# Vinegaroon thoughts and advice!



## Khanti (Oct 19, 2016)

Hi guys! This weekend I should be picking up a vinegaroon which is super exciting to me since I've been wanting one so badly for so long! I was wondering if you guys had some tips or tricks that may not be obvious? 

I'd also love to get terrarium inspiration as I set mine up so if you guys have some cool setups you can share that would be awesome! Or Share pictures of your vineagaroons as well! I'm just vineagaroon crazy right now haha 

And lastly what do you guys think is the best substrate? I currently have a lot of eco-earth so I was hoping to use that but I've seen a lot of different substrates used for them.


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## pannaking22 (Oct 19, 2016)

A deepish substrate for them to burrow in, but if you want them to burrow you'll want to add some sand and clay so it can form structure. Otherwise, you can give them some ecoearth with a few things to hide under. You'll probably get more answers to this under the "True Spiders and Other Arachnids" subforum.


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## bigjej (Oct 20, 2016)

I keep my smaller ones in simple deli containers with eco earth. I feed them a variety of invertebrates, depending on what I have on hand ( I keep inverts and reptiles, so generally have a variety of feeders). I've had them take crickets, mealworms, superworms, waxworms, earthworms, soldier flies (larvae and adults), etc. They are not shy. I mist mine whenever the substrate looks very dry. The Giant Vinegaroons are a desert species but live in burrows where humidity is probably higher (like many t's). Once they outgrow the deli cups, I move them to tupperware with holes drilled for ventilation, a piece of cork or wood for hiding and otherwise the same. They are quite unique and interesting. Difficult, but possible, to breed. I haven't gotten that far yet but when my current individuals are a bit larger, I'd like to try.


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## Khanti (Oct 20, 2016)

pannaking22 said:


> A deepish substrate for them to burrow in, but if you want them to burrow you'll want to add some sand and clay so it can form structure. Otherwise, you can give them some ecoearth with a few things to hide under. You'll probably get more answers to this under the "True Spiders and Other Arachnids" subforum.


Where would I buy clay? And is there a certain type...? I don't know anything about clay apparently lol.


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## Khanti (Oct 20, 2016)

Than


bigjej said:


> I keep my smaller ones in simple deli containers with eco earth. I feed them a variety of invertebrates, depending on what I have on hand ( I keep inverts and reptiles, so generally have a variety of feeders). I've had them take crickets, mealworms, superworms, waxworms, earthworms, soldier flies (larvae and adults), etc. They are not shy. I mist mine whenever the substrate looks very dry. The Giant Vinegaroons are a desert species but live in burrows where humidity is probably higher (like many t's). Once they outgrow the deli cups, I move them to tupperware with holes drilled for ventilation, a piece of cork or wood for hiding and otherwise the same. They are quite unique and interesting. Difficult, but possible, to breed. I haven't gotten that far yet but when my current individuals are a bit larger, I'd like to try.


Thanks for the tips. Is there a such thing as too big of an enclosure for them? The breeder said the vinegaroons are about 2inches right now and I was planning on using a 20 gallon tank.


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## Robert123456 (Oct 20, 2016)

Khanti said:


> Hi guys! This weekend I should be picking up a vinegaroon which is super exciting to me since I've been wanting one so badly for so long! I was wondering if you guys had some tips or tricks that may not be obvious?
> 
> I'd also love to get terrarium inspiration as I set mine up so if you guys have some cool setups you can share that would be awesome! Or Share pictures of your vineagaroons as well! I'm just vineagaroon crazy right now haha
> 
> And lastly what do you guys think is the best substrate? I currently have a lot of eco-earth so I was hoping to use that but I've seen a lot of different substrates used for them.


