# My new Amblypygids :)



## papilio (Oct 26, 2015)

This is one of my _Heterophrynus batesii_ nymphs, which I just received a few days ago.  Native to the Amazon, the forelegs (longer than the others, structured and functioning much like antennae) can reach about a two-foot span, so in terms of legspan these are the world's largest arachnids.

Right now these babies look like daddy-longlegs from some alien world, the body length is about 3/8-inch but the "antennae" already span nearly three inches.  I wish they stayed this cute as they get big!

Reactions: Like 15 | Agree 2


----------



## pannaking22 (Oct 26, 2015)

So cool! Enjoy! Hoping to get one of those in the near(ish) future

Reactions: Like 3


----------



## schmiggle (Oct 27, 2015)

Very nice!  I love those close-up shots of the face (or whatever you call it in arachnids  )

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Banshee05 (Oct 28, 2015)

extremly amazing pictures. If I would have this camera, I would never use a microscop again

Reactions: Like 2


----------



## Kymura (Oct 28, 2015)

Once i'm more comfortable as a keeper I want very much to venture into these ^^

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## papilio (Oct 28, 2015)

pannaking22 said:


> So cool! Enjoy! Hoping to get one of those in the near(ish) future


Thank you pannaking, yeah they're extremely cool!




schmiggle said:


> Very nice!  I love those close-up shots of the face (or whatever you call it in arachnids  )


Thanks a lot schmiggle!  Those were very lucky shots.  




Banshee05 said:


> extremly amazing pictures. If I would have this camera, I would never use a microscop again


Thanks Banshee!  I'm still constantly amazed by what the macro lens reveals!  




Kymura said:


> Once i'm more comfortable as a keeper I want very much to venture into these ^^


I've only had them for about a week, but so far don't seem too difficult.  Humidity must be very high for these, and (unlike conditions Avics require for instance) low ventilation.  This makes mold and mites of greater concern than usual.






Here are a couple more photos, closer to what may be considered specimen shots ...

Reactions: Like 3


----------



## schmiggle (Oct 28, 2015)

I bet that last one is about to molt, unless it just ate when you took the shot.  Those colors never fail to amaze.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## papilio (Oct 29, 2015)

schmiggle said:


> I bet that last one is about to molt, unless it just ate when you took the shot.  Those colors never fail to amaze.


Yeah these are so pretty, I wish the colors would stay!

Well, it's eating another cricket right now so it's probably not molting time just yet.  Actually I'm delighted to see them eating ... they were quite thin when I got them, and then refused food for about the first three days by which time they really looked emaciated.  I was pretty worried!


----------



## Elytra and Antenna (Oct 30, 2015)

You've got about three molts before the colors change.

Reactions: Like 2


----------



## papilio (Oct 30, 2015)

Elytra and Antenna said:


> You've got about three molts before the colors change.


Thanks for the info, good to know.  I'll appreciate it as long as it lasts!


----------



## kurgara galatur (Oct 30, 2015)

Love the photos! My eyesight isn't what it used to be, and it's great to see what they look like up close.  I received a few recently and was so gobsmacked by their _Nightmare Before Christmas_ weirdness I ordered a couple more that should arrive today.
Also, if you are taken by their fleeting colors, Phrynus decoratus might be a future acquisition.
Question: Are you housing them communally?  I sit and watch mine whenever I can, and am frankly hypnotized by them, although they seem less active than baby D. diademas. The diademas I have seem fine living together for now, but I wonder if I should house the batesii separately.
Papilo, you've got great taste in inverts.
Kurg

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## pannaking22 (Oct 30, 2015)

kurgara galatur said:


> Love the photos! My eyesight isn't what it used to be, and it's great to see what they look like up close.  I received a few recently and was so gobsmacked by their _Nightmare Before Christmas_ weirdness I ordered a couple more that should arrive today.
> Also, if you are taken by their fleeting colors, Phrynus decoratus might be a future acquisition.
> Question: Are you housing them communally?  I sit and watch mine whenever I can, and am frankly hypnotized by them, although they seem less active than baby D. diademas. The diademas I have seem fine living together for now, but I wonder if I should house the batesii separately.
> Papilo, you've got great taste in inverts.
> Kurg


_H. batesii_ should be kept separately I think since they're a much more aggressive species. I don't really think cannibalism would be too much an issue overall (and E and A or whoever else keeps these, please correct me if I'm wrong), but they could stress each other out or disturb each other while molting or one could outcompete the other(s) for food.

