Shadow Void

YouTube Video of the week

A Shrew Surprise

It seems strange that a mammal would have a venomous bite, but shrews are not alone in this feature. The solendon also has a venomous bite, however the creature we are going to focus on are going to be shrews. Shrews are an insectivore. There are 280 known species of shrew. They are a group of mammals that includes moles, hedgehogs, and solendons. Shrews in general consume 70 to 130 percent of their body weight each day. Typically, shrews have poor vision and depend on hearing and touch to find food. They must eat every 2 to 3 hours. The first shrew, we are going to look at is the short-tailed shrew, Blarina breviacauda. It is 3 to 5 inches long without it's tail. It can be found across eastern United States and eastern Canada. It can be found under vegetation searching for food. They have 32 teeth. The venom of the Short-tailed shrew is a neurotoxin. It's bite serves to paralyze the prey. It bites when handled. It's venom is much of little concern to us. This shrew may feed on insects, earthworms, fruit, and dead animals. They have a lifespan of 12 to 18 months. The next shrew I want to focus on is the Masked / Common Shrew, Sorex cinereus. This shrew is the most widespread shrew in the United states. It is found in mountainous regions, swamps, and marshes. It can be found right up to the tree line on mountains. Like the venom of the Short-tailed shrew, the venom of the Common shrew is of little concern to humans. This shrew's heart beats 1200 times a minute. Sexual maturity for females is reached at 4 to 5 months old. At birth, they are only the size of a honeybee. They can live for 1 to 2 years. Their diet consists of worms, insects, snails, invertebrates, and young mice. Another venomous shrew is the Eurasian Water Shrew. It's venom is often used to paralyze fish and frogs.

 

The Weekend of Change

Last week, I invited my neighbor and fellow tarantula hobbyist to help me out with a presentation. The presentation was scheduled for Tuesday night. Over the weekend he contacted me letting me know that he wouldn't be able to help me due to some personal hardship. This hardship would require him to sell off a large portion of his collection. For whatever reason, his trials hit me kind of hard.

 

I have to admit that I was a little blue. I hate feeling like I can't help my friends out. Finally, I decided to just buy some critters off of him. Now, those of you who have been reading for some time, now that the opportunity to get new critters usually excites me. This time though, there was no excitement. As I looked over his collection, I couldn't' shake the feeling that I was buying off a portion of his life. After I got home with 5 parts of his collection, I realized something. One thing that I woke up to was the fact that I couldn't sell off my Mexican red-kneed tarantula or my Orange Baboon Spider... I couldn't sell off my Mexican Red-Kneed because well she is my largest tarantula so far and I love her to death. When it comes to my Orange Baboon spider, well I couldn't let go of her because I've had her since she was a sling. As I've already said, I picked up five new critters.

 

Yeah, I left his house with five new critters. My favorite new critter has to the Gray Tunneling Spider. It seems to be some species of trapdoor spider. I also got a curly hair tarantula, a new river tarantula, and new species of scorpion. I actually got 3 scorpions for the price of one. There is mommy and two tiny babies. By the way, they are long-clawed scorpions, I. poltus. I also got my first bird-eater, White-Striped Bird-Eater. All the new critters are very cool.

 

Yesterday was a fairly busy day for me. We, my classroom, had an all day field trip down to Fair Oak's farm. Fair Oaks is a working day farm. We got a bus tour of the facility and then went to the birthing barn. I was tired afterwards that I almost fell asleep on the bus on the way back to school. After I got home, I relaxed for a little bit and then went back to work. I packed up the animals for the presentation. Which ended up being a little bit of a downer. I had only one kid in attendance. He was joined by his mom and two brothers. There was also a steady stream of people coming and going from the room we were in. It made giving the actual presentation extremely difficult. Since, I was the only leader present Tuesday night; I had to leave the door open. So yeah it was a crazy day, and at the end of the day, I slept pretty well.

 

Today, I actually stayed home from work. I'm felt like I was coming down with something yesterday at the end of the day. When it comes to my kids, I don't take chance. Anyway, that is enough for now.

Centruroides

Arizona Bark Scorpion / Centruriodes sculpturatus / Centruroides exiicauda

Usually my nature posts deal with one certain species of plant or animal. Today, we are going to look at one whole genus. The genus we are going to look at is the Centruroides. A genus of scorpions that is spread across the Earth. There are 1,500 species of known Centruroides scorpions. Seventy of these scorpions live in the North America. 25 of these scorpions have lethal venom. The sculptured or Arizona bark scorpion is our most venomous scorpion. It's sting injects a venom that can be fatal. The venom is a neurotoxin. A person stung by this scorpion can expect to experience severe pain, numbness in the limb that is stung, convulsions, and death. Though death is most among the young, elderly, and anyone whose immune system is compromised. In extreme cases, the victim might experience the same numbness, frothing of the mouth, paralysis, the feeling of electrical jolts. Though most of our scorpions only have a sting that has the same power as a wasp. One such scorpion is Centruroides vittatus. It's found in quite a few states. It is native to Texas, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Nebraska, New Mexico, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Mexico. It's likes to hide in dark and damp places. Needless to say, it can sometimes be found inside human buildings. It's venom is also a neurotoxin but unlike the sculptured scorpion, it's venom only causes pain that may last anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes and is rarely fatal. The striped scorpion is also very widespread. It is known to gather in group s of 20 to 30 individuals during cold weather. These scorpions can even survive in below freezing weather. These creatures can be bought as pets. I do not recommend that a beginner even dream of keeping these creatures. If you do want a scorpion stick with an emperor.

Now you know a little bit about these creatures, but how can you avoid being stung. Well first off, never ever pick them up by your fingers. Second, if you live where they live, always know where your hands or feet are going. Specially, if you are like me and love to explore. If you leave your shoes outside your house at night always make sure to check them thoroughly before you attempt to put them on. If you go camping make sure you zip up your tent. A scorpion or other nasty critter might decide to take shelter in your tent. Always , always before careful in the great outdoors. Don't be afraid to enjoy the great outdoors just because there might be something lurking out there. If you do that then you'll never experience anything.

To the best of my knowledge, I've never seen a black widow, brown recluse, or a scorpion in the wild. However, I have been where they exist in the wild. Do I think that they should be left alone yes. At the same time if you know that there is a black widow or a brown recluse in your house. I highly recommend taking the needed actions. Especially, if you have kids. Remember if you are allergic to bee stings then you should never hold a scorpion or a tarantula even if there venom is weak. Should you be bit or stung you most likely will pay for it. My goal in writing these pieces is not to scare you out of going outside but to make you more aware. You can't live your entire life in a bubble but you can become more aware of what's around you.

  Arizona Bark Scorpion

 Centruroides Vittatus