Scorpion breeding costs and profits

According to data reports, China’s annual demand for scorpions is nearly 5,000 tons, but the market can actually only provide about 400 tons of scorpions. In the past, scorpions were only one of the medicines we used, but now you can see scorpions on our dining tables. According to relevant reports, the edible market of scorpions is now larger than the medicinal market, because it is known that people are interested in domestic species. Delicious and healthy food is something you will never get tired of eating. If this continues, our Chinese scorpions will perish. According to surveys, scorpions can give birth to 2-3 litters per year, and each litter can produce 40-60 scorpions. There are now more than 1,000 species of scorpions in the world, and there are more than 15 species in my country. The wide distribution environment of scorpions determines their wide variety.

There are many ways to breed scorpions, including pot culture, tank culture, and box culture on a small scale, and pond culture, room culture, and hive culture on a large scale. Regardless of the breeding method, the basic principle is to simulate the natural living environment of scorpions and create comfortable living conditions for scorpions. The following introduces the pond farming, house farming and beehive farming methods respectively:

Pond farming method:

Use bricks indoors or outdoors (a shed should be built outdoors to prevent rainwater) The size of the pond depends on the number of introduced scorpion seedlings. Generally, it is 560 adult scorpions and requires 1 cubic meter of space. The common dimensions of a pool are: 0.5 to 1 meter high and 1 to 1.5 meters wide. The length can be determined according to local conditions.

After the pool is built, the inner wall of the pool does not need to be plastered with mortar to keep the pool surface rough, which is convenient for scorpions to climb, crawl and inhabit inside. A small amount of mortar can be used to block the brick joints on the outer wall of the pool to prevent scorpions from escaping through the gaps. Before the mortar applied dries, a smooth material can be inlaid on the inside of the pool near the middle of the roof to prevent scorpions from escaping from the roof. Smooth materials can be glass, plastic film, etc. The scorpion pond can be built into a three-dimensional structure with several layers. Generally, the 1 to 2 layers near the ground are used to feed scorpion feed (egg worms or mealworms, etc.). There should be a distance of 20 to 30 centimeters between each layer of the scorpion pond for operation and management. Use bricks, stones or tiles to build a rockery for scorpions to inhabit in the center of the pool, and leave enough gaps for scorpions to inhabit. There should be a distance of about 15 centimeters around the rockery from the pool wall to prevent scorpions from escaping through the rockery.

How to raise scorpions in a house:

There are many architectural styles for raising scorpions in a room. It is usually a mud house built with adobe bricks. The height of the house is 2~2.5 meters, the length is 4 meters, and the width is 2.5 meters. , the wall thickness is 23 to 28 cm. The outer wall of the wall is sealed and reinforced with lime and other three-component soil and then painted. It is best to use old adobe bricks. Leave a gap of 0.5 to 2 cm wide between the bricks without plastering mud. Do not paint the inner wall so that scorpions can hide. Or use a special mold to make homemade adobe bricks with holes on one side, and 2 to 3 windows and a door can be opened on the south side of the wall. The top of the layer can be covered with fine wire mesh, and then covered with plastic film. The film must also be covered with bamboo mats or straw mats; or the wire mesh can be covered with oil felt to prevent enemies from invading and the wire mesh from rusting. Some small holes leading to the outside of the layer can be left near the base of the corner, allowing large and small scorpions to enter and exit freely. Build an annular protective trench about 1 meter away from the house, and mix it with cement, sand, lime and loess. The width and depth of the trench are each 60 cm, and the water inlet and outlet are 60 and 40 cm from the bottom of the trench respectively. Keep water in the trench all year round to prevent scorpions from escaping and ants from invading. It is also necessary to use adobe bricks to place several strips or circular stacks of bricks in the house to form more gaps for scorpions to inhabit, but be careful to leave a pedestrian walkway. In addition to drainage ditches and activity venues, some of the equipment in the venue also need to install rodent and bird repellent equipment, install insect traps in the breeding area, and build some gravel piles in the activity venue to form a small environment suitable for scorpion activities. It is also necessary to pile some wheat straw, rice straw, and bean vines in the activity venue and outside the fence, and mix them with an appropriate amount of bran, rice sugar, and pig and horse excrement to breed some insects for the scorpions to eat.

