Solifugae questions

[Steven]

i'm starting to get worried about my Solifugae,...
it only eats about 1 cricket a week,... wich i thought isn't much for a solifugae,....

so does this guy still looks healty to you?
my guess it's a male,....

 

[Love to Foxtrot]

How long have you had him for? If it has been awhile, then he may be simply getting old. Is he moving more slowly than usual or more shaky? Mine acted that way as he became "old". Yours does not look thin, though, so obviously his diet is sustaining him well. I would not worry about it too much.

Aubrey

 

[Steven]

hey,... thanx for your reply,...
i've got him for about 3 months now,... don't know how long it was in the petstore,... so it's hard to tell his age.

 

[kinetikx]

I got mine a few months ago and it was an eating machine at the time. Since then it has slowly been showing increasing signs that it's about at the end of its life.

Most noticably, it hasn't eaten anything in nearly a month. And it doesn't move from the small depression it has dug into the sand. For a species that started out so incredibly active I am surprised that it can survive for so long without eating.

I'm seriously considering freezing it just so I don't have to prolong this slow dying process.

I can't be certain but it sounds like yours is suffering from old age as well. They just don't last long enough.

 

[BigBadConrad]

I am thinking of getting one of these cool little critters myself. Is S. galeodes a good species to try? Anyone know where I can purchase one in the U.S.? I know there is at least one species that's native to my area, but have never seen one in 13 years here, so I would buy one if I could. Haven't seen them on any dealer lists, though.

Thx,
John

 

[Bob]

Steven,
My daughter caught one of these in eastern Oregon (small species) last summer. It quit eating and died a short time after. I think all of these guys have a short life span. No one I know has had these live to long.
They do look like monsters though!!

Bob

 

[Steven]

My daughter caught one of these in eastern Oregon (small species) last summer.

any idea what solifugae species that was ?
i've heard there are quite some solifugae species from the US.

 

[Wade]

Erembates is a common and widespread genus in the US. I've collected ones that had a better than 3" leg span in southern Arizona.

Most reports I've heard suggest that these animals live less than a year total. I would expect that most NA adults have died or soon will die by this time. I don't know if those African species have a differenct cycle or not. I think the total lifespan is about the same, but I don't know if it's seasonal as it is with the American ones.

Wade