Safety and "Hot" Scorpions

[MJInsoCal]

As an avid scuba diver and gun owner, I know about the importance of safety protocol, duplicate, even triplicate checks.

And in those hobbies / industries there are a lot of standard practices.

As I peruse around the reptile expo yesterday and see possibly gravid Leiurus quinquestriatus going for $20, I wonder how many people truly are safe in their husbandry. And then… well I see the typical you tube videos of some _____ showing off bare handling of her own live specimen.

Just wanted to start a thread as far as people’s safety protocols, habits.

I’ve accidentally left tarantula and snake enclosures open before. It happens.

I keep a few Poecilotheria, and mildly venomous snakes (Mangroves). But debating plunging into the hot hot hot scorpions. I’ve kept several scorpions, just nothing really medically significant.

Thoughts on responsible care, especially with a gravid! I’ve been able to breed roaches without critters getting out.. but having some lethal scorpions showing up in your shoe one day….

 

[viper69]

Scuba- excellent!! How long?

Mangroves- gorgeous! Herper here as well

You’ve seen what people do. As a long long time herp owner, and long time T owner I’ve seen everything from safe to stupid.

I can’t control what others do, nor the animals I own. If you have HOTS, it’s a risk. As long as one is truly responsible, and isn’t putting others at risk, do it when one feels ready.

My friend owns hots- snakes, and he handles them RESPONSIBLY. But anything can happen, even to world class snake experts as an example.

The same is true for scorpions, and any other venomous animal.

That species’ venom is nothing to take casually as you know.

The videos that really are crazy are of those people handing blue-ringed octopi!!! Truly Darwinism at work.

 

[Andrew Clayton]

Thoughts on responsible care, especially with a gravid! I’ve been able to breed roaches without critters getting out.. but having some lethal scorpions showing up in your shoe one day….

Can't own any over here in the UK without a license, though I'd have it in a glass enclosure that's top opening with nothing for them to climb near the top with, they can't climb glass.

 

[Kada]

A very welcome conversation. There are folks even on this site stinging themselves intentionally and chatting about it online. It's the type of person that got me to leave the pet industry as a breeder, and now just a field person with a few pets.

I bet the diving alone puts you in a head space of a more mature attitude towards hots. My experience with the more venomous are snakes and spiders, and it's always always about set and setting. Never confined, cluttered, cramped working conditions. Always a buddy just in case. And always a medical plan in case of a bite (ie. Knowing which hospital to go to for XYZ species, for me it's more about where has antivenom for our native snakes).

For scorpions, I can't imagine anything less than in tub maneuvering with them. They do seem relatively easy to manage for photography and rehousing. Tub in tub is always my go to. Not shy to occupy the bathroom for fast spiders for embarrassing amounts of time

Those guys that have stacks and racks in a bedroom and 2 people hooking an adult king cobra inside are going to give me a stroke one day. It's so irresponsible.

Probably the biggest risk is complacency and the ego. Everyone thinks they are pro until they get tagged. I've never been hit, because I always tell my self I'm a novice and need to humble myself as if I were literally retarded. Self abuse and lack of ego keeps one humble haha.

 

[MJInsoCal]

20+ years diving. I've literally saved a couple of lives. Except in diving.. what usually kills people is panicking, and then followed by overconfidence. Like Kada said " Everyone thinks they are pro until they get tagged. " Done some crazy dives, cenotes (long caverns under under the jungle) which I sure as hell wouldn't do now that I'm married.

"There are folks even on this site stinging themselves intentionally and chatting about it online " - anything for a thrill, I guess. I can't judge. But yeah, that won't be me.

With guns, there is a whole procedure to make sure it is unloaded, and etiquette for safety.

My thoughts so far, and please add to.. or critique.

1) No opening terrarium except in bathroom. Bathroom has no where for the little bugger to go off and hide, other than trying to run out under the door, which can be covered with a towel. This is what I do with my poecilotheria when rehousing. My home office where the critters are .. a million places to hide.

2) zero hands in terrarium.. tongs only! (is gloves + tongues overkill?)

3) Some kind of double lock or enclosure in enclosure. Really, the big worry is not noticing you really didn't lock it correctly. I've done this too many times with other critters to not have some kind of failsafe.

 

[The Snark]

Probably the biggest risk is complacency and the ego. Everyone thinks they are pro until they get tagged. I've never been hit, because I always tell my self I'm a novice and need to humble myself as if I were literally retarded. Self abuse and lack of ego keeps one humble haha.

That comes across sounding like the perfect world ideal procedure when in fact it's the mandatory rule. Call it the Steve Irwin rule. Even the best of the best can screw up.

With guns, there is a whole procedure to make sure it is unloaded, and etiquette for safety.

A good analogy. All are loaded and ready to fire. With guns it's until it's in your hands and you can see an open empty chamber. With hots, there is no such thing. No chamber you can open and check. So you don't approach it. If it needs safetying you become the range master taking the extreme of all safety precautions.