Phyrnus Marginemaculatus Enclosure

Pilotoloto

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 1, 2018
Messages
21
Hey all, I've been wanting to upgrade my whip-spider from its 32oz deli and I already had this bad boy on hand. Would this work? I've been figuring I'll have to cover part of the screen somehow and add moss at the bottom to maintain humidity. I also was going to add a small section of fake plant, and since the bark is hot glued at the top, I can move it if the placement is unsatisfactory, but do you guys think this will work?




boxb.jpg boxs.jpg boxf.jpg
 

pannaking22

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
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Nov 25, 2011
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4,226
Definitely cover up most of the screen, but besides that I think it'll be fine. You'll want to make sure it has some way to get back onto the bark if it falls down though (it may be low enough, I don't know how much space there is between the substrate the bark). While the moss is good for humidity, you'll want to be careful that feeders don't use it to hide out and then come out and disturb the molting whip (speaking from sad experience).
 

boina

Lady of the mites
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Mar 25, 2015
Messages
2,217
That enclosure would not work for me. It's very minimalistic. Amblypygi like to hide in dark crevasses, so for me the minimum is TWO sheets of bark where the Amplypygid can hide in between. Of course you won't be able to see it all the time but for me it's worth it. And I would NOT ever cover that rather minimalistic ventilation. A stuffy, humid enclosure can kill these just as easily as a tarantula. Especially with high humidity you need to provide some kind of air flow, otherwise you will breed all kinds of bacteria, including the harmful varieties.

I know people keep them in setups like this but that just barely keeps them alive and that's not good enough for me.
 

pannaking22

Arachnoemperor
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Nov 25, 2011
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Those are some great points raised by boina, but I think to a large extent it all comes down to the amblypygid's ability to grow, eat, molt, and breed in captivity. They'll do all that with your pictured enclosure, but adding extra bark certainly doesn't hurt anything and can help increase the comfort of the whip. You won't want to cover the whole screen but I'd say 50-75% should be alright. You'll want to watch to see how fast it dries out and you can modify it from there. If it seems like it's drying out really quickly you may want to decrease ventilation. A dry enclosure will kill them very quickly (other genera tolerate drier enclosures better, but humidity is still very important).
 

Pilotoloto

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 1, 2018
Messages
21
Thank you guys for your inputs! I was actually considering adding/rearranging some bark in there, and now definitely will. I misted it yesterday, and it actually holds moisture in better than anticipated, so I might forego the moss and just cover up about half the screen with cloth or plastic.
 
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