Vinegaroon question

[Godzillaalienfan1979]

Hi, all

1. So, I was looking at Dragon (my female M. Giganteus), and I noticed her abdomen has always been round and bulbous. However, i've also seen some other pictures of M. Giganteus with more slimmed-down and darker-colored abdomens. Does this happen when she gets older and moults, or what?

2. How big will she grow?

3. What is the ideal vertebrate prey for a full-sized M. Gigantea or Heterometrus? I wasn't going to feed Dragon (or the future aforementioned scorpion) a diet entirely made of vertebrates (cause I heard that was unhealthy) so this was going to be a one-time experience. I was going to put it in a feeding enclosure (so the blood, guts and all that doesn't stain the substrate and stink up the enclosure) and feed it a manageable vertebrate prey (for filming of my documentary I told you guys about a while ago). So, what would be a good, manageable vertebrate prey item? A pinkie mouse? A small snake, even? I've heard of M. Giganteus snacking on lizards every now and then, so I was just wondering.

 

[pannaking22]

1. Is it an adult? If it's a WC adult it could be gravid. They have a very long gestation period. Could also just mean that she's well fed and will molt eventually.

2. They can get good sized as adults, big ones I've seen are about the length of a hand from pedipalp to tip of whip.

3. I'd say vertebrate prey probably isn't necessary for it since insects accomplish the same goal. For a vinegaroon a small lizard (maybe an anole?) would probably work well. I can't see them working through a pinkie mouse, too much meat there unless you get a tiny one.

 

[Godzillaalienfan1979]

it could be gravid

You make a good point. Don't arachnids have 'gravid spots', or are those just some spiders and insects? If they do, how do I identify a gravid spot?

 

[Godzillaalienfan1979]

(maybe an anole?)

what about a baby corn/rat snake? Would those be too much to handle?

 

[pannaking22]

You make a good point. Don't arachnids have 'gravid spots', or are those just some spiders and insects? If they do, how do I identify a gravid spot?

I'm not sure about vinegaroons (@basin79 might know more on this?), but you can try to shine a flashlight through her and potentially see eggs if they're developed enough.

what about a baby corn/rat snake? Would those be too much to handle?

A really young corn snake would probably be small enough. I admit I don't know a ton about snakes so I'm not as familiar with sizes.

 

[basin79]

My lass had a much slimmer abdomen after her moulted. It's now slowly getting bigger again.

 

[Godzillaalienfan1979]

My lass had a much slimmer abdomen after her moulted. It's now slowly getting bigger again.

Ah, ok. So like their abdomens slim down after they moult and slowly fatten up again, correct?

 

[basin79]

Ah, ok. So like their abdomens slim down after they moult and slowly fatten up again, correct?

That's my guess. Although I'm only going off my own very limited experience.

 

[basin79]

Ah, ok. So like their abdomens slim down after they moult and slowly fatten up again, correct?

When my lass arrived.

After she moulted.

 

[Godzillaalienfan1979]

When my lass arrived.

After she moulted.

Yep, that's a major difference. How long is your lass now?

 

[basin79]

Yep, that's a major difference. How long is your lass now?

Not sure to be honest. She's grown a fair whack though.

 

[myrmecophile]

There is no reason to feed it a vertebrate meal.

 

[Jurdon]

Dragon looks exactly how mine does currently, so I’d definitely say it’s just how they look between molts. More experienced ‘roon owners, they only molt once a year, right? If true (I remember reading it somewhere), I’d say the weird fat-gain thing is just a result of such a long time for an immature animal to molt. If she’s anything like my vinegaroon, a “feeding cage”, even for one meal, is just undoable. They’re very sensory-oriented, and a new environment takes longer for a vinegaroon to get used to than say, a centipede. That, and they take a while to eat. Vertebrate prey, also, is not only unnatural for Mastigoproctus, but ultimately useless. I know vinegaroons are rather imperceptive to pre-killed prey, and live prey is just kind of cruel. Where would you even get a feeder snake? WC poses the threat of parasites, and buying a snake from a pet store just to have it bother Dragon for a few minutes is ultimately a waste of money. Most keepers (usually those with snake-eaters like king cobras), source their snalkes from friends/breeders who have snakes that die of natural causes.

 

[Godzillaalienfan1979]

There is no reason to feed it a vertebrate meal.

I know, I wasn't actually going to I was just asking

 

[Lithobius]

Do you have a pic of how big she is? A friend of mine had a gravid one recently that produced infertile eggs and ate them, she was huge and looked like she would burst...

 

[Godzillaalienfan1979]

Do you have a pic of how big she is? A friend of mine had a gravid one recently that produced infertile eggs and ate them, she was huge and looked like she would burst...

yep, lemme find it

it's a little blurry and small, but you can clearly see the abdomen