- Joined
- Jul 23, 2016
- Messages
- 1,652
I got 5 mature Vinegaroons M. giganteus last November (remember November) with the hopes of breeding them. I searched "how to determine gender" and quickly became a Goon gender expert. Argh! They were all males! I shared/traded/sold 3 and decided to keep 2 for pets. Vinny #4 was found dead one morning in December being devoured by some horrible maggot. Vinny #5 has been quite the pet; inquisitive, active and a very good eater. He came out any time I removed his screen cover. Even when I walk into the bug room he peeks out to see me. He says hi, we have a beer, you know - we bond. So yesterday when I fed him I was surprised when he didn't come out to see me. I picked up his bark cave and he was beneath it clinging upside down. I saw what looked like a cicada molt. It was at a right angle to his body and whitish. I thought back to the evil maggots and wondered if those 1/4" monsters could have grown into a cicada or parasitic version of a cicada. #4 was in a separate cage and #4's cage was totally cleaned & sterilized. But this cicada looked like it was sucking the life out of my sweet vinny boy. (raise your hand if you know where this is going) 
I put him back and was devastated. One of my bug helpers came over and we decided we would see if we thought something could be done. I raised the cave again and this time he dropped about 3" to the floor of his enclosure. That's when about 20 eggs fell out of his egg sac, aka parasitic cicada. I could see the babies were nearly formed. I just put his cave back and ran to my library to read a little Orin on the topic. Remember November (and this is July)? Remember when she was a male because I am a Goon Gender Expert?
I checked on her and her babies this morning all all the eggs were gone. I suppose she'd eaten them. I am so sick over this. I never knew how long the long the process to the egg sac was, I didn't consider this situation as a possibility, I never knew what the egg sac looked like; I always thought it was horizontal or in line with her body and I certainly am no Goon Gender Expert. Apparently.
Moral of My Sad Story - I am never an expert, just a collector of experiences. Hope this helps someone so you don't have to cry over spilled babies. PS - I don't really drink beer.
I put him back and was devastated. One of my bug helpers came over and we decided we would see if we thought something could be done. I raised the cave again and this time he dropped about 3" to the floor of his enclosure. That's when about 20 eggs fell out of his egg sac, aka parasitic cicada. I could see the babies were nearly formed. I just put his cave back and ran to my library to read a little Orin on the topic. Remember November (and this is July)? Remember when she was a male because I am a Goon Gender Expert?
I checked on her and her babies this morning all all the eggs were gone. I suppose she'd eaten them. I am so sick over this. I never knew how long the long the process to the egg sac was, I didn't consider this situation as a possibility, I never knew what the egg sac looked like; I always thought it was horizontal or in line with her body and I certainly am no Goon Gender Expert. Apparently.
Moral of My Sad Story - I am never an expert, just a collector of experiences. Hope this helps someone so you don't have to cry over spilled babies. PS - I don't really drink beer.
To be fair, if I didn't know better I'd have thought it may have been a parasitic organism too, vinegaroon egg sacs are really freaking weird looking... 
