Scorpions have a bad reputation.
In spaghetti western films they inflict a painful death upon their victims, but in Australia their popularity as pets is growing.
Christina Cozens sells up to 30 scorpions every month in her Bundaberg pet store and says their bad reputation isn’t deserved.
“People come in here and they think that the scorpions will kill them, but it’s really only the ones overseas that do the damage.”
“I’ve been stung twice and it didn’t hurt at all, I was quite disappointed, but I’m not saying they’re not dangerous, people should still be careful.”
Pet shops throughout Australia now need to be licensed to sell reptiles and scorpions, and Christina says dads are usually the first to approach the scorpion cabinet on a family trip to That Pet Shop.
“It’s probably something they’ve always wanted to keep and they’ve never been allowed to, but now they can,” she says.
“Scorpions are overtaking mice and rats in popularity and when we get the snakes in, we expect that they’ll be really popular too.”
Costing between six and 15 dollars and with a life span of between five and seven years, Christina says they make a perfect family pet, but only if you’re into unusual pets that can’t be cuddled.
“They don’t do much at all during the day, but they’re more active at night when they come out and feed. We only feed them once a week and we only feed them about two or three mealworms a week.”
“It’s a great pet for the kids because they don’t have to look after it every day and mum doesn’t end up looking after it, they’re very low maintenance.”
If you’re interested in making your scorpion that little bit funkier, Christina suggests installing purple lights above their enclosure, which will have them absorbing the light and glowing.
But if that’s not your thing, then there’s always the stock-standard cat or dog. They may not be particularly unusual, but their personality usually more than makes up for that.
In spaghetti western films they inflict a painful death upon their victims, but in Australia their popularity as pets is growing.
Christina Cozens sells up to 30 scorpions every month in her Bundaberg pet store and says their bad reputation isn’t deserved.
“People come in here and they think that the scorpions will kill them, but it’s really only the ones overseas that do the damage.”
“I’ve been stung twice and it didn’t hurt at all, I was quite disappointed, but I’m not saying they’re not dangerous, people should still be careful.”
Pet shops throughout Australia now need to be licensed to sell reptiles and scorpions, and Christina says dads are usually the first to approach the scorpion cabinet on a family trip to That Pet Shop.
“It’s probably something they’ve always wanted to keep and they’ve never been allowed to, but now they can,” she says.
“Scorpions are overtaking mice and rats in popularity and when we get the snakes in, we expect that they’ll be really popular too.”
Costing between six and 15 dollars and with a life span of between five and seven years, Christina says they make a perfect family pet, but only if you’re into unusual pets that can’t be cuddled.
“They don’t do much at all during the day, but they’re more active at night when they come out and feed. We only feed them once a week and we only feed them about two or three mealworms a week.”
“It’s a great pet for the kids because they don’t have to look after it every day and mum doesn’t end up looking after it, they’re very low maintenance.”
If you’re interested in making your scorpion that little bit funkier, Christina suggests installing purple lights above their enclosure, which will have them absorbing the light and glowing.
But if that’s not your thing, then there’s always the stock-standard cat or dog. They may not be particularly unusual, but their personality usually more than makes up for that.