Harvestmen aka daddy long-legs aka Opiliones - care and breeding questions

[Hydrophilus]

Hello all,
I am new to the forums, and am hoping there are some folks here who have experience keeping and breeding harvestmen. I have, on several occasions, tried to keep several species found in my area (central NY), but with no success. All specimens eventually died. I would like to get some V. ornata eventually, but feel I should "practice" with one of my locally available species first to prevent making one or several expensive mistakes. I have generally put several individuals into a small kritter keeper with ~1cm of coir. I water one end of the container, and keep the food (fish flakes, which they do seem to relish) on the dry side to prevent them from molding. Obviously this has not worked for me, so if there are people here keeping harvestmen successfully, I'd love to see your setups!

-Eric

 

[Hisserdude]

Actually I believe the V.ornata are much easier to keep and breed than the common "daddy long-legs" type harvestman. I have not had much success with the common ones either, though the only time I kept them I had them in a small cage, probably too small. They would not eat much of what I tried to feed them, dead mealworms, fruit, etc. They preferred to eat each other instead.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

I love those, and i owe them a lot. Daddy long legs are so gentle, cute and not always so loved. They are so "minimalists"

Actually, i haven't a clue about their care nor the breeding part. But they helped me when i was a children with my Grandmother and other family members, building and promoting my (our, my brother as well) passion for spiders.

"You see? Spiders aren't dangerous! I will buy a Theraphosidae (said big one, back then btw) soon."
We said that, our hands full of them wandering around. Ok, they aren't technically spiders but we managed back then to masquerade those as spiders, giving them the glory they deserve! :cry:

I wish the best for your project.

 

[pannaking22]

Here's what I've found in "Harvestmen" by Hillyard and Sankey.

"A transparent, covered container would be suitable. A layer of moist sand, into which a vessel of drinking water is sunk, should be included together with something suitable as a resting place. In a bare box, harvestmen are likely to lay their eggs in the drinking trough and to avoid this a small tray of damp soil or sand with a central stone should be provided."

Basically, keep the humidity high and provide them with places to hide and you should be fine! Container size doesn't seem to matter as much, though more space for more individuals is probably a good idea. Doesn't seem like they're that picky either, though I'm sure a varied diet would suit them best. Some further reading shows that taking the lid off the container once a day (assuming you are keeping the container almost sealed) helps, especially once you start getting babies.

 

[VaejovisCarolineanusSDS]

I know this thread is a bit old but here is my input. I have a colony of 4 common opliones, I believe to be lieobunum sp. I am using a Kritter Keeper. I have about 1/2 inch layer of eco earth as substrate. For decoration I am using some sphagnum moss and leaf litter. I also use some sticks which they use for molting. I also have a piece of cork bark slanted so they can hide under it. I keep the humidity high. I use no heat source, they are at room temperature. I have a bottle cap that I put apple pieces into. They seem to love apple the most, I haven't tried fish food yet. So far there has been no breeding, they might now be mature yet. I do not have my container sealed. I have not modified the container or lid in any way. So far, they seem to be healthy. They normally eat when I give them food and are active at night. I have seen one eating some of the moss. I haven't tried offering live prey, only dead insects. Their main food source is apples. I am going to try adding a water dish soon. I hope to get some V. ornata soon, I know a spot near me where they are common.

 

[Lithobius]

I tried the same setup you did, and I think a kritter keeper has too low humidity for them without a lot of extra decorations, sphagnum moss, etc, and the "small size" is too small for adults. I'm planning on trying again this year with local species as well with a higher humidity setup and more space. Our local species are pretty delicate, and opiliones desiccate very easily.

The humidity in my house can be extremely low especially in winter so I have found I need to put in a bit of extra effort if I want the humidity to stay up high enough so this may be your issue as well since being in NY your climate is probably not too far off from mine in MA.

It also may have been the space, if they did not have enough room to hang upside down and molt, that would also do it.

 

[VaejovisCarolineanusSDS]

When I mist I try to make sure the moss is always green. The moss starts to dry out before the substrate does so that keeps the humdity pretty high. My house also has problems keeping the humidity up. I don't know of mine are mature so of the outgrow their enclosure I will move them. Altnough, the only space the ever seem to utilize is the area they hide. They enjoy their hides. So far the Kritter Keeper has provided no issues. I feel like adding some slanted sticks outside of their hide helps with molting. I think They prefer to be away from the group since they are vulnerable.