First ever camel spider

Eclipse

Arachnobaron
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Jun 6, 2007
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471
I have always avoided these because of how hard they are to take care of. I decided to pick one up at a local exotic pet shop and try my hand at it. They were kind enough to give me the whole container it was housed in. So far it hasn't been very active, doesn't come out at night, not aggressive towards prey, not aggressive towards me, not as fast as I thought. So far it's been the complete opposite of all the stereotypes its given. Even when I dropped in a small cricket the size of its head it just calmly backs out of the situation and tries to find a way out. If it doesn't eat or molt within a week I'm probably going to return it as I'm not sure if it was already lethargic before I even picked it up. They've mentioned that they were feeding it, but all I saw were dead crickets fully intact, those crickets weren't eaten, they just died. As of now I currently have it in its container it came with and a bottle cap of water that it has no interest in. I'll post an update if anything new happens, not sure if it's in pre-molt or if its dying.







 

Eclipse

Arachnobaron
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Jun 6, 2007
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Thank you, I'm a little nervous that I won't be able to bring it back to health. I set it out in the patio under the shade where its about 80-85F and it's showing more sign of activity. It looks like it's digging around more, maybe I should give it a larger enclosure so it can dig. I'll probably try a damp bottom layer and a dry top layer.
 

ReignofInvertebrates

Arachnoprince
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I’ve only kept a few of them before but I can tell you that from my experience they do weird things like this occasionally. Sometimes they just sit there like pet rocks and other times they’re actively sprinting around inside the enclosure. Just make sure it has plenty of space and substrate to burrow in. I had 3 individuals that were all purchased as adults. One of them managed to live around 9 months in my care while the other two only lived around 5-6. The one that lived the longest went around 2 months without eating at one point.
 

olll

Arachnosquire
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Don’t buy them as adults, they don’t live very long
 

DaveM

ArachnoOneCanReach
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They also slow down a lot as they are nearing death. Hope that's not the issue you're having here. Best of luck!
 

mantisfan101

Arachnoprince
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If it’s not eating then don’t try to feed it. It looks plump enough, give it a not too small but not too big enclosure and provide a lot of substrate for it to burrow. Imo if they’re not running around like crazy then that’s a good sign
 

wizentrop

to the rescue!
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Apr 20, 2005
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This animal has recently molted, it is not going to molt anytime in the next year.
It is very likely that because it has recently molted, it isn't ready to resume activity yet and refuses to eat.
I suggest not disturbing it at all, you'd be surprised how sensitive solifugids are to repeating disturbances. Observe it and see what it does. If it doesn't move - great, don't do anything. However, if it explores with its pedipalps in the air, you can try to feed it with a paralyzed cricket. Be prepared that it might test it but not consume it. If it is digging, do not feed it.
With solifugids you need patience on your side.
 

Eclipse

Arachnobaron
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Jun 6, 2007
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Thanks for advice guys, I've left it alone for a few days and it's become a little more active, but very slow compared to the videos I've seen of them. I can see it shifting sand from one side of the container to the other only to shift it back to the other side. I think it's been trying to dig so I bought some play sand and a larger container for it to burrow. I placed it in its new home along with a hide but it crawled out of it and began digging after 5 minutes. It's completely ignored its hide since then. It dug for about 3 hours straight the night I placed it in the new container. I woke up this morning to find it digging and it's still digging as I type. It's done about a good 12 hours of digging so far. I'm not sure why it does this but once it burrows a tunnel it wants it'll just sit there for about 10 minutes then abandon it to dig a new one. I'm not sure what it's trying to accomplish, but here are some photos.



 

wizentrop

to the rescue!
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This animal is trying to create an underground chamber with the right microclimate for it to rest until it is ready to start hunting. Unfortunately it will not stop until if achieves this goal. Do not feed it during this time. They also like the substrate on the dry side at this stage. I wish I could give you more tips, but I'm afraid that without the species ID and exact locality info where it was collected it would be useless.
 

Eclipse

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 6, 2007
Messages
471
This animal is trying to create an underground chamber with the right microclimate for it to rest until it is ready to start hunting. Unfortunately it will not stop until if achieves this goal. Do not feed it during this time. They also like the substrate on the dry side at this stage. I wish I could give you more tips, but I'm afraid that without the species ID and exact locality info where it was collected it would be useless.
The shop had it labeled as Galeodes arabs
 

wizentrop

to the rescue!
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Apr 20, 2005
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It can be Galeodes arabs, but can also be a different species. I feel like that is the default label that importers use when they don't know what they have on their hands. Galeodes need their environment bone dry and warm.
 

Royalty

Arachnoknight
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Mar 11, 2020
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oml I never thought I would find one of these cute! Precious!
 

Eclipse

Arachnobaron
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Jun 6, 2007
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Is it molting or is it dead? Its been like this for about 2 weeks now. I seen a couple of videos showing their camel spider dying and it's legs are usually curled up.
 

Attachments

Ferrachi

Arachnoprince
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Feb 2, 2020
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Take a look at this link:

 

ReignofInvertebrates

Arachnoprince
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Dec 29, 2012
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Is it molting or is it dead? Its been like this for about 2 weeks now. I seen a couple of videos showing their camel spider dying and it's legs are usually curled up.
Raised legs are a common indicator of premolt. Apparently they can remain like this for over a month in some instances. If it’s dead it will start to create an odor/decompose.
 
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