This care sheet is based on the work of Fred Punzo, who is essentially the expert on this group of arachnids. I am writing this with the hope that solifuges will be better looked after, and also because Punzo's book is becoming increasingly hard to find, and I don't expect many people will be happy to the £70 I paid to own a copy (and that is cheap for this book...).

I thoroughly recommend buying Punzo's book, "The Biology of Camel Spiders (Arachnida, Solifugae)" as this is just a quick skim over his rearing section, and his book covers many more aspects of their biology.

Anyway, here you are:

SOLIFUGES - General Care for the expert invert keeper!

Solifuges are an order of arachnid found in semi arid, tropical and semi tropical areas. They are characterised by the presence of massive chelicerae and fast locomotion. They go by a variety of names such as camel or sun spiders, wind spiders/scorpions, jerrymanders and hair cutters.

Most live relatively short lives (1-1.5yrs) and exhibit nocturnal patterns of activity. They are very difficult to keep in captivity and should only be attempted by keepers of reasonably high levels of invertebrate care.


Caging (various):

ADULTS: Plastic or Glass cage, at least 6x the body length of the solifuge and 4x it's width. I would personally suggest a fairly large cage as they a similar to scorpions in the respect that they like to roam at night. The cage must be at least 9 inches deep to allow sufficient substrate for the solifuge to burrow. In this, the solifuge will usually construct a burrow around 4-5 inches deep (the extra allowing for heat mat cover etc).

Any cage must have a very tight fitting lid - solifuges have an adhesive organ on their palps that can allow them to climb glass, and I myself have heard reports that they can chew through 1mm metal mesh caging.

Solifuges need to be housed individually - they are extremely aggressive to each other and other inverts and will certainly cannibalise each other.

Ventilation is important - some reports from other keepers suggest that solifuges fare much better if some ventilation at substrate level is provided so that air can flow around the burrow. Punzo does not mention this, but I have heard it a few times.

Juveniles can be housed in smaller containers similar to what Tarantula slings are kept in. Larger juveniles can be transported to larger terrariums as for adults.

Upon caging your solifuge, it is important to stop it pacing as quickly as you can - providing hides is a good idea. Solifuges can literally walk themselves to death as they try to escape your container and look for a hide. Minimising pacing is key to ensuring your solifuge survives the first few hours after transit.

Substrate (Punzo):

Punzo reports that he has had most success with the following mix:

14.1% Clay
7.1% Silt
78.8% Sand

(All sterilised)

So, for a 1kg mix, you would use 141g clay, 71g silt and 788g sand. I have no idea what Punzo specifically means by clay and silt, but I imagine it is easily obtainable from river margins etc, and an approximate mix of the 3 resulting in a nice sandy loam would be acceptable.

Hides can also be provided, such as small 1-2" diameter plastic pipes etc. This can be important as some juveniles will not burrow, whilst the adults of the same species will readily burrow.

It is mentioned that moss, coir blocks, spaghnum, peat etc commonly used for other invertebrates is NOT recommended. Occassionally replace the substrate to reduce the effects of cage pests such as mites and drain fly.

Temperature and humidity (various sources):

Temperature in the mid to upper 20's. Anything below about 20C and the solifuge becomes lethargic; anything above ~30C and the solifuge will become agitated and stressed. Mid 20s C allows for maximum locomotion of your solifuge according to Punzo. A slightly lower temperature during the night is a good idea, as to mimic the semi arid/arid areas they originate from.

Humidity is not quoted directly, but I would estimate 65%+. Although they are desert animals for the most part they inhabit small burrows etc that will have a different microclimate than that of outside. I would suggest 65-75% Relative Humidity.

Small containers of water with a sponge or such are reported to be readily drunk from, especially if humidity is lower.

As a side note, Punzo suggests that the photoperiod is also important - especially in rearing solifuges from young instars. He uses a variety from 16hr Light:8 Dark, to 12:12 for eggs.

Feeding:

Solifuges are generalist invertebrate predators, so a variety of invert prey will be taken. Some have been recorded consuming small lizards and mammals, so be careful! Solifuges will eat readily, so a general diet plan is hard to estimate. Most people suggest that overfeeding is neigh on impossible, and to feed much more to solifuges than the equivilent tarantula or scorpion.

Any live mix of crickets, locusts,cockroaches, stick insects, spiders, beetles etc can be successfully offered. punzo reports that a varied diet greatly increases the success of breeding attempts.

Smaller solifuges can be fed on drosophila and collembolans and other small inverts, as for T slings.

Rearing and breeding Solifuges (entirely from Punzo - Very Difficult)

If you obtain a gravid female, you will be able to notice the eggs gradually developing through the sides of her abdomen. After 5-14 days, the eggs will be laid - at which point it is a good idea to remove them if possible to reduce the risk of egg cannibalism.

Punzo reports that the best chance is to remove them and place on moist kitchen paper at around 25C and 70-80% humidity. Too wet and fungi might develop; too dry and the eggs will die of dessication.

If the eggs are fertile, they will remain a creamy/tan colour, whereas unfertile eggs will rapidly darken and shrivel within 48hrs.

Incubation will last for varying amounts of time based on different species. 1st instars are able to move, but will not feed as their chelicera are not developed fully yet. Although 1st instar nymphs are gregarious, they should be seperated and can be kept in seperate containers.

After a few days, they will become 2nd instar nymphs and will change rapidly in behaviour - they will readily cannibalise and attack prey items - hence the seperate containers.

Very few reports of a full life cycle occur - Punzo suggests:

egg>post-embryo>8 instars>Adult.

