Confirming type and care for tailless whip scorpion

[FuzzyFlower]

Just got this little one from CL yesterday. Selling said maybe a Central American. Not sure male or female. They thought male. Current set up: ZooMed 10 gal, 12x12x18Tall. Covered screen top. Coconut fiber floor. Wood tree curve thing, cork wood pieces, Exo Terra foam back wall. Humidity is sitting around 72%. Heat is 73F on one side wall and 85F on the other wall. Heat source outside warm wall. I put in dubia roaches since waiting for crickets to be delivered still.

*photo from sellers ad. Looks darker now in person. Also, body size a little larger than a US quarter.

Feedback welcome. Very new to anything arachnid.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

Looks like a Phrynus species to me but others here are far better at identification than I am.

Setup sounds reasonable, though we always like to see photos in case there are any red flags.

1. Throw out your humidity meter. Seriously. They're completely useless. Keep your substrate moist (but not swampy) all the way to the bottom, limit the airflow, and you will do a much better job of giving the animal the conditions it actually needs. If it spends a lot of time on the substrate, check to see if it's moist enough - that is usually a signal that the animal is dehydrated. You can either mist or dribble a bit of water on the climbing surface so that the animal can choose to drink - they don't do this a whole lot, but they sometimes do get thirsty, especially if they're approaching a moult or if they haven't eaten for a long time. Their natural method of drinking in the wild is from moisture condensed on their climbing surface rather than from pools of water.

2. If your room temperature stays above about 70ºF you don't need to supply any extra heating. These animals live in hot climates, but they seek out cool microclimates like caves, and do really well around 70-75ºF. Your heater will cause the water to evaporate faster, which doesn't do the animal any favours, so unless you keep your house pretty chilly, you can ditch the heat.

3. Don't leave live prey in with the animal for an extended period. If it's going to eat, it will usually eat within a few hours of prey being dropped in. Live prey that's left in there with the animal can stress out your amblypygi, and can kill a moulting animal.