Are camel spiders indeginous to Southern California?

[Cocoa-Jin]

Because I just found something that looks just like one. It was about 1 inch long, seemingly the same color and patterns as the species shown in Iraq.

All I have is a fuzzy cell phone picture of it. It was in the lobby of Hangar Two here at Burbank Airport.

 

[cacoseraph]

oh yeah, there are quite a few species here. the biggest i have seen was over 2"

i saw another one that was dark brown and reddish-brown that was pretty neat looking... but it was less than 1/2" long



here is one i saw last week... it was probably around a half inch, too

zoom -> http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b287/cacoseraph/hunt/BLCL/solpugid/Solpugid_haven02b.jpg

 

[codykrr]

man i want one of these bad! i wish more people kept them o figure out why there so delicate in captivity.

my buddy who recently got deported(not sure where though due to military secrets, he cant say) said he found one on him while he was sleeping. he sent me a picture of it and it was right at 6 and half inches...seemed dark in coloration and alot more hairy looking than others i have seen.

according to a link posted in a sticky above, there range is pretty far spread throughout the united states, even some supposidly living here in missouri and arkansas. but ive never in my life seen one.

ken the bug guy has or had a texas species for sale but wanted 20 bucks for something he couldnt garuntee would live through shipping so i didnt buy any. but it someone was kind enough(cacoseraph ) id let them send me a few for study.ill pay shipping of course.

 

[cacoseraph]

i've only seen about 10 myself and seen maybe 5 more than other ppl had found while i was with them

oddly/amusingly enough i saw two in my dad's house. this was before i was in the bug hobby... so ididn't know what they were. the first one i saw skittering across the kitchen floor and i grabbed it... and then told my brother to hurry up with a jar when i saw what the little monster i had just grabbed looked like

 

[codykrr]

so tell me this....are they really as mean as they say?

 

[cacoseraph]

i just pick them up with my hands and i don't think i have ever been bit

some of the larger exotic species i had did their level best to bite me, though

 

[Widowman10]

i've picked them up too before with no problems, but they can be mean! drop a bug in front of one, or use a stick, and they rear up and spread their chelicerae- quite the sight! i'll see if i can get a pic soon (although there is several on the internet). they can be quite aggressive little monsters!!

 

[scolex]

I just found one about an 1" in Central Cali. Near Stockton area!!! I can't believe it what a gold find!!!!

 

[codykrr]

hey wanna send it my way? haha pleeeeaaaase! no seriously though me and the wife are planing a trip to texas, and i hope i find some. i lso want to by the book"biology of a camel spider" but its 300 bucks usd! but is the best written documents about keeping them. even has dirt mixtures down to a science for these things. so far the longest kept captive specimen was 2 years. aparently they should be kept in a smaller enclosure than thought, and fed very little. and kept at room temps. i would love to acually keep and study these things to make future keepings of these possible.

 

[Widowman10]

they are pretty fragile and i imagine they wouldn't ship that well. sure, overnight would work, but it would be rough on the little bugger. try finding one, they are all over the US.

 

[Loudog760]

I've found quite a bit of these in my earlier years. I used to think they were vinegaroon, they were actually not hard to find. I haven't seen one in years but I suspect there some where around here. I just don't know or remember where to look. I think they come out after rainy days...

 

[Widowman10]

I think they come out after rainy days...

they do! that's seemingly when i found most of mine...

 

[Loudog760]

they do! that's seemingly when i found most of mine...

Yeah I thought so. I'm trying to think back but that's like 8 years ago and I think I remember it being kinda of wet on the ground so I just suspected it after a rainy day. During the springs months mostly out here.

 

[Gracilis]

I live in norcal next to a town called Oakley and i hear there is quite a bit of them near the back roads where house's arent plenty....ill go lookin for some, catch them and let you guys know how it goes...

 

[Widowman10]

usually summer round here. spring in CO stills means snow

 

[dtknow]

I've seen them in more mountainous areas here. I collected 2 gravid females(the particular spots I were at their were literally dozens running around under camp bathroom lights and occasionally getting stepped on by others who didn't even notice them). They both laid eggs which I sent to 2 fellow members here. Neither succeeded(one due to shipping error, other had eggs hatch but nymphs died).

So unfortunately not much positive I can say except that more work is needed. I think larger enclosures than we are used to giving tarantulas so they can get a good moisture gradient is important for success especially with babies.

Also, they can bite, but it feels like a pair of nailclippers nothing to worry about.

 

[codykrr]

Acually, it has been documented that they need smaller enclosure to do well, these things metabolism is crazy, and if over fed die quickly, also if giving to much running room die quickly, ive read reports also, that they overwinter,which may suggest the female lays her eggs in early to late fall and overwinters with the clutch. forthem o emerge during the following spring. and ive seen account ofpeople who think the nymphs are "dead" when there acually going through a certain stage of growth. thats also the time i personally belive where overwintering comes into play. where they just lay there not moving all winter. the book "biology of a camel spider" states this as well (i got a preview of the book from kindle) but i am not going to pay 300 for abook! that being said id really love to try and see what luck i may have with them. id seriously love to do my fair share of research!

 

[Widowman10]

these things metabolism is crazy, and if over fed die quickly, also if giving to much running room die quickly

metabolism is fast, people tend to overfeed b/c they will continually stuff their faces. quite amusing.

and i think the running room thing has to do with lack of hiding spaces and stress. when they have no place to hide, they will run laps around the container, thus stressing out. in the wild, they run wherever they want, often over vast areas.

 

[dragongoddess]

I just found one in my house last night here in the Mojave Desert (CA), this is the third one I have seen this summer. I told my girls to grab one of the empty critter keepers and now we have a new pet. Thank goodness we keep reptiles so we had some crickets on hand, he devoured it in no time. He is very aggressive and tried to scare anything that moved. He is about 1 1/2" - 2" if he's stretched out or not. The last one I found in the house was only 1/2" and it met with someone's over anxious shoe.

ps. They can climb plastic

 

[Ronkoenig28]

I just caught a camel spider in my garage lastnight in lodi california