Caution ! Before starting keeping scorpions, some
« rules » must be known :
- scorpions must not be considered as pets. Keeping these
animals should be done only with the aim of observing
them, and not handling them. These animals are unable
to recognize « the hand that feeds them »
and will never be grateful to it…they will not hesitate
to sting it if it approaches too near !
- you must also know that scorpions are nocturnal animals,
i.e. they usually spend all the day sheltered from light
under a stone, a bark, in a burrow, etc…and they
only leave their hiding places during the night to eat.
Thus, do not expect to be able to observe your scorpion
constantly, it will be usually invisible, leaving at the
observer’s disposal a terrarium filled of ground
or sand and some stones or barks…
- to want to keep a scorpion and to keep one are completely
different. As any living organism, scorpions have needs
to survive, usually requiring a weekly attention, sometimes
daily. And so, you must think long and hard before acquiring
a scorpion : will I be able to take care of it ? Do I
have all the necessary conditions to keep suitably my
scorpion ? Will I be able to feed it regularly ? How will
I be able to take care of it if I go on holiday ?…In
short, so many questions you must wonder and answer before
acquiring a scorpion.
- finally, it must be known that all scorpions are venomous
and potentially dangerous for human. Several species have
to be absolutely avoided when beginning : their maintenance
must be done only by very experienced keepers with an
aim of behaviour study. Few species are really dangerous
for human, and it is not necessary to hold these species
to study and understand the behaviour of scorpions. So,
the choice should be done among all the other species,
less dangerous and quite as much interesting.
- and to finish, an equation easy to remember : Danger
= Toxicity x Risk. The danger of a scorpion (or any
other venomous animal) to human not only lies in the fact
that this one has a venom (Toxicity), but it
is also necessary to take account of the various actions,
wilful or not, of the man to the scorpion (Risk).
An example : the increase of the mortality due to a Brazilian
scorpion, Tityus stigmurus, is in total relationship
with the increase of deforestation that aims at extending
human habitation for an increasing population. Tityus
stigmurus, a very venomous scorpion (Toxicity),
lives in the tropical forest, but the growth of the Brazilian
population, and thus the deforestation, oblige the inhabitants
to come into contact with this scorpion (Risk),
thus the risk of stings increases and the cases of death
too (Danger).
Another example : you wish to acquire a potentially venomous
scorpion (Toxicity), thus you go in a specialized
pet shop, you buy it, then you bring it back your home
: the Risk is increased. You put it in its terrarium,
the Risk increases again. Then, every time you
will open the door of the terrarium, the Risk
will increase. The purpose of this example is not to discourage
you from acquiring a scorpion, but only to remind you
that the dangerousness of several scorpions is not only
the fact of the toxicity of these animals, and that nobody
is safe from a small moment of absent-mindedness, sometimes
leading to a significant increase of the Danger.
The aim of this web site is not to encourage the
readers to keep scorpions, but essentially to make the
nature-lovers discover these fascinating animals.
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