Do Solifugae moult?
- Thread starter nimbus
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yes. i believe all exoskeletoners molt
when i have seen them molt they lay out on their with their arms and legs thrust back and look quite dead for a couple few days before they molt
they leave a skin behind (vice centipedes)
when i have seen them molt they lay out on their with their arms and legs thrust back and look quite dead for a couple few days before they molt
they leave a skin behind (vice centipedes)
She has hardly moved for a couple of days. Barely eating. Just backs away from food- crickets/locusts. One locust even went for a ride on her back! I gently prodded her with no response also! She has her legs front legs slightly drawn in. Could this be the start of a moult or is she dying?
I added peat to the sand, it has oyster shell in it, could this affect her?
I added peat to the sand, it has oyster shell in it, could this affect her?
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I have finally found someone who knows Solifugae!
Coast 2 Coast in Darlington.
The peat I added seems to have caused too much humidity so I am gonna replace it with purely Calci-sand. Also replace the water bowl with Bug-Gel.
I've been told to switch off the bulb & just use the heat mat.
I have removed all live food seeing as she seems weak & vulnerable.
Will obtain some wax-worms which cannot chew on her!
Gotta wait til Tuesday for the gel & sand so I'll be anxious & sleepless til then!
Coast 2 Coast in Darlington.
The peat I added seems to have caused too much humidity so I am gonna replace it with purely Calci-sand. Also replace the water bowl with Bug-Gel.
I've been told to switch off the bulb & just use the heat mat.
I have removed all live food seeing as she seems weak & vulnerable.
Will obtain some wax-worms which cannot chew on her!
Gotta wait til Tuesday for the gel & sand so I'll be anxious & sleepless til then!
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the legs won't be drawn in, if all soli molt like i have seen and read hobbyists post about. the legs will be thrown back and the soli will be laying on its bellyShe has hardly moved for a couple of days. Barely eating. Just backs away from food- crickets/locusts. One locust even went for a ride on her back! I gently prodded her with no response also! She has her legs front legs slightly drawn in. Could this be the start of a moult or is she dying?
I added peat to the sand, it has oyster shell in it, could this affect her?
also... a lot of that "good advice" looks rather suspect to me. where is your heat mat located... and did the petstore dude ask about its location? i've never heard anybody i considered really knowledgeable suggest a predator be hydrated with polyacrylimide before. though... i would kind of think if any bug is randomly going to eat substrate (which is what i believe those gels are essentially going to register as (vice liquid water)) it would be a soli =P
The heat mat covers nearly half of the back of the tank.
I got some 'excavator' clay burrowing substrate.
A new product which acts as sand & can also be dampened then moulded into burrows.
I also got 'beaphar' spider water - gel.
I hope this works!
Once the humidity has dropped I can put in a 25 watt bulb maybe?
I woz worried about picking her up to change her tank around but she sorta fell into me hand! She doesnt look happy at all!
I definately noticed a real change in her behaviour after adding the peat.
Fingers crossed!
I got some 'excavator' clay burrowing substrate.
A new product which acts as sand & can also be dampened then moulded into burrows.
I also got 'beaphar' spider water - gel.
I hope this works!
Once the humidity has dropped I can put in a 25 watt bulb maybe?
I woz worried about picking her up to change her tank around but she sorta fell into me hand! She doesnt look happy at all!
I definately noticed a real change in her behaviour after adding the peat.
Fingers crossed!
Sadly, Anubis died last weekend!
I am gutted!
I reckon she was pretty old & had been imported badly, ie. accidentally. She wasn't happy when my brother found her in a pet shop. Her legs were all curled under. She really came alive & was very active for a few weeks! I really miss her charging & stomping about! I have read that they are the most difficult of Arachnids to keep, as they just don't like captivity! One scientist reckons life expectancy in captivity is 2-6 weeks! I am hunting for a captive bred baby which may cope better. I wonder if there are other Solpugae species which fare well in captivity?
R.I.P. ANUBIS
I am gutted!
