I saw some odd things today

[Love to Foxtrot]

I had brought a small cricket upstairs to my invert table to feed my G. rosea sling. Sometimes when I have to deal with particularly feisty crickets, I put them in a Dixie cup with water in it, so they have to float on the water(for immobilization) untill I am ready to deal with them. It is really quite effective and does not kill the crickets. When I went to take the cricket out of the water, it dove under the water and was swimming and walking on the wall of the cup under about 1/2 inch of water!It stayed under the water untill I removed my hand, then it popped up out of the water and began to float again. I was surprised because I have never seen a cricket do this, and I thought that they would drown. Has anyone seen this behavior? Maybe it is common and I have just never noticed it, but crickets are usually known for drowning quickly. Also, I was able to see my solfugid cleaning his feet! He was laying and resting, but he would put the tips of his feet in his mouth and nibble on them. I have seen tarantulas do this, but never my solfugid. At least, for once, I had an interesting morning.

Aubrey

 

[TheDon]

I do the same thing with pinheads because they are way too small and bounce around like their on speed. I have never seen them go for a dive though. Only time i see them go under water is when i flush them down the toilet. And the only time i flush them is when they are escapees that have been hiding in the water heater closet for a couple days and have been chirping like mad, so that is their punishment. Anyways that is pretty interesting.

peace

TheDon

 

[MizM]

Please forgive my blondness, but what is a "solfugid?"

I always seem to catch my Ts cleaning themselves, the curlies do a lovely cleaning dance!! Sometimes they rub their little back legs on their opisthomas like they're saying, "Mmmmmm, that was a good cricket!"

As far as crix go... when I drop them, they stay put. It gives my cat a good 15 minutes of exercise before he munches them down.... mmmmmmm, protein!!

 

[Botar]

This is a solfugid.

Botar

 

[MizM]

Interesting creature!! It seems that it too, would want to clean itself to keep itself free of mites and mold....:?

 

[Love to Foxtrot]

How in the world did you get him to hold still long enough to take such a nice picture? I'm amazed!

Aubrey

 

[Botar]

That was during the day not long after I got them home. As you know, they are much more active at night.

Botar

 

[Love to Foxtrot]

Yes, I've tried to get a daytime picture, but since they are now on soil, mine is always conveniently in a burrow. Such is the life of a solfugid.

Aubrey