ok to handle?

Hi all! I just aquired my first emperor scorpion, and I'm getting mixed answers as to whether it is ok to handle him. The pet store I bought him from let me handle him before I made my purchase, the shopkeeper picked him up by his tail, and the scorpion didn't show any aggression.

I brought my new scorpion home, and sat on my bathroom floor, and held him twice, for only a few minutes each time. He was lively, and, again, did not seem aggressive at all. I know the risk of being pinched of stung, but besides that, is it ok to handle him? Do they get used to it? Is it really better to just leave him alone? Thanks for any advice or personal experience you can give!

I'm afraid they will not "tame up" with time. I had this same problem. Yes, you can handle them every few months or so i'd say, but it is not advised as any handling stresses the scorps and reduces their lifespan as a result.

So, it's up to you, but if you take my advice, either don't handle him very often or dont handle him at all.


Hope this helps

The scorpion doesn't get anything out of handling, and it can only really be detrimental to it, in terms of stress and risk of injury.

HOWEVER, there are indeed pictures of me handling my emperor... but it's not something I do regularly, at all. Only really to show people who look at my animals that just because it's a scorpion, doesn't mean it's horrible and mean.

As for the stress thing though... after the initial picking up of my emp, I am pretty confident she thinks she is on a pink squidgy rock and is not stressed. There is a big difference between handling my snakes, for example, who clearly know "handling" is occuring.

AshMashMash wrote:

HOWEVER, there are indeed pictures of me handling my emperor... but it's not something I do regularly, at all. Only really to show people who look at my animals that just because it's a scorpion, doesn't mean it's horrible and mean. I am pretty confident she thinks she is on a pink squidgy rock and is not stressed. There is a big difference between handling my snakes, for example, who clearly know "handling" is occuring.

^ Exactly

Handling is good for one thing: getting over your fear of it so you know how to do it when you need to.



(Well, for this species, anyway . . . there's a great deal of scorpions where handling is only good for potentially ruining your day.)

Handling is alright for pictures or showing people or for your own confidence boost.

But regular handling just to "walk" it or whatever is stressful to it.