# Giant indian velvet mites(Pics)



## PRS (Dec 31, 2007)

Had 10 of these arrive today, although I want to get alot more they are awesome 

Took a couple of pics 




























Cheers to Saladdodger for em :no1:


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## garlicpickle (Jan 16, 2009)

I got a few of them as well, they're cute aren't they?


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## PRS (Dec 31, 2007)

garlicpickle said:


> I got a few of them as well, they're cute aren't they?


They definately are cute  Plan on getting some more if possible really, lovely critters


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## Jody1975 (Jan 25, 2010)

Wow beautiful!


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## brownj6709 (Jan 26, 2010)

they look like beret's with legs!


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## tarantulamatt (Nov 12, 2009)

they remind me of the little red things you see on wall's you tuch them and they just spalt :gasp:

but there very cool, how big are they


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## PRS (Dec 31, 2007)

tarantulamatt said:


> they remind me of the little red things you see on wall's you tuch them and they just spalt :gasp:
> 
> but there very cool, how big are they


They are related to the red mites you see everywhere I belive, just these are much bigger. About an inch or so maybe slightly less.

Pretty awesome critters.


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## tarantulamatt (Nov 12, 2009)

PRS said:


> They are related to the red mites you see everywhere I belive, just these are much bigger. About an inch or so maybe slightly less.
> 
> Pretty awesome critters.


yeah they are, well good luck with them

and they would make a awesome display tank because there sooo striking from the red of them and the white sand. :2thumb:


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## Blissfullsilence (May 7, 2010)

those are the cutest bugs I have ever seen <3


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## joeyboy (Jul 19, 2008)

I got me four coming from Salad Dodger this week! 

So is it really as simple as a livefood tub sized enclosure, couple of inches of damp sand(or a sand and soil mix)..then offer them suitably sized live food, or recently killed livefood of any size?

Sounds too easy, I don't have little crickets, only adults, I'll head crush them and I guess hope they eat them, wonder if they eat each other..:lol2:


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## ginna (Jun 2, 2009)

cool i lovem . what do they eat ?


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## PRS (Dec 31, 2007)

joeyboy said:


> I got me four coming from Salad Dodger this week!
> 
> So is it really as simple as a livefood tub sized enclosure, couple of inches of damp sand(or a sand and soil mix)..then offer them suitably sized live food, or recently killed livefood of any size?
> 
> Sounds too easy, I don't have little crickets, only adults, I'll head crush them and I guess hope they eat them, wonder if they eat each other..:lol2:


Nice one, I've switched substrates and they seem to prefer it.. More so active anyhow.

Sprinkled a small layer of sand and then a good few inches of coir, with some bark to climb on.

Recieved mine today and pre killed a fairly large cricket a few of them are munching on it at the moment.

Have another 40 coming so hopefully I have some success breeding, may split them into two groups of 25 as I currently have 10.


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## PRS (Dec 31, 2007)

ginna said:


> cool i lovem . what do they eat ?


Insects, all sorts.. Crickets, locusts, roaches, mealworms, aphids apparently lol.

They also need insects to lay their eggs


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## joeyboy (Jul 19, 2008)

PRS said:


> Nice one, I've switched substrates and they seem to prefer it.. More so active anyhow.
> 
> Sprinkled a small layer of sand and then a good few inches of coir, with some bark to climb on.
> 
> ...


so the sand is only at the very bottom, so the top few inches is solely coir? Well it'll be moss peat for me haha, bit of sand as well.

Do they burrow then? The description suggests they bury themselves at night and are active in the day, though in their natural habitat they burrow and stay dormant for several months, as they wait for the rains to come and emerge, like slugs really..


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## PRS (Dec 31, 2007)

Yeah, well mine are all out currently have been since I put em in their tub so I'll check em later. As far as I'm aware they do burrow yes


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## garlicpickle (Jan 16, 2009)

I read that to breed they require live insects which they spend their larval stage riding around on. 

I don't think these have been bred in captivity. Their life cycle is complex, by the sound of it.

edit = theres a coupla threads on BugNation, also a paper here about their life cycle

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted_sites/acarology/zhang/a081.pdf


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## Oderus (Nov 24, 2009)

garlicpickle said:


> I read that to breed they require live insects which they spend their larval stage riding around on.
> 
> I don't think these have been bred in captivity. Their life cycle is complex, by the sound of it.


Yup they used to be imported in smallish numbers as far back as the early 90's to my knowledge (first time I saw them anyway) it was known then to that they were parasitoids, the fact they vanished for quite a while seems to mean no one found a good host species to breed them on, Ian Wallace suggested grasshoppers when he sold them so maybe locusts but their life span maybe to short.


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## joeyboy (Jul 19, 2008)

garlicpickle said:


> I read that to breed they require live insects which they spend their larval stage riding around on.
> 
> I don't think these have been bred in captivity. Their life cycle is complex, by the sound of it.
> 
> ...


hmm near the bottom it suggests adults do cannibalize each other...

sounds like the eggs aren't laid in the host then, the eggs are laid in the substrate and when the larvae emerge they search for a host to cling onto, they puncture it and feed from it, but not for all that long, then they drop of as they've gone further along in their life cycle and I assume start to hunt and devour small prey items.


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## Kamike (Aug 3, 2009)

I got mine today aswel










All 4 have gone and buried themselves :devil:


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## Flucker01 (Dec 6, 2009)

What is coir?


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## lucozade3000 (Aug 16, 2008)

Awesome indeed! forgot about these!
Let me know when you place the next order..
Awesome.

-J


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## PRS (Dec 31, 2007)

lucozade3000 said:


> Awesome indeed! forgot about these!
> Let me know when you place the next order..
> Awesome.
> 
> -J


I managed to sort out some more mate, got 70 coming now lol. I'll let you know when they arrive and I'll sort you out with some


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## PRS (Dec 31, 2007)

Flucker01 said:


> What is coir?


It's like coco fibre, a substrate.


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## Flucker01 (Dec 6, 2009)

PRS said:


> It's like coco fibre, a substrate.


I thought it was coco fibre lol.


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## PRS (Dec 31, 2007)

Flucker01 said:


> I thought it was coco fibre lol.


Bah, it's a similar kinda substrate I belive anyhow lol.


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## Burnalot (Sep 26, 2010)

Hi,

could anyone please tell me where I can get these amazing little creatures?

Thanks,

Burn


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## garlicpickle (Jan 16, 2009)

Update 6 months on.

I got fed up with mine being buried invisibly and just seeing an empty tank, so I bunged them in the HoS tank with my regalis commune. I never saw them again, assumed they must have died and pretty much forgot they existed.

Yesterday I rehoused the regalis into an Exo and today I cleaned out the old tank, and found 3 of the original 5 alive and well in the substrate! There was one dead shrivelled-up one and no sign of the 5th. I guess if they have eaten anything, it must have been the tiny springtails which live in the tank or maybe they had the odd munch of the boluses left by the pokies. 

They have now followed the regalis into the Exo, seeing as they seem to co-exist peacefully.

Has anyone else still got theirs?


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## piehunter (Jul 10, 2007)

I had a dozen for a year or so, couldn't get them to eat anything!

Tried feeding all sizes of all types of normal livefood (I have roaches too) both pre-killed and alive, they NEVER showed any interest!

They would only be active when the substrate was soaked, buried at ALL other times in a hibernation (im guessing) of some sort

I saw them drinking (noticeable swelling too).

No joy at all.

Has anyone else had any luck? because I think are really fascinating to observe


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