Does anyone keep camel spiders?

[Garth Vader]

Okay I'm just very curious. Does anyone keep them as pets? What are they like? I lived in West Africa for a few years and those things scared the CRAP out of me. I was pretty scared of spiders for a long time afterwards. They came in my house a lot at night. They ran REALLY fast and would run at me. I think they were hiding in my shadow or something (it was always at night with candle light). I really hated them and heard their bites hurt a lot, although I never had a bite. So I'm curious about them, since I was so scared and disgusted by them.

 

[BobBarley]

Some people do try to keep them. They are Solfugids (spelling is probably off) but ther lifespan in captivity is rather short. There are some interesting threads though, and people are trying to figure out why they die so easily.
http://arachnoboards.com/threads/solifugids-actually-lives-longer-than-we-think.59006/
http://arachnoboards.com/threads/eremobates-solifugae-babies.277822/

I would personally love a few, though the short lifespan is deterring me. If a species lives longer in the wild than it does in captivity, I try to stay away from it.

 

[Garth Vader]

Some people do try to keep them. They are Solfugids (spelling is probably off) but ther lifespan in captivity is rather short. There are some interesting threads though, and people are trying to figure out why they die so easily.
http://arachnoboards.com/threads/solifugids-actually-lives-longer-than-we-think.59006/
http://arachnoboards.com/threads/eremobates-solifugae-babies.277822/

I would personally love a few, though the short lifespan is deterring me. If a species lives longer in the wild than it does in captivity, I try to stay away from it.

Thank you! I searched under camel spider, so this is helpful. Man they were scary when they'd run out of me seemingly out of nowhere, but keeping them in an enclosure is probably different. The info about hibernating is very interesting.

 

[BobBarley]

Thank you! I searched under camel spider, so this is helpful. Man they were scary when they'd run out of me seemingly out of nowhere, but keeping them in an enclosure is probably different. The info about hibernating is very interesting.

Yeah, they are really interesting and are one of the lesser known arachnids like the amblypygi and tha uropygi . There are many superstitions revolving around these creatures.

 

[chanda]

I love solifugids, but as BobBarley said, they don't do well in captivity. The longest I've ever kept one alive was maybe four or five months. It was eating well and even molted once while in my care, but still died relatively soon. Others that I've tried to keep have died within anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. The larger ones seem to do better than the smaller ones. (All have been locally-caught species, either collected here in Southern California or in Arizona. The ones from Arizona appear to be a larger species - and do better in captivity than their California counterparts.) I still like to bring them in to the classroom when I teach my bug and spider classes, but now it's more of a "catch and release" where I bring them in for a week or two, then let them go.

I do currently have a pair that I collected about a month ago in Arizona. They are in (relatively) large containers for their size (plastic breeder boxes, roughly 18x12x7) with enough sand to burrow in and some bits of creosote bush and other plants to hide under. They are eating well and seem to have adapted to the smaller space, but once the class is over, I will most likely release them. I will be returning to Arizona in a couple of weeks to visit my brother again, so can return them to their native habitat.

 

[chanda]

I really hated hated them and heard their bites hurt a lot, although I never had a bite. So I'm curious about them, since I was so scared and disgusted by them.

I've only been nipped by the local (So Cal and Arizona) versions, which are much smaller than their African or Middle Eastern cousins, but the bites I've had (while rehousing bare-handed - I totally deserved to get bit) were not at all painful. They don't inject any sort of venom or even digestive enzymes, so it's purely mechanical injury. The smaller SoCal solifugid didn't even break the skin - it was just a tiny pinch. The larger Arizona solifugid did manage to break the skin, but it was no worse than a nasty paper cut.

 

[tetracerus]

I love solifugids, but as BobBarley said, they don't do well in captivity. The longest I've ever kept one alive was maybe four or five months. It was eating well and even molted once while in my care, but still died relatively soon. Others that I've tried to keep have died within anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. The larger ones seem to do better than the smaller ones. (All have been locally-caught species, either collected here in Southern California or in Arizona. The ones from Arizona appear to be a larger species - and do better in captivity than their California counterparts.) I still like to bring them in to the classroom when I teach my bug and spider classes, but now it's more of a "catch and release" where I bring them in for a week or two, then let them go.

I do currently have a pair that I collected about a month ago in Arizona. They are in (relatively) large containers for their size (plastic breeder boxes, roughly 18x12x7) with enough sand to burrow in and some bits of creosote bush and other plants to hide under. They are eating well and seem to have adapted to the smaller space, but once the class is over, I will most likely release them. I will be returning to Arizona in a couple of weeks to visit my brother again, so can return them to their native habitat.

Where in Arizona have you found them? I've been wanting to catch some to observe them firsthand. I didn't realize they did so poorly in captivity, though, so maybe I'll just observe them in the wild (if I even find any).

My friend caught me one a while ago in Phoenix but it was in a heavily pesticide-sprayed area. The poor thing was twitchy and uncoordinated and died the next day sadly.

 

[Wikiman12]

A few years ago, I found one while walking on a trail in SoCal and housed it in a large glass jar with some reptile sand. It made a large network of burrows and I fed it crickets every so often, but eventually I stopped seeing it all together outside of its burrows because it passed away, after about two months. Haven't seen one since then :/

 

[chanda]

Where in Arizona have you found them? I've been wanting to catch some to observe them firsthand. I didn't realize they did so poorly in captivity, though, so maybe I'll just observe them in the wild (if I even find any).

My friend caught me one a while ago in Phoenix but it was in a heavily pesticide-sprayed area. The poor thing was twitchy and uncoordinated and died the next day sadly.

I've caught them in Phoenix on the hiking trails on South Mountain. I've also seen them (but just took pictures and did not catch them) near Tucson, in Sabino Canyon. Here in SoCal, I've found them along various hiking trails in Riverside County.

If you want to find them, the best time to look is late at night. I love going out hiking in the deserts and canyons at night in the summer because it's not so hot - and even when it's 90+ at night, it feels so much more bearable without the sun beating down on you. Besides, that's when all the cool animals come out - especially the scorpions, spiders, centipedes, solifugids, and whip spiders.

 

[BobBarley]

I've caught them in Phoenix on the hiking trails on South Mountain. I've also seen them (but just took pictures and did not catch them) near Tucson, in Sabino Canyon. Here in SoCal, I've found them along various hiking trails in Riverside County.

If you want to find them, the best time to look is late at night. I love going out hiking in the deserts and canyons at night in the summer because it's not so hot - and even when it's 90+ at night, it feels so much more bearable without the sun beating down on you. Besides, that's when all the cool animals come out - especially the scorpions, spiders, centipedes, solifugids, and whip spiders.

Man wish there were collecting spots like that up here in the Central Valley..

 

[Dovey]

Where in Arizona have you found them? I've been wanting to catch some to observe them firsthand. I didn't realize they did so poorly in captivity, though, so maybe I'll just observe them in the wild (if I even find any).

My friend caught me one a while ago in Phoenix but it was in a heavily pesticide-sprayed area. The poor thing was twitchy and uncoordinated and died the next day sadly.

 

[Dovey]

OK, seriously, they've been getting in our house out here in New River lately. I just had one shoot up the wall by my bed a few minutes ago, so I nabbed him with my tongs and tossed him into a scorpion set-up I happened to have lying about. They don't fluoresce, and they can often climb glass...also, they 're fast as lightening. I bribe them to stay with compliantly deceased dubias.