There has been a death in the family. My beloved pet, Spike, has died.. My mom never liked Spike. She insisted that he was not a pet. She referred to him as a “Science–project-that-must-remain-out-of-sight-in-a-cage-in-the-garage-with-a-lid-and-I-can’t-believe-I-pay-to-feed-this-thing.” Poor Spike. Somehow, I don’t feel much sadness. Actually, the worst thing about this death is the fact that I will no longer get to brag to people that I have a pet scorpion.
Spike was a species that is known to the scientific world as “Hadrurus Arizonensis.” To the more plebian type, he is known as the giant hairy desert scorpion. As is evidenced by his name, Spike had hair. It was mostly around his knees. He was yellowish with a dark brown back. He had an evil looking stinger that was red. The curved barb was horrible enough to give me occasional nightmares. If I shook his cage around a little, Spike would curve his back, arch his tail, and come up a little on his back legs. It was cool to watch him run around like that. I never got to see him attack and eat anything, but I bet it would have been cool to watch. Maybe a little PG-13, but still very cool. Oddly enough, the larger a scorpion is, the less poisonous its sting is. Unless you are allergic, the sting of a giant hairy desert scorpion is relatively harmless. I wanted to hold Spike, but my dad wouldn’t let me(Oh darn). I tend to be slightly allergic to bug bites. If you pick up a scorpion by its tail, it cannot sting you. However, a scorpion this size has a couple of nasty pinchers. Although this species can grow to a much larger size, Spike was only about three inches long from the tip of his stinger to his claws when stretched out.
Good bye, Spike. I am so sorry that I killed you by over watering your cage. I know you can die from dampness. Your bedding should have been sand. Rest in peace. I shall replace you soon with Spike II.
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