# Solifugae for sale



## Steven (Jul 19, 2003)

Hey, the petstore at my neigborhood is selling Solifugae, really big bitches. I'm in temptation of buying some. But what's keeping me down is their lifespan. and the fact that they are allready really big, so i guess they won't live that long anymore.

So question: is there anybody or has anyone ever heard of Solifugae beeing succesfully breed in captivity?

thanx

Reactions: Like 1


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## jwb121377 (Jul 19, 2003)

Check this thread out here and this one    and this one


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## Steven (Jul 20, 2003)

Ow, yeah, didn't used the search button,....

thanx


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## jwb121377 (Jul 20, 2003)

No problem. I could have made a post with info, but Alex, who no longer post due to time costraints, knows so much more then I do about solifugids. I will add that I think Solifugids are one of the coolest "other" inverts in the hobby. You will have to feed them often, probably at least five times per week. And I wouldn't let yourself be turned off by thier short life spans. I've had Solifugids live up to about eight months and yet others have only lived one or two months. Also check out the page on tarantulaspiders.com on solifugids it is very well done and full of information. You can check it out here.


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## Steven (Jul 20, 2003)

i've checked the links,... great info, but only one questions remains: anybody has ever bred them in captivity?

i'm starting to really like those guys , indeed very impressive arachnids, much cooler then the usualy birdeaters, my opinion


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## jwb121377 (Jul 20, 2003)

> _Originally posted by gongyles _
> *i've checked the links,... great info, but only one questions remains: anybody has ever bred them in captivity?
> 
> i'm starting to really like those guys , indeed very impressive arachnids, much cooler then the usualy birdeaters, my opinion   *


I've only herd of one or two breedings in captivity. From what I understand is that they are VERY hard to breed. To make things a little more complex I'm not sure if many people know how to sex them.


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## Steven (Jul 20, 2003)

That seems like a hell of challenge to breed them,...
not for an onexperienced solifugae dude like me.
i gues i'll go study them by al the things i can find and read about them. and then wait untill the next shipment of those solifugae,... maybe next year of so,... first study and exam, then going to buy some 

sorry for my sloppy englisch, sometimes hard to find the right words to express myself,.....


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## Love to Foxtrot (Jul 21, 2003)

Buy one. They are worth the extra care time. As far as breeding and sexing, I can not help you there, but I can tell you that they are a ver active and fascinating bug. Just wait untill you get the rare opportunity to see one eat! I have seen mine eat twice, and it is pretty neat, they slice crickets with their chelicerae. It looks almost robotic. Anyway, let me know how it goes with the solfugid!  

Aubrey


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## Wade (Jul 22, 2003)

The only one I know of who's done it is Fred Punzo, who literally wrote the book on them ("The Biology of Camel Spiders (Arachnida, Solifugae)" ).  He was working with North American species (Eremobates), and the ones you're seeing are doubtlessly the big northern African ones (Galeodes).

Apparently, one thing holding up the breeding attempts is the fact that males are apparently not exported often. It seems like someone would eventually get a female with fertile eggs.

Wade


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## Steven (Jul 23, 2003)

@Wade

like you allready know is it hard to get American invertables here in Europe . So i don't guess i can get my hand on Eremobates.
there are 2 species sometimes offerd here: like you said the Galeodes (North African) and some South African species.
i've seen also the big black ones beeing sold, what genus is that?

greetz


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## Steven (Jul 23, 2003)

OK, i followed your advices and bought one,.... damn those are coooool pets  

i'll shoot some picts tjis evening 

greetz


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## Hercules Hernandez (Jul 3, 2019)

Steven said:


> big black ones beeing sold, what genus is that?


You’re probably speaking about the Rhagodidae being exported from the Middle East.  They’re harder to collect because they make pretty deep burrows which they’ll barely leave at that.  Lol


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## velvetundergrowth (Jul 4, 2019)

I just made a video on my newly-aquired Egyptian Banded Solifugid: 




From all my searching, the most sensible care seems to keep them in medium-sized enclosures on a deep substrate that will hold a burrow without collapsing. They also seem to benefit from less regular feedings than commonly suggested; 2-3 times a week seems to be an ample amount. A concern is that overfeeding may lead to premature death in Solifugae. It also seems they require a long period in which to "hibernate" and are only active for a few months of the year in the wild. 

I have tried to shape my care provisions around the advice of those who have had "success" keeping these fascinating creatures, but only time will tell if it works out for me. This is my first attempt keeping Solifugae but it definitely won't be the last - I can already say with confidence that these are some of the most intriguing arthropods to observe going about their business!

