Ah yeah, I caught mine in the wild and it was already grown. No clue how fast they grow. Nice choice in any case!probably be ripping legs off baby crickets a few good months until its big enough to take the entire cricket seller says its an inch buti wont be surprised if its smaller than that
yeah its wild caught i am native to california so worries about temps will be a non issue just gotta hope the id is correct
A C. margaritatus (Central American Bark Scorpion), a close albeit less venomous cousin to the C. sculpturatus (Arizona Bark Scorpion) is one of the scorpions I would like to get somewhere down the line. Love the coloration on them. Even as a newbie to the hobby myself, I find it ill advised to suggest "super hots" (so scorpions like the Indian Red Scorpion, Fat Tails, and Deathstalkers) to a beginner hobbyist because even though it might well be the case that the risk of being stung by a scorpion is very low, the risk is still there and beginners are especially prone to husbandry mistakes which could lead to a potentially fatal sting. The absolute most venomous scorpion that would maybe be okay for a beginner or even intermediate keeper imo would probably be the C. sculpturatus you had mentioned. Anything more toxic than that should be off limits except for the most advanced of scorpion keepers. While sting reports from scorpions might be more rare than bite reports from OW T's, they're not unheard of, and there's a fair few of them here on Arachnoboards.These are pretty cool little scorpions. The one I had was pretty active.
Centruroides sculpturatus are a little hot but if you can get a colony of them it'll be worth your effort. They're communal in wild and captivity and kind of fun to watch hunt at night.
I think getting stung by a captive scorpion would require pretty high levels of drunkenness or stupidity. They're not fast and agile like a lot of tarantulas. Honestly, you can probably dive right in with whatever species you find interesting without much regard for toxicity. Some might find this advice to be crazy, but I really don't see scorpions as being risky. OK, that's enough unsolicited advice from me for now
This would be a prime example of why a new beginner shouldn't own any "super hots" w/ level 4/4 venom. This guy got tagged by his H. hottentotta after free handling it cause his mom broke his tongs. Very careless. He's lucky it was an H. hottentotta and not an H. tamulus, because if it was the latter he very likely wouldn't have been writing that bite report but instead probably would've been in the ER or even dead. https://arachnoboards.com/threads/hottentotta-hottentotta-sting.310278/These are pretty cool little scorpions. The one I had was pretty active.
Centruroides sculpturatus are a little hot but if you can get a colony of them it'll be worth your effort. They're communal in wild and captivity and kind of fun to watch hunt at night.
I think getting stung by a captive scorpion would require pretty high levels of drunkenness or stupidity. They're not fast and agile like a lot of tarantulas. Honestly, you can probably dive right in with whatever species you find interesting without much regard for toxicity. Some might find this advice to be crazy, but I really don't see scorpions as being risky. OK, that's enough unsolicited advice from me for now
Guess I feel differently. I also don't advise people to buy a water gun prior to buying a real handgun, but I suppose I expect adults to make wise decisions when they're dealing with something that's potentially dangerous (learn and practice proper procedure). Really though the risk of getting stung by a scorpion is low unless you're an idiot, and the risk of dying if you are stung is low as well. We're not talking about black mambas here. Or even Stromatopelma calceatum.
He's an idiot. Also looks like he was 14 years old when this happened if the age in his profile is correct. Kids shouldn't own anything that's potentially life threatening.
Definitely agree w/ you on that one. Any scorpion (or other inverts such as the Six Eyed Sand Spider which I also mentioned briefly in this thread) with level 4/4 venom should not be bought by anyone under the age of 18 w/o adult parent/guardian permission, and should perhaps even be illegal to sell to minors like w/ cigarettes & alcohol. He probably shouldn't have even been owning a level 3/4 venom scorpion, even though it was unlikely to actually kill him.
That's purely subjective. Some people are deathly afraid of spiders such as tarantulas but have no problems w/ scorpions & vice versa. I have no problems w/ either. Or centipedes/millipedes. Stinging insects that fly are my big fear w/ regards to insects & inverts. I think Asian Giant Hornets are TERRIFYING and if you've seen pictures you'd probably agree. You might think scorpions look scarier, but personally I think they look cooler (also subjective) even though there's a wider array of colors & patterns w/ tarantulas. Also, those "fluffy eight legged teddy bears" (the NW species anyways) can have a bad tendency to flick their highly irritating "fluff" (urticating setae) all around their terrarium and into your face if disturbed.
Im similar have a slight arachnophobia, I'm scared of scorpions, spiders and especially vinegroons, I've been like that my whole life.
Afraid of true spiders (Araneomorphae) you mean? You can't really say "I'm afraid of spiders, but not tarantulas." since tarantulas ARE spiders. Yes. I know. Semantics. Lol.
I wouldn't necessarily say I'm afraid of Camel Spiders (Solifugae) but I find them to be ugly as all hell.
Yeah they are pretty gnarly looking, I own a baby camel spider that I caught in my kitchen one night.
LolOh, and another reason that I think scorpions are a better pet than tarantulas (imo) - Scorpions, unlike tarantulas, as far as I'm aware do not molt as adults. This is a benefit because you'd only have to worry about bad molts/them getting stuck in molts as babies and juveniles whereas with tarantulas that is always a concern throughout the entire life of the tarantula.