They are reported to be very, very difficult to rear through the entire life cycle in the lab/hobby.

Mating:

Will take some patience...

For maximum success, only use individuals of high quality - lack of stress, well fed on a varied diet and "happy".

Place a clear divider between the male and female (such as a perspex sheet). This can allow you to tell if the female is receptive, or if she will simply rip the male apart. Place the sheeting in the female's cage, then leave it a day or so - then add the male to the other side.

Males will often extend their pedipalps towards the female: If she reciprocates, and maintains contact for several minutes it suggests a more recptive female. Any signs of threat display or pedipalp withdrawel suggest the female is not in the mood...

Remove the perspex gate, and hopefully the male will begin to gently stroke the female. At this point, the female may still attack the male, or turn and flee. If all goes well, the female will markedly relax and collapse to the ground, whereupon mating will commense.


Care at a Glance:

Caging: Large, deep, well ventilated - but still escape proof!

Substrate: Sandy Loam

Temps: mid to upper 20s

Humidity: Adults - 65-75%, Juveniles 70-80%

Feeding: Almost impossible to overfeed

Lifespan: Max 1.5 yrs or so, but often much less in WC individuals - maybe as low as a few weeks for males depending on age of capture and stress.

I would recommend trying to get CB solifuges as its almost pointless buying WC - they live very short, fast lives.

Handling: NOT RECOMMENDED, very aggressive. They make cobalt blues look docile.

Hopefully this covers it, and hopefully I wont get into trouble for quoting Punzo. Most of the information here is based upon his work.

__________________
"All I know is my gut says maybe"

Brachypelma albopilosum (Charlotte)
100's of Harvestmen
Member of the BAS and AAS.

Picture:

__________________
"All I know is my gut says maybe"

Brachypelma albopilosum (Charlotte)
100's of Harvestmen
Member of the BAS and AAS.

Some new information from US keepers:

(1) Feed them less than thought previously. Turns out that reducing feed might actually increase their lifespan.

(2) Don't hassle them too much.

(3) One US keeper reports keeping a solifuge for nearly 2 years inside a cup, so their is hope for increasing their liefspan past a few weeks commonly encountered in the hobby.

I finally have managed to track one down (G.arabicus), so I'll have some first hand experience to add to this soon.

__________________
"All I know is my gut says maybe"

Brachypelma albopilosum (Charlotte)
100's of Harvestmen
Member of the BAS and AAS.

This is copied from my post in the inverts section, I just didnt want it becoming lost in the thread.

Solifuge Diary (1)

Well, I tired lower temps last night and the result was that little Yojimbo was lethargic and hardly moved.

I've been reading a hell of a lot over the past few days (my disertation has hit a lull) - i'll use Galeodes granti as Steve owns them and they are also well studied.

G.granti is native to the Sudan. Studies indicate that they are inactive for up to 9 months of a year, and show peaks of activity based upon the rainfall peaks in the rainy season. My guess is that temperature isnt so important as availability of water (and hence prey) in the wild. Perhaps controlling temp is a good way to instigate dormancy however - who know really? It's all a bit trial and error just now.

I did a search of weather forecasts for Sudan at this time of year, and picked several places that have 5 day forecasts of day and night temps.


Juba (southern sudan): Day = 27-30C
Night = 18-20C

Geneina (north west): Day = 34-39C
Night = 24-29C (mean = 24.5C)

El Obeid (central) : Day = 34-40C
Night =25-31C

Khartoum (central) : Day = 40-44C
Night = 23/24C

Malakal (southern central) Day = 25-34C
Night = 22-25C

Now, I don't have time to go back and check the weather for months ands months, but for this time of year, the Sudan doesnt really experience weather so low. Ok, so these are Mean temperatures and in reality 12C could be found in the South perhaps, but it seems that temperatures are pretty high.

After reading more of Punzo, I am wondering if trying to extend their lives is.. unnatural. Punzo and Muma had years of experience studying these animals in the lab and the field and suggested that adults dont live long in the wild after reaching sexual maturity. I just wonder how correct we are in assuming that Punzo was wrong? Or perhaps it varies masively between species? Perhaps US solifuges live shorter lives than african ones?

Perhaps by keeping them cold, reducing food massively and such, we are extending their lifespan at the expense of re-creating (at least as much as we can) natural habitats.

I think with my own, I will go for the middle ground. I am aiming for 22-24C daytime temps, with a slight dip to around 18-20C at nightime. I fed mine again today, as Punzo suggests they get "v.hungry" after food was withheld for 72 hrs.

However, I'll see how it goes - if Yojimbo is out and active, then I will feed. If she retreats to her burrow then I will withhold food for a little while. I'll just have to see how it goes.

Ok, last thing: SEXING

I am pretty sure mine is a female. There is no sure fire way to tell without a little bit of close inspection, but here's some general things to help you sex your solifuge.

a) Males in all solifuge (except one family) possess a Flagellum on their chelicerae (mouthparts). This is like a huge inflexed hair that can be quite...distinctive. it is not simpy a long hair, you will be able to see the difference if it is present.

b) males are usually spindly and thinner than females. Its obviously hard to tell without a pair, but for G.granti you should be able to tell. Check out this website for photos of a sexed pair of G.fumigatis and others:

Galeodes fumigatus Walter 1889

There are others photographed on that page, but no G.granti Im afraid. If you look closely, you can see the flagellum on that picture as well, right near the mouthparts.

I think mine is a female...but its hard to say. Definitely nothing I would consider a flagellum however.

__________________
"All I know is my gut says maybe"

Brachypelma albopilosum (Charlotte)
100's of Harvestmen
Member of the BAS and AAS.