Need tips caring for Northern Scorpion (paruroctonus boreus)

[samantha]

I am very happy to find this forum. I live in lush, green Seattle but last summer my friends and I discovered the dry eastern slopes of the Cascades where the forest fades to desert. This spring I decided that the summer will be a failure if I don't see a cactus, a rattlesnake, and a scorpion. I saw all three in one day this past Thursday!

I felt bad for doing so, but... I couldn't resist keeping the scorpion, almost certainly a northern scorpion. He/she's so cute! I'd like to keep it as a pet, and so here I am.

It's about this [---------------] long when its tail is extended. Not sure where to start as feeding/housing is concerned. The only other arachnid I've ever kept was a big spider I caught in Colorado a few years ago that was doing great in its fishbowl until my older sister killed it by spraying it with RAID through the screen.

Any tips, guys? Thanx!

 

[JLDomestics]

I have about a dozen of these guys and they are pretty cool. Most of mine are slightly longer than what you described so maybe yours still has a few molts left in it. I keep them on 1/3 coco brick, 1/3 forest bark, and 1/3 brick pieces so they can choose which substrate they prefer to be on and it seems they don't really have a preference - they are always found all over the tank. I mist the coco part every 3 days or so, and sometimes I put in a bottle cap of water that I do notice them drinking from. I feed them crickets and mealworms and keep them at room temperature with no special lighting.

 

[samantha]

Thanks, JLD! I don't really know what that stuff is, but I'll figure it out. I found this scorpion under a rock, so I'm wondering if I have to set up the terrarium in a way that it can hide. Is there anything obvious or not that I should avoid? What makes the best home? An aquarium with a screen top? Do I just put the crickets and worms in the aquarium wherever? How many should it eat? Thanx!

 

[JLDomestics]

Yeah you can have a hiding area if you wish. Personally I hate having hiding areas because then whats the point of having a scorpion if you can't watch it? An aquarium with a screen lid would be more than sufficient, but a plastic critter keeper is all that is required. I feed them a few times a week and throw in enough so there is always extra on hand so they can choose to eat when they want, plus to keep down on cannibalism.

 

[Rigelus]

I have about a dozen of these guys and they are pretty cool.

Does the law permit Canadians sending them out of the country as i don't recall ever having seen then them for sale before..

Personally I hate having hiding areas because then whats the point of having a scorpion if you can't watch it?

Another school of thought would be that it is also very interesting to create an accurate enviroment for your scorpion so that you can study their behaviour in a natural life like manner. Creating zero hiding places for a scorp that likes to hide almost borders on cruelty IMO.
Besides you can watch them....you just have to do it at night time with a UV when they are naturally active.

 

[Bayushi]

By law we aren't technically allowed to own them because they are a native animal.

 

[samantha]

OK, I haven't yet set up a decent terrarium, I was going to do that today. But I did catch a tiny meal moth in my kitchen and dropped it into the small (dark) plastic bottle with the scorpion. The moth is stumbling around like it's drunk from the shock of being caught, and the scorpion is freaking out trying to get away from the moth. Was it stupid to feed the scorpion before setting up an appropriate home?

 

[JLDomestics]

Another school of thought would be that it is also very interesting to create an accurate enviroment for your scorpion so that you can study their behaviour in a natural life like manner. Creating zero hiding places for a scorp that likes to hide almost borders on cruelty IMO.
Besides you can watch them....you just have to do it at night time with a UV when they are naturally active.

Well I do have 1/3 of my setup as brick pieces which they can and do use as hiding spots, and it isn't a big deal for me if some are hiding because there are always some out in the open at any given time of day that I can watch, but if I had only one in a tank then I would be cruel as you say and not provide a hiding place. They need to hide in the wild to avoid predators, and theres no predators in my house so they don't need a hiding place. If you wish to truly study these or any animals you must do it outside in their natural environment, because it is impossible to do so in captivity as they do not act in any manner that they would in their natural habitat.

By law we aren't technically allowed to own them because they are a native animal.

That is only true if you live in a city (or province) that has BYLAWS against the keeping of these animals. They are perfectly legal to keep in Alberta, can't keep them in Saskatchewan, no clue about BC. I think you are confused. You statement would be correct if you had said, "By law we aren't technically allowed to SELL them because they are a native animal".

 

[quiz]

Well I do have 1/3 of my setup as brick pieces which they can and do use as hiding spots, and it isn't a big deal for me if some are hiding because there are always some out in the open at any given time of day that I can watch, but if I had only one in a tank then I would be cruel as you say and not provide a hiding place. They need to hide in the wild to avoid predators, and theres no predators in my house so they don't need a hiding place. If you wish to truly study these or any animals you must do it outside in their natural environment, because it is impossible to do so in captivity as they do not act in any manner that they would in their natural habitat.

ok so you think it's cruel to not put a hiding place if you only had 1 specimen but since there's no predator in your house then you feel that you don't have to put a hiding spot?:?

 

[JLDomestics]

ok so you think it's cruel to not put a hiding place if you only had 1 specimen but since there's no predator in your house then you feel that you don't have to put a hiding spot?:?

No I don't think it's cruel to not have a hiding place, nor did I say I think it is. Rigelus said that - read more carefully! And no I don't think that because there is no predators in my house that I do not have to supply a hiding place, I said that was the reason they need to hide in the wild, so they don't get eaten by a predator - read more carefully! THE REASON I THINK THEY DON'T NEED A HIDING PLACE IN MY HOUSE IS BECAUSE I CAN'T SEE THEM WHEN THEY ARE HIDING AND THE REASON I HAVE THEM IS SO I CAN WATCH THEM - read more carefully!

