Paragaleodes sp.
Sold under its hobby name. This guide covers the group or trade name this fella is sold as, so the ranges fit the whole group. Start in the middle and watch how your animal settles in.
Fuzzy Camel Spider: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: Paragaleodes camel spiders are fast, delicate, and voracious. Give them a short, dry, heavily vented setup with a tight lid, feed live prey, and keep maintenance calm and over containment.
Group: Spiders & Other InvertsDifficulty: Spice 4: AdvancedSetup: Arid terrestrial, short enclosure, burrow startHandling: No handling, catch cups for maintenance
Use This Guide Safely
- Confirm the exact animal. Match this guide to the species, locality, size, and life stage on your label. If the ID is uncertain, use the more conservative part of the range and ask before changing the setup.
- Change one thing at a time. Treat temperature and humidity as target zones, then watch posture, burrowing, drinking, feeding, and molt behavior before making another adjustment.
- Respect the handling boundary. If the guide says no handling, fast, defensive, or medically significant, plan transfers with catch cups, locked lids, and no bare hands. For serious bites, stings, or symptoms, seek emergency medical care.
Quick Snapshot
| Temperature | 75-85°F |
|---|---|
| Humidity | Dry (30-45%), small damp refuge, heavy vents |
| Setup Type | Arid terrestrial, short enclosure, burrow start |
| Substrate | 3-5 in dry sand/soil, one lightly damp pocket |
| Feeding | Live prey, juveniles 2-3x weekly, adults weekly |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 4: Advanced |
| Handling | No handling, catch cups for maintenance |
Humidity zones: Very Low under 30% - Low 30-60% - Low-Moderate 40-70% - Moderate 60-80% - Moderate-High 70-85% - High 80%+ - Very High 90%+
Enclosure Format / Size Class
- Small animals: secure deli cup or small acrylic with shallow dig depth
- Larger animals: low terrestrial with dry substrate and a retreat
Warnings First
- Extremely fast escape risk, and escapees are hard to recover. Block escape paths, use catch cups, and work over secondary containment.
- Delicate: falls can injure them. Use a short enclosure, not a tall one.
- They molt in a sealed burrow and are extremely fragile until they harden. If one has dug in and gone off food, leave it strictly alone.
- They are poor at getting out of open water. Pack the dish with pebbles or coarse grit.
- Avoid wet, stagnant conditions. Heavy cross-ventilation fixes stagnant air and lets a small damp refuge dry back.
Simple Care
- Keep the main setup dry.
- Vent heavily, low on two opposite walls. You can't over-ventilate a solifuge.
- Use 3-5 in dry sand/soil with a retreat and one lightly damp pocket.
- Offer water in a shallow dish packed with grit.
- Hold 75-85°F, measured at the animal's level.
- Feed live crickets or roaches: juveniles 2-3x weekly, adults weekly.
- Block escape paths and have catch cups ready before maintenance.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- Skip tall enclosures, because falls can injure these delicate animals. A simple dry burrow starter helps them settle.
- Vent low on two opposite walls so air crosses the substrate and burrow starter. The damp refuge then dries back on its own instead of spreading.
- 30-45% is right and lower is fine. Prevent drying out with drinking water, not humid air.
- Judge by hand, not gauge. Main substrate dry, refuge lightly moist and drying back within a few days.
- Recharge the refuge under the retreat with a pipette instead of misting, so the damp spot stays where it shelters.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Voracious, fast hunters. Offer right-sized live crickets or roaches 2-3x weekly for juveniles and weekly for adults, and expect an instant, aggressive strike.
- Most water comes from prey, but don't let them dry out badly. Use the dish, not a humid setup.
- They molt in a sealed burrow. If one has dug in and stopped eating, leave it alone until it comes back up.
- Work over secondary containment. Recovering an escapee is hard.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Paragaleodes camel spiders are found in North Africa, the Middle East, and nearby arid regions.
- Habitat translation: Dry ground with cover and short bursts of hunting becomes a short, dry, heavily vented setup with a burrow start, a low hide, and one small damp pocket.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Camel spiders are solifuges, not true spiders or scorpions.
- Identified to genus only. Adjust care to the size and behavior of the animal in front of you.
- Measure heat at the animal's level, not from the room or lid.