Given the opportunity, most of us ordinary folks would like to have a pet around us. Maybe a cat, a dog or a hamster or two. But some people may find these too tame. Quinton Dinesh Thomas belongs to the latter group, and his pet of choice? Scorpions.

Increasingly, these poisonous creatures have become popular as pets, seemingly because they are noise-free and require little care.

Although he does not recommend it, Quinton holds both his Asian forest scorpions in his hands, braving their sting, when we meet him. As the arachnids crawl all over his arms, he is all smiles for the photographer.

Quinton, who was a zookeeper in charge of apes and chimpanzees at Zoo Negara from 1996 to 1998 and a goat keeper in Pets Wonderland at Mid Valley Megamall in 2001 after graduating from college, has been infatuated with animals since the tender age of nine. He is a full-time emcee, clown and child entertainer.
While it was toys, games and cartoon shows for the most of us at that age, Quinton was busy catching venomous baby cobras in the surroundings of his home.

His love for animals grew as squirrels, monitor lizards, cats, snakes and dogs frequented his house in Jalan Gasing, which is close to a forest.

“The best part is, my mother and two brothers also welcomed them; my mom says they are gifts from God,” says Quinton. “Most of the animals that enter our house are either injured or looking for food. So once they get what they want and when their wounds heal, they leave.”

Apart from the harmless animals he rescues, Quinton’s real pets are amongst the deadliest in the world — all species of scorpions are venomous. A scorpion in captivity lives for four to eight years, while those in the wild can live up to 20 years.

“The thrill of keeping these venomous creatures and experiencing the danger keeps my adrenalin pumping. So far, I have been lucky as I have not been stung by them, but I’ve been pinched by their pincers several times,” says Quinton.

“TV shows make scorpions look dangerous, but if you don’t provoke them, they are okay. It’s like a cheetah (he touched one when working for Zoo Negara). It’s just like petting a cat.”

Quinton used to own four Asian Forest black scorpions — two males and two females — but the males have died. The males were five inches long while the females are three inches. A scorpion can measure between half and eight inches in length.

“I was just lucky to own two of each sex,” says Quinton, who has had the scorpions for close to a year now.

When he had four of them, both the females gave birth to about 20 babies (measuring about 3cm). They were pure white in colour and rode on their mother’s back.

According to Quinton, scorplings wound become black a month after birth. “The mother would be extra-protective while the father kept a close eye on the newborn scorplings,” Quinton observes.
Predators include crickets as these are much bigger than the scorplings, he says.

Predatory by nature, scorpions consume all types of insects — summer flies (sandflies) small spiders, lizards and crickets in the wild. When reared as pets, it’s sufficient to feed them mealworms and crickets, says Quinton.

Rearing a scorpion is cheaper than rearing other pets, he adds. He spends RM1 a month on 60 mealworms and RM2 a month on 50 crickets, which is sufficient for two to three weeks.

“Don’t forget to place a water dish near them but it shouldn’t be too deep as they could drown in it. You need to be extra careful with the newborns as these are likely to fall into the water,” says Quinton.

As a responsible owner, says Quinton, one has to provide a suitable environment for the scorpions, with proper humidity levels and substantial space for them to move around. “Should there be aggression among your scorpions, separate them,” he advises. “Thankfully, mine have cohabitated without such problems.”

Their habitat should be adjusted to a high humidity level of at least 100F to regulate their body temperature. Quinton says the easiest would be glass aquarium tanks with a tight fitting lid, which is where he keeps his pets. His tank contains soil (about four inches thick) for the scorpions to burrow in, insects, mealworms and crickets. The size of the tank would depend on the number of scorpions one has, but it should not be too big as this would make it difficult for the scorpions to catch their prey, says Quinton.

“Place some leaves and small rocks in your aquarium to provide them with hiding spots,” he adds.

The nocturnal scorpions hide under the rocks and leaves during the day and come out to hunt and feed at night.

Danger lurks for these invertebrates in the form of rats and monitor lizards, so never keep your scorpions on the ground, advises Quinton.

This article appeared in haven, Issue #36, April + May 2009, the deco and garden publication of The Edge Malaysia