Reactions: Like 3


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## Arthroverts (Jul 5, 2019)

By the way, this thread is 16 years old and the proprietor hasn't been on this site for 6 years. I would suggest starting a new thread to share your video, as it looks pretty cool! It shouldn't be buried in such an obviously outdated thread.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 1


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## velvetundergrowth (Jul 6, 2019)

Arthroverts said:


> By the way, this thread is 16 years old and the proprietor hasn't been on this site for 6 years. I would suggest starting a new thread to share your video, as it looks pretty cool! It shouldn't be buried in such an obviously outdated thread.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Arthroverts


Thanks Arthro, I hadn't even noticed it was a fossil thread!


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## Hercules Hernandez (Jul 6, 2019)

velvetundergrowth said:


> I just made a video on my newly-aquired Egyptian Banded Solifugid:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yep!  Longest I’ve been able to keep any Solifugid alive was longer than the “two year-abnormally and horridly unnatural life-span” most Galeodidae are getting nowadays.  Good luck!  Galeodes sp. really do well kept fairly moist.  They may be arid, but there’s a reason innactive females and juveniles make their burrows so deep.

Currently I have a few females ready to drop eggs, including some Paragaleodes pallidus!   

Good luck with yours, mate!  I’ll be sure to check out your video.  However, I do agree with @Arthroverts that you should repost the link elsewhere—in a new thread—to prevent it from being lost.

Reactions: Love 1 | Award 1


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## schmiggle (Jul 6, 2019)

Hercules Hernandez said:


> Longest I’ve been able to keep any Solifugid alive was longer than the “two year-abnormally and horridly unnatural life-span” most Galeodidae are getting nowadays.


How long did you manage to keep yours? I think wizentrop has kept his alive for almost a decade, though they're dormant for most of that period.


Hercules Hernandez said:


> Currently I have a few females ready to drop eggs, including some Paragaleodes pallidus!


 Now how'd you manage that? The accounts I've seen involve an arena, basically, where the male chases the female if I recall correctly.

Reactions: Like 1


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## wizentrop (Jul 6, 2019)

schmiggle said:


> I think wizentrop has kept his alive for almost a decade, though they're dormant for most of that period.


Not a decade... 8 years to be more exact. It wasn't one of the big _Galeodes_ that are imported by dealers either, but one of the smaller, fluffier _Paragaleodes fulvipes._

Reactions: Like 2


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## schmiggle (Jul 7, 2019)

wizentrop said:


> Not a decade... 8 years to be more exact. It wasn't one of the big _Galeodes_ that are imported by dealers either, but one of the smaller, fluffier _Paragaleodes fulvipes._


I thought it was 8, and I also think 8 fits in the error bars of almost 10 so saw it as a way of hedging lol. It would be interesting if smaller solifugids lived for longer than bigger ones, the way I believe dogs do.

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## Hercules Hernandez (Jul 8, 2019)

Yes.  You need a larger space for the male and female to court.  Really, it’s like scorpions, but without dropping the spermatophore, pulling the female over it, etc.  The male Solifugid injects it with the fixed cheliceral teeth, which is why most species have evolved to where mature specimens of opposing sexes have differing mouth parts.  However, you also have to keep in mind that Solifugae are much more skittish and territorial, and therefore ready to cannibalize and eat to survive and escape rather than to just do with the presence of a member of the same species in a confined space.

The large tub gives them time to diffuse and get somewhat used to their surroundings while also allowing them to become aware of each other’s presence via pheromones.  Then the male will follow the female for a good hour or so—if you’ve ever bred Scolopendridae or have seen it done, like that—until she finds a suitable spot—the most open part of the space.

  The male will then grasp the females abdomen in his chelicerae, and, then, usually depending on family, will: flip her over completely so she falls into a state similar to catatonic immobility and inject the spermatophore in her reproductive furrow; bend the females abdomen over her cephalothorax and pace back and forth, usually in a frantic line, injecting the spermatophore.  The latter usually occurring in new world species, like members of Eremobatidae, Ammotrechidae, etc.  The prior usually occurs in old world families, like Galeodidae, Rhagodidae, Daesiidae, etc.

Reactions: Informative 1 | Helpful 1


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## Hercules Hernandez (Jul 8, 2019)

Steven said:


> Hey, the petstore at my neigborhood is selling Solifugae, really big bitches. I'm in temptation of buying some. But what's keeping me down is their lifespan. and the fact that they are allready really big, so i guess they won't live that long anymore.
> 
> So question: is there anybody or has anyone ever heard of Solifugae beeing succesfully breed in captivity?
> 
> thanx


Only Texas native Eremobates palpisetulosus.  Nothing too exotic yet, but I am trying to get my hands on more specimens to try!

I have only had Galeodidae drop clutches in my care.  Never bred those personally.


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