Wild caught Damon Medius spends more time on substrate than cork bark

[Spiffynikki]

I purchased a male wild caught D medius from a show a couple of weeks ago. I have him in a tall, well ventilated container with eco earth substrate and a large piece of vertical cork bark leaning against the back wall. I heavily mist him once or twice a week, depending on how the substrate feels and if there is any condensation left on the walls. In the first few days I had him he ate a 3/4" cricket and seemed content. He hasn't paid any attention to any crickets since then even though we are right at the two week mark and lately he seems to hang out on his substrate more than his cork bark. Is this normal behavior? I'm pretty concerned for my little creature and he is one of the favorites in my little arachnid collection. I expected him to spend most of his time on the cork bark from the research I did prior to getting him.

 

[WeightedAbyss75]

This might be similar to what my D. Diadema did with me. I'm guessing I bought him as a mature male, and he never ate. As months went by, he began to not be able to climb any surface. Then, he basically exhausted himself and died. I hope this isn't what's happening. Maybe the humidity is off? Might be why it is trying to stay toward the moist sub. Spraying may not be giving it enough moisture Any enclosure pics would help too

 

[spotropaicsav]

This might be similar to what my D. Diadema did with me. I'm guessing I bought him as a mature male, and he never ate. As months went by, he began to not be able to climb any surface. Then, he basically exhausted himself and died. I hope this isn't what's happening. Maybe the humidity is off? Might be why it is trying to stay toward the moist sub. Spraying may not be giving it enough moisture Any enclosure pics would help too

I hope this is not what is happening with OPs spider! Could it just be taking extra time to settle into new environment?

 

[WeightedAbyss75]

Could be, but I honestly don't know IME, with my one whip, they seem to be a litqtle more fragile than other inverts. I figure a few weeks would be ample time, but it could be something else.

 

[Spiffynikki]

This might be similar to what my D. Diadema did with me. I'm guessing I bought him as a mature male, and he never ate. As months went by, he began to not be able to climb any surface. Then, he basically exhausted himself and died. I hope this isn't what's happening. Maybe the humidity is off? Might be why it is trying to stay toward the moist sub. Spraying may not be giving it enough moisture Any enclosure pics would help too

He is in a file holder sterilite container. I will include a picture.

 

[schmiggle]

I used to mist every day, although I suspect I had more ventilation than you do. Hanging out near the substrate is usually a sign of wanting higher humidity (dare I say almost without exception?). And two weeks isn't that long for a wildcaught male to be settling in, I don't think.

Hopefully you'll have good luck. If you don't, don't get discouraged--this guy could be very old already.

 

[AmblypygidLuvr]

Does your Damon have a surface to hang from upside down? They need to be able to hang completely upside down for molting... he may be trying to find an ideal microclimate to molt in (moist, substrate to hang upside down from) and that's why you're seeing him in strange places. Like other commenters said, Id make sure the humidity in the enclosure is consistent throughout the tank- he may just be looking for moister air. Or, similarly if you are using a heat lamp or something from the ceiling, he may be trying to avoid it if it's too hot/drying.

 

[Ranitomeya]

Unlike spiders, male Amblypygi continue to molt and grow even after maturity, so unless they're very large and old, they shouldn't be undergoing senescence.

I don't suggest heavy misting as a method for maintaining humidity. If you cannot maintain humidity without heavy misting, then the enclosure needs less ventilation. I infrequently have to provide moisture in my Damon diadema enclosures since I provide moisture by making the substrate very damp. When things do start to get dry, they do in fact change behavior and settle on the substrate instead of staying higher and drier on cork bark.

 

[dragonfire1577]

I have found Damon diadema definitely tolerates things drier than many keepers would expect, I experimented with different parameters once and they can molt, eat and overall do pretty good on mostly dry substrate provided food and water once or twice a week in the form of water droplets from misting, although I currently keep mine moist just because it doesn't seem to hurt. Also I'm pretty sure even males of this species are pretty long lived and as @Ranitomeya said a male would be very large before showing effects of aging, my male I bought as a sub-adult molted a while back and isn't showing any signs of slowing down even over a year later.

 

[Johnny Q]

I noticed the same behavior with both of my D. medius so I built them scrape hides. now they spend 1/2 time on the cork and half under the hides. I think they are also much less tolerant to warmer and dryer climates then Damon Diadema.

 

[Smokehound714]

they want stone.

these guys are mostly all lithophiles. The best way to keep them IMO is with a false bottom filled with water, and generous cross-ventilation.

 

[Scourge]

In Weygoldt's book he advises against using stone backgrounds. I'm going from memory here, but I believe he said over time he noticed higher mortality rates when moulting when whipspiders had stone backgrounds, and realised that their claws were being worn down. IME cork bark/ tiles and polystyrene tiles work best