solifugids actually lives longer than we think

codykrr

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 22, 2008
Messages
3,112
acually you should be able to ind them outside. there isnt really anysources to buy these. mainly due to the lack of breeding knowledge. sorry
 

Scorpiove

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 9, 2004
Messages
841
I see these things every year around this time in the High desert. I just saw one a few weeks ago.
 

Mattybofmd

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 4, 2009
Messages
77
solfugids

I know where to purchase camel spider aka wind scorpions but they are pricey $40
 

KingOfRats

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 3, 2010
Messages
11
I know that the first time I saw solpugids in captivity, a local pet store in michigan had 2 supposedly imported from Egypt. They sold for 60 dollars a peice. Before I bought them, I researched their living conditions and learned that in ample living conditions, they live up to a month max. So, I saved money and bought my first flat rock scorp. 2 months later, those 2 solpugids were still living in tiny critter keepers with minimal care, being fed once a week. I think the feed less thing is a good bet. Research should be put into that.
 

Irene B. Smithi

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 1, 2009
Messages
520
I'm thinking about getting into these. Very spiffy little critters indeed, and great post, thank you!
 

curtisgiganteus

ArachnoViking, Conqueror of Poikilos and Therion
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 15, 2010
Messages
518
I actually just came into possession of a gravid female Eremobates Sp. caught up in the Santa Monica mountains in CA. Shes just under an inch and doing fine on a single 1/4 inch cricket a week and a small deli container. i keep her on a substrate mix of 2/3 of the soil she was found in and peat moss. If anyone wants ill be heading back up for another collecting trip i might be able to get a hold of a few more of the guys.
 

Bugs In Cyberspace

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 10, 2006
Messages
721
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.

solifugid.jpg
 

Metasolpuga

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 2, 2012
Messages
23
I have a gravid Eremobatid as well, and have set up a terrarium for her consisting of the dirt found outside mixed with the loose coconut substrate for digging. Plenty of little spots for hiding and she seems comfortable. Did you feed yours when you first found her? I have not fed mine since I found her two days ago since she is not interested in feeding, so I don't try to force it and let her be. She is active late at night exploring her terrarium in the same fashion as I found her, so she appears not to be stressed and is carrying out her daily activities as she always would.
 

Alltheworld601

Arachnoangel
Joined
Jul 27, 2012
Messages
791
I have a gravid Eremobatid as well, and have set up a terrarium for her consisting of the dirt found outside mixed with the loose coconut substrate for digging. Plenty of little spots for hiding and she seems comfortable. Did you feed yours when you first found her? I have not fed mine since I found her two days ago since she is not interested in feeding, so I don't try to force it and let her be. She is active late at night exploring her terrarium in the same fashion as I found her, so she appears not to be stressed and is carrying out her daily activities as she always would.
Please keep us updated on her! I am really curious to see how long people can keep them in captivity..the more data collected the better. I hope she thrives. I love them. I'd have one if I was confident I could optimize the conditions for a long happy life.
 

Metasolpuga

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 2, 2012
Messages
23
It's funny how she is active every night at 12:50 am or later. She appears to have eaten as I found a chewed up mealworm in the terrarium, and she loves hiding in the rocks and dirt clumps. Is it true that solfugid young take several years to mature into adults? I am aware that frequent feeding would cause them to die rather quickly.
 

VictorHernandez

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 30, 2012
Messages
546
wow, serious? I didn't know that. I saw a little tiny one once in Arizona, but it was to quick for me to catch it.
 

Greenjewls

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 10, 2008
Messages
388
That is HUGE for a u.s. species... and I highly doubt it attained that size without overwintering a few times. The air temps in the Arizona desert drop below freezing a few times a year, but deep underground (where I suspect these overwinter) would probably never drop below 40f. Anyways, nice specimen, thanks for posting!

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
 

TB3Redneck

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jul 17, 2011
Messages
53
I just found a 1" solifugid last night in SoCal.... I was so happy as I've been looking for them forever.... It jumped into our fire....

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2
 

spiderguy1977

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Messages
4
there are species that are from temp. climates and others that are from arid. so depending on the climate dictates whether they bromate( not true hibernation) or not.
 

Smokehound714

Arachnoking
Joined
Mar 23, 2013
Messages
3,091
The only solifugids I ever see down here in OC are hemerotrecha Sp, of which are all tiny.

I've never seen any longer than my thumbnail, and they have this habit of running in light-speed figure-eights in small vegetation..

It's really hard to find info on them, thanks to the pitiful lack of research done on southern california arachnids..

I believe there IS a decent-sized Eremobates species down here, but even then, i believe they only have a 1" body length at max.. That's not too bad, though.
 

Smokehound714

Arachnoking
Joined
Mar 23, 2013
Messages
3,091
Sorry to DP (wont let me edit my post here), but after observing a couple of eremobates I had collected during a short hunt, I've learned that light screws with their behavior BIG TIME.

I set my flashlight to low, and pointed it so that I could barely see my eremobates, and whenever the light was too much for it, it immediately freaked out, and just started trying to climb the sides. When I pointed the flashlight away, it resumed normal behavior, and continued excavating its burrow. In my limited experience, if you have eremobates, try to keep it in the dark as much as you can. That way it wont burn out trying to escape, and may live a bit longer. I gotta say, watching them excavate was very amazing. Their burrows may seem crude, but the specimen I'm watching seemed to place "lode-stones" in certain spots to maintain stability.

The substrate is a 2-inch layer of heavy clay soil, lightly dampened, and tamped firm, but not too firm, then a 1-inch layer of sand mixed with clay, tamped again, then a sparse layer of cactus potting soil (dont worry, no softwood), and finally, a few patches of sand from the habitat I collected it from, then a few stones for decor. Very similar to the soil it was collected from. Seemed to enjoy it. It didn't like clay alone at all.


We'll see how things go..


Edit: btw, the enclosure is large in comparison to the wind scorpion's size, which is not even an inch yet, 8"x12"
 
Last edited:

Smokehound714

Arachnoking
Joined
Mar 23, 2013
Messages
3,091
update: the substrate was poor. followed punzo's recipe and both of my eremobates calmed down significantly.

the silt was what i was missing.

i learned that a small amount of very fine clay seems to act as an adhesive to maintain stability.

when theyre finished with their burrows, ill stretch some nylon over the containers to let the sand dry out a bit.

wow.. what a difference! punzo's the man, man!
 
Top