Key Precautions Every Beginner Scorpion Farmer Must Know

Since ancient times, scorpions have been an important medicinal material in traditional Chinese medicine, with rich medicinal and nutritional value, capable of treating convulsions, epilepsy, stroke, hemiplegia, facial paralysis, migraine, tetanus, scrofula, and rubella sores, among other conditions. In recent years, due to long-term mountain clearing and land reclamation, road building and mining, and the heavy use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the natural ecological environment on which scorpions depend for survival has been severely damaged. Combined with extensive human capture, wild scorpion resources are becoming increasingly depleted and are on the verge of extinction. The demand for scorpions keeps growing. Supply falls short of demand, the price of dried scorpions rises year by year, and the market prospects look good. Many people rush into scorpion farming because of the high returns, joining the ranks of scorpion farmers without any experience, but not all captive breeding achieves high profits. According to estimates, the success rate of scorpion farming is at most no more than 30%, and most farmers end in failure for various reasons. Successful farmers keep their farming techniques closed or secret, while failed farmers, once bitten twice shy, never dare to enter the industry again. Therefore, the current situation of a few succeeding and most failing in scorpion farming means the market demand cannot be met in the next few years. Here are several points to note during scorpion farming for those who are new to it and those who are hesitant about it:

Beginner scorpion farming issue one: how should a scorpion farmer get started

The first thing to determine in scorpion farming is the scale and method of farming. For beginners, the scale of stocking should not be too large; generally, as few as three to five hundred, or as many as two to three thousand, is appropriate. Too few scorpions means relatively high management costs, while too many, combined with insufficient experience, easily leads to poor management and accidental losses. In terms of farming method, from the perspective of the farming environment, it can be divided into indoor scorpion farming and outdoor scorpion farming; beginners should choose the indoor method. In terms of farming tools, there is bottle farming, basin farming, box farming, pond farming, pit farming, and so on; beginners should preferably use basin farming when first stocking, then transition to pit farming or pond farming. In addition, scorpion farming can be divided into normal-temperature and constant-temperature methods, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, to be chosen according to one's own circumstances. Besides this, one should also attend training and visit farms. Although scorpion farming is not complicated, it is a rather meticulous job, and many details are hard to express in writing; it is difficult to grasp them thoroughly just by reading materials. Those who wish to farm scorpions must receive systematic training and visit professional farms on site to truly master scorpion farming techniques.

Beginner scorpion farming issue two: why scorpions easily die

According to surveys, the main reasons scorpions easily fall ill and die are that beginners do not understand scorpions' living habits well and do not know how to adjust scorpion farming techniques according to climate conditions. Especially in northern regions, temperatures in winter and spring are abnormal, sometimes dropping to around 10°C, sometimes rising above 20°C, making it hard for scorpions to adapt and causing large numbers to fall ill and die (commonly known as “spring death”). In addition, in late spring and early summer, there is a lot of rain, the air humidity is relatively high, food easily becomes moldy, and the newly awakened scorpions tend to binge eat and drink, so they easily die in large numbers due to indigestion and other causes. Furthermore, scorpions are extremely sensitive to various unusual odors; some farmers often unconsciously bring perfume, alcohol, medicine, or foul smells into the scorpion house, disrupting the scorpions' olfactory system and causing them to fall ill. For this reason, scorpion farmers must carefully observe the scorpions' living habits, ponder carefully, and provide meticulous care, fully understanding what scorpions like and dislike, and then meet their requirements for environment and food as much as possible.