# another vinegaroon question for alex



## krucz36 (Oct 22, 2002)

hey man:
how does one go about sexing a vinegaroon? i have that M. giganteus, and i'd love to know what brand of bug it is. 
thanks!


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## Alex S. (Oct 22, 2002)

*Uropygi Sexing*

Hey Krucz, whats up. When is comes to Mastigoproctus the males usually have larger or thicker-looking pedipalps compared to body size. The females have smaller pedipalps compared to body size.

Heres some pics from the net to help:

Male:

http://www.utep.edu/museum/desertdiary/archive/arthropods/vinegaroon.jpg

Female (gravid as well):

http://kellynewcomer.com/imagesnews/vinegaroon.jpg

Alex S.


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## atavuss (Oct 22, 2002)

once a vinegaroon is mature are they like scorpions and never molt again? 
will a vinegaroon regenerate lost appendages after a molt?
I bought a vinegaroon at the IRBA show recently and its abdomen was almost flat.....looked really neglected.  thankfully it looks like it will make it as it is plumping up well after eating a few crickets and drinking plenty of water.
Ed


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## krucz36 (Oct 22, 2002)

well, if that's a foolproof method, i've got a girl. the palps on the male are very impressive! 
does that rule apply only to adults? which leads nicely into:
how can you tell if your vinegaroon is an adult?
thanks bud!


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## Alex S. (Oct 23, 2002)

> _Originally posted by atavuss _
> *once a vinegaroon is mature are they like scorpions and never molt again?
> will a vinegaroon regenerate lost appendages after a molt?
> I bought a vinegaroon at the IRBA show recently and its abdomen was almost flat.....looked really neglected.  thankfully it looks like it will make it as it is plumping up well after eating a few crickets and drinking plenty of water.
> Ed *


Hello, yes, once they hit adult hood they stop molting and they will regenerate limps through molts. Glad to hear you rescued and nourished the uropygid 

Alex S.


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## Alex S. (Oct 23, 2002)

> _Originally posted by krucz36 _
> *well, if that's a foolproof method, i've got a girl. the palps on the male are very impressive!
> does that rule apply only to adults? which leads nicely into:
> how can you tell if your vinegaroon is an adult?
> thanks bud! *


Yeah, the pedipalp rule mainly applies to adult specimens as young are very similar and the pedipalps are very hard to tell apart at that age. A simple and the easiest way to tell if a uropygid is an adult is to know the full grown size of the species. In the case of Mastigoproctus giganteus adults are usually 2.5" to 3" in body length (excluding "whip"). So pretty much once a specimen has made it to around this mark and stops molting it is mature. Glad to help Krucz 

Alex S.


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## krucz36 (Oct 23, 2002)

"alex: the one-stop shop for uropygid knowledge."
thanks bro!


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## Wade (Oct 23, 2002)

In a recent article in Reptiles Mag Art Evans mentions that adult males have a movable spine on the end of the pedipalps, apparently used to push the spermataphore into the female during mating.

I have not been able to discern this feature on any of my 3 adult specimens, but I suppose it's possible they're all female (or all male??). I wish there had been a picure of this structure! Based on pedipalp size, I'd say I have one male and two females.  I'm temted to try breeding, but I really want to be sure of the sex. I also have 6 younger ones of various sizes.

Wade


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## krucz36 (Oct 23, 2002)

does anyone else imagine wade's voice sounding like "fat tony" from the simpsons? damn avatars! thinking of tony saying "discern this feature" is disconcerting.


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## Wade (Oct 23, 2002)

My wife has been most vocal on this topic..."What about the pretzel monies? When are you going to do something about the Pretzel monies?" 

;P 

Fat Tony


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## krucz36 (Oct 23, 2002)

"lips, louie...advance upon them..."


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## Wade (Oct 23, 2002)

Garth-

You crack us so consistantly....up.


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