Scorpion

Food: Scorpions eat small animals like bugs such as grasshoppers or beetles, and small reptiles and mammals too. Not all of them use their strong to kill prey. Some will use their front pinchers to crush it.

Size: They can be as small as 1cm to as big as 20cm. The smaller they are, the more deadly their venom!

Appearance: Scorpions, like their cousin the spider, have 8 legs. The two front ones are claws, like a lobster. They have a hard shell covering their body and a tail which stings their prey. Yellow and black are the most common colours. Some can be brown, red or orange.

Scorpions make excellent pets. They need to live in a warm enclosure, heated to about 25 degrees, all year round. They only feed once every 2 weeks so are easy to care for. They are also considered clean animals so there’s minimal maintenance needed of their enclosure. As long as it’s kept warm, humid and has prey carcasses removed regularly you will have a happy scorpion.

Consider rehoming a rescue animal. Contact your local animal charity or consider these nationwide ones with rehoming schemes:Blue Cross * Animal Rescue & Care * RSPCA