# DWA Scorpions.



## callum b (Sep 8, 2008)

Hi,
Yep I'm another non DWA keeper asking about DWA lol. But I'm going to ask anyway.
Firstly, I have got an itch to keep more scorpion species. But it is an itch that is very difficult to scratch as a scorpion keeper in the UK. As I'm sure everyone in this section knows, all scorpions in the Buthidae family are DWA along with the one Hemiscorpius lepturus (unsure on why it is just H. lepturus as H. arabicus is equally as venomous as this species but is not covered on the DWA list and others in the genus probably have similarly toxic venoms). This is unfortunate as the Buthidae family contains nearly half of all scorpion species. Along side this there is generally a very limited selection of non Buthidae scorpion species available/imported into the UK.

I have read a lot of posts on this section about the rules of keeping DWA snakes and know you have to prove you are capable of handling the snakes you wish to keep and that you have to provide secure caging etc. before you can obtain a licence. These rules I assume also apply to DWA scorps.
I have kept quite a wide variety of scorpions (for a UK keeper lol) since I got my first P. imperator over 10 years ago. I would say I am experienced at handling them and treat every species I have kept the same when doing so. A long pair of rubber/foam tip forceps and a small cup or container. I do this with anything from a placid Emperor to a psycho Desert Hairy. IMO a sting from any species is going to at least hurt a bit and so I would rather avoid the chance of it happening all together.
Caging wise, again I ensure it is completely escape proof to avoid any disasters.
What I would like to know is, is there any DWA licence owners that keep DWA scorpions and in particular any people here who are solely DWA scorpion keepers? If there are, what protocols/ caging/ rules etc. do you have to keep to/ follow to be able obtain a licence to keep DWA scorpions.
Any information you guys can share would be grand.

Cheers, Callum


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## callum b (Sep 8, 2008)

Is there really no DWA scorpion keepers on here lol?


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## monkey26031985 (Mar 30, 2009)

as far as im aware you only need dwa for a Hemiscorpius lepturus


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## Spikebrit (Oct 23, 2006)

The only keeper i know that still has a DWA for scorps and posts on here is SiUK. If you drop him a PM he will offer you some advice. 

I usd to know a few keeps who had a DWA for buthidae species, and they were always interesting things, but not my cup of tea. 

jay


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## callum b (Sep 8, 2008)

No, definately all scorpions in the Buthidae family as well. Very annoying but its the rules lol.


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## callum b (Sep 8, 2008)

Cheers Spikebrit


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## Razorscale (Feb 22, 2010)

I used to keep DWA scorp's, i had a pair of deathstalkers and here's a older post i made when i had other's http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/spider-invert-pictures/530869-new-scorpions.html
So if you have any question's about keeping them ill do my best to help you.


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## callum b (Sep 8, 2008)

I want that Babycurus buettneri. Its absolutely stunning.
Do you have the same DWA licencing rules over in Ireland that we have here? How did your care, housing, handling etc of DWAs differ from keeping non DWA species? As I said above I never free hand handle any of my scorps, I only using long forceps etc. With DWA snakes there is obviously a huge difference in how you handle them compared to 99% of the commonly kept non DWA snakes but is there any real difference in how you handle DWA scorps compared to non DWA's? IMO I would of thought it was exactly the same as when dealing with non DWA's properly. Please correct me if I am way out and completely wrong lol.

Cheers, Callum


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## mattykyuss (Oct 12, 2009)

*re*

if you look on you tube ,there are some good keepers of such animals ,showing how to move ,clean them ,pack them up for shipping etc ,mat


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## Razorscale (Feb 22, 2010)

callum b said:


> I want that Babycurus buettneri. Its absolutely stunning.
> Do you have the same DWA licencing rules over in Ireland that we have here? How did your care, housing, handling etc of DWAs differ from keeping non DWA species? As I said above I never free hand handle any of my scorps, I only using long forceps etc. With DWA snakes there is obviously a huge difference in how you handle them compared to 99% of the commonly kept non DWA snakes but is there any real difference in how you handle DWA scorps compared to non DWA's? IMO I would of thought it was exactly the same as when dealing with non DWA's properly. Please correct me if I am way out and completely wrong lol.
> 
> Cheers, Callum


They are a very fascinating scorp alright, In Ireland we have no DWA or anything like it, if we can get it we can keep it sadly enough(reptiles wise) i use to keep all my DWA scorps in a the box exo-terra's, i would silicone the lid's shut,i got all my information off websites, how i handled them was with a tweezers with sponges on the tipps to carefully move them, i always had the box they where going into beside there caging when i was cleaning in case the dropped while moving.
And the handling of venomous snakes to non venomous is completely different in ways with dwa/non scorpion's.
I use to handle emperor's and flat rocks by just picking them up with my hand by the tail, now hes the intresting part that why i will never tail a scorpion again DWA or not, when i got my Babycurus buettneri(years back) i grabbed it by the tail(i dont know why), ive kept mainy scorpions before and because of that i thought i could do this(i still wouldnt of tryed it with a deathstalker or fat tail im not that much of a imbecile) as it has never happened to me before and it wiggled and ended up stinging me, i was very lucky because compaired to other Babycurus the venom wasnt as bad, my thumb swelled alot and it moved up my arm and went numb for a few hours and then became very sensitive to the touch, so i wont even tail non DWA now because of a *STUPID *mistake on my behalf:2wallbang:, The best piece of a advice i can give to you is learn by other people's mistakes. Think 2 steps ahead of what you are going to do.


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

monkey26031985 said:


> as far as im aware you only need dwa for a Hemiscorpius lepturus


sorry for bringing up old threads... but i wish there was just 1 dwa scorpion. i think more than half are buthid (citation please)


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