Mine has a half log to hide under and she barely uses it, it looks like she prefers to lay out in the open, and once you get yours try to post a pic of the abdomen to see if we can figure out the gender (I have a beautiful, peaceful female named Jade) right now she is in coco fiber, but thats because i dont have peat moss (I will be picking up some in a couple of days) if you want to handle your vinegaroon tickle the back legs and it'll walk on your hand (at least that works for me) but be careful with that acid tho

Reactions: Like 1


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## Hurts@1st (Oct 20, 2016)

We found tons of them in AZ but they were all in a grassy field under just about any rock.

When you lifted a rock there would be a body width tunnel leading to a bit larger cavity under the center of the rock with a beautiful mastigoproctus giganteus looking up at you.

The ones we brought home readily took to cocofiber mixed with back yard clay soil. We baked the clay on cookie sheets at 400 for an hour just because it seemed done.

Sure enough they made tunnels under the flat rocks we provided. The flat rocks also prevented damaging a more elaborate tunnel by easily being able to lift these and remove the vinegaroons.

I've held just about everything I could get my hands on I must say these guys are super sweet, interactive and really seem to enjoy getting out and being held.

My friend Peter believed he lost a few due to over feeding. I paced all mine and they lived for four years (three years longer than the ones Peter power fed). I too noticed there is no such thing as a "full" vinegaroons. 

All of mine died within 8 months of each other for what ever that is worth. 

You'll enjoy these guys for sure. I wish I had more proven info for you but that was my experience with them.

Good luck!


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## Robert123456 (Oct 20, 2016)

My vinegaroon is eating a cricket as I type. I didnt think she was gonna take it because she didnt want it yesterday, but she didnt even give the cricket time to fall in the enclosure, she already had him lol oh and btw they eat really fast (at least mine does compared to my tarantula)


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## Khanti (Oct 20, 2016)

Robert123456 said:


> Mine has a half log to hide under and she barely uses it, it looks like she prefers to lay out in the open, and once you get yours try to post a pic of the abdomen to see if we can figure out the gender (I have a beautiful, peaceful female named Jade) right now she is in coco fiber, but thats because i dont have peat moss (I will be picking up some in a couple of days) if you want to handle your vinegaroon tickle the back legs and it'll walk on your hand (at least that works for me) but be careful with that acid tho


Do you know when they can be sexed? Mine should be about 2 inches. And the acid does make me nervous haha I hate that smell but I manage to handle my asian forest scorpion without upsetting her so I hope the vinegaroon will have a good temper as well!


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## Khanti (Oct 20, 2016)

Robert123456 said:


> My vinegaroon is eating a cricket as I type. I didnt think she was gonna take it because she didnt want it yesterday, but she didnt even give the cricket time to fall in the enclosure, she already had him lol oh and btw they eat really fast (at least mine does compared to my tarantula)


That's great! I love inverts with big appetites! Plus right now I have more baby dubia roaches from my colony than i know what to do with, so hopefully it will help me control the population a bit more since my scorpion isn't really interested in them

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Khanti (Oct 20, 2016)

Hurts@1st said:


> We found tons of them in AZ but they were all in a grassy field under just about any rock.
> 
> When you lifted a rock there would be a body width tunnel leading to a bit larger cavity under the center of the rock with a beautiful mastigoproctus giganteus looking up at you.
> 
> ...


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## BobBarley (Oct 21, 2016)

Hm, for some reason for the past few years my M. giganteus has only eaten 2-5 prey items a year.  She is not very enthusiastic with prey at all.  I think it may just be that she's winding down.


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## Robert123456 (Oct 21, 2016)

Khanti said:


> Do you know when they can be sexed? Mine should be about 2 inches. And the acid does make me nervous haha I hate that smell but I manage to handle my asian forest scorpion without upsetting her so I hope the vinegaroon will have a good temper as well!


Oh, dont worry about that, they are really calm, unless you get one straight from hell, i think you will be fine, but if you see a lifted abdomen and pedipals extended towards you, your vinegaroon might be angry, and i dont know if i would be able to sex it at two inches but we dont lose anything by trying right?


