Scorpions

Scorpions are eight legged venomous invertebrates belonging to the class Arachnida, and the order Scorpiones. They are related to spiders, mites, ticks, and harvestmen as well as other members of the Arachnida class. They possess an extended body and a segmented, erectile tail ending with the telson (the sting). There are roughly 1,300 species of scorpions worldwide.

Range & Habitat
Though most prolific and diverse in warm habitat, scorpions have adapted to a wide range of environments, including plains and savannahs, deciduous forests, mountainous pine forests, rain forests and caves. Scorpions have been found at elevations of over 12,000 feet in the Andes Mountains in South America and in the Himalayas of Asia, as well as the Alps. In snowy areas, they hibernate during the cold months of the year. In drought areas they may aestivate (pass the summer in a dormant or torpid state).

About 90 species are found in the U.S. All but four of these naturally occur west of the Mississippi River. Scorpions are most common in southern Arizona and in parts of Texas and central Oklahoma.

Description

The scorpion's body has two parts, a cephalothorax which contains the prosoma, or head; and the abdomen. The cephalothorax is covered by the carapace, a hard bony or chitinous outer covering. The carapace usually suports a pair of median eyes at the top center. Two to five pairs of lateral eyes are found at the front corners of the carapace, though a few cave and montane forest litter-dwelling scorpions are eyeless. Chelicerae, the scorpion's mouthparts, and a pair of pedipalps, or claws used for prey capture and mating complete the head anatomy. The pedipalps are covered with trichobothria, sensory setae, that sense air-borne vibrations.

The abdomen is made up of the mesosoma, the main body, and the metasoma, the tail. The mesosoma, protected by bony armour, contains the lungs, digestive organs and sexual organs, as well as bearing 4 pairs of walking legs and the pectines. The tips of the legs have small organs that detect vibrations in the ground. The pectines are feathery sensory organs which hang beneath the abdomen and trail on the ground. They are coated by chemosensors that provide detection of minute chemical signals that are thought to alert the scorpions to the approach of prey and also to be of use in mating behavior. The respiratory structure, known as "book lungs," are spiracles that open into the scorpion's body. The surfaces of the legs, pedipalps, and body are also covered with thicker hairs that are sensitive to direct touch.

The metasoma curves up and ends in the telson, which bears the bulbous vesicle containing the venom glands and a sharp, curved aculeus which delivers the venom.

Most species of scorpions reach adulthood at a length of between 2 and 3 inches.The longest scorpion in the world is probably the African Scorpion (Hadogenes troglodytes) which grows to over 8 inches in length. In the U.S., members of the genus Hadrurus (giant desert hairy scorpions) are probably the largest, growing to a length of about 5 inches.

Behavior

Scorpions are nocturnal. They often ambush their prey, lying in wait as they sense its approach. They consume all types of insects, spiders, centipedes, and other scorpions. Larger scorpions may feed on vertebrates, such as smaller lizards, snakes, and mice if they are able to subdue them. They capture their prey with their pedipalps, paralyzing them with their venom as well if necessary. The immobilized prey is then subjected to an acid spray that dissolves the tissues, allowing the scorpion to suck up the remains.

As well as being predators, scorpions are also prey. Many types of creatures, such as centipedes, tarantulas, insectivorous lizards, birds (especially owls), and mammals, including shrews, grasshopper mice, and bats hunt scorpions for food.

Life Cycle

The pedipalps are used in scorpion courtship behavior. The male performs a kind of dance with the female, grabbing her pedipalps with his own and dragging her across the ground until he locates a preferred place to deposit his spermatophore, which is then drawn up into the female's genital pore, near the front on the underside of her abdomen. Some species' courtships include a sexual sting of the female by the male.

Scorpion gestation periods vary from several months to a year and a half, depending on the species. Each brood will consist of about 24-35 young. They are viviparious - the young develop as embryos in the female's ovariuterus. The young scorpions are born two at at time, climbing onto their mother's back to be carried there until their first molt in about two weeks, when they will be large and strong enough to take care of themselves.

Scorpions do not metamorphasize as they grow, changing only in size and sometimes to a deeper color with each molt. Typically five or six molts over two to six years are required for the scorpion to reach maturity. The molting is accomplished by a split in the outer covering through which the scorpion must crawl in order to grow.

