Researching for 1st scorp

[Yossarian]

I'm hoping some of you can help out a newbie. I'm looking for my first scorpion, but I want something active. (not an emperor) Since I'll not likely ever even touch the thing, let alone handle it, I'm not really worried about how venomous they are. Please list a few that are more active. Also, add in the "common names," I'm not as familier with scorps as tarantulas. 2 that I like, just by looks, are H. longimanis and spinifer. What can you tell me about them? Thanks in advance everyone,

Yoss

 

[Reitz]

Welcome to the hobby!

As for H. longimanis and spinifer, I can't tell you anything from experience, but from what I understand they're a little bit more active than emps, more aggressive, communal (though slightly less so than emps), and a high humidity sp. If you want care info go to invertpet.com. If you need more just ask.

That being said, I would not recommend a rainforest sp. to a beginner for the following reasons. First, keeping a tank at 80% humidity without promoting mold or mites can be trickey--though it sounds like you've kept some Ts, so it's probably not much more difficult. Second, they don't seem to be quite as active. I'd go with H. spadix or H. arizonsis--that is, Nevada Desert Hairy or Arizona Desert Hairy. At night they're either digging or wandering, they use their sting to kill prey, which is usually why draws people to scorpions in the first place, and they're great eaters. Plus they don't like humidity, so pop a heat light on 'em, give them a water dish and you're set.

As for venomous scorpions, I'd say hold off until you get the hang of keeping the others first. This isn't meant to sound condesceding, but until you've had to move an aggressive, fast scorpion out of its container--or even clean its cage--you probably won't know what to expect.

 

[Kugellager]

I also recommed either of the two desert species Reitz mentioned. They are fairly active, love to dig, have alot more attitude than either Emperors of forest scorpions and are also one of the nicer looking large species of scorpion. Plus they are a breeze to care for and have a relatively long life span. Lastly, in the US you can usually find them at a decent price most times of the year.

John
];')

 

[Eurypterid]

Third vote for a Hadrurus species, for all the reasons already cited. I'm partial to H. spadix, but that's just a personal preference.

Gary

 

[Yossarian]

Thanks for the quick responses. How big do these two Hadrurus get anyway?

 

[XOskeletonRED]

Most commonly, H. spadix (Nevada Hairy) can be found (purchasable) at around 3.5-4 inches, while it's slightly larger relative, H. arizonensis (Arizona Hairy or Giant Desert Hairy), can be most commonly found at around 3.75-5 inches. They are very rarely offered while they are young because very few people have had success breeding them and raising the young in captivity, and even those successors have had low numbers. There are references all over the net for these two species, as they can virtually be kept the same as each other and are great pet scorps. If I recall correctly, there is a caresheet for them on this site, and almost any other information you need can be easily answered by many of the keepers of this species on this board.



adios,
edw.