Big Z's Habitats and Arachnids

Big Z's Habitats and Arachnids Family-run exotic invertebrate shop in Phoenix, Arizona. Rare creatures. Real care. Keep it spicy.

Which one is actually harder to keep, the Emperor Scorpion or the Asian Forest Scorpion? 🦂The scoreboard ended in a 3 to...
08/26/2026

Which one is actually harder to keep, the Emperor Scorpion or the Asian Forest Scorpion? 🦂

The scoreboard ended in a 3 to 3 tie, but the Emperor Scorpion still gets our pick for the easier keeper.

During feeding and enclosure maintenance, the Emperor is more likely to back off, while the Asian Forest is more likely to stand its ground. This is about routine care, not handling.

The Asian Forest still has plenty going for it. You get the same big, armored look for about $55 less, and it is a great choice for a keeper who is happy to admire their scorpion on its own terms.

Swipe through the full showdown, then tell us which one you would choose 👇

Shop both at BigZs.Shop

🏅 KEEPER'S PICK OF THE WEEKTexas Giant Vinegaroon (Mastigoproctus giganteus) | 2 to 3 in"Peaceful Dinosaur" , "Big Claws...
08/11/2026

🏅 KEEPER'S PICK OF THE WEEK
Texas Giant Vinegaroon (Mastigoproctus giganteus) | 2 to 3 in

"Peaceful Dinosaur" , "Big Claws and Big Personality!"
- Big Z + Mrs. Big Z

Four things about this one 👇

🧪 No venom, no fangs, no sting. Its whole defense is a spray of acetic acid, actual vinegar, and it aims.
📡 That tail is a flagellum, not a stinger. It is a sensory whip that reads the dark.
⏳ Often 5 to 7 plus years in captivity. Slow metabolism, slow grower, no rush.
🗺️ Wild caught out of Texas and northeast Mexico.

The care is genuinely simple 👇

Deep moist soil and coco it can actually burrow into, 5 to 8 inches, a cork hide, leaf litter, and a shallow water dish packed with pebbles so nothing drowns. Vents down LOW on two opposite walls so air crosses the burrow instead of drying the surface out. 72 to 82°F.

Care guide and availability at bigzs.shop 🔗

🥇 KEEPER'S PICK OF THE WEEKMexican Fire Leg Tarantula (Brachypelma boehmei) | 1.5 to 2 in"Legs that glow without a UV li...
08/03/2026

🥇 KEEPER'S PICK OF THE WEEK
Mexican Fire Leg Tarantula (Brachypelma boehmei) | 1.5 to 2 in

"Legs that glow without a UV light!"
- Big Z

Four things about this fella 👇

🔥 One of the brightest spiders in the hobby. Flame orange on every single leg.
🖐️ It kicks, it doesn't bite. Hair happy when it's annoyed, so it's a watch, don't touch fella.
⏳ Females hit 20 to 30 years, males about 8. This one's a juvenile, so it isn't s*xed yet.
🏜️ A dry animal off the Pacific scrub slopes of Mexico. Not a rainforest species.

The care is genuinely simple 👇

Dry substrate, a hide, and a full water dish with pebbles in it so a little one can't drown. Vents down LOW on two opposite walls so air crosses the floor, not just the lid. No misting schedule. 72 to 82°F.

Dry plus good airflow is the whole recipe 🌶️ Spice 2 rating from us

Care guide and availability at bigzs.shop 🔗

Add a whole habitat to your live animal order, no extra shipping charge!New feature at Big Z's. Order an enclosure, a hi...
07/30/2026

Add a whole habitat to your live animal order, no extra shipping charge!

New feature at Big Z's. Order an enclosure, a hide, a piece of cork or a bag of substrate alongside a live animal and the whole lot goes out together in one box.

Until now that was two orders and two shipping charges. On its own the gear ships FedEx Ground: $5.99 for the small stuff, up to $24.99 once you are into enclosures and heavy substrate.

What you can throw in:
🪵 Small cork bark $2.99
🪵 Cholla wood $4.99
🥥 Coconut hide $5.99
🪵 Spiderwood branch $6.99
🪵 Cork bark tube $8.99
🌱 Substrate, 1 qt $8.99
📦 Baby Buddy Enclosure $19.99
📦 Bark or Burrow Buddy Enclosure $39.99

How it works: at checkout, pick the free "add to live-animal box" shipping option! Big Z packs every box himself and checks the gear fits safe around your fella first. If it will not combine safely you get a message about what we need to do to proceed!

All of it is at bigzs.shop, link in bio.