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## Robert123456 (Oct 21, 2016)

Khanti said:


> That's great! I love inverts with big appetites! Plus right now I have more baby dubia roaches from my colony than i know what to do with, so hopefully it will help me control the population a bit more since my scorpion isn't really interested in them [/QUOTE
> 
> 
> Khanti said:
> ...


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## Khanti (Oct 21, 2016)

5 definitely sounds like too much depending on the prey size. Since I have a lot of baby dubias I'll probably offer it 2 or 3 in one week, or maybe just one cricket. I'll be able to better judge when I see how big it actually is and see how close it is to next molt. My scorpion has been less hungry as she's been approaching her next molt. so I am guessing a vinagaroon will be similar.


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## Khanti (Oct 21, 2016)

Robert123456 said:


> Oh, dont worry about that, they are really calm, unless you get one straight from hell, i think you will be fine, but if you see a lifted abdomen and pedipals extended towards you, your vinegaroon might be angry, and i dont know if i would be able to sex it at two inches but we don't lose anything by trying right?


Very true! The tricky part will just be trying to get a decent picture! Or maybe I will be lucky and the breeder will know the sex  I'm actually really hoping that before he brings it he'll ask if there is a gender I prefer, but I doubt I will be that lucky haha.


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## Khanti (Oct 21, 2016)

BobBarley said:


> Hm, for some reason for the past few years my M. giganteus has only eaten 2-5 prey items a year.  She is not very enthusiastic with prey at all.  I think it may just be that she's winding down.


Oh wow years? It's incredible that they can go that long with so little food!

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Khanti (Oct 21, 2016)

Just realized this topic is totally in the wrong forum, I was really sick and sleep-deprived when I posted this though so that's my defense xD


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## Robert123456 (Oct 21, 2016)

Khanti said:


> 5 definitely sounds like too much depending on the prey size. Since I have a lot of baby dubias I'll probably offer it 2 or 3 in one week, or maybe just one cricket. I'll be able to better judge when I see how big it actually is and see how close it is to next molt. My scorpion has been less hungry as she's been approaching her next molt. so I am guessing a vinagaroon will be similar.


I just feed an adult cricket every week or so, but definetly you should judge depending on the vinegaroom size and prey item size


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## Robert123456 (Oct 21, 2016)

Khanti said:


> Very true! The tricky part will just be trying to get a decent picture! Or maybe I will be lucky and the breeder will know the sex  I'm actually really hoping that before he brings it he'll ask if there is a gender I prefer, but I doubt I will be that lucky haha.


What do you prefer? I prefer females, because of the bigger abdomen, and when your vinegaroon its inside its new enclosure it might start trying to climb the walls/glass, you might get a good picture if it does that, i need to see the bottom of the abdomen to try to accurately sex it, like this


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## Khanti (Oct 21, 2016)

Robert123456 said:


> What do you prefer? I prefer females, because of the bigger abdomen, and when your vinegaroon its inside its new enclosure it might start trying to climb the walls/glass, you might get a good picture if it does that, i need to see the bottom of the abdomen to try to accurately sex it, like this


I prefer females solely for the fact that I am better at picking out female names lol. Plus I am used to female inverts typically living longer and growing bigger though I'm not aware if this is the case for vinegaroons.


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## Robert123456 (Oct 21, 2016)

Khanti said:


> I prefer females solely for the fact that I am better at picking out female names lol. Plus I am used to female inverts typically living longer and growing bigger though I'm not aware if this is the case for vinegaroons.


