Is my vinegaroon gravid?

[Love to Foxtrot]

I purchased this pair of vinegaroons a few months ago, and I was told that they were wild caught this summer. When I purchased them, the suspected female was slightly more fat than the suspected male, but during the time that I have owned her, she has steadily become huge! As you will see in the pictures, her abdomen is far larger than the male's despite the fact that they are each fed only one large cricket a week. The male has become a little more plump than he was when I first received him, but his growth is nothing compared to the female's. First, here are two pictures of the male...

[Love to Foxtrot]

Picture #2 He is in his "feed me"pose. I have spoiled both of them by tweezer feeding them. If he is hungry when I remove the lid, he displays this pose and shows no aggression toward me when I touch him, if he is not hungry he does not show me this display.

[Love to Foxtrot]

This is the huge female. Does she appear to be gravid, or is it simply wishful thinking?Thanks for looking!

Aubrey

[Navaros]

Seeing as how I have never seen one so fat, I would guess she is gravid. Good luck. :)

[Philth]

Not 100 percent sure, but i thought that they swell like that before a molt. Maybe somebody else who knows better can chime in.;)

[Navaros]

Also a good possibility, didn't consider that.

[Wade]

It could be either molting or gravid, or maybe just fat. How big is it? Vinegaroons do not molt after reaching maturity.

Either way, a deep substrate they can burrow in is important. Mine have always molted and/or laid eggs while sealed in a burow.

Wade

[cricket54]

I have seen these before in a pet shop and it looked so interesting. I wanted a tarantula they had there so I didn't buy one. How long do they live and do they eat the same things as tarantulas and scorpions?

Sharon

[Wade]

Yes, they are predatory and feed on insects. I don't think anyone is sure about the total lifespan since captive breeding is realatively rare, but I had a wild collected adult live for more than four years. I'm rearing some babies now, and based on the slow growth rate I'm seeing I'd bet the totlal lifespan (from hatching to death) is somewhere between seven and ten years. That's just a guess based on anecdotal evidence.

Wade

[Randolph XX()]

anyone got captive breed reports?