Enclosure for a baby p. marginemaculatus (FL Whip spider)?

[LordAnon]

About a week ago I became the owner if a Florida Whip spider, and it is still very small (maybe an inch in legspan). He's so small I've been keeping him in the same vial that he came in, since it's been doing a good job of holding humidity and the small piece of bark inside fits him alright. Should I move him, or does he look alright in that enclosure?

 

[cold blood]

I would lean a flat piece of wood or cork sheet in a 32oz deli cup, and just have a little sub on the bottom, nothing else. Reasons are ...

1. They are exceptionally in tune with their surroundings and have no issues hunting prey in larger enclosures and..

2. They actually need a lot of open space to molt, and if they don't have it, they will almost certainly die in the molt....better safe than sorry.

 

[aphono]

Yeah what @cold blood said. That enclosure ain't gonna cut it. Needs broader piece leaned over to hang out on & for molting. Watching them hunt is half of the fun! With a larger enclosure than that & large pieces in there you get to see the different ways they use to capture prey.

Deli cups will work perfectly fine. Another option- food canisters. Cost a little more than deli cups but still cheap- sometimes those dollar stores have them in & love how clear they are.

 

[LordAnon]

I'm thinking of using this, possibly turned sideways (after slight modification) for added height (I've seen people do that for arborial tarantulas).

 

[MikeyD]

Don’t use the kritterkeeper, they are harder to maintain moisture levels in and your small whipspider will be able to escape.
I use 32oz deli containers used for raising fruit flies. They are large enough, clear, and have a large ventilation holes covered in a woven cotton-like fabric.
I like to use a large piece of cork or other bark and then a smaller curved/cup shaped piece on the bottom that allows for a secure place for them to hide. You want to be sure they can hang from the vertical cork to molt.
You won’t need a much bigger container for a while but if you do there are some very clear food storage canisters available from places like Amazon or even Walmart.

 

[LordAnon]

View attachment 283527 View attachment 283525 Don’t use the kritterkeeper, they are harder to maintain moisture levels in and your small whipspider will be able to escape.
I use 32oz deli containers used for raising fruit flies. They are large enough, clear, and have a large ventilation holes covered in a woven cotton-like fabric.
I like to use a large piece of cork or other bark and then a smaller curved/cup shaped piece on the bottom that allows for a secure place for them to hide. You want to be sure they can hang from the vertical cork to molt.
You won’t need a much bigger container for a while but if you do there are some very clear food storage canisters available from places like Amazon or even Walmart.

Didn't see your message. I ended up using the kritter keeper just because I didn't have anything on hand. I'll move him again if necessary, but I didn't find escape to be an issue. I've closed most of the vents except the top ones, and I used some firewood that I disinfected previously. I might add some sphagnum moss to up humidity. Other than humidity, is there any other issue with the keeper?

 

[MikeyD]

I wouldn't trust those vent holes for a minute. These are very thin bodied animals and they can squeeze through very narrow spaces. Otherwise you have to be sure that the substrate is always moist and having a less ventilated lid will help with keeping it moist and the humidity up so that moults go smoothly. I would absolutely change the enclosure and add another piece of bark or wood so that there is a bit more cover, especially if the enclosure is in an area with any amount of foot traffic going by.

 

[aphono]

The slats by the substrate within his reach would make me nervous. Wouldn't want to be surprised at finding out how small of a space they are able to squeeze through. They're flat bodied creatures after all. I'd feel better if some of them were sealed off(and it is not able to gain traction on either).

Is that wood perfectly vertical? Good size but they really do need horizontal or slanted surfaces to molt from. Either lean it over or add another wood and have it slanted.

 

[MikeyD]

Here are two other options. A clear Rubbermaid food canister and a much less expensive food storage tub from the Dollar Store. Both will work well with some small holes drilled in the top for ventilation.

 

[pannaking22]

Didn't see your message. I ended up using the kritter keeper just because I didn't have anything on hand. I'll move him again if necessary, but I didn't find escape to be an issue. I've closed most of the vents except the top ones, and I used some firewood that I disinfected previously. I might add some sphagnum moss to up humidity. Other than humidity, is there any other issue with the keeper?

What substrate is that?

Agreed with enclosure comments above. They can molt vertically, but slanting the bark doesn't hurt anything.

 

[LordAnon]

What substrate is that?

Agreed with enclosure comments above. They can molt vertically, but slanting the bark doesn't hurt anything.

I mixed some sand with some cocoa substrate for a spider I caught that I thought was a wolf spider, but was in fact a grass spider. I heard that mixing sand with Coco fiber made it a better material for digging when packed down. Didn't really matter when she made made her funnel web, but it apparently made an ok substrate for the plant cutting I put in there with her.

As you can see from the picture I have attached, I actually moved the whipspider. Humidity was fine after I ghetto rigged the kritter keeper, but I had an issue with mold when he stopped fully eating crickets and started leaving them where I couldn't find them. I also took a piece of cork bark and leaned it in the enclosure. unfortunately in the new tub there's not as much room to lean, but there are definitely areas that are horizontal enough that I'm not worried about it, and it even has some holes that he likes to chill in the daytime. I also decided not to add substrate this time, and just put a big piece of sphagnum moss at the bottom.

 

[aphono]

That's much better actually. The lean is adequate also.

As for mold, consider springtails. I tried to resist getting them for a while with spot cleaning etc. To be honest, should have had them from day one. They've made a huge difference with the mold and the little super annoying gnats/flies.

Dwarf white isopods(Trichorhina tomentosa) should work well and are supposed to be 'amblypygid safe'.

 

[LordAnon]

That's much better actually. The lean is adequate also.

As for mold, consider springtails. I tried to resist getting them for a while with spot cleaning etc. To be honest, should have had them from day one. They've made a huge difference with the mold and the little super annoying gnats/flies.

Dwarf white isopods(Trichorhina tomentosa) should work well and are supposed to be 'amblypygid safe'.

I've been meaning to buy springtails, but I work so much I haven't made it to the expo in weeks. I've heard that springtails are for mold, isopods for decaying plants and leftovers. Do isopods also go after mold?

 

[aphono]

I've been meaning to buy springtails, but I work so much I haven't made it to the expo in weeks. I've heard that springtails are for mold, isopods for decaying plants and leftovers. Do isopods also go after mold?

Isopods and springtails aren't my area of interest so you know as much as I do. Don't have any setups with only isopods as cleaner crew so I couldn't answer how well they'd keep down mold.

All the extra stuff I know about isopods: some of the isopod species are rather aggressive eaters & may nibble on other inverts. P. scaber in particular- apparently known to damage big centipedes and the like. Dwarf whites supposedly are one of the most 'invert-safe' in general, like it wet and don't need high ventilation(which holds true, IME).

Hope someone else will pipe in.. you've got me curious about this now. Might try a set up with only dwarf white isopods as cleaner crew and see how that goes.

 

[pannaking22]

You can use dwarf whites for amblys, they'll eat mold and leftover food bits. They're also conveniently snack sized for smaller amblys. One thing to keep in mind with that species is that they breed like crazy, so they'll need to be culled a bit every now and then. Not sure about the other dwarf species.

Springtails will still get the job done, but it takes them longer to get through food bits.