For beginners, the most universally recommended species to keep as a pet is the Emperor scorpion, Pandinus imperator. It is fairly docile and its sting is said to be roughly the same as a bee or wasp sting (although serious anaphylactic reactions can occur). For other species, the sting can range from relatively harmless to very painful or even potentially lethal. Here is a brief summary of characteristics of some species available as pets.

Pandinus sp.
•Pandinus imperator - Emperor - large, fairly docile, and good for beginners
•Pandinus cavimanus (Tanzanian Redclaw) - smaller than emperors and can be more aggressive so not as suitable as emperors, but okay for beginners
•these are rain forest species that are easy to obtain and care for

Heterometrus sp.

•Heterometrus spinifer - Thai Black
•Heterometrus javanensis - Javanese Jungle Scorpion
•large rain forest species, but tend to be a little harder to obtain
•fairly benign stings (like wasp), okay for beginners
•both species are said to be easy to keep in groups, and worth the cost

•Not for Beginners•

Hadrurus sp. (Desert Hairy Scorpion)Quite Aggressive

•Hadrurus hirsutus
•Hadrurus arizonensis
•desert species
•painful sting
•fairly aggressive
•not for beginners

Bothriurus bonnariensis (Chilean Chocolate)

•more aggressive
•painful sting
•not for beginners

Species best avoided:

•Androctonus sp. - potentially lethal
•Vaejovis sp. - very painful
•Centuroides sp. - potentially lethal.
•also - Scorpio maurus - fairly dangerous itself, but sometimes young Androctonus australis (highly venomous - potentially lethal) are mistakenly identified and sold as S. maurus. Beginners should avoid both!