Living longer i dont know, but its probably like that due to the fact that this tends to be true for arachnids, and they are definetly bigger than males, and i also pick better female names lol. My T's name is bella and my vinegaroon is Jade. My next T will be called ava


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## Khanti (Oct 21, 2016)

Robert123456 said:


> Living longer i dont know, but its probably like that due to the fact that this tends to be true for arachnids, and they are definetly bigger than males, and i also pick better female names lol. My T's name is bella and my vinegaroon is Jade. My next T will be called ava


Those are really pretty names! I was thinking of naming mine Iyana if it's a female. If it's a male then it will probably be unnamed for a while lol


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## Robert123456 (Oct 21, 2016)

Khanti said:


> Those are really pretty names! I was thinking of naming mine Iyana if it's a female. If it's a male then it will probably be unnamed for a while lol


Thank you! I took me a while to come up with them lol and thats a pretty name, so hopefully you get a female
My vinegaroon its been in the same position for a while, which is weird for her, im dying to reach in there to confirm she's ok, but i know that if i do it she is gonna turn around like "Dude, what the heck?" Lol


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## Khanti (Oct 21, 2016)

Robert123456 said:


> Thank you! I took me a while to come up with them lol and thats a pretty name, so hopefully you get a female
> My vinegaroon its been in the same position for a while, which is weird for her, im dying to reach in there to confirm she's ok, but i know that if i do it she is gonna turn around like "Dude, what the heck?" Lol


Lol maybe she is just deep in thought? Uhg all this vinegaroon chatting has me so excited! I can't wait for tomorrow!


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## Robert123456 (Oct 21, 2016)

Khanti said:


> Lol maybe she is just deep in thought? Uhg all this vinegaroon chatting has me so excited! I can't wait for tomorrow!


Nevermind, she moved and i feel dumb now lol im an overprotective keeper, and im actually excited for you! I cant wait to see your vinegaroon, you have to post a picture tomorrow, Im dying to see it


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## Khanti (Oct 21, 2016)

Robert123456 said:


> Nevermind, she moved and i feel dumb now lol im an overprotective keeper, and im actually excited for you! I cant wait to see your vinegaroon, you have to post a picture tomorrow, Im dying to see it


Haha don't worry I am the same with all my pets. I have to use so much restraint to keep myself from pestering all of them to making sure they are doing fine. And yeah I'll be taking a lot of pictures I'm sure! I've got an instagram request to take video as well so maybe I can try and get that on here as well.


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## Robert123456 (Oct 21, 2016)

Khanti said:


> Haha don't worry I am the same with all my pets. I have to use so much restraint to keep myself from pestering all of them to making sure they are doing fine. And yeah I'll be taking a lot of pictures I'm sure! I've got an instagram request to take video as well so maybe I can try and get that on here as well.


That would be awesome, I have so many videos lol my gallery is full of videos of my pets eating, making webs, digging (thats my Vinegaroon, she loves to make a mess) and many other things


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## Khanti (Oct 21, 2016)

Robert123456 said:


> That would be awesome, I have so many videos lol my gallery is full of videos of my pets eating, making webs, digging (thats my Vinegaroon, she loves to make a mess) and many other things


I definitly need to take more video lol. I missed a nice video opportunity when I fed my scorpion. She is usually a lazy eater but today she was like a little monster once I threw the cricket in there!


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## Robert123456 (Oct 22, 2016)

Khanti said:


> I definitly need to take more video lol. I missed a nice video opportunity when I fed my scorpion. She is usually a lazy eater but today she was like a little monster once I threw the cricket in there!





Khanti said:


> I definitly need to take more video lol. I missed a nice video opportunity when I fed my scorpion. She is usually a lazy eater but today she was like a little monster once I threw the cricket in there!


Same thing happened last time i fed my vinegaroon, i thought she wasnt gonna take the cricket so i didnt record


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## nuck (Apr 28, 2018)

Hurts@1st said:


> We found tons of them in AZ but they were all in a grassy field under just about any rock.
> 
> When you lifted a rock there would be a body width tunnel leading to a bit larger cavity under the center of the rock with a beautiful mastigoproctus giganteus looking up at you.


SORRY FOR NECRO

but..

Dude, where in the hell in AZ do you live because in the past 20 years I have lived here, I have NEVER encountered these... Just bought my second one from Custom Creatures (accidentally squished my first one, which I preferred a lot more because my new girl is super skittish), and it's my first time viewing these beautiful creatures in person.


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