would a 12 x 24 inch tank be alright to hold one? been after one of these for ages so already emailed lee

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Only have
0.1.0 chili rose
0.0.1 Gaint Viet. centipede S. Subspinipes

coming soon....

DWA
Hotnetotta not sure which Sp yet
A. Australis

Sold
Mack Blazzing Blizzard Leo, Bell Albino Leo,Normal Leo,Urban High yellow with Carrot Tail leo.
Red Claw Scorpion ,Egyptian Gold scorpion
Atacama Red Scorpion, Talca Scorpion's

RIP
Carpet Chameleon, talca scorpion

I'm tempted by one of these, but of course because of the whole "omg theyre gonna kill ya soon as look at ya" thing I've always been a bit wary...Are they as bad as they say?

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RANDY BRANDY COW MOOOOOOOOOOO!
Member number 4746! YouTube - Spider Duck
Trust Nowone.

The humidity is a little high by the sounds of it - I aim for around 65-70% with plenty of ventilation. The sand/compost mix is damp to facilitate burrowing.

The heatmat thing is intersting; logically that sort of dip will occur in deserts. However, in a viv the temperate is usually pretty even as its such a small volume of air. As such, in the wild there might be spots that exist as 18C right down to -2C in a desert (those values just plucked to illustrate my point). In such a vast expanse, a solifuge can select its preffered temperature niche. However, in a viv its riskier as the temp is preety uniform - if its 10C its probably going to be 10C +/- 1C all over the tank.

In that manner, I dont know. In my house certainly it will be too cold - even with a heatmat I struggle to get it much higher than 22C, so with it off at night-time in the winter, It could plummet. I think it might be an idea finding out better the locality of these solifuges before you apply any fluctuations to the temp. (eg, morocco has temps of around 31C in the day during summer - but Punzo suggests these are too high. Conversly, a night time temp of 6C might be too low if applied to a viv).

Glad to hear they have settled in ok. Minehas constructed a burrow and seems to be quite calm. Fed it yesteday, I will probably wait a few days before feeding again.

Becky: Who was it that suggested such low temps in the winter? Just wondering, to me it seems rather low compared to weather data for morocco etc in winter. I know deserts fluctuate a lot, but 12C (day) seems low. Punzo reported that they become very lethargic below 20C...

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Brachypelma albopilosum (Charlotte)
B. Schroederi (slings)
Grammostola sp. "North" Northern gold
G. aurerostriata (slings)
Cyclosternum fasciatum (slings)

Member of the BAS and AAS.

They will bite and they are nasty, but they're not gonna chew your face off like them stupid emails say!

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Yes, AFAIK.

Indeed, Lee was keeping them in containers about a foot square.

So would you use a heat mat at all, Becky..?

Have you kept these before, if so how long have you got them to live..?

Awesome cheers, I can deal with nasty spiders just wanted to make sure it wasnt going to sped the entire time plotting my demise and busting out one night to kill me Now to convince Lucifus....

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RANDY BRANDY COW MOOOOOOOOOOO!
Member number 4746! YouTube - Spider Duck
Trust Nowone.

Well, I melted about nine holes in the lid of each box, and they are decent sized holes at that, too...

And then there is the feller who said that the water droplets, if not excessive, are a good thing, as they replicate natural morning due.

Suppose there is a lot of conflicting advice mate, and it is trial and error, to a degree...

Not in my experience.

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

Steve, 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.

Ok, sorry for the long post!

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Brachypelma albopilosum (Charlotte)
B. Schroederi (slings)
Grammostola sp. "North" Northern gold
G. aurerostriata (slings)
Cyclosternum fasciatum (slings)

Member of the BAS and AAS.