That Reptile Blog – Reptile, Amphibian and Exotic Pet Care and Information

I can’t remember a time when scorpions did not fascinate me, and their lure grows stronger with each new species I encounter.  In the past, I’ve written on the care and natural history of Emperor, Flat Rock, Asian Forest and other popular scorpions.  Today I’d like to present a general overview.  I hope it will help you to decide if a scorpion is the right choice for you and if so, how to get started.

What’s in Store for Scorpion Fans

Among the world’s 2,000+ scorpion species we find an astonishing diversity of fascinating creatures, many of which make hardy pets that adjust well to small enclosures.  Several reproduce readily in captivity – lucky scorpion keepers may even be treated to the sight of a female feeding her offspring with crickets!  At least 15 species are established in the pet trade, and specialists are working with several others. Read More »

Dietary variety is the key to success in rearing many herps and invertebrates.  Unfortunately, options for newly-transformed frogs and salamanders, Poison Frogs and other small species and hatchling spiders are limited. A diet of fruit flies, springtails and pinhead crickets sometimes suffices, but as I learned when rearing the endangered Kihansi Spray Toad, other foods are often necessary.  Praying Mantid Egg cases (properly termed “oothecum”), which may be collected or ordered from commercial dealers, are a useful but under-appreciated resource for those who keep small insectivorous pets.

Foreign Mantids in the USA

The 2 most-commonly encountered mantids (or mantises) in the USA are both introduced (not native).  The largest and most widespread is the Chinese Mantid, Tenodera aridifolia sinensis, brought here in 1896 to battle insect pests.  The European or Praying Mantid, Mantis religiosa, arrived as a stowaway around the same time.  They and the world’s other 2,400+ species, consume vast numbers of beneficial and harmful insects…in fact, a single Chinese Mantid may consume 20,000 or more insects in its lifetime! Read More »

The Domestic or House Cricket is perhaps the world’s most popular herp food, the closely-related locusts, grasshoppers and katydids have been neglected as a food source here in the USA.  However, many are easily collected and bred in captivity, and offer important nutrients lacking in commercially-bred insects.  What’s more, they are colorful, active and extremely interesting to work with – don’t be surprised if you begin keeping them as more than just a food item!

Natural History

Grasshoppers, crickets, locusts and katydids are classified in the Order Orthoptera.  Over 20,000 species, inhabiting environments ranging from deserts to mountain tops, have been described.  The USA is home to 1,000+ species.

Many grasshoppers sport a fantastic array of colors and shapes; some are barely visible to the naked eye, while others, such as New Guinea’s Phyllophora grandis, top 5 inches in length (please see photo of a Hooded Grasshopper). Read More »

Reptile and amphibian keepers know how hard it is to find veterinary care for their pets, but those who keep scorpions  face even greater difficulties.  I found one or two vets willing to experiment while working at the Bronx Zoo, but in private practice your options are just about non-existent.  What little we do know has resulted from trial and error, and is constantly evolving.

Pre-dating the dinosaurs, scorpions are a hardy lot, and rarely present us with health problems (at least any that we can identify). Spiders are a bit more prone to illness and injury, and some fine work has been done by private keepers (virtually none by vets, however).  Much of what follows is drawn from conversations with spider keepers, and from my own and others experiments in scorpion health care.  In this regard, Sam Marshall’s chapter on spider first aid in his fine book Tarantulas and Other Arachnids is a must read for scorpion fans. Read More »

While the Emperor Scorpion and the South African Flat Rock Scorpion are, by today’s standards, huge and impressive, they pale in comparison to their extinct relatives.  Imagine, if you will, an 8-foot-long scorpion sporting spiked claws that extended 2 feet from its body!  Well, thanks to newly uncovered fossil evidence, we need not imagine so hard – such fantastic beasts did indeed exist.  Known as Sea Scorpions or Pterygotid Eurypterids, some, such as Acutiramus, were larger than a person!

Natural History

Sea Scorpions are the ancestors of modern-day scorpions, and perhaps of all Arachnids.  Pre-dating the dinosaurs, they emerged approximately 470 million years ago, and roamed the seas (and fresh waters) for over 100 million years.  Read More »