Scorpion lifespans range from three to five years, though some species are thought to live 10-15 years. Some kinds of scorpions show more sophisticated social behaviors, like colonial burrowing, and living in familial groups that may share burrows and food.

Scorpion Venom

Scorpion venom is used to subdue prey and to defend against threats, as well as in the mating process. The composition and action of the venom varies from species to species. The venoms are mixtures of salts, small molecules, peptides, and proteins. The peptides are specialized; some act against invertebrates and some against vertebrates, and some target both. This complex formula results in a neurotoxin which depolarizes the nervous system of the victim.

Scorpions are apparently able to regulate the delivery of the venom in scale to the size of their target. Some scorpions are known to produce a transparent prevenom in addition to the more potent opaque venom which is loaded with additional toxin. The use of the prevenom occurs at the initiation of the threat or opportunity. If the action persists, the opaque venom is released. These abilities enable the scorpion to conserve the venom for use when it is needed most, for larger predators or prey.

Medically Significant Scorpion Species
Most of the more venomous scorpions have lighter, more delicate pedipalps and larger, stronger tails. The Buthidae family contains most of the scorpions dangerous to man. They can generally be distinguished by the triangular sternal plate on their ventral side. Other species' sternal plates are more square or pentagonal.

Only one species of scorpion in North America and about 20 others worldwide have venom potent enough to be dangerous to human beings. The North American species, Centruroides exilicauda (formerly called C. sculpturatus), is found over much of Arizona and Mexico. It is also known as the Arizona Bark Scorpion. A small population occurs in extreme southeastern California, and a few records exist for southern Utah and small parts of Texas, New Mexico and Nevada. The venom of this scorpion can cause severe pain and swelling at the site of the sting, numbness, frothing at the mouth, respiratory difficulties, muscle twitching, and convulsions. The sting is more dangerous to infants, small children and the elderly. Death is rare, especially in more recent times. An antivenom was created by Arizona State University but is no longer being produced, and is not FDA approved. The FDA has recently given approval for clinical trials to evaluate a Mexican antivenom for use in the United States.






http://www.treknature.com/gallery/Africa/T.../photo31478.htm

This post has been edited by super macgyver: Jun 14 2008, 04:18 PM

What scorpion is it? Asian Forest scorpion(heterometrus sp.) or African Emperor scorpion(pandinus emperator)?

market price for adult asian forest scorpion is rm35, emperor is rm80.

Scorpions can live to 7 yrs but average is 5 yrs. They are easy to care for. Minimal maintainance and cost. They walk around a little more compared to tarantulas. They looks very garang...which is like. Hehe. And the coolest thing...try putting one under UV light in a dark room. All scorpions glow fluoracent green or yello under UV light. Its so bright u would think its fake. But its natures miracle.

Anyway at rm20 its very cheap. Enjoy!

Wow Scorpions! Better be careful with it! RM 20 is cheap just Handle it with care. A scorpion's sting maybe fatal.

what food u giving them everyday?

It's diet include insects, small lizards, pinkie mice and variety of foods that fit it's size (insects must not to big).
But i guess in petshop here, you can get mostly crickets and mealworms only.
About 3-5 crixs is enough for 1 whole week.(matured scorp)


This post has been edited by V3i HoN6: Oct 27 2005, 09:21 AM

With the offer of Rm 20, i think he will get an AFS rather than AES.
From what i read, both are good for beginner.
But i wonder why sometimes they named it H.Spinifer and sometimes H.longimanus, both are AFS?

The stings for this two species and many other species are not fatal.
Even the fatal one, they deliver only very little amount of venom that only could kill a children, elderly if it's not taken well.
But still, have to be very carefull dealing with them as you dont want to take the pain for being pinch or sting.

can share with us ur scorpion real picture? emperor?

H.Spinifer and H.Longimanus look almost identical. Very difficult to tell the difference. And both species can be found in malaysia. I only know someone told me this...spinifer pincers are broader n shorter compared to longimanus pincers are more slender n longer but then p.imperator pincers r a lot more broad and short. That is why most ppl will say heterometrus sp. meaning species(sp.) coz they cant guarantee which species it is, spinifer or longimanus.

Heterometrus sp. and Pandinus Imperator arent dangerous. They are actually tame and only sting in severe situations. I've never been stung b4 and only seen the small scorpions use their stingers on crickets. But they big pincers can cause some pain and even make you bleed. But its just a normal wound. I also have never been in that situation...just one of my housemates. Hehe.