Reactions: Like 2


----------



## papilio (Oct 30, 2015)

kurgara galatur said:


> Love the photos! My eyesight isn't what it used to be, and it's great to see what they look like up close.  I received a few recently and was so gobsmacked by their _Nightmare Before Christmas_ weirdness I ordered a couple more that should arrive today.
> Also, if you are taken by their fleeting colors, Phrynus decoratus might be a future acquisition.
> Question: Are you housing them communally?  I sit and watch mine whenever I can, and am frankly hypnotized by them, although they seem less active than baby D. diademas. The diademas I have seem fine living together for now, but I wonder if I should house the batesii separately.
> Papilo, you've got great taste in inverts.
> Kurg


Thanks so much kurgara!    I was lucky to get shots like the close-ups above, they show the weirdness wonderfully I think.

A good friend of mine had a great visit with Orin and brought a couple of nymphs home with him, just a few days before I received mine.  Though these are known to be communal typically, he kept his together and lost both (at least one of which did appear to be a victim of cannibalism by his account).  So I'm housing mine separately, currently in an acrylic duplex.  My guess is that it may be a case much like Ts which are believed to be communal ... they do well if left together after being born.  But once taken out of their territory, very often all bets are off.




pannaking22 said:


> _H. batesii_ should be kept separately I think since they're a much more aggressive species. I don't really think cannibalism would be too much an issue overall (and E and A or whoever else keeps these, please correct me if I'm wrong), but they could stress each other out or disturb each other while molting or one could outcompete the other(s) for food.


Yes pannaking, as noted above I've decided to go the safer route.  Both are doing great so far.

Reactions: Like 2


----------



## schmiggle (Oct 30, 2015)

In the following thread, cannibalism is discussed in a bit of depth:
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/sho...blypygids&highlight=heterophrynus+cannibalism 
In the wild, _H. batesii_live in groups of 2-8, according to the following paper (and others):
http://www.kennychapin.com/pdf/Chapin 2014.pdf
This is not to say you shouldn't keep them separately; I just figured I'd share all the information I've seen.  I have no personal experience with keeping them together.
Hopefully this is not an inundation of unnecessary info...

Reactions: Like 4


----------



## papilio (Oct 30, 2015)

Not unnecessary in any way schmiggle, thank you for the references!  Just finished reading both the thread and the paper, fascinating!  I'm completely new to Amblypigids and am finding them an unexpected and surprisingly enjoyable new type of invert for me.

As such I don't feel that I have much of a right to even have an opinion on the communal living issue.  I can only relate what I know about Ts, which may or may not be relevant.  But here we find that conditions and behavior in captivity don't always mirror what is known of their lives in the wild, and territorial issues can be significant and complex ... the disruption of which can often bring on unexpected incidents of cannibalism.


Anyway thanks again for taking the time to share the links, most enjoyable reading!

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Elytra and Antenna (Oct 30, 2015)

I always keep them together for the first three to four molts and have never seen cannibalism in the early instars. Once they lose juvenile coloration it gets riskier.

Reactions: Like 1 | Helpful 1


----------



## papilio (Oct 30, 2015)

Elytra and Antenna said:


> I always keep them together for the first three to four molts and have never seen cannibalism in the early instars. Once they lose juvenile coloration it gets riskier.


Thanks very much!  Is there an advantage to keeping them together up till that point?


----------



## Elytra and Antenna (Oct 30, 2015)

papilio said:


> Thanks very much!  Is there an advantage to keeping them together up till that point?


They seem to grow better.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## schmiggle (Nov 1, 2015)

That's really interesting!  I wonder why they grow better...maybe some sort of pheromone?  Total guessing, obviously, on my part.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## brandontmyers (Nov 1, 2015)

Incredible pictures!! I am trying to venture into macro photography and when I see pictures like this, it makes me so excited LOL. What kind of lighting do you use for shots like these? Also, do you stack photos?

