Amblypygid from Central AZ, Praphrynus sp.

[Arachnid Hobby]

If you find some Scolopendra alternans or Centruroides gracilis I will trade you for some Paraphrynus carolynae or Hadrurus arizonensis or something like that. What kind of inverts do you find in the wild over there?

Scolopendra alternans is also out of my range. I might be able to find some Centruroides gracilis, but I can easily get you some Centruroides hentzi (I can catch about 20 of them a night with a U.V. light). I can also catch ogre faced spiders, giant fishing spiders, bess beetles, millipedes, Florida blue centipedes and lots of other things. I'd also trade for any Scolopendra, velvet ants, tarantulas, camelspiders, Jerusalem crickets, vinegaroons, millipedes or other cool stuff.

 

[DubiaW]

It actually gets cold sometimes. The mountain range to the east of Nogales has snow on the northern slopes in the satellite map. Snow usually melts a couple of hours after sunrise around here, but we still get some every few years.

 

[DubiaW]

I'd absolutely LOVE to go... but I can't. Don't know how safe it is for a 14 year old to go around traversing the border and I'm sure my parents wouldn't allow it. In any case, I live all the way in the Central Valley in California.

Excuses, excuses. Tell your parents that we will be armed with assault weapons just in case. If all else fails, you are 14, they are more likely to sell you than kill you. Your parents will have the opportunity to buy you back. That ought to put their minds at ease....Just kidding.

Yeah wow, 14. I habitually visualize people that I talk to on this site as adults. There is no way I would take someone that is not a legal adult with me on this particular trip even with parental consent. It really isn't safe. There is a good reason that so few of these have been caught in the US. I'm looking for the Journal article that documents the collection site Just in case they would be more abundant in the higher elevations of the Pajarito or Atacosa Mountains further north. I'd rather not be that close to the border at night if they aren't even there.

 

[DubiaW]

Scolopendra alternans is also out of my range. I might be able to find some Centruroides gracilis, but I can easily get you some Centruroides hentzi (I can catch about 20 of them a night with a U.V. light). I can also catch ogre faced spiders, giant fishing spiders, bess beetles, millipedes, Florida blue centipedes and lots of other things. I'd also trade for any Scolopendra, velvet ants, tarantulas, camelspiders, Jerusalem crickets, vinegaroons, millipedes or other cool stuff.

I know where to find all of that stuff if the weather is right. Just waiting on the monsoons to start. It should be any time soon. It is going to get into the 120F+ range in two days. That is usually when the rains start.

 

[DubiaW]

There are now five P. carolynae in my small communal set up with no casualties. They actually sleep in a cluster. I'm working on setting up a larger terrarium once I find the right wood and rocks for it in the field. Maybe a hollowed out mesquite against a stack of rocks with native moss.

 

[schmiggle]

Pics pics pics? All the more so when you finish your bigger set up. I bet they're sleeping in the same place more out of individual preference and less out of trying to sleep in a group, but it is probably still an encouraging sign.

 

[DubiaW]

I'll get some up tomorrow for you. I have to load my camera on a different computer so I don't do a lot of pics.

 

[Arachnid Hobby]

There are now five P. carolynae in my small communal set up with no casualties. They actually sleep in a cluster. I'm working on setting up a larger terrarium once I find the right wood and rocks for it in the field. Maybe a hollowed out mesquite against a stack of rocks with native moss.

I would definitely avoid using large rocks and wood because of the risk of crushing them. Also the more you add the more risky you get with cannibalism.

 

[schmiggle]

I would definitely avoid using large rocks and wood because of the risk of crushing them.

This is a real worry, but usually if you're careful about placement and shape it's not a problem. If you're really worried you can always glue them down.

 

[DubiaW]

I've moved them to a larger enclosure with egg crates and hollow wood. There are nine of them now, still no deaths or damage.

I would definitely avoid using large rocks and wood because of the risk of crushing them. Also the more you add the more risky you get with cannibalism.

This is a real worry, but usually if you're careful about placement and shape it's not a problem. If you're really worried you can always glue them down.

I am planning on finding some flat shale or sandstone and using a rotohammer or dremel to drill holes in the rocks for dowels (glued into the tops with matching holes on the rock above). That way I can stack them like legos and the dowels will prop the rocks apart from each other. I'll use rock to hide the dowels too. Hopefully it will look pretty natural. The problem is that there is only metamorphic rock around here and flagstone isn't cheep. My ex-boss is a landscaper, he has a pile of scrap flagstone in his laydown. He is a herp guy too so he should be tickled by the idea once I get the time to stop by his place. He'd probably trade me for an amblypygid.

 

[aphono]

I've moved them to a larger enclosure with egg crates and hollow wood. There are nine of them now, still no deaths or damage.




I am planning on finding some flat shale or sandstone and using a rotohammer or dremel to drill holes in the rocks for dowels (glued into the tops with matching holes on the rock above). That way I can stack them like legos and the dowels will prop the rocks apart from each other. I'll use rock to hide the dowels too. Hopefully it will look pretty natural. The problem is that there is only metamorphic rock around here and flagstone isn't cheep. My ex-boss is a landscaper, he has a pile of scrap flagstone in his laydown. He is a herp guy too so he should be tickled by the idea once I get the time to stop by his place. He'd probably trade me for an amblypygid.

Would love to see pictures of that setup! Loving that idea.

 

[DubiaW]

Here is a photo of them chilling out together.

 

[schmiggle]

Lovely! Those are some great specimens you've got. The stars say there are baby Paraphrynus in your future.

 

[DubiaW]

They are voracious eaters. I dump 20 small crickets a week in there. So far the ambly's haven't gone after each other. One drown in the water dish. So far that is the only loss. FYI Gravel in the water dish is a good idea even if it is shallow. I'm using decomposed granite. Somehow it seems a little more clean than other rock (not as porous). I'm changing out the gravel every week so that it doesn't harbor bacteria. Decomposed granite is pretty common here.

 

[schmiggle]

One drown in the water dish. So far that is the only loss

Good to hear that's the only loss. I will say that I've never seen an amblypygid touch standing water, and there are other ways to increase humidity, so you may want to get rid of the dish entirely. Just a question of how much time you want to spend.

 

[DubiaW]

Caught six more last night and lost a bunch of them. After hundreds of hours of hiking and road hunting I can now tell you the best way to find Paraphrynus carolynae in the desert. They really like caliche walls with narrow horizontal holes. Find an isolated dirt road or highway that runs through the hills and road hunt until you find hillside cutouts in caliche or rock. Sitting in a low profile vehicle will give you an advantage because you can see into more holes and look up at the bottom of rocks on the bank. Shine your flashlight or headlight out to the side of you and pay careful attention to the top of any holes you see. They can be found in other places too and in a good area you can just slowly dive along and shine your light on the bar ditches and up into animal burrows in mounds. I carry a long crow bar to plug burrows, probe cracks, and to collapse burrows deeper in than where the ambly is sitting (cutting off it's escape route). I use a deli cup and carefully herd them into it or get them to run onto my hand (block the entrances to any holes close to them). This method has given me a pretty good success rate. Large amblypygi have a tendency to hang upside down just inside the opening of burrows and cracks and they are very quick to dart back inside. Small ambly's have a tendency to be further away from their retreat.