"...And when in the desert, remember to check the inside of your shoes..."
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Not just in the desert: I was taking a leasurely dip in the swimming pool in SA (in Johannesburg) and I noticed something drifting in the currents in the bottom of the pool. On closer inspection I saw it was a scorpion. I thought 'cool' and fished it out, intending to dry it out and mount it in a block of resin. I really thought it was dead because it had been in there for a while before I got it out.
Imagine my surprise when the 'drowned' scorpion dried off a bit and started crawling away!
I caught him and he was my pet for a while. I fed him wood lice and made a little terrarium for him, but one day I got back from school and found out he had met with an accident. Evidentally my mother didn't approve of scorpions in the house.
Damn I miss that little fella, he had character man. (But I didn't mess around with him, no sir, no petting that thing!)