Care guide
Sun Spider
Solifugae sp.
A fast desert oddball with a high metabolism: dry setup, tight lid, small prey, and calm maintenance.
Solifugae sp.
Identity confidence: provisional. This is a genus, group, or trade name rather than a confirmed species. Treat it as the closest match we can stand behind, and use the more conservative end of any range.
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. Solifuges are extremely fast, delicate, and stressful to chase.
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 | Low ambient (30-45%), heavily ventilated; dry substrate, small damp refuge, dish with grit |
| Setup Type | Arid terrestrial runner |
| Substrate | 3-5 in dry sand/soil mix with one lightly damp retreat pocket. |
| Feeding | Appropriately sized live prey weekly |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 4: Advanced |
| Handling | No handling. Solifuges are extremely fast, delicate, and stressful to chase. |
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 arrival: secure deli cup or small acrylic with shallow dig depth.
- Larger specimen: low terrestrial with dry substrate and a retreat.
Warnings First
- They are not spiders or scorpions.
- Very fast escape risk.
- Avoid wet, stagnant conditions.
- Wet and stagnant are two separate problems. Heavy cross ventilation handles the stagnant half and lets you keep the small damp refuge safely.
Simple Care
- Keep the main setup dry.
- Heavy ventilation, low on two opposite walls; you cannot over-ventilate a solifuge.
- Provide a retreat and a small damp refuge area.
- Shallow water dish packed with grit: how you prevent desiccation without raising humidity.
- Use catch cups and block escape paths before maintenance.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- Avoid tall enclosures; falls can injure delicate animals.
- A simple dry burrow starter helps them settle.
- 'Wet, stagnant conditions' names two failures that need separate fixes. The stagnant half is solved by vents low on two opposite walls, so air crosses the substrate and the burrow starter rather than passing over the lid of a deliberately short enclosure. With that airflow, the small damp refuge dries back on its own instead of spreading, and you get to offer moisture without the enclosure ever being wet.
- On an arid animal there is no ventilation ceiling. Ambient at 30 to 45% is right, lower is harmless, and the way to prevent desiccation is drinking water rather than humid air.
- Judge by hand rather than by gauge. Main substrate reads dry, the damp refuge stays lightly moist and dries back within a few days.
- Keep the water dish shallow and packed with grit so the waterline sits below the rim. Solifuges move fast and erratically and are poor at getting out of open water, so a dish they cannot fall into is worth more than one they can drink from more easily.
- Recharge the refuge under the retreat with a pipette rather than misting. That keeps the damp microclimate available where the animal shelters and leaves the rest of the enclosure dry and moving air.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Solifuges are voracious, fast hunters. Offer appropriately sized live prey (crickets or roaches) 2-3 times weekly for juveniles, weekly for adults, and expect an aggressive, immediate strike.
- Hydration usually comes from prey, but avoid extreme dehydration; do not convert the setup into a humid enclosure. Maintenance should be done over secondary containment because escape recovery is difficult.
- Molting: solifuges molt in a sealed burrow and are extremely fragile while teneral. If it has dug in and gone off food, leave it strictly alone until it re-emerges.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Order-level ID only; sun spiders are generally arid or semi-arid ground predators.
- Habitat translation: Dry ground, cover, and short bursts of hunting activity.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Use the exact product label, size, and behavior in front of you before adjusting care.
- Heat should be measured at the animal's level, not guessed from the room or lid.
- Sources: the full Big Z APA 7 reference list lives at References.
Solifugae sp.
Identity confidence: provisional. This is a genus, group, or trade name rather than a confirmed species. Treat it as the closest match we can stand behind, and use the more conservative end of any range.
Sun Spider
Big Z's Quick Verdict: 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. Solifuges are extremely fast, delicate, and stressful to chase.
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 Care Snapshot
| Temp | 75-85 F |
|---|---|
| Humidity | Low ambient (30-45%), heavily ventilated; dry substrate, small damp refuge, dish with grit |
| Setup | Arid terrestrial runner |
| Substrate | 3-5 in dry sand/soil mix with one lightly damp retreat pocket. |
| Feeding | Appropriately sized live prey weekly |
| Handling | No handling. Solifuges are extremely fast, delicate, and stressful to chase. |
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%+
Recommended Big Z's Setup
- Burrow Buddy
- Desert burrow mix
- Low hide
- Catch cup
Critical Notes
- They are not spiders or scorpions.
