black solifugid substrate???

[stevo]

im confused about what substrate to use with these guys cos of there colour!!
they couldnt live in sand cos there gonna stand out like a saw thumb i imagine (to predators)!! there black so in my eyes they should be kept moist in coco fibre??? is this right? (a forest species if you like)
anyone keep blacks and can shed a bit of light on itfor me?

my local pet shop is asking for 50 quid for the black solifugid
and seventyfive quid for yellow solifugid!

hehe yep i just laughed at him by accident!!! :wall:

dont worry im not paying that im paying £10 which is v.cheap!!!

[Black Hawk]

aren't there places you can buy black gecko sand? i still think it would be on tan sand in nature tho, i think it wouldn't have trouble getting away from predators. aren't they incredibly fast burrowers???

[stevo]

so ive heard!
im gonna mix sand with coco fibre (compressed) so it can burrow for me nicely!
ive never kept one of these so im gonna get a few and try to understand them better as they are not widely kept to my knowlage!

[G. Carnell]

so ive heard!
im gonna mix sand with coco fibre (compressed) so it can burrow for me nicely!
ive never kept one of these so im gonna get a few and try to understand them better as they are not widely kept to my knowlage!


hi Steve :P

theyre from Egypt the black ones methinks
and no tropical rain forests in egypt :P

research them (i think the genus is rhagodidae or some similar spelling)
or it will die very soon

[Gsc]

Just use the cheapest sand. Solifugids usually only live a month or sao (if that) in captivity.... It'd be a waste to spend alot of $$$$ and then it die soon after.

I've heard to put rock around the tank to obstruct its view... sometimes they pace the cage back and forth...this will help to stop that behavior. Feed it alot...they have a super high metabolism.

They burrow alot so make sure the rocks will not crush them. They are AWSOME looking predators but don't do that well in captivity.

[cacoseraph]

Just use the cheapest sand. Solifugids usually only live a month or sao (if that) in captivity.... It'd be a waste to spend alot of $$$$ and then it die soon after.

I've heard to put rock around the tank to obstruct its view... sometimes they pace the cage back and forth...this will help to stop that behavior. Feed it alot...they have a super high metabolism.

They burrow alot so make sure the rocks will not crush them. They are AWSOME looking predators but don't do that well in captivity.

*sigh*
one casualty already...

i bought three of the burly blacks (or their very similar looking cousins), two had long abdomens, one had a very small abdomen (size relative to carapace area)


all three paced like maniacs until one made a burrow in coco-fiber (i've had no luck getting sand to dry burrowable)

now sometimes it is in it's burrow and more of the time it still paces

i was going to try treating them as almost semi-arboreal, by putting a ton of stuff for them to climb on, but these guys strike me as dumb climbers. i had a piece of egg crate in one's cage as a temporary hide and i watched the bug rocket over the top and almost violently fall off... mutliple times in a row

so beyond some soft hides or smooth rigid hides i didn't put anything in their cages with them

p.s. i had no luck mixing the sand & cocofiber and keeping it burrowable

to be sure, the soli seems to prefer the sandy side slightly, but all the burrows collapse.

the soli that paces the least (and is the fattest and seems healthiest) is on pure coco-fiber pressed into a thick pad and topped by sand

had 'em two weeks about and the little abdomen guy died. it never ate food... would kill the prey items, but not eat them. poor little guy

[Wade]

They are naturally short lived, the short lifespan isn't always due to inadaquate care. Most imported specimens are fully grown and don't have long to live. Much like an adult mantid in this regard.

Lots of cover and hiding spots are important, otherwise they tend to run themselves to death.

Wade

[Alex S.]

Using stones in solifugid terrariums is definitely a good idea. Most species occur in arid areas with scattered rocks. I always put several stones in my Eremobatidae enclosures and the specimens spend much of their time either resting next to or on top of the stones. Use several small to medium-sized, irregularly shaped, somewhat flat stones instead of one or two giant ones. Of course other hides, such as driftwood and halves of clay pots etc. are also beneficial to add to the terrarium. Clay pot halves will encourage them to burrow. The color of a solifugid species has very little to do with its locality. Some of the most strikingly colored species occur on light sand dunes. I have been using a mixture of 70% sand and 30% potting soil as substrate for Eremobates specimens and so far it has worked fine.

Alex S.