solifugids actually lives longer than we think

[BobGrill]

They get bigger than we think too! The legspan of this one from Arizona exceeds three inches when fully stretched out. The sensitive hairs on this specimen's legs are nearly half an inch.

View attachment 92012

Wow, it's beautiful! I think these would be cool to keep, but the mortality rate of captive specimens really puts me off.

 

[Nevada Dan]

They get bigger than we think too! The legspan of this one from Arizona exceeds three inches when fully stretched out. The sensitive hairs on this specimen's legs are nearly half an inch.

View attachment 92012

Ones I have had in the house in so. Nevada typically get 3 to 4 inches, but the largest one I have ever seen was in Henderson,Nevada, and that monster had at least a 3 inch body.
I have never kept them, but have been considering it. I know they burrow deep, and I will probably keep it in a tub on the patio.
I keep crevice weavers (Kuks) and western widows now, so this will be something new.
Thanks for an inspiring thread.

 

[aznative86]

Shoot I would find these things from 1-3" ea all over this house I lived in with friends, it was like 6,000 sq ft and after the pest dude sprayed, we would find them behind the doors, laundry room, etc lol didn't even know they where in the house at the time until we found bodies everywhere.

 

[Smokehound714]

check out how stable that substrate is

it's important to leave eremobates alone in total darkness for 24 hours undisturbed to allow completion of the burrow.

i was expecting a single burrow, but it appears extremely complex.

she keeps adding extra holes, of varying size, must be for temperature and humidity control.

im glad there's a railroad close to me, great source of the perfect substrate

From the side, you can see just how stable it is. A must-have substrate for burrowers, this would be excellent for a colony of harvester ants.

 

[Tarantula155]

check out how stable that substrate is

it's important to leave eremobates alone in total darkness for 24 hours undisturbed to allow completion of the burrow.

i was expecting a single burrow, but it appears extremely complex.

she keeps adding extra holes, of varying size, must be for temperature and humidity control.

im glad there's a railroad close to me, great source of the perfect substrate

From the side, you can see just how stable it is. A must-have substrate for burrowers, this would be excellent for a colony of harvester ants.

That's just extraordinary!

Does anyone know how to catch these things in the wild when they are in their burrows?

For burrowing wolf spiders I just pour water down their holes, however it just 'one' hole. Solifugids have many, so it would be more difficult.

 

[Smokehound714]

It's alot easier to find them late at night with a good strong flashlight.

That's how I collected mine. On a nice warm night, go to an undisturbed location with sandy silty soil, and you should be able to find them on the trail.

I believe a few species are found in portions of canada, as well. Not sure where you are, but give it a try.

 

[Smokehound714]

UPDATE: Well, i screwed up. I accidentally added a soldier termite along with workers, and the soldier damaged the right First leg of my eremobates.

I attempted to remove it without stressing her and damaging her burrow, but gave up, hoping she would just kill it before it could hurt her. I was wrong X(


She seem's to be doing okay, though. I'm pretty sure that soldier commited suicide by biting her leg :laughing: She probably just bit the injured portion off.

Since she's young, still, she should regenerate a small portion of that leg. The damage hasn't affected her behavior or burrowing much, and there doesn't appear to be any mycosis affecting the wounded area, and she devoured em all, so she should be fine after her molt.

 

[Smokehound714]

Update-part two:

Both have died. I'm unsure just what happened. I worked my butt off, and got them to behave normally, however they just keeled over, seemingly in tandem.

The larger specimen molted, took a drink from her cap, then died soon after. The smallest specimen molted successfully after the third instar, then promptly died after drinking.

I was using bottled water, fed them carefully, gave them minimal disturbance. Not sure what happened. I'm inclined to believe it's the water, however it's pure.

Perhaps they overdrank? I kept on my toes to monitor the humidity, gave ample ventilation, even kept them near my westernmost wall to ensure they got heat.


Perhaps something in the substrate harmed them. I collected the silt near railroad tracks, so perhaps there were a few tiny flecks of glass or something. *shrug*


I've got a pic of the smallest specimen in premolt (which lasted OVER A MONTH!!) They become immobile, thrust all their legs back, and wriggle around like maggots to escape.

 

[bugarella]

I've got a pic of the smallest specimen in premolt (which lasted OVER A MONTH!!) They become immobile, thrust all their legs back, and wriggle around like maggots to escape.

Oh no. I think I just killed one of my arabicus sp! It stopped moving and its legs were up in the air and I thought it died! I didn't leave it until it stunk though like I should have :cry:

I feel like poo now. If only I had known what molting looked like last week! It wouldn't be in the freezer right now.