- Very fast escape risk.
- Avoid wet, stagnant conditions.
- Wet and stagnant are two separate problems. Heavy cross ventilation handles the stagnant half and lets you keep the small damp refuge safely.
Care Basics
- Keep the main setup dry.
- Heavy ventilation, low on two opposite walls; you cannot over-ventilate a solifuge.
- Provide a retreat and a small damp refuge area.
- Shallow water dish packed with grit: how you prevent desiccation without raising humidity.
- Use catch cups and block escape paths before maintenance.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Solifuges are voracious, fast hunters. Offer appropriately sized live prey (crickets or roaches) 2-3 times weekly for juveniles, weekly for adults, and expect an aggressive, immediate strike.
- Hydration usually comes from prey, but avoid extreme dehydration; do not convert the setup into a humid enclosure. Maintenance should be done over secondary containment because escape recovery is difficult.
- Molting: solifuges molt in a sealed burrow and are extremely fragile while teneral. If it has dug in and gone off food, leave it strictly alone until it re-emerges.
Current Big Z's catalog: No
Solifugae sp.
Identity confidence: provisional. This is a genus, group, or trade name rather than a confirmed species. Treat it as the closest match we can stand behind, and use the more conservative end of any range.
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. Solifuges are extremely fast, delicate, and stressful to chase.
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 | Low ambient (30-45%), heavily ventilated; dry substrate, small damp refuge, dish with grit |
| Setup Type | Arid terrestrial runner |
| Substrate | 3-5 in dry sand/soil mix with one lightly damp retreat pocket. |
| Feeding | Appropriately sized live prey weekly |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 4: Advanced |
| Handling | No handling. Solifuges are extremely fast, delicate, and stressful to chase. |
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 arrival: secure deli cup or small acrylic with shallow dig depth.
- Larger specimen: low terrestrial with dry substrate and a retreat.
Warnings First
- They are not spiders or scorpions.
- Very fast escape risk.
- Avoid wet, stagnant conditions.
- Wet and stagnant are two separate problems. Heavy cross ventilation handles the stagnant half and lets you keep the small damp refuge safely.
Simple Care
- Keep the main setup dry.
- Heavy ventilation, low on two opposite walls; you cannot over-ventilate a solifuge.
- Provide a retreat and a small damp refuge area.
- Shallow water dish packed with grit: how you prevent desiccation without raising humidity.
- Use catch cups and block escape paths before maintenance.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- Avoid tall enclosures; falls can injure delicate animals.
- A simple dry burrow starter helps them settle.
- 'Wet, stagnant conditions' names two failures that need separate fixes. The stagnant half is solved by vents low on two opposite walls, so air crosses the substrate and the burrow starter rather than passing over the lid of a deliberately short enclosure. With that airflow, the small damp refuge dries back on its own instead of spreading, and you get to offer moisture without the enclosure ever being wet.
- On an arid animal there is no ventilation ceiling. Ambient at 30 to 45% is right, lower is harmless, and the way to prevent desiccation is drinking water rather than humid air.
- Judge by hand rather than by gauge. Main substrate reads dry, the damp refuge stays lightly moist and dries back within a few days.
- Keep the water dish shallow and packed with grit so the waterline sits below the rim. Solifuges move fast and erratically and are poor at getting out of open water, so a dish they cannot fall into is worth more than one they can drink from more easily.
- Recharge the refuge under the retreat with a pipette rather than misting. That keeps the damp microclimate available where the animal shelters and leaves the rest of the enclosure dry and moving air.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- Solifuges are voracious, fast hunters. Offer appropriately sized live prey (crickets or roaches) 2-3 times weekly for juveniles, weekly for adults, and expect an aggressive, immediate strike.
- Hydration usually comes from prey, but avoid extreme dehydration; do not convert the setup into a humid enclosure. Maintenance should be done over secondary containment because escape recovery is difficult.
- Molting: solifuges molt in a sealed burrow and are extremely fragile while teneral. If it has dug in and gone off food, leave it strictly alone until it re-emerges.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Order-level ID only; sun spiders are generally arid or semi-arid ground predators.
- Habitat translation: Dry ground, cover, and short bursts of hunting activity.
Advanced Keeper Details
- Use the exact product label, size, and behavior in front of you before adjusting care.
- Heat should be measured at the animal's level, not guessed from the room or lid.
- Sources: the full Big Z APA 7 reference list lives at References.