So, what's the scorpion hobby like? (also, cool pics inside)

[lizardminion]

So, I'm gonna need someone to hold my hand a little bit here. I know a few things about scorpions - I've dug up a few documentaries, know a few species off the tip of my tongue, (scientific names included) know some stuff about their anatomy, evolution and all. But I'm also a bit out of touch, particularly with the community of scorpion keeping.

When it comes to scorpion keeping, my experience is limited to two species - a trio of WC C. vittatus I used to keep a little over a year ago before they passed away, and a pair of H. petersii (or what I presume to be petersii anyway) I've had for about two or three months now. Pics below. (screenshotted from my instagram since I haven't uploaded anything from my camera yet) And they're doing well, with the female looking to be at the beginning stages of being gravid.

However, that said, I'm not huge on inverts for the most part, compared to snakes which I know somewhat well. (Although if you ask anyone else, they would say I'm a maniac who's obsessed.) But inverts have always fascinated me, and everything about scorpions seems to have caught my fancy. I mean, I'm really really dying to load up on more scorpions. I just may have caught "the bug," or addiction, as they say. As previously stated, though, when it comes to scorpions and the hobby, I'm a bit out of touch. For example, would it be wrong to assume Hadogenes troglodytes, Hadrurus arizonensis, Heterometrus sp., and Pandinus cavimanus are considered the most common or "popular" scorpions among keepers? Or am I missing some? What are the other popular species? What are the more uncommon but most coveted scorpions in the hobby? What species are also somewhat common in captivity? What species are readily captive bred, or are at least easy to breed? What are the most colorful or most ornately patterned scorpions? Is there a list of scorpions that are either common or tend to at least find their way into captivity with some frequency? And especially, who are the most popular sellers, or most recommended sellers? Who's got the most diverse selection of scorpions for sale?

And, to you, reader, as an individual, what is your most favorite species? What species do you desire the most to keep one day? How would you describe or introduce someone to the world of scorpion keeping? Also, how does you SO react to you keeping scorpions?

I'm still trying to wrap my head around this hobby, it's just been slightly difficult considering scorpion keeping is an even more fringe, smaller niche of an already fringe hobby, and info seems more limited when it comes to scorpion keeping than it does for any other exotic pet niche. Nonetheless, I look forward to the day my scorpion collection will outnumber my snake collection.

tl;dr What's it like being part of this hobby, and what scorpions make great captives?

 

[Jason Brantley]

Hey lizard welcome to the world of scorpions! I can give you answers to all of your questions but I'm not going to because:
1# I don't want to sound like a pretentious jack azz that thinks they know everything about scorpions!
2# I'll let others join in because I believe its good to help people out, I would like others to feel like they have helped too!
3# You should learn how to acquire some knowledge for yourself, you know, be active and not have everything handed to you!
I'll answer a couple of question to help you get started...
If you like, you can start with an Hadrurus arizonensis scorpion because you already have a forrest dwelling one, so now you can gain experience with a desert species again like your C. vittatus. The most popular scorpions would be (now this is subjective and all great for beginners) Hadrurus species, Hadogenes species, Heterometrus species, Centruroides species, and a few other species. A few colorful species of scorpions are Hottentotta species, Parabuthus species, Centruroides species, and Tityus species. Pretty much any scorpion from the U.S. would be great starter scorpions. Stay away from Centruroides sculpturatus for now as it is a very venomous scorpion, work up to it first and do some research if you decide to keep it in the future.

 

[Jason Brantley]

Also, have lots of money! Once you start buying scorpions you won't be able to stop!

 

[ArachnoDrew]

Well first off Welcome to the hobby. Always good to see people still expanding into it.. great questions. I may not cover as into detail but ill give some bullet pointers here.. you sound to be on the right track and a tad ahead of most new comers.

You pretty much nailed in on begginer scoprs. They are great to start off with mostly because of how docile they can be or the lack of toxicity in their stings. But in my personal opinion. All scorps should be treated with the same respect. You should be just as careful with a deadly one as you would a docile one.

Their are a few known and respected hobbiest around who are in the for sale section. Read peoples reviews. Become familiar with who sells regularly who has (FAIR) prices after comparing to other. that's a big one.. its easy to see whos a hobbiest and whos only in it for re sale.facebook has a few good pages as well i can direct you to.

As far as colorful scoprs, the list may never end their are a few older threads with this exact topic. Scroll through those a bit
Anything in the Centruroides. Tityus. Uroplectes family tend to be very nice looking. Some of the meaner and more aggressive sting happy scorps would be the Androctonus, parabuthas (thick tailed scorpions , Hottentotta etc....

Such a vast selection to choose from. Scool through picuture gallery on scorpions here on on the forums. You will find great photos. I personaly have a few in my gallery to look at... i too tend to aim for the colorfull stuff

Good luck with your growth in the hobby. Lots of cool and experienced people here to guide the way... they've helped me tremendously

 

[Stenodactylus]

So, I'm gonna need someone to hold my hand a little bit here. I know a few things about scorpions - I've dug up a few documentaries, know a few species off the tip of my tongue, (scientific names included) know some stuff about their anatomy, evolution and all. But I'm also a bit out of touch, particularly with the community of scorpion keeping.

