Hello! I recently brought home a vietnamese vinegaroon, and I very badly want to do the best job I can to keep them happy! I’ve noticed a lot of people keep giants, so if anyone has vietnamese specific input, I’d welcome it!
Also looking for input on the enclosure set up (see vid). 8 in. x 8 in. x 13 in. tall
So recently I’ve been getting more into Uropygi mainly mastigoproctinae and there’s always one issue I see here in the US hobby relating to these two species let me sum it up for you. WE DO NOT HAVE Mastigoproctus giganteus in any hobby. In the 2018 Mastigoproctus giganteus complex revision the species Mastigoproctus giganteus was split apart into many different species 7 in that one revision. And yet almost all we see are Mastigoproctus “giganteus” whether INaturalist or just looking to buy one. True M. giganteus are only found in few Mexican states (check atlas https://www.inaturalist.org/atlases/144276 ). Whereas M. tohono is only stated to be native in the US state of
Arizona, however it’s likely to be spread onto the western side of New Mexico as well. Adding a 3rd species into the mix here, there seems to be an Undescribed species of Mastigoproctus native to Texas and eastern New Mexico. You’re probably wondering huh without this locality data how am I supposed to tell the species apart let me
Show you there is this small triangle at the front edge on Mastigoproctus species called the carapace epistoma (image pictured) in certain species this is not visible from a dorsal view like M.
tohono or the undescribed species, where as true M. giganteus do indeed have a visible carapace epistoma, yes it’s really this easy to discern them. However this leads a question which I cannot answer as of yet how do you discern the Mastigoproctus tohono and the undescribed species of Texas other than locality data? (Genuine question I don’t know please share if you do)