Honeycomb scorpion farming method:

Traditional artificial scorpion farming mostly uses box farming (that is, placing multiple layers of tiles in a smooth box). There are several Fatal flaws: First, pregnant scorpions are mixed and raised in groups, causing male scorpions and expectant pregnant scorpions to interfere with the calving and pregnant scorpions, making the calving and pregnant scorpions uneasy, and the young scorpions cannot safely survive the absorption and transformation period, and are lost. A large number of scorpions died on the backs of lower mothers; secondly, male scorpions, pregnant scorpions and female scorpions also ate a large number of newborn scorpions, so that the survival rate of the scorpions was low; thirdly, the control of temperature and humidity was not easy to coordinate, often causing high temperatures to cause The high humidity (less water spraying and evaporation) has seriously affected the reproduction and molting of scorpions, causing a large number of young scorpions to die due to inappropriate humidity and being unable to shed their skins. Many scorpion farmers have died because of this. And the feeding failed.

The hive-type scorpion raising method overcomes the above shortcomings.

In terms of the structure of the scorpion nest, this kind of scorpion nest is composed of two layers of inner and outer boards. The specifications of the inner board are 60 cm × 21 cm × 4 cm, with 4 columns and 15 rows (60 cm) evenly distributed on it. ) 4 cm × 3 cm × 3 cm slots, the outer plate dimensions are 60 cm × 21 cm × 2.5 cm, with 4 columns and 15 rows (60 holes) of 1 cm × 1 cm evenly distributed on it. The inner and outer plates Taken together, one hole is aligned with one slot (i.e., a single-room small scorpion chamber). Surround it with eight sets of inner and outer panels (first use cement to fix the inner panel and then use iron clamps to clamp the outer panel and the inner panel together so that the entire scorpion nest can keep the inner panel fixed and the outer panel movable for ease of use) Capture and management) form a honeycomb scorpion nest. From the outside, a scorpion nest looks like a honeycomb, surrounded by eyes. When raising, fill the hollow surrounded by boards with soil, plant flowers and plants, and then water them to not only grow flowers and view the scenery, but also keep the soil moist. This method allows pregnant scorpions to naturally divide their litters and give birth to young, preventing the mother from interfering with each other and maintaining the humidity (55%~75%) required for the young scorpions to molt, making the environment for their growth and development closer to that of The natural environment greatly improves the survival rate of scorpions.

Newly introduced seed scorpions often suffer from miscarriage, stillbirth, or even miscarriage, death, etc. of pregnant scorpions due to the shock during transportation and environmental changes. At this time, two injections of 80,000 units of gentamicin sulfate injection are needed, add a bowl of water to a sponge, and let the scorpion drink and inhale it once a day for three consecutive days, which can greatly improve its survival rate.

Adopt the method of raising scorpions by combining pit, pool and shed. Dig a pit in the pool and cover the pool with a shed to keep one-third of the wet soil area in the pool, so that the scorpions can freely choose a suitable dry and wet place. Heating under the pool can also evaporate water, so that the air humidity in the shed can be maintained at an appropriate level. This breeding method can keep the temperature and humidity of the scorpion's living environment constant, saving labor and energy as well as fuel. And can avoid the occurrence of dry blight and edema.

The baby scorpions that are about 10 days old can be separated from the mother scorpion. The baby scorpions should be fed with small insects. The size of the small scorpions should be similar to the small scorpions or smaller than the small scorpions. Put the small insects into a small plate. (The depth of the plate is suitable so that small scorpions can enter and exit, but small insects cannot crawl out). Because small scorpions have poor hunting ability, several more plates should be placed in a pool and placed in the same position to make it convenient for eating. . The growth rate of insects is faster than that of scorpions, so the large insects in the pond must be picked out on time.

