Discover the fascinating world of scorpions and learn the essential principles of responsible care, housing, feeding, molting, health management, breeding, safety, and long-term keeping.
SCORPION HANDBOOK is a complete practical guide for beginners, experienced invertebrate keepers, breeders, educators, and enthusiasts who want to understand these remarkable arachnids. Raphael Hartley combines essential biology with practical husbandry guidance to help readers create appropriate environments, recognize normal behavior, avoid common mistakes, and maintain scorpions responsibly.
Scorpions are ancient predators with specialized sensory abilities, fascinating hunting strategies, and impressive adaptations to environments ranging from deserts to tropical forests. Their husbandry requirements vary considerably by species, making accurate identification and species-specific research essential.
Inside this handbook, you’ll discover:
• Scorpion anatomy, natural history, behavior, life cycle, and biological adaptations
• How to research and select a species appropriate for your experience and resources
• Choosing healthy captive-bred specimens from responsible sources
• Planning secure enclosures that reduce escape risks and support natural behavior
• Selecting suitable substrates, hides, shelters, décor, and environmental features
• Creating appropriate temperature, humidity, ventilation, and moisture conditions
• Understanding desert, tropical, burrowing, and other ecological requirements
• Choosing appropriately sized live prey and establishing effective feeding routines
• Hydration, water provision, prey management, and avoiding unnecessary overfeeding
• Understanding hunting, hiding, burrowing, defensive, and nocturnal behaviors
• The scorpion molting process and how husbandry should change before and after a molt
• Recognizing normal pre-molt behavior and reducing disturbance during vulnerable periods
• Monitoring appetite, movement, body condition, limbs, exoskeleton, and overall appearance
• Maintaining enclosure hygiene and controlling mold, mites, waste, and uneaten prey
• Recognizing environmental problems, injuries, abnormal behavior, and other warning signs
• Understanding sexual maturity, sex differences, courtship, mating, and reproductive behavior
• Pregnancy, birth, maternal behavior, and the development of young scorpions
• Caring for scorplings and planning appropriate separation as they develop
• Understanding cannibalism and species-specific considerations for communal housing
• Safe enclosure maintenance using tools and techniques that minimize direct contact
• Responsible transport, escape prevention, emergency planning, and household safety
• Record keeping for feeding, molts, growth, breeding, births, health observations, and environmental conditions
• Responsible breeding, sale, transfer, and long-term ownership
SCORPION HANDBOOK places safety at the center of responsible keeping. Scorpions should not be handled casually. Venom potency and defensive behavior vary among species, and individual reactions to stings can be unpredictable. Hands-off husbandry using appropriate tools and secure enclosures is generally the safest approach.
The book also emphasizes responsible species selection. Prospective keepers should research venom significance, adult size, environmental requirements, local regulations, veterinary or medical considerations, and the security needed to prevent accidental exposure or escape before acquiring any scorpion.
Whether you are preparing for your first scorpion, improving an established enclosure, learning about molting, or exploring responsible breeding, this handbook provides a dependable foundation.
