Experience with Tarantulas and Scorpions is recommended when considering keeping Camel Spiders.
We think the species Galeodes arab grows to approx. 5-8cm (2-3 inches) but Galeodes granti can reach up to 15cm (6 inches)! G. arab has a grey/light brown abdomen with sandy coloured legs, G.granti looks simular but has banded legs and a slightly darker abdomen. They have two large black eyes situated on top of the head. The large and powerful jaws are the most eye-catching feature. Two sharp hooks/fangs are on each large jaw, this helps them rip up prey into pieces to eat!
These can be VERY aggressive. They are not venomous but can inflict a very painful bite! Believe this or not, they can reach speeds of near 10mph. Camel Spiders are short lived only living for approx. 1-1.5 years. They belong to the Solifugae family and have been called Wind Scorpions and Sun Spiders.
This species inhabits the warm desert plains of Egypt. They are nocturnal coming out during the night in search for food and hide in burrow or under logs during the day.
Experience with Tarantulas and Scorpions is a must due to their aggressive nature!
You must provide an escape proof enclosure, they can climb up glass and also bite through mesh. The best container is a large plastic tank filled with at least 10-13cm (4-5 inches) of sand to allow them to burrow. Place a few logs or cork bark to allow them to hide away if they do not burrow. Keep them very warm during the day with temperatures of 35C (95F) and allow this to drop during the night to 24-28C (75-82F). They need very low humidity levels during the day, but the enclosure should be lightly misted each evening to produce a night-time humidity of 70-90%. Provide a small shallow water dish to allow them to drink.
Feed them on a range of insect like crickets, locusts, mealworms and cockroaches. Buy some frozen mice fluffs and offer these every week. It’s unbelievable how much food these can get through so feed them every other day on prey that’s the same size of it’s abdomen.