You cannot raise scorpions without soil. Soil helps digestion for scorpions, especially weathered soil, which is rich in trace elements and minerals and plays a key role in the growth of scorpions. If a scorpion is kept in a soilless environment for a long time, it will suffer from loss of appetite, gradually lose weight, lose its luster, and be unable to peel. Under normal conditions, take some weathered soil and expose it to the hot sun for several days, then add it to the pool for scorpions to feed.

Cultivate insects. There are mealworms, earthworms, centipedes, etc. These insects have strong fecundity, fast growth rate, are relatively easy to breed, and their protein content is high, making them palatable feed for scorpions. However, these insect feeds should be bred in advance so that they can be fed to scorpions when feed is scarce. Feeding postpartum female scorpions with insect feed can help them recover as quickly as possible, because this is the most palatable feed for female scorpions.

Wild insects. There are grasshoppers, butterflies, flies, maggots, spiders and various moths. These insect feeds can be captured manually on the mountainside or under rocks in the wild, or they can be trapped using black light at night. After being captured, they can be directly thrown to the scorpions, allowing the scorpions to feed freely. These insect feeds are fed to young scorpions with a body length of 2 to 3 centimeters.

Meat. Frog meat, sparrow meat, chicken, pork, etc. As long as these meats are clean and fresh, they can be fed directly to pregnant scorpions that have not given birth and 4 to 5-year-old mid-adult scorpions. They can also be fed to scorpions with a body length of 1 to 2 centimeters. When feeding meat feeds, attention should be paid: Meat feeds cannot be stored in the scorpion pond for too long to prevent the scorpions from contracting diseases and dying due to ingestion, decay, and rotten meat feeds.

Mineral feed. The weathered soil of stones contains some minerals that are beneficial to scorpions. In early spring, some weathered soil can be placed on the surface of the scorpion pond to allow scorpions to feed freely. This is also one of the indispensable feeds in early spring. Bone meal is rich in minerals and can be fed to scorpions of all ages by mixing bone meal into meat feed.

Raising scorpions, such as emperor scorpions and Israeli golden scorpions, in a greenhouse (or in the south) can greatly shorten the growth cycle.

When food is abundant and conditions are suitable, scorpion offspring can grow into adult scorpions in 8 to 10 months. Female scorpions can reproduce twice a year, which basically changes the growth time and reproduction of scorpions. , reproductive cycle.

The general lifespan of a scorpion is about 8 years, and the reproduction and calving period is about 5 years. According to the growth and development stages, they are divided into 1-7-year-old scorpions and pregnant scorpions. Among them, the age of scorpions in the 1st to 7th instars is not calculated by year, but by the number of times they take off their clothes. Under greenhouse conditions, scorpion larvae can grow to 1-2 years old in about 4 days; 2-3 years old in about 50 days; 3-4 years old in about 105 days; 4-5 years old in about 160 days. ; It takes about 215 days to reach the age of 5 to 6 years; it takes about 280 days to reach the age of 6 to 7 years. Scorpions are diurnal and nocturnal animals. They like moisture and are afraid of moisture. They like darkness and are afraid of strong light stimulation. They like to live in groups, are quiet and restless, and have the habit of knowing their nests and groups. Most scorpions settle together in fixed nests. Generally, in a large group of scorpion nests, there are mostly males and females, some big and some small, living in harmony and rarely killing each other. But if they are not scorpions in the same nest, they will often kill each other after meeting.

Scorpions have the habit of hibernating. They usually emerge from hibernation in mid-to-late April, that is, after the wake of hibernation, and slowly begin to hibernate in early November. They are active for about 6 months throughout the year. During the day, scorpions usually come out from 8 to 11 pm after sunset, and return to their nests to roost at 2 to 3 am the next morning. This activity pattern usually occurs on warm nights with no wind and dry ground, but rarely comes out on windy days.

