Camel spider scared to eat

[Woodchuck]

Well as it sounds my new camel spider is incredibly picky or more like scared of its food. Its a pretty small but beautiful feather leg camel spider. Been trying to give it the smallest crickets possible that aren't pin heads. As soon as it feels them it goes into threat pose but backs away or turns around completely and runs to hide. I can see it's stressing it out. Worried cause I have no idea when it ate before being shipped and now its been almost a week and still hasn't but I really don't want to scare it. Any suggestions? really not a lot of care info for these guys but there so amazing.

 

[Lordosteous]

Definitely a beautiful specimen there! It looks really healthy. One of the things people often get wrong about Camel spider care is food. In the wild, most species spend a few days or weeks at a time active on the surface, followed by weeks or months of inactivity buried underground. I once had a Galeodes spend almost 7 months underground, during which time she completely refused food and water. This kind of fasting behavior is (apparently) pretty normal.
In my experience, Camel spiders do best with a hands-off approach. Yours has probably eaten all it wants for now, and it would not be strange for it to go several weeks or even months before accepting food again. A good way to tell is by the size of their abdomen. If it's skinny, it's probably time to feed, but if it's plump, wait. Yours looks healthy and well fed, so I would wait at least a week or two before trying to offer food again. Nothing will kill a Camel spider faster than overfeeding and stress, which is why most don't do well in captivity.
Best of luck with it!

 

[wizentrop]

+1 to the above. Couldn't have said it better myself.
If the solifugid refuses to eat, leave it alone. I understand that you are worried and want to take care of it, but they usually know what they are doing.

 

[Woodchuck]

Thank you so much! exactly what I was hoping to hear. left a small cricket in there for few hours today while I was gone but will pull it out right now and will try again in 7 days or maybe more. The lack of knowledge of these critters is daunting. It has just repti sand right now. Should I give it a bottom layer of excavating clay? It really loves to dig and push sand around all day

 

[Lordosteous]

Might be worth a try to give it some excavating clay. Some of the specimens I've worked with liked to dig actual burrows, but I would say the majority just like to bury themselves in whatever substrate they have, usually sterilized sand from my house, and that works for them.