I'm sorry to hear about your little guys. That really sucks to hear they made it so far and died for seemingly no reason

 

[Biollantefan54]

That sucks, sorry for your loss burgarella.
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I have never made any 'substrate' for any pets, I have always bought it or just went outside. Usually I just by eco earth, How would I go about making substrate for solifugids? I plan on getting them with my next order, Also, heat mat or heat light? water dish or no water dish? I have my own idea for how to take care of them to see if they can live longer than normal in captivity. Thanks guys, And I don't know if this would be counted as 'hijacking' this thread but if it is sorry lol.
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I would really like to see some pics of a solifugid in pre-molt!

 

[Smokehound714]

That sucks, sorry for your loss burgarella.
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I have never made any 'substrate' for any pets, I have always bought it or just went outside. Usually I just by eco earth, How would I go about making substrate for solifugids? I plan on getting them with my next order, Also, heat mat or heat light? water dish or no water dish? I have my own idea for how to take care of them to see if they can live longer than normal in captivity. Thanks guys, And I don't know if this would be counted as 'hijacking' this thread but if it is sorry lol.
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I would really like to see some pics of a solifugid in pre-molt!

Your wish has been granted!

Here ya go, pre-molt, and post-molt:

The difference is quite dramatic

Makes breeding Hadrurus seem easy to me X(

 

[F1refly]

I must say, this was a interesting read. I'm actually quite surprised at how similar the overseas species look to our local species here. The only time I ever contemplated keeping a Solifugid was when I found a small purple one with deep red bristles. Prettiest thing I've ever seen but then it bit me and went scampering under some stones :|

 

[stewstew8282]

I remember my friend had one...didn't realize they hibernate. It was WC in the store where we work (Las Vegas). Even with prodding, there was no movement. Thinking it dead, he went to the bathroom to flush it to make room for a bark scorpion he had picked up at the local reptile expo. The little bugger ran up the spoon he used to put it down the toilet. I've never heard a man screech like a little girl like that. Very interesting little creatures they are...

 

[Smokehound714]

Round TWO!

New specimens.. One of them gravid and MEAN!


My goodness she's evil! touch her back legs, and she instantly turns around and bites repeatedly, running back and forth quickly... Such a sharp bite from a small animal is quite alarming..


I'm using some natural substrate from their habitat, this time. The gravid female must have been looking for substrate like this, as she immediately burrowed fast and deep, sealing herself off.

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[Smokehound714]

Well. the skinnier individual died recently. The female is still holed up, not sure if she's alive, or not. But regardless, I'm still giving a light misting to the substrate, and hoping she's popped.

I have seen recent evidence of activity, but not sure if it's her, or a hitch-hiker that came with the sand..

 

[Alltheworld601]

Well. the skinnier individual died recently. The female is still holed up, not sure if she's alive, or not. But regardless, I'm still giving a light misting to the substrate, and hoping she's popped.

I have seen recent evidence of activity, but not sure if it's her, or a hitch-hiker that came with the sand..

Any luck? Its been a while since an update. I'm curious.

 

[Smokehound714]

Any luck? Its been a while since an update. I'm curious.

she's still alive, caught her digging last night.. she just recently came out of diapause. Appears to not have been gravid, looks like it had a molt, too.

 

[NorthEdge]

This is an interesting thread. You mentioned that both of your first attempts died after drinking pure water. Maybe the water was too pure and cause some cell lysing? Maybe instead of a water dish you could have a "mud dish" where you have silty water for them to drink from.

Anyway, these are really cool arachnids and I hope captive breeding becomes successful.

 

[Smokehound714]

This is an interesting thread. You mentioned that both of your first attempts died after drinking pure water. Maybe the water was too pure and cause some cell lysing? Maybe instead of a water dish you could have a "mud dish" where you have silty water for them to drink from.

Anyway, these are really cool arachnids and I hope captive breeding becomes successful.

Who knows? Lol im unsure of what went wrong. I have a feeling their organs simply werent ready for it yet.

UPDATE: She's doing quite well, and is now 15mm (minus legs and palps), I found a small piece of wood with termites in it, and placed it inside her enclosure- she was very interested in it, exploring all the galleries. Was pretty neat watching her disappear for a second, then reappear with a termite in her chelicerae. many solifugids are heavily reliant on termites. A species in florida actually lives within termite colonies.

I'll take some pics of her during her next feeding (which will be a few weeks from now).

 

[Smokehound714]

Update: She's still doing well. She's been quite hungry following her molt, so I'll make a feeding video tonight.

It's pretty cool that she'll accept food offered to her via forceps.