But.... I also received my first mystery box. I've never ordered a mystery box before, and common sense ought to have deterred me, as a novice. But I was bored, and the devil makes work for idle hands.... So I ordered a £30 mystery box from The Spider Shop. And, well. I don't regret it, that's for sure. But! The mystery box was as much a surprise as it possibly could have been.
TSS have an area on their shipping form where you can enter information, make requests (such as which sex jumping spider you would like) or anything else that may be relevant. When I ordered my mystery box, I specifically said that my 6 yr old helps my with my invertebrates as I'm trying to show her that they're nothing to be scared of. I mentioned that I was open to anything (including scorpions) but that I didn't want anything with a nasty bite or sting; I listed inverts that I had had experience with before. I joked with colleagues later on that I'd probably end up with a scorpion, without actually believing that I would get a scorpion.... And... Well... Now I have one! Heterometrus loaticus to be exact.
I'm laughing about it now because I have done my initial panic. I always wanted a scorpion as a child and my mum would never let me have one - she always worried that it would get out of the tank and end up in my sisters bed. So when I opened my box and I saw this latin name that I didn't recognise, I googled it, and when the first pictures of this large black scorpion appeared on my screen, I froze. Fortunately, I needn't have worried. TSS have done their job - the scorpion in my box is definitely a beginners scorpion, near enough bulletproof (according to what I've read), and has a sting akin to a bee or wasp sting. So for now, he stays. The biggest problem being that I don't have an enclosure suitable for a relatively large (about 5cm) scorpion. I will have to buy one next week - in the meantime, I have borrowed a tank from work.
Also included in the mystery box were a Yunnan flower mantis, Creoboter sp. Yunnan, and a Lasiodora parahybana, or Salmon pink birdeater. I already have an L. parahybana - named Joy who will need rehousing pretty soon, so these two were both welcome additions. There was also some extra substrate, and some cork bark for a hide. Overall, I was very happy with my mystery box. I would definitely order one again - though maybe not for a while because once these guys have been moved into their respective homes, I will have no more space on my shelf! My spider buying has been halted, albeit temporarily. Though that may well be for the best - I seem to have gone from being arachnophobic to being obsessed. Common sense needs to prevail at some point. Rehousing pics are to follow.
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