cup & carry?

Gillian

Arachnoblessed
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Aug 13, 2002
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Mr. Deranged brought this up in another thread. I, being a dumb newbie, always thought I could move Celtie, my H. arizonensis, with my tweezers. Now, I see that if the telson is damaged, my baby could die of fecal impaction. Which way is best, when moving? And, what exactly is "cup & carry"?
Peace,
Gillian
 

skinheaddave

SkorpionSkin
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Joined
Aug 15, 2002
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4,341
Gillian,

If you are carefuly, you can use tweezers. Rubber-padded tweezers are better.

The preferable method, however, is to cup-and-carry. Basically, get a container that is big enough to fit over her, drop it over her and then slip a flat bit of cardboard carefuly underneath. Lift the whole thing to the new location and take off the cup. The only thing you have to be really careful with in this case is that you don't catch and damage a leg when you slip the cardboard over. I'd recommend using a clear container for this reason.

Now, all that being said, I don't think I have EVER used this method to cup a scorpion. Firstly, it is difficult to do if the ground isn't flat enough. Secondly, if there are obsticals involved, it involves a lot of herding and such. My prefered method is to take a container like a yogurt container or whatever and put it near them, pushing down a bit on the edge to put more in contact with the substrate. I then simply herd the scorpion into the container. I then cap it if I have to go a long way, or just use a scooping momentum if I am moving it a short distance. Since they can't grip on, it is easy to slide them in and then slide them out. The only danger with this method is that if they bypass the cup, they are generaly running straight for your hand. For the small guys, I have a little cup on a pole to keep my hands out of the way. For the larger guys, I keep the base of the container (and my hand) as high as possible while still allowing for them to slide in.

Cheers,
Dave
 

Gillian

Arachnoblessed
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 13, 2002
Messages
1,123
Dave...:) Thanks....The tweezers I do have, are rubber tipped. When the time does come, I'm happy to know that I now know what to do...
Peace,
Gillian
 
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