old felis domesticus. Hospitalized me for 2 weeks. Pastuerella Multicidae that went systemic.


bacterial infection from the cat?


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## Venom (Jul 2, 2008)

talljosh003 said:


> bacterial infection from the cat?


Yes, very common with bad cat bites. My cousin almost lost his hand after a bite from a feral cat.


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## talljosh003 (Jul 2, 2008)

what does feral mean?


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## The Snark (Jul 2, 2008)

Sometimes called 'Cat scratch fever' or 'cat bite fever', Pasteurella Multicida is a virulent bacterium commonly found in the mouths of cats. It is a close relative of Pasteurella Pestus, the bacterium that causes the bubonic plague.

Feral: Wild, untamed, undomesticated. Demonstrating the properties of wildness or ferociousness.


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## talljosh003 (Jul 2, 2008)

The Snark said:


> Sometimes called 'Cat scratch fever' or 'cat bite fever', Pasteurella Multicida is a virulent bacterium commonly found in the mouths of cats. It is a close relative of Pasteurella Pestus, the bacterium that causes the bubonic plague.
> 
> Feral: Wild, untamed, undomesticated. Demonstrating the properties of wildness or ferociousness.


oh ok
sounds like the infection is pretty bad


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## bigtyler1025 (Jul 3, 2008)

josh, please tell me you googled that! Haha


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## talljosh003 (Jul 3, 2008)

bigtyler1025 said:


> josh, please tell me you googled that! Haha


lol no. i asked, they answered haha


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## bigtyler1025 (Jul 4, 2008)

so you just guessed that it was a bacterial infection.


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## talljosh003 (Jul 4, 2008)

yea i was gonna say viral but thats more air born stuff, so bacterial was next on the list... just because im an athlete does not make me dumb


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## davidbarber1 (Jul 4, 2008)

Speaking of virulent bacterium, don't get bit by a Komodo Dragon!!!!!!!

David


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## talljosh003 (Jul 4, 2008)

the shark reef down at mandalay bay casino just got one!!


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## bigtyler1025 (Jul 5, 2008)

Speaking of shark reef, we need to check that out, along with the bootleg zoo! Haha soon?


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## talljosh003 (Jul 5, 2008)

yeah we can go, but i bet they ramped the price of the reef up cause of the dragon


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## The Snark (Jul 5, 2008)

bigtyler1025 said:


> so you just guessed that it was a bacterial infection.


My bite? Purely viral infections don't create puss. My infection was cultured.

Komodo Dragons: both staphlococcus and leptospirosis has been noted. Serious bad news biters.


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## Tleilaxu (Jul 19, 2008)

Oh by the way "yellowjackets" are not herbivorious by any means, they are always predatory and like to scavenge as well. The reason for the "transition" as you put it is the queen is getting old or has died so the colony breaks down and its everyone for itself.


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## XMX (Jul 20, 2008)

The Snark said:


> Dingus here is an estimated 18-21 ft., and an estimated 35 kilo. We don't fuss or muss with him at all as any bite from a king that size would almost certainly be lethal. Note the marked difference between the color of a wild king and one that has lived extensively in captivity.


Good thing we don't have those where I live( Texas ).

That looks scary, though I adore snakes.


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