As scorpions grow in popularity as pets, caring for a pet scorpion becomes increasingly important knowledge to have. While even the largest member of the scorpion family, the Emperor scorpion, only has a sting that is as strong as that of a bee, it is still not recommended that you handle your pet. Of course, this is just one of the many important things that you will need to know before purchasing a pet scorpion.
What To Keep Your Pet Scorpion In
The most popular type of habitat for pet scorpions is a five-gallon tropical fish aquarium with a tight lid that locks, such as a clipped screen. If you plan to keep more than one you will want to get a 10-gallon aquarium. You will be able to keep as many as five scorpions in there.
Once you have a cage you will need to set it up to resemble the habitat that your scorpion would naturally be found in. For a rain forest scorpion you should provide between two and three inches of soil or peat moss. Desert species need an inch or two of sharp sand. Forest species will need wood chips that are kept moist by spraying them with a water bottle every other day. You will also want to ensure that your scorpion has adequate ventilation. Some of the other basic things that you will want to have in your aquarium include a water bowl, a heat mat, wood chunks, small tunnels and places for your scorpion to borrow (overturned ceramic pots work well).
Caring For Your Pet Scorpion
Your scorpion will need to have its tank misted with a water bottle. Desert species will only need misted twice a week while rain forest species should be misted daily. You should also set up a small 1 inch bath for your rain forest scorpion.
Feeding Your Pet Scorpion
Scorpions are not picky eaters. You can feed them crickets, locusts, mealworms, silkworms, super worms and cockroaches. Most of these can be purchased from your local pet store. Keep in mind that even the biggest scorpion will only eat two “bugs” per week. The easiest thing to feed it will be crickets, since you can keep these at home. Use the other types of insects to then supplement your scorpion’s diet.
You should set up a live cricket cage to keep the crickets in until it is time to feed your scorpion. Make sure to feed these crickets nutritive bug food and to dust them with a good reptile vitamin and mineral supplement every few days so that the nutrients will be passed on to your scorpion. Whenever it is time to feed your scorpion, simply use a pair of tongs to move the cricket from its resting place to your scorpion’s cage. You should do this every other day, but keep in mind that your scorpion will have erratic eating habits. In order to help your scorpion eat better, make sure that you are offering this food to him at night ,as this will stimulate his natural feeding habits.
There are only a few Health Concerns that you should know about when you own a pet scorpion. First of all, if your scorpion becomes aggressive it may be pregnant or about to molt. You don’t want to move or disturb it at these times. Secondly, you need to be on the lookout for mites, which can be a major problem. Preventative maintenance is the best way to deal with it. So, make sure that you sterilize all of your scorpion’s natural materials by baking them in the oven whenever you are setting up its tank. Also make sure to use a magnifying glass to check for any mites on the live prey you feed your scorpion before placing them in its tank. They will look like little black dots covering the prey.
In Conclusion
Caring for a pet scorpion shouldn’t be intimidating. It is actually relatively easy to do. However, the aforementioned care requirements are important. You should also take some time to learn more about the particular type of scorpion you have so that you can more closely mirror its natural habitat within its cage.