Although scorpions are cold-blooded animals, they are still relatively cold- and heat-resistant. Scorpions can survive when the temperature of the external environment is between 40°C and minus 5°C. The growth, development and reproduction of scorpions are closely related to temperature. When the temperature drops below 10°C, scorpions become less active. When the temperature drops below 20°C, scorpions become less active. The most suitable temperature for their growth and development is between 25 and 39°C. When the temperature is between 35 and 39 degrees Celsius, scorpions are most active, their growth and development are accelerated, and most birthing and mating take place within this temperature range. When the temperature exceeds 41°C, the water in the scorpion's body will evaporate. If the temperature is not cooled down in time and the water is not replenished in time, the scorpion will easily become dehydrated and die. When the temperature exceeds 43℃, scorpions will die quickly. Scorpion activity, growth, development and reproduction are closely related to temperature, and the optimal temperature is between 35 and 38°C. Therefore, when breeding scorpions artificially, care must be taken. The growth and reproduction of scorpions are also closely related to the humidity of the external environment.

Scorpions that grow wild in nature will hide in a moist place about 1 meter deep underground if there is no rain for a long time; when it is rainy and there is water on the ground, they will crawl to it. Take shelter in high places. Therefore, when breeding scorpions, you must pay great attention to the moisture of the feed and the humidity of the breeding grounds and nests. Generally speaking, the activity areas of scorpions should be relatively moist, while the nests where they live should be slightly drier, which is beneficial to the growth, development and reproduction of scorpions. If the nest is too humid, it will be susceptible to microbial attack, and it will be very difficult for the scorpion to molt; if the scorpion's activity area is too dry and the feed is insufficiently moist, it will also affect the normal growth and development of the scorpion, and even It can also induce mutual cannibalism and killing.

Scorpions like darkness and are afraid of light, especially the stimulation of strong light, but they also need a certain amount of light to absorb the heat of the sun, improve digestion, speed up growth and development, and benefit the embryo during pregnancy. The process of incubation in the scorpion body. It has been reported and observed that scorpions have a positive tendency towards weak light and a negative tendency towards strong light, but they prefer to operate under weaker green light.

Scorpions have a strong avoidance of various strong smells, such as paint, gasoline, kerosene, asphalt and various chemicals, pesticides, fertilizers, quicklime, etc. It can be seen that their sense of smell is very sensitive. The stimulation is very harmful to scorpions and can even cause death. Scorpions are also very sensitive to various strong vibrations and sounds, which can sometimes scare them away and stop eating, mating, reproduction, and childbirth.

Scorpions are carnivorous animals that feed on various arthropods, such as various insects, terrestrial molluscs, etc. They especially like to eat soft, juicy, protein-rich small animals. It likes to eat various spiders, small centipedes, locust nymphs, crickets, ground beetles, slugs, yellow mealworms, rice moths and corn borer larvae. Under artificial breeding conditions, crickets are the most ideal scorpion bait. Scorpions also like to eat fresh meat, such as pork, beef, fish, frog meat, etc., but they do not eat cooked food.

In the case of lack of food, water shortage, dryness or excessive living density, scorpions will kill each other.

Scorpions are male and female animals. A mature female scorpion has two estrus periods a year. One time is from May to June, which is called "prenatal estrus"; the other time is after the mother scorpion gives birth to scorpions, and the scorpions come into estrus shortly after they leave the mother's back, about August, which is called "postpartum estrus". ". After a female scorpion comes into estrus, especially after a primiparous female scorpion comes into estrus for the first time, the male scorpion must be caught and released immediately for mating. In a nest of scorpions, the ratio of male to female individuals is generally 3:1, that is, "3 females and 1 male".