My first-ever arachnid (a Vinegarone!...Advice?)

[Scythemantis]

Photo by me

I don't know the gender (how do you tell?) but it's been fairly active. It's a little reluctant to eat, though. It's eaten several baby cockroaches (yes, my lobsters...poor little guys. I don't intend to continue using them as feeders, I just had no crickets handy) but it seems to have difficulty overpowering even the tiniest ones and is very shy to approach them. Is that normal?

I have him/her in a two-gallon plastic tank with several inches of soil, a bottlecap water dish, and a chunk of animal skull (found in the woods years ago) for a hideout.

I'd like to know common mistakes to avoid and useful tips for ensuring as long and healthy a life as possible.

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Oops! What's that?! Never seen anything like it! Are these claws in the front (the red things)? Is this some kind of scorpion kind of arachnid?

 

[Gsc]

petbugs.com has a caresheet...

http://www.petbugs.com/caresheets/M-giganteus.html

 

[Scythemantis]

Oops! What's that?! Never seen anything like it! Are these claws in the front (the red things)? Is this some kind of scorpion kind of arachnid?

Gosh, you never heard of a vinegarone/whipscorpion?

They are primitive scorpion relatives with no stinger, but they can spray acetic acid (which is the same chemical that gives vinegar its smel and flavor) yeah, those are pincers like a scorpion has, but they're very blunt. They're used more like an insect's mandibles almost, and its front pair of legs are used like feelers (it seems to also use them to corral small insects into its jaws)

 

[Randolph XX()]

is urs asian sps or americans?

 

[thedreadedone]

wow, i have one of those
i keep it in a large tank with 2-3 inches of soil substrate, with a few low rocks and a tunnel hide. i filled the tunnel hide with soil and she excavated it herself.
from what i understand, they hide for about 6 months of the year (in tunnels - for moulting). mine has just reappeared, after 5 months of hiding.
she eats crickets and roaches - ive never seen her eat, but ive seen evidence that she does.
she has also eaten a small gecko

 

[Scythemantis]

Do they need food during while sealed up like that? I imagine I should spray the tank with water during those months to keep the humidity up?

 

[Black Hawk]

where'd u find one!? me and Razedahell666 have been lookin for em like crazy. btw, very nice invert! i'm envious! :drool:

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Gosh, you never heard of a vinegarone/whipscorpion?

I've heard about whipscorpions (the name), never heard the name vinegarone and I'm not aware I'd seen one to this point.

 

[Scythemantis]

I bought it from Hatari.

 

[Wade]

Presumably it's Mastigoproctus giganteus, as it it is very common in Portal, AZ (where Hatari is located). The AAS common namelist spells it "vinegaroon" although both spellings are common. Despite the vaugue resembence, I don't think they're actually related to scorpions (beyond being arachnids, of course). My understanding is (could be outdated now) that they're actually more closely related to spiders than they are to scorpions.

I've collected a dozen or so of them in Arizona, although I haven't been back in years. I find them under logs and stones, especially near river beds.

I find they do well on moderately moist soil, 2" or more in depth. I'll usually bury a few roundish stones in the dirt and then place a large flat stone on top of the soil. The large flat stone is for the vinegaroon to dig a burrow under, the round stones are to keep the flat stone from falling if the vinagroon digs all the dirt out. During the winter, they will often (not always) seal themselves in the burrow. I keep the substrate a little moist, but not wet. I also offer a small water dish.

Typically, WC adults live 2-4 years, although sometimes longer. The total lifespan is uncertain, since captive breeding is a relatively rare event and not many people have raised babies. I did collect some babies in '02, however, and based on my observations they grow slowly, molting once a year. Mine have at least one, maybe two, molts to go to maturity. I would guess the total lifespan to be in the 8 to 10 year range, but who knows.

Wade

 

[cacoseraph]

i think vinegarone and vinegaroon are regional names, along with grampus

i think the vinegar ones are SW - USA and grampus is texas, usa

the names come from the defensive spray they little guys can deliver

 

[cacoseraph]

one thing i don't think that care sheet stresses enough is how much these guys need to burrow. until i changed the substrate to a more burrow friendly mixture my good wandered his cage almost non-stop. even a hide didn't satisfy him. but now that he's got a burrow he seems much more content.

also i think the burrow helps them to catch their prey, especially crickets. out in the open it takes my good a goodly while to catch jumping crickets... but once they go down into his burrow i think the corralling effect, that someone else mentioned, of the super long legs allows the whipscorpion a much better chance of catching his meal

 

[Steven]

i love vinegaroons !!!
besides centipedes def. my fav invert-pets !

 

[Wade]

That care sheet left ALOT to be desired. What really got me was where it claims that vingaroons should be considered dangerous due to the risk of allergic reactions to the acedic acid. I have never heard of this! Anyone who's allegic to acedic acid should also avoid mustard, ketchup, mayonase and pickles

Wade

 

[Bayushi]

Well some people are allergic to tomatoes.. so i guess it's one of those catch 22 warnings just to inform people that possible reactions can occur.

 

[cacoseraph]

i imagine the person who wrote it was american.
in USA we have warnings for EVERYTHING!!!! =P

 

[cacoseraph]

big goon, by the way

 

[Scythemantis]

Yeah, and the only other caresheets I've found are mostly borrowing from the same one! I knew there had to be more.

I'm not sure if my substrate is suitable to burrow in or not. It's mostly in big chunks, but I crushed most of them up when I put it in the tank. I think I'll add another couple inches.

 

[cacoseraph]

depth is important, but so is the composition of the substrate. unless you keep it wet potting soil burrows always fall apart for me. i've had better luck mixing in something chunky, like shredded coconut husk (the chunky stuff, not the compressed stuff) or something like that to give a little structure to the dirt