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## papilio (Nov 1, 2015)

Elytra and Antenna said:


> They seem to grow better.





schmiggle said:


> That's really interesting!  I wonder why they grow better...maybe some sort of pheromone?  Total guessing, obviously, on my part.


Yes, it is!  I'm a bit apprehensive about having them cohabitate given my friend's unfortunate experience, but I've put them together now ... I guess at worst I'd only lose one of the two.  Will be interesting to watch how it goes.




Lokal said:


> Incredible pictures!! I am trying to venture into macro photography and when I see pictures like this, it makes me so excited LOL. What kind of lighting do you use for shots like these? Also, do you stack photos?


Thank you very much Lokal!  Some of these were taken under a studio strobe and 16-inch beauty dish, others with a speedlight and the very nice soft light of a Flashbender softbox diffuser.

I've done deep focus stacks in the past, typically it's required with anything above 5X magnification.  Of these photos, the last of the three close-ups is two stacked images.  Unlike most arachnids, Amblypigids clearly don't like to be stacked ... they move too much!


----------



## papilio (Dec 5, 2015)

My pair of amblypygids are cohabitating well and growing nicely ... won't they ever molt?!

Reactions: Like 5


----------



## schmiggle (Dec 5, 2015)

Mine started out molting every four months or so...so you could have a while.  The fat abdomen usually means a molt is coming up, though.  Gorgeous picture, by the way!

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Ratmosphere (Dec 6, 2015)

Those pictures are unreal!

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## papilio (Dec 6, 2015)

schmiggle said:


> Mine started out molting every four months or so...so you could have a while.  The fat abdomen usually means a molt is coming up, though.  Gorgeous picture, by the way!


Thank you schmiggle!  Wow, that's pretty slow.  I just hope I'm lucky enough to catch one of them molting on ... erm, I was going to say FILM!    I love the molting video on YT by Precarious333.




Ratmosphere said:


> Those pictures are unreal!


Thanks a lot Ratmosphere!


----------



## BobBarley (Dec 17, 2015)

From this thread: http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?270445-Heterophrynus-batesii

They seem pretty communal.

---------- Post added 12-16-2015 at 09:26 PM ----------

See post #27.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## papilio (Dec 27, 2015)

BobBarley said:


> From this thread: http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?270445-Heterophrynus-batesii
> 
> They seem pretty communal.
> 
> ...


Thank you BobBarley!  Mine seemed to be doing fine together, but sadly one has died of mysterious causes.




Glad the site's back up, wanted to share these photos of my _H. batesii's_ first molt in my care.  One of the most beautiful things I've ever watched!
















Here's its first post-molt meal.  Boy did it grow a lot!

Reactions: Like 4 | Love 1 | Award 1


----------



## schmiggle (Dec 27, 2015)

Gorgeous photos as always!  Glad to see they're doing well.

Reactions: Like 2


----------



## BobBarley (Dec 27, 2015)

papilio said:


> Thank you BobBarley!  Mine seemed to be doing fine together, but sadly one has died of mysterious causes.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Those are some awesome pics!  Glad I could help!

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## RobynTRR (Dec 31, 2015)

Such beautiful work Michael!

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## papilio (Dec 31, 2015)

schmiggle said:


> Gorgeous photos as always!  Glad to see they're doing well.


Thanks a lot schmiggle!  




BobBarley said:


> Those are some awesome pics!  Glad I could help!


Thank you very much BobBarley!  




RobynTRR said:


> Such beautiful work Michael!


Hey Robyn!!  Thank you!  





Guess who nabbed a half-inch roach last night!

Reactions: Like 2 | Love 1


----------



## Stefania (Feb 14, 2017)

How big do they grow


----------



## schmiggle (Feb 14, 2017)

Depends on the species. _Heterophrynus batesii _regularly reaches an 18" legspan (up to 24"), but the really small ones have a leg span that I know can be as small as 1" and can probably be smaller yet.

Reactions: Informative 1


----------

