Amblypygid Questions (Phrynus marginemaculatus)

gzophia

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jan 15, 2024
Messages
180
Hello everyone,

After months of research and waiting, I finally got my hands on an adult Phrynus marginemaculatus. I named it "Schnitzel!"
It is currently housed in a ~32oz container with Styrofoam, since I heard that this is the preferred setup among many keepers. There is about 3/4" of wet substrate.
My new pet seemed quite happy with its enclosure and made itself at home immediately.

However, I do have some questions:

1. Where do you keep your amblypygids in terms of lighting, especially with setups that only have one piece of climbing surface? I know that amblypygids are photosensitive, so should I keep the whole enclosure in pitch darkness? Or would a decently dark room work? I have seen amblypygids kept on foam mounted directly to the back of the tank; how does lighting work for these enclosures? I am currently covering my enclosure with a ventilated cardboard box as a shelter from light, but I am not sure if this is the best solution in the long run.

2. I noticed my amblypygid "clapping" its pedipalps a few times after I added it to its tank. It was cleaning itself and would suddenly slap its pedipalps together rapidly, resembling someone giving applause. I found this quite interesting and amusing, but could not find any info on it. I thought it may be hygienic, but I thoroughly washed the enclosure's Styrofoam, and my little guy seems to be parasite free. What could this be?

I am so happy that I finally got one of these guys-- I have always wanted an amblypygid, and Phrynus marginemaculatus is such a great pick!

Thanks.
 

FlamingSwampert

Arachnosquire
Joined
Nov 23, 2020
Messages
136
Hello everyone,

After months of research and waiting, I finally got my hands on an adult Phrynus marginemaculatus. I named it "Schnitzel!"
It is currently housed in a ~32oz container with Styrofoam, since I heard that this is the preferred setup among many keepers. There is about 3/4" of wet substrate.
My new pet seemed quite happy with its enclosure and made itself at home immediately.

However, I do have some questions:

1. Where do you keep your amblypygids in terms of lighting, especially with setups that only have one piece of climbing surface? I know that amblypygids are photosensitive, so should I keep the whole enclosure in pitch darkness? Or would a decently dark room work? I have seen amblypygids kept on foam mounted directly to the back of the tank; how does lighting work for these enclosures? I am currently covering my enclosure with a ventilated cardboard box as a shelter from light, but I am not sure if this is the best solution in the long run.

2. I noticed my amblypygid "clapping" its pedipalps a few times after I added it to its tank. It was cleaning itself and would suddenly slap its pedipalps together rapidly, resembling someone giving applause. I found this quite interesting and amusing, but could not find any info on it. I thought it may be hygienic, but I thoroughly washed the enclosure's Styrofoam, and my little guy seems to be parasite free. What could this be?

I am so happy that I finally got one of these guys-- I have always wanted an amblypygid, and Phrynus marginemaculatus is such a great pick!

Thanks.
I'd like to preface my reply by saying that I've never actually kept any myself, but I do have an interest and have experience with vinegaroons, which have some similarities.

I don't think they need to be in pitch darkness. I keep most of my critters in a dim room and my photosensitive roaches, vinegaroons, etc can be seen out in the afternoon, so they are comfortable.

I have no idea what the "clapping" is, but as long as you don't notice any concerning behavior, then you should be fine.
 

Purplepuffball

Arachnosquire
Joined
Mar 6, 2021
Messages
94
Hello everyone,

After months of research and waiting, I finally got my hands on an adult Phrynus marginemaculatus. I named it "Schnitzel!"
It is currently housed in a ~32oz container with Styrofoam, since I heard that this is the preferred setup among many keepers. There is about 3/4" of wet substrate.
My new pet seemed quite happy with its enclosure and made itself at home immediately.

However, I do have some questions:

1. Where do you keep your amblypygids in terms of lighting, especially with setups that only have one piece of climbing surface? I know that amblypygids are photosensitive, so should I keep the whole enclosure in pitch darkness? Or would a decently dark room work? I have seen amblypygids kept on foam mounted directly to the back of the tank; how does lighting work for these enclosures? I am currently covering my enclosure with a ventilated cardboard box as a shelter from light, but I am not sure if this is the best solution in the long run.

2. I noticed my amblypygid "clapping" its pedipalps a few times after I added it to its tank. It was cleaning itself and would suddenly slap its pedipalps together rapidly, resembling someone giving applause. I found this quite interesting and amusing, but could not find any info on it. I thought it may be hygienic, but I thoroughly washed the enclosure's Styrofoam, and my little guy seems to be parasite free. What could this be?

I am so happy that I finally got one of these guys-- I have always wanted an amblypygid, and Phrynus marginemaculatus is such a great pick!

Thanks.
I have kept this species for a while and here's my experience- while I originally used styrofoam for all my amblypygi, I find that they still prefer crevices, so if your styrofoam sheet leaves a lot of empty space and no real cover, it's not be ideal. Instead I chose to place many cork slabs within a 32 oz container so there are natural darker areas. That being said, the animals can still thrive under the setup you provide, and to my knowledge no issue has arisen from keeping them that way.

Second, as for clapping its pedipalps, it's most common after they have fed, so I would assume it's their way of removing food debris. Totally normal behavior, and has little to do with styrofoam.
 

gzophia

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jan 15, 2024
Messages
180
I have kept this species for a while and here's my experience- while I originally used styrofoam for all my amblypygi, I find that they still prefer crevices, so if your styrofoam sheet leaves a lot of empty space and no real cover, it's not be ideal. Instead I chose to place many cork slabs within a 32 oz container so there are natural darker areas. That being said, the animals can still thrive under the setup you provide, and to my knowledge no issue has arisen from keeping them that way.
Thank you so much; that explains a lot. I recently opened up a crevice in the back of the tank for my amblypygid, and although it was completely fine before I did so, the extra crevice/dark area seems to suit its taste quite well.
Second, as for clapping its pedipalps, it's most common after they have fed, so I would assume it's their way of removing food debris. Totally normal behavior, and has little to do with styrofoam.
Oh, okay. That makes sense; I'm glad it's not irritated by the material or anything like that.
 

Salmonsaladsandwich

Arachnolord
Joined
Jul 28, 2016
Messages
634
Amblys will choose darkness and tight crevices to hide in when available, but if you keep them in a more simplistic setup where they can't really hide they quickly become habituated to the light and I doubt it impacts them much as long as it isn't overly bright. A simplistic setup allows you to see the their behaviors much more easily, since they will often move around and feed even during the day but if they have a dark hiding place they'll remain out of view.

Personally, I don't like the very simplistic setups with a single piece of styrofoam that a lot of people use because many amblypygids are quite active and you don't really get to see how they hunt down prey and explore their environment that way. I prefer to give them somewhat larger and more complex enclosures, but instead of giving them a place to hide out of view I lean a slab of bark against the side to create a crevice between the bark and the glass where they'll spend most of their time.
 
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