Camel spider (soulifugae)

[sezra]

http://uk.images.search.yahoo.com/i...igi=113q03648&.crumb=PkhJREwJlJv&fr=yfp-t-702


Are these guys available in the UK pet trade? When I was out in Afghan i was fascinated by them. we used to have huge ones at least 10"+ hiding under the flooring of the tent.

Im guessing it wouldnt need any special equipment (maybe heat pads?) like lights etc as these guys hate the sun.

I would love to own one.

 

[Equinox]

I've kept several of them before, and loads of sellers in the UK used to, but nobody really does anymore.
Thespidershop had some for sale a few weeks ago. And you can usually find them at exhibitions and stuff...
The sad truth is though they don't seem to do well in captivity. They lose their 'spark' and don't usually last that long for this reason I know a lot of dealers ended up giving up on them.

(Psst.. You may not have got many responses because you posted this in the wrong section of the site lol)

.....and if you found one that's 10 inches you really should have brought it to someone's attention, as it would have been a new record holding undescribed species

 

[Jones0911]

what kind of disposition do these have?

 

[Equinox]

Defensive.... Verging on aggressive. They do actively seek to bite anything moving most of the time.
Although this is predominantly just seeking for food, they are not very selective in what they do bite! Whereas most very defensive t's would rear up if you touched them with tongs, solifuges will tend to run towards them biting.

 

[sezra]

I've kept several of them before, and loads of sellers in the UK used to, but nobody really does anymore.
Thespidershop had some for sale a few weeks ago. And you can usually find them at exhibitions and stuff...
The sad truth is though they don't seem to do well in captivity. They lose their 'spark' and don't usually last that long for this reason I know a lot of dealers ended up giving up on them.

(Psst.. You may not have got many responses because you posted this in the wrong section of the site lol)

.....and if you found one that's 10 inches you really should have brought it to someone's attention, as it would have been a new record holding undescribed species

These things grow huge out in afghan. but then everything seems to be massive out there. giant wasps that measure up to 3 inches, massive ants that can carry a whole biscuit between 3 of them (I've seen them do it, which is funny when they try to drag it down the ant hole and it doesnt fit lol), and huge mole crickets.

Camel spiders are so numerous out there if you know where to look (they like to hide in your boots), but i have never found wild ones to be aggressive, unless you go out of your way to annoy them. Squaddies would mistake their behaviour as being aggressive because they like to follow you as they're trying to hide from the sun by sitting in your shadow. Its funny to see a hardened soldier running from a spider lol, the faster you go they faster they go as they try to get into shade.

that being said, they can be aggressive when hunting as I have seen one chase down a fairly decent sized lizard which really didnt stand a chance, and of course there are some sick and bored soldiers out there who like to make them fight in arenas they have made, so yeah they can be aggressive, but if respected they are no problem.

Anyway, are there any cases of people keeping them successfully in captivity? I really would like to own one.

 

[Equinox]

Not that I've ever heard of, sorry. I've spoken to quite a lot of dealers who say they have had the same experiences as me.
I think unless you can heat the cage nicely and give it a huge container? They don't do as well in 'small' environments like T's for some reason. I'm sure somewhere someone has though I wish you luck, if you do find any! I'll keep my eyes open and let you know if I see any Egyptian banded solifuges (G granti) are one of the more commonly sold and larger species, maxing out at around 5 1/2 inches. (the species I have had most dealings with)

There are no 10 inch species unfortunately, I think that would have been your mind playing tricks on you. A 6 inch Solifuge looks massive though trust me!

 

[sezra]

i would try to replicate the type desert around where i was stationed as closely as possible. there was very little sand, but instead was quite stony and hard.

i wonder what size and type of enclosure would be best? i know they are capable of chewing through metal mesh.

edit: they were bloody massive but who knows what lives in those deserts? im pretty sure there have been no (or very few) studies done there. i would love to find out.

 

[cantthinkofone]

From what I've read when soldiers have found dead "10 inchers" and measured they maxed about 6. Even with minimal studies I find it hard to believe in a solifugid that large. That being said sadly minimal success reported. They last a year or two an bam gone. Good luck

 

[Equinox]

Any large glass or hard plastic tub would suit. They wouldn't be able to get a grip on it to crew it anyway due to the angle of their jaws, so don't worry about that.

There have been lots of studies done in the deserts of the 'stan's, and I believe if there was a species that common that you saw loads of them, they would have been discovered by now.
Grab yourself some fine sand, then put lots of white limestone or similar rocks in the enclosure. Try and make lots of little nooks and crannies. Make sure none of them can easily fall and squash your solifuge!

 

[sezra]

this is why i want one... these things are so cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HDWaMrLbGk

 

[Smokehound714]

this is the correct forum for this thread.. (note: OTHER ARACHNIDS)


They do very well in captivity, provided you have the substrate right. Give GOOD ventilation, and provide at least 4 inches of substrate to ensure they can make their tunnel systems.

 

[Elytra and Antenna]

Many dealers won't carry them since they often die before they can sell them. Sure, some can live for a year or two, but the majority are dead in a month. Imports often already are apparently dying. I've seen a few vendors in the past with a big group of half dead ones trying to sell them. Your best bet at getting a few months or more from one is grabbing native US specimens, but the biggest are maybe 1/4 the mass of the ones you saw.

 

[PlaidJaguar]

There are no 10 inch species unfortunately, I think that would have been your mind playing tricks on you. A 6 inch Solifuge looks massive though trust me!

How big would you say these two are? They sure look a lot bigger than 6 inches to me.

http://www.camelspiders.net/large-camel-spider-picture.htm

 

[The Snark]

How big would you say these two are? They sure look a lot bigger than 6 inches to me.

http://www.camelspiders.net/large-camel-spider-picture.htm

Discussed many times. Compared to the pair of pliers (not well pictured in the photo) that is holding them their bodies are around 4 to 5 inches.

 

[PlaidJaguar]

Are camel spiders measured by body length, or diagonal leg span? Maybe that's where the confusion is happening.

 

[The Snark]

Body length in mm appears to be the norm for scientific ID. All animals are measured that way. You wouldn't measure the length of a wombat's legs, or a flea, or a caterpillar.

 

[PlaidJaguar]

Body length in mm appears to be the norm for scientific ID. All animals are measured that way. You wouldn't measure the length of a wombat's legs, or a flea, or a caterpillar.

Ok, sorry. I'm new to inverts, and tarantulas seem to always be measured by DLS so I assumed camel spiders would be measured the same way. My mistake. :}

 

[The Snark]

Not a mistake. That's a common point of confusion as measurements of things often are. Take my jeep that apparently gives the road speed in furlongs per fortnight.

 

[PlaidJaguar]

Not a mistake. That's a common point of confusion as measurements of things often are. Take my jeep that apparently gives the road speed in furlongs per fortnight.

Lol! My car has a measurement issue too. They said it could get 30 mpg, but I'm pretty sure that's only if another car tows it!

 

[The Snark]

Lol! My car has a measurement issue too. They said it could get 30 mpg, but I'm pretty sure that's only if another car tows it!

Right. Your car was probably rated to get 30 mpg [SUB]dwtw[/SUB] (Downhill With Tail Wind)
I noticed around here it is common to find home entertainment systems rated at over 1000 watts [SUP]PMPO[/SUP] The PMPO is Peak Momentary Power Output. The 1 millisecond output spike before the fuses blow or the output transistors catch fire.

Around here I measure our huntsman spiders by leg span simply because they are way too fast to catch without taking a chance of maiming them and our floor tiles are 1 foot square so we can get a pretty good comparison-guess as they rocket around the rooms.