Lately i have seen scorpions rise in popularity and more and more i read or see posts( not really here but elsewhere) of people being stupid, i say stupid because that implies that the person knows better but chooses to disregard it.
I read in one forum a guy bragged that he free handled his Androctonus Australis and his Deathstalker and purposely made them sting him. It is idiots like this that kill our hobby. He clearly doesn’t understand that scorpions are able to dose their venom based on the current situation and in some cases where the threat level is low they can and will give a dry sting. This idiot claimed it only hurt a little and he was fine the next day. These scorpions don’t have the reputation they do on a fluke.
Quite honestly i don’t think any scorpion regardless of toxicity should be handled, same with tarantulas as falls for both these animals can prove fatal, so even if they weren’t venomous the risk to their safety is far greater than the “thrill” of holding them.
I’ve seen people free handling venomous snakes and taking way too many chances. I read about a guy who got stung by his Androctonus Amoreuxi and was sent to the ICU for 3 days.
I feel the social media has fueled a level of stupidity that people ignore common sense and shoot videos of themselves doing something stupid.
Many venomous animals will wreck your life if you don’t exercise extreme caution.
Many scorpions have delayed reactions some up to 15 hours later so the person falsely believes that the sting is “not that bad” many hospitals in America are under qualified to assess and treat scorpion envenomations secondly antivenin does not always work, nor is it readily available in the US. Many scorpions venoms attack many parts of the body. They can attack the nerves, the heart, the lungs, kidneys, liver and the brain causing heart attacks, organ failure, pulmonary edema and brain hemorrhage.
Venomous animals are nothing to trifle with and they require a very disciplined regiment of care. These are live wild animals (while some can be calm, they are never really domesticated.) These are living animals that arenot props for social media likes etc. I only post my animals for educational purposes and from saftey of disciplined regiment.
Another sick trend ive seen is death matches people film akin to dog fights or cock fights etc.
I feel that as a community we need to distance, disavow and shun anyone who partakes in antics such as it is. They don’t make us look good and before long we have people demanding that the species gets banned.
I will never advocate for free handling of any potentially life threatening species and i do frown upon the free handling of scorpions and tarantulas regardless of temperament or toxicity as they are delicate and a fall can seriously injure or kill the animals. If you want an animal to hold there are many more choices other than these 2. Ive kept many arachnids over the years and have many now and i have only ever handled the non venomous very briefly usually to help coral them when i want to change the enclosure for new substrate etc.
Spiders, tarantulas and scorpions don’t really like being handled and they can easily get stressed which will greatly decrease their overall well-being and longevity.
On a final note i saw a video of a “researcher” purposely force a Parabuthus transvaalicus or one of the other 2 species that shoot venom. Either the researcher got scared or the scorpions movement caused the scorpion to get dropped ( to me it looked like a reaction of the person getting scared and dropping it) well they severely injured the scorpion in the process from that drop breaking its legs on the left side so the scorpion could no longer move and likely died. That video along with death match videos and people being stupid and careless with animals really p*sses me off.
I will seriously cut anyone out of my life who has animals that they use and abuse or are stupid with potentially dangerous animals.