 

[quiz]

No I don't think it's cruel to not have a hiding place, nor did I say I think it is. Rigelus said that - read more carefully! And no I don't think that because there is no predators in my house that I do not have to supply a hiding place, I said that was the reason they need to hide in the wild, so they don't get eaten by a predator - read more carefully! THE REASON I THINK THEY DON'T NEED A HIDING PLACE IN MY HOUSE IS BECAUSE I CAN'T SEE THEM WHEN THEY ARE HIDING AND THE REASON I HAVE THEM IS SO I CAN WATCH THEM - read more carefully!

what's up with the caps. Are you getting upset? I'm not even gonna bother reading what you posted.


Samantha: Just mimic their habitat. You probably don't need any special substrate to house the little guys. Go back to the place where you found them and take home a bag full of substrate. As for feeding, drop 3 crickets per week of every 2 weeks. Hope it helps.

 

[samantha]

Well, it ate the meal moth just fine.

 

[JLDomestics]

what's up with the caps. Are you getting upset? I'm not even gonna bother reading what you posted.

No I just don't like it when <friendly forum mates> who don't know how to read twist everything out of context.

You can feed it almost any insect that you can catch outside if you wish to not have to buy crickets.

 

[quiz]

No I just don't like it when <friendly forum mates> who don't know how to read twist everything out of context.

You can feed it almost any insect that you can catch outside if you wish to not have to buy crickets.

Attitude problem . I can already tell what kind of a person you are :5:

I was just asking a question not trying to twist any words

 

[Mr. Mordax]

Samantha, I wouldn't suggest feeding it outdoor-caught food. You never know what sort of pesticides the prey item may have gotten into before you caught it. I'd suggest buying crickets occasionaly from a pet store. They usually don't sell them individually, though . . . perhaps you could get some more scorpions? Glad to hear it ate the meal moth, though (I hate thouse suckers! I always feed them to my carnivorous plants).

Offering the scorpion a hide would be a good idea because it will reduce stress, and unstressed animals tend to do better in captivity. If you want to see it even while it's hiding then you can arrange the terrarium so that the hide is against the side of the tank -- I have a half-log up against the glass of my emperor scorpion tank so I can always see them even when they're safe and secure in their little hide.

Even if a scorpion likes to hide you can usually catch it wandering about at night. Especially if you have a blacklight.

Welcome to the boards, and make sure you keep your sister away from your new baby!

 

[quiz]

Samantha: Any pics of your set-up?

 

[skinheaddave]

They need to hide in the wild to avoid predators, and theres no predators in my house so they don't need a hiding place.

Using this same logic, last summer I shouldn't have been stung in the back of the head by a wasp. After all, I was only passing and did not intend it any harm. It should have seen my path across my back yard and intuited my intentions.

Scorpions avoid light and seek places where they will be covered -- preferably in contact with multiple surfaces. They are basically hard-wired to do this and get stressed if suitable locations aren't found. Not to mention that as far as it is concerned, there are plenty of predators around. It has seen at least one really big one on occasion, not to mention feeling vibrations of little ones in the walls, ones that sound supiciously like a stereo etc.

The attitude of keeping animals in inappropriate environments so that they can be better observed is both unfortunate and unnecessary. There are lots of ways to design enclosures so that they provide the needs of the animal but also allow for observation. An enclosure where you can see into the burrow is pretty neat, for example, and really easy to set up. Failing that, by setting up a hide you will get to see behaviour much closer to what goes on in the wild. Especially with relatively simple animals like scorpions, the tendency to retain behaviours is quite strong.

Consider, if you will, the change in zoos over the last century. They went from rows of concrete enclosures with metal bars to naturalistic enclosures which give the people the illusion that the divisions are not there. Better for the people. At the same time, they have included things like "hides" which are usually set up to give the animal some sense of security while still allowing them to be seen from at least one viewing angle. Now what you are doing with your scorpions isn't nearly as bad as what they were doing with tigers back in the day -- the scorpions don't experience pain and stress quite the same way. Still, with it being so unnecessary to deprive them of a hide, your attitude smacks a bit of irresponsibility.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Mr. Mordax]

Thanks, Dave, for helping to keep the thread a bit more on-track in a sane manner. When arguments break out this easily it isn't very encouraging for newcomers to stick around and I don't want to see people scared off of the forums when there really is a wealth of useful information on here.

Samantha, if you're still reading this, I hope you stick around on Arachnoboards. This is a great resource and usually a friendly place to post. I'm sorry that your very first thread happened to have some users being in disagreement in it.

 

[JLDomestics]

Using this same logic, last summer I shouldn't have been stung in the back of the head by a wasp. After all, I was only passing and did not intend it any harm. It should have seen my path across my back yard and intuited my intentions.

Damn son, you needed a hiding place, there were predators around.

 

[Bayushi]

JLDomestics - what i said about having P boreus was not about local bylaws. I asked several people working for the parks department and wildlife department about the legtalities of keeping them and was informed: Keeping, owning or selling of native species of animals in Canada requires a special permit. P boreus, not being protected but only found in a select few localized areas , are included.

So what i said is basically true. We are not allowed to keep them (Unless we have a permit)

Edit: unless the information given me is total hogswallop