Keep it spicy.
- Big Z

🦂 FIVE FLORIDA BARK SCORPIONS. ONE LOT.Centruroides gracilis: slim, dark, long-legged climbers that live pressed flat ag...
07/29/2026

🦂 FIVE FLORIDA BARK SCORPIONS. ONE LOT.

Centruroides gracilis: slim, dark, long-legged climbers that live pressed flat against tree trunks, hunt at night, and burn neon green under a UV flashlight.

Here is why they you'd buy as a lot. This is the communal one. C. gracilis tolerates its own kind better than almost any scorpion, so five adults make a perfect starting colony!

🌶️ Spice 3, intermediate. A real buthid sting, so it is hands off, tongs only, and the lid has to be tight. Fast climbers find any gap you leave them.

Five for $99.99 🔗 morphmarket.com/stores/bigzshna

Keep it spicy.
- Big Z

We won't tell you what's in the box 🎁Mystery Boxes are live. Five different boxes, three tiers each. You pick the box an...
07/29/2026

We won't tell you what's in the box 🎁

Mystery Boxes are live. Five different boxes, three tiers each. You pick the box and the tier, we pick the fellas.

🕷️ Tarantula Mystery Box
🦂 Scorpion Mystery Box
👀 True Spider Mystery Box
🌿 Millipede Mystery Box
🎲 Anything Goes! Mystery Box

Every box ships with at least 20% more retail value than you pay, priced off our own live listings so you can check the math.

We do not promise species, size, age, s*x or headcount. That freedom is why the value runs so far over the price.

⚠️ Any tier can contain a fast Old World species or one with medically significant venom. Say so in your order notes and we keep it tame.

Which box are you taking? 👇

Link in bio 🔗

Keep it spicy.
- Big Z

Which scorpion should you start with? 🦂Eight of them. Easiest first. Most people start about four steps too high. #1 STR...
07/28/2026

Which scorpion should you start with? 🦂

Eight of them. Easiest first. Most people start about four steps too high.

#1 STRIPED DEVIL · $14.99
Start here. This one forgives you.
🔦 Glows mint green under a blacklight. They all do.

#2 GIANT DESERT HAIRY · $34.99
Same care sheet. Triple the animal.
🦎 Big enough to eat lizards, small snakes and other scorpions.

#3 RUBY ROCK · $29.99
Now you learn moisture.
🌵 Almost every Diplocentrus lives in damp caves. This one moved to the desert.

#4 THAI FLAT ROCK · $49.99
Flat for a reason.
🪨 Wedges into rock cracks. Thai, not African. That matters.

#5 ASIAN FOREST · $34.99
Now it fights back.
🦀 Fat pincers, mild venom. The thin-clawed ones are the hot ones.

#6 FLORIDA BARK · $39.99
Now it escapes.
🧗 Climbs glass, hangs upside down, lives in groups.

#7 ARIZONA BARK · $14.99
Now it can put you in hospital.
🙃 The only scorpion in the US that can genuinely hurt you.

#8 DEATHSTALKER · $29.99
And this one is worse.
🧠 Its venom makes brain tumors glow during surgery. Genuinely.

Two that didn't make the slides:
🌲 Scorpions are older than trees. 437 million years against 385.
👶 Live young, not eggs. The mother carries the whole brood on her back.

So which number are you on? Zero is an answer too 👇

Pick your fella 🔗 link in bio

Keep it spicy.
- Big Z

"Which tarantula should I start with?" 🕷️Asked more than anything else, so here is the honest ladder. In order.1️⃣ MEXIC...
07/28/2026

"Which tarantula should I start with?" 🕷️

Asked more than anything else, so here is the honest ladder. In order.

1️⃣ MEXICAN ROSE GREY - $24.99
Captive bred sling, calm, cheap enough that the pressure is off. If you want to learn on something forgiving, start here.

2️⃣ CURLY HAIR - $49.99
The one that earned its reputation honestly. Calm, steady, shaggy, and it fills an enclosure. Females live 15 to 25 years.

3️⃣ BRAZILIAN BLACK - $89.99
Widely considered the best-tempered tarantula there is. Velvet black. Slow growing and it fasts for months, which is normal.

4️⃣ MEXICAN FIRE LEG - $89.99
Flame orange legs that deepen with every molt. Same easy care, more colour, and notably hair-kicky.

5️⃣ OKLAHOMA BROWN - $64.99
A US native and about as sturdy as they come. Females hit 20 to 25 years.

6️⃣ ARIZONA BLONDE - $99.99
Desert native, glacially slow, and the definition of a long-term animal.

All six are Spice 2 (Beginner tier). None of them will hurt you. Every one kicks urticating hairs before it would ever consider biting, so bring some gloves and have fun!

🔗 bigzs.shop

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Phoenix, AZ

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