Solifugae 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.
Sun Spider: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: A fast desert oddball with a high metabolism: dry setup, tight lid, small prey, and calm maintenance.
Group: Spiders & Other InvertsDifficulty: Spice 4: AdvancedSetup: Arid terrestrial runnerHandling: No handling, fast and delicate
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 | 30-45%, dry substrate, small damp refuge, grit dish |
| Setup Type | Arid terrestrial runner |
| Substrate | 3-5 in dry sand/soil, one lightly damp retreat pocket |
| Feeding | Juveniles 2-3x weekly, adults weekly |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 4: Advanced |
| Handling | No handling, fast and delicate |
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
- Juveniles: secure small enclosure, shallow dig depth.
- Adults: low terrestrial setup with dry substrate and a retreat.
Warnings First
- Not a spider or scorpion, despite the name; a separate arachnid order.
- Very fast; a real escape risk.
- Keep the enclosure low, not tall; falls can injure this delicate animal.
- Avoid wet, stagnant conditions; heavy cross ventilation plus a small damp refuge solves both halves of that problem.
Simple Care
- Keep the main setup dry.
- Ventilate heavily, low on two opposite walls; you can't over-ventilate a solifuge.
- Give it a retreat plus a small, separate damp refuge area.
- Keep a shallow dish packed with grit; that prevents desiccation without raising humidity.
- Keep the enclosure low, not tall; falls injure this delicate animal.
- Use catch cups and block escape paths before maintenance.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- Keep the enclosure low, not tall; falls can injure this delicate animal.
- A simple dry burrow starter helps it settle.
- Wet and stagnant are two separate problems. Heavy cross ventilation fixes the stagnant half and lets you keep a small damp refuge safely.
- Ambient 30-45% is right, and lower is fine; prevent desiccation with drinking water, not humid air.
- Keep the water dish shallow with grit so the waterline sits below the rim; it moves fast and erratically and is poor at climbing out of open water.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- A voracious, fast hunter. Offer appropriately sized live prey 2-3x weekly for juveniles, weekly for adults; expect an aggressive, immediate strike.
- Hydration usually comes from prey; don't convert the setup into a humid enclosure to compensate.
- Do maintenance over secondary containment; escape recovery is difficult.
- Molts in a sealed burrow and is extremely fragile while teneral. If it's dug in and off food, leave it strictly alone until it re-emerges.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Species unknown; sun spiders in general live in arid to semi-arid ground habitats worldwide.
- Habitat translation: Dry ground, cover, and short bursts of hunting activity.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Genus and species aren't pinned down; watch your own animal's size and behavior and adjust care from there.
- Heat should be measured at the animal's level, not guessed from the room or lid.