It is commonly believed amongst scientific circles that our friends the scorpions have been living on earth for more than a few hundred million years (about 430 million) and in that time have grown into many different varieties and types to cope with all of the different environmental challenges they have faced.
These arachnids, along with their spider cousins are often feared but not all of them are so dangerous. Most pincer jabs and tail stings will simply produce short term albeit very painful symptoms, however it is true that some rare scorpion stings can be fatal because of their deadly poison. At the same time they won’t usually attack unless threatened.
There are a few thousand species of scorpions in evidence all around the world. They have recently become popular as exotic and very interesting pets to be kept at home. It is important to give them an environment in their tank which is similar to their native environment which is usually either tropical or desert according to the type of scorpion. They can vary in size and color, length and size of pincers.
Scorpions are generally categorised according to two classes of arachnid. Deadly poisonous and mildly or non-poisonous. With the latter, a sting can be very painful and cause local swelling and some temporary breathing problems. With the former, the poison can be lethal if not attended to immediately.
Types of Scorpion
The Emperor Scorpion :
Found mainly in Africa and very popular as a pet due mainly to its large size and colour and the fact that its poison is not deadly. It looks very scary and I imagine quite a few of the male population would love to scare their girlfriends with one. Though the scorpion has a fearsome reputation as poisonous, only 25 species have venom capable of killing a human being.
The Israeli Gold Scorpion
This is a smaller sized scorpion, a species native to North Africa and the Middle East and is also known as the Large-clawed Scorpion because of its obviously large pincers.
The genus Brachistosternus – Bothriuridae
Found in South Africa, Asia, Australia and
South America. They tend to be both longer and to have a broader body when compared to other scorpions.
Euscorpiidea
Euscorpiidae are found in plentiful numbers in central and southern Europe, and also in Africa around the Mediterranean coast, in North America such as Mexico, Central and South America and much of Asia ). One species has even been found to have taken up its habitat in some areas in southern England. It is thought likely that such scorpions came along with merchandise arriving from abroad and have succeeded in surviving in sheltered places ever since.
Other types of scorpions include Hemiscorpiidae, Caraboctonidae, Microcharmidae, Chactidae, Urodacidae and more. Whatever the species, all scorpions eat smaller insects such as crickets and moths, small mammals such as mice, birds and sometimes even smaller scorpions.
Scorpions wield a painful, potentially fatal sting. Eliminating their habitat can help you get rid of scorpions around your home.
There are very few things in this world that give me the willies, but I gotta tell ya, scorpions send a little shiver through my entire body. I know I’m not alone either. In fact, when I was working at the pet store we always had …
There’s something about scorpions that frightens even the bravest of men. Perhaps it’s because of their menacing appearance, so often exaggerated in cartoons and movies, even though the real ones are very small in size.
Oh well yeah, that is guaranteed to help me get to sleep tonight
i like scorpions i got a pet one