Vinegaroon won’t burrow, isn’t eating, sluggish

[ChesterM]

I’ve had my vinegaroon for about 2 years. He ate dead crickets regularly for the first year, but never burrowed even with 4 inches of substrate. He hasn’t eaten in months, and is now acting sluggish and not reacting to me much when I handle him. I kept thinking that they can go long without eating and hoping he was going to molt, but now I’m very concerned. I use coconut husk substrate. He has a heating pad that’s under the tank and covers half of it. The room temp, away from the heating pad is a steady 76 degrees F. The humidity of the room is 50%. I have not been using a UV light and am not sure if that was a huge mistake. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I don’t want this little guy to suffer. He doesn’t seem bloated or anything like that.

 

[coolnweird]

Do you have a thermostat set up with the heat pad? Do you keep the substrate moist? Is there a water dish? Did you always feed captive bred crickets? Has he been dropped recently during handling? Any new flea/tick meds for other family pets? Any pesticides or herbicides sprayed in your yard, or that of your neighbors?

 

[ChesterM]

Thank you for your response! I don’t keep the substrate moist enough, perhaps. He hadn’t been dropped and definitely no chemicals or pesticides anywhere near him. He’s always eaten captive bred crickets. He has a water dish and the temp on the side with the heating pad tends to be about 70 to 80.

 

[Jonathan6303]

I wouldn’t recommend handling any invert personally. They don’t enjoy it, it doesn’t benefit them and there is the risk of you dropping it or it bolting and falling on ther floor which leads to another dead animal(and trust me it happens. I’ve seen threads).

 

[ChesterM]

Well thankfully that’s not the issue. He’s only handled for education and that hasn’t been for a very long time.

 

[Jonathan6303]

Well thankfully that’s not the issue. He’s only handled for education and that hasn’t been for a very long time.

Well it might actually be relevant because handling your invert can cause stress and stress definitely is an important thing to consider.

 

[ChesterM]

Absolutely. But it’s not the issue with my poor little guy because he’s not been handled in a very long time.

 

[coolnweird]

Sounds like it could be a slight dehydration, try dampening one corner of the enclosure and seeing if it gravitates towards it. If its condition worsens, you may need to place the mouthparts directly into shallow water. If you haven't already, you can offer a starter burrow to encourage burrowing. Just dig a little bit out from underneath the hide!

Something else I thought of, does the enclosure have a lot of height? Is it possible it could have climbed something in the enclosure and slipped?

For what my 2 cents are worth, I don't think handling is the issue! Vinegaroons are pretty chill lil critters, and there's certainly an educational value in certain settings. I just asked bc a handling incident could've been behind the sluggishness, but that's clearly not the cause

 

[Nicole C G]

I wouldn’t recommend handling any invert personally. They don’t enjoy it, it doesn’t benefit them and there is the risk of you dropping it or it bolting and falling on ther floor which leads to another dead animal(and trust me it happens. I’ve seen threads).

Some invertebrates actually do enjoy being held actually, like Jumping spiders, It’s good for them to get out. Quite a few invertebrates aren’t though. Make sure to do research on the one you have. But I’m sure you already did

 

[Jonathan6303]

Some invertebrates actually do enjoy being held actually, like Jumping spiders, It’s good for them to get out. Quite a few invertebrates aren’t though. Make sure to do research on the one you have. But I’m sure you already did

Do they enjoy being handled or do do they enjoy exploring? I have never seen one jumper who would calmly walk across my hand. I think they tolerate but not enjoy it.

 

[Nicole C G]

Do they enjoy being handled or do do they enjoy exploring? I have never seen one jumper who would calmly walk across my hand. I think they tolerate but not enjoy it.

Not all, but I’ve had many jumpers jump on my hand without coaxing and refuse to get off. Walking around calmly and such. Some enjoy it, some hate it. And some like you said, don’t like it but tollerate it. You just gotta observe their personality before handing them.

 

[Jonathan6303]

Not all, but I’ve had many jumpers jump on my hand without coaxing and refuse to get off. Walking around calmly and such. Some enjoy it, some hate it. And some like you said, don’t like it but tollerate it. You just gotta observe their personality before handing them.

The reason they jump on you hand is either three options from what I have observed.
1. They view it as an obstacle and wish to go across it.
2. They view you as an object and wish to crawl around you until they arrive at the their destination.
3. There curious and wish to explore.
They sound similar but they are different.

 

[darkness975]

I've only had mine for a few days. I don't saturate the enclosure because it's a bit chilly in winter here (68ish F to 70ish F) but I do spray a little bit and have a full water dish. Esentially it's not bone dry but also not super wet.

 

[MrGhostMantis]

The reason they jump on you hand is either three options from what I have observed.
1. They view it as an obstacle and wish to go across it.
2. They view you as an object and wish to crawl around you until they arrive at the their destination.
3. There curious and wish to explore.
They sound similar but they are different.

Jumping spiders have been proven to learn and require enrichment. They are very intelligent for a spider and they are able to recognize you, not by faces but by size and know you not to be a threat. I’ve seen the same thing in mantids but they see you more as an obstacle.