I reckon she was pretty old & had been imported badly, ie. accidentally. She wasn't happy when my brother found her in a pet shop. Her legs were all curled under. She really came alive & was very active for a few weeks! I really miss her charging & stomping about! I have read that they are the most difficult of Arachnids to keep, as they just don't like captivity! One scientist reckons life expectancy in captivity is 2-6 weeks! I am hunting for a captive bred baby which may cope better. I wonder if there are other Solpugae species which fare well in captivity?
R.I.P. ANUBIS
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i study solifugae morphology, and physiology.
I wish every one of these that died would be sent to me rather than thrown in the garbage. My condolences.
I wish every one of these that died would be sent to me rather than thrown in the garbage. My condolences.
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you sure it's dead and not just in suspended animation?
People who keep these "early dying" sols now are often saying that in a few months they just wake back up, seemingly returning from what was a clearly dead state.
People who keep these "early dying" sols now are often saying that in a few months they just wake back up, seemingly returning from what was a clearly dead state.
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here, the first pic is one that is unmoving, unresponsive, and seems dead, slightly stiff, but not dried out or crispy like most dead inverts, he has been this way a few weeks, in a basement cupboard
the second pic is another specimine, that is still sluggishly moving about.
kept in the same cupboard, i expect it will stop moving soon too.
we shall see if they recover in the spring
the second pic is another specimine, that is still sluggishly moving about.
kept in the same cupboard, i expect it will stop moving soon too.
we shall see if they recover in the spring
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great point Mitch,
where are those specimens you have pictured from? Keep in mind that a big revisionary systematic project with Solifugae is currently underway. Contact Warren Savary, or Lorenzo Prendini to arrange shipment of specimens. Live ones are prefered as DNA analysis is the main method oh phylogenetic placement.
And i will always pay for frozen/preserved specimens.
thanks for sharing the photos.
where are those specimens you have pictured from? Keep in mind that a big revisionary systematic project with Solifugae is currently underway. Contact Warren Savary, or Lorenzo Prendini to arrange shipment of specimens. Live ones are prefered as DNA analysis is the main method oh phylogenetic placement.
And i will always pay for frozen/preserved specimens.
thanks for sharing the photos.
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Keremeos BC. canada.
these two are part of my own experiment to see if they will revive in the warm season.
these two are part of my own experiment to see if they will revive in the warm season.
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Are you more focused on the physiological process, or seasonal patterns?
Have you tried keying it out? Looks like a small Eremobatid of some type.
Have you tried keying it out? Looks like a small Eremobatid of some type.
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that it is.
I'm working with mere assumptions.
I assumed about this time of year they would slow down and begin to stop moving altogether, and they are. I'm going to keep them in my basement cupboard which gets cool and humid all winter, And if they revive in the late spring, I'm going to post the results as an informed advisory to all the people who throw out, vivisect or mount seemingly "dead" specimines.
if dormancy is an unavoidable step in the keeping of these creatures, then more people will be educated about that and not despair in misunderstanding when they think their pet is dead.
After that there should be homework for anyone to determine the seasonal conditions of each individual species and its respective native climate should they intend to house such creatures.
when they SEEM to die, what time of year is it? whats the usual climate in that countries concurrent season? how do you simulate it? and for how long?
mine are easy, because they live here, and i can see what its like here.
It is easy to replicate HERE being HERE because HERE is HERE now
yuk yuk yuk
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good ideas, although being kept at an ambient temperature should not allow a decrease in activity/ability (i.e. metabolism). When exposed to drops (or elevation) in temperature, this will very well induce, and/or cause this behavior. Also many species from Asia, the Middle East, and Africa may not experience climatal lows that initiate this behavior, but may experience periods of decreased surface activity (although metabolism rates are unknown since hardly anyone has done life history/behavioral ecology studies in Solifugae) during temperature highs/precipitation highs/lows. Thus i do not believe that this is a common reason for deaths, or "deaths" in solpugid culturing.