Here are some Heterometrus sp. i got. I currently have 2 adults and babysitting 2 more adults for a friend.






sorry..this picture not so nice. use low end digital camera. They actually glo very brightly under UV light.


Anyway make sure when u get your scorpion, provide it with a water in a shallow dish and feed it once a week with 3 or 4 crickets. If u wanna handle it...take it by the tip of the tail.

take it by the tip of the tail and then what?

put it on the back of your hand.

as such

OMG< tis seem very exciting pet.

Hey,

Your Scorpion looks pregnant. I was an owner of the Asian Forest Scorpion which I obtained for RM50 at PETS WONDERLAND 3 years back. Looked exactly like yours witht he bloated stomach and strech carapace. Was looking for the dangerous species like the yellow fat tailed scorpion which supposedly can kill a human being within 8 hours but lack of choices let me to this baby. Saw the whole birth giving process and mine actually gave birth to 38 babies all fragile and white in color.

The question I want to ask experienced pet owners here is how to take care of new born scorpions? Mine only lasted till the first molt and actually turned black in color, then day after day one would die. TheY also canibalize each other and I would discover half eaten babies. But why would they die? I made sure I keep them in a humid place and away from harms way. Unfortunatly for the mother, she died an unfortunate death. Some red ants(Small variety) picked up her scnet and crept into my tank and ate her alive. I discovered one day when I got back that she wasn't moving and tried touching her. Still no movement till I turned her over and found a small hole in her underbelly. That was the most disapointing day of my life. I lost all , baby scorpions and mother. Now Im a tarantula owner. SAD SAD!!!!

oh shit im getting one of these soon ...

Hey friend...yellow fat tail can seriously kill a human. So pls be careful n know wut u r getting into b4 buying one. Actually i want one too...now after some experience with heterometrus sp. i interested in more potent venom scorpions. But cant seem to find any in malaysia.

My female scorp just dies 2 days ago..sad...cause of death..unknown.

The scorpion nymps...leave them on their mothers back for a while. Make sure u feed them..more than usual. I read ur post also i thinking if u feed them enough. The mama scorp will actually break up the crickets and feed them to her babies on her back. Cannibalism in the case of scorpions is not high. Once moult for 1st them...u can seperate the babies. They are very fagile. And in most cases....less t han half will survive.

I am ordering p.imperator, african emperor scorpions soon and will have them for sale. Still small...juvaniles. Should be going around rm55 for one..cant confirm yet. Cant find emperor scorpions at this price...!!! hehe

Firstly my condolences to you. I hope your scorp didn't die the similar fate as mine. I hate fire ants....

Anyway when my scorp gave birth to her babies, it took 2 days before the process stopped. Yeah all the babies would gather on top but ocassionally 1 or 2 would fall down to the ground and get trampled on. After they all turned black in color and started leaving mom, I separated them from her into another tank with pieces of wood bark. They would gather together as would adult scorpions and when feeding time came(mini mealworms...i didn't have any other alternative food), they would grab one and run back to the wood bark. So im wondering why they died ? They have been getting their source of food,humidity...but still 1 a day would perished. I made sure they were away from the ants...Finally 2 were left and they dissapeared from my aquarium when i was cleaning it not to be seen again .
Anyway as for the yellow fat tailed scorpion, I don't handle my pets even my tarantula...so getting a poisonous one wouldn't matter to me. Besidesa that the fellow color with black tail was very striking. Upon searching, I concluded that such a dangerous species if not the most, was not available on out shores. If you do get a hint of where its being sold...please let me know...

Thanks dude...

so u mean the scor mum will eat the babies if not enough food?

I don't really know..but just to be on the safe side....

Yeah...the mom may eat the nymphs. Anyway for my last batch of scorpionlings i just put dead crickets in there. 3 adult crickets i kill n put inside...7 scorpionings share. THey just tear the crickets apart!!! hahaha

Yeah...almost impossible to get yellow fattail here. Have to import i think. If u really wan..i can get a few imported. But i dun think they will be cheap.

thanks NZX...

Currently Im planning to get another Tarantula to add to mine. So if I can handle that, then I will consider the fat tail. Anyway let me know the price....

how much will tat be?