When it comes to scorpion keeping, my experience is limited to two species - a trio of WC C. vittatus I used to keep a little over a year ago before they passed away, and a pair of H. petersii (or what I presume to be petersii anyway) I've had for about two or three months now. Pics below. (screenshotted from my instagram since I haven't uploaded anything from my camera yet) And they're doing well, with the female looking to be at the beginning stages of being gravid.

However, that said, I'm not huge on inverts for the most part, compared to snakes which I know somewhat well. (Although if you ask anyone else, they would say I'm a maniac who's obsessed.) But inverts have always fascinated me, and everything about scorpions seems to have caught my fancy. I mean, I'm really really dying to load up on more scorpions. I just may have caught "the bug," or addiction, as they say. As previously stated, though, when it comes to scorpions and the hobby, I'm a bit out of touch. For example, would it be wrong to assume Hadogenes troglodytes, Hadrurus arizonensis, Heterometrus sp., and Pandinus cavimanus are considered the most common or "popular" scorpions among keepers? Or am I missing some? What are the other popular species? What are the more uncommon but most coveted scorpions in the hobby? What species are also somewhat common in captivity? What species are readily captive bred, or are at least easy to breed? What are the most colorful or most ornately patterned scorpions? Is there a list of scorpions that are either common or tend to at least find their way into captivity with some frequency? And especially, who are the most popular sellers, or most recommended sellers? Who's got the most diverse selection of scorpions for sale?

And, to you, reader, as an individual, what is your most favorite species? What species do you desire the most to keep one day? How would you describe or introduce someone to the world of scorpion keeping? Also, how does you SO react to you keeping scorpions?

I'm still trying to wrap my head around this hobby, it's just been slightly difficult considering scorpion keeping is an even more fringe, smaller niche of an already fringe hobby, and info seems more limited when it comes to scorpion keeping than it does for any other exotic pet niche. Nonetheless, I look forward to the day my scorpion collection will outnumber my snake collection.

tl;dr What's it like being part of this hobby, and what scorpions make great captives?
View attachment 246450 View attachment 246451

Whoo, okay, let me take a bit to start answering questions, haha. You've already got down one of the better things to know in the scorpion (or really, any animal) hobby. Latin names. If you don't know binomial nomenclature, you are bound to get lost. Or rely on common names. Which is not a very good strategy.

I myself am also heavily involved in geckos. I know how it is to have two radically different animal hobbies. Fun to juggle between the two. A couple months ago, I was exactly in the same boat as you. I had two male Heterometrus spinifer (yes, legit spinifer, ID'd by Collin Clary) and was not looking to expand. However, I met some pretty awesome hobbyists and the hobby took off from there.
Let me start answering questions:

While yes, all of the species mentioned are incredibly popular, I would not put cavimanus over imperator in terms of popularity. Also, a lot of buthids are insanely popular among non-novice keepers. I would even argue that these species are the most commonly kept family in the hobby. Hottentotta, Leiurus, Parabuthus, Androctonus etc etc. Centruroides and Tityus also have quite a large following.

Damn, I don't even know how to answer which are uncommon but coveted. I'd think that most species in the world are coveted. I keep tons of strange stuff. To bring up an example, a scorpion that I don't have but covet big time is the genus Nebo. Big clawed, large scorpions from the Palearctic area. Also, have more toxic venom than one would care to admit (though it's effect on humans is questionable).

Common species, again another hard question. It depends on who you ask. It also depends on who is breeding what. Currently, I have bred some Brotheas, Superstitionia, Pseudouroctonus and Diplocentrus, but I wouldn't label these as common species. Just available. Scorpions of many types generally find their way into the hobby one way or another. Now, ending up in the right hands is a different story. Whether they stay or disappear depends on the involvement of the keeper. And, of course, whether he/she can breed them. The scorpion hobby seems to be a little more forgiving of species disappearing than the gecko hobby. But still, the point remains. It depends on the individual keeper's involvement and interest in the species to determine whether they have a future in captivity.

Sellers, there are many. Personally, I got my first group of weird scorpions from @brandontmyers and @gromgrom. They have great selections, very weird stuff, and have extremely healthy scorpions. I've gotten other species from other sellers of course. Another great guy to deal with is @Triprion. Fantastic selection of native species.

My favorite scorpion genus, without question, has to be the troglobiotic Alacran from Mexico, with Belisarius being close behind. They are just so much different than the others. Also, Apistobuthus are very interesting. I just hope someone can crack the code on their captive care. The world of scorpion keeping is a different hobby, that is for sure. But it is low maintenance, high reward. Having a mother with babies is one of the most satisfying feeling someone could have (well, you know, us. Maybe not someone else). My friends, family and SO do not really care that I keep them, as long as I keep them CONTAINED. haha.

The hobby is a great place. People (from what I've seen) do not try to cut others down, generally. I cannot say the same for some of the other hobbies I have been in. Scorpions are so straightforward to keep, and so alien. I can see my collection continually expanding exponentially in the future.

By the way, welcome to the hobby!

 

[RTTB]

Support the sellers here in the Classifieds. Welcome to your new drug. Highly addicting.

 

[darkness975]

@lizardminion I started in the Invertebrate field with Scorpions as opposed to Tarantulas. I got into Tarantulas much later on.

You can't go wrong with adult Hadrurus arizonensis if you are looking to branch out into a desert species.

Smeringurus mesaensis is also a good choice.

In terms of what is is like to be in the Scorpion hobby, all I have to say to that is it is an exciting and interesting adventure.