D. diadema male problems?

WeightedAbyss75

Arachnoangel
Joined
Feb 22, 2014
Messages
921
Hola! For a while now, I have been having a lot of problems with my mature male D. diadema I bought a few months ago. Since I got him, he hasn't eaten. I have tried to give him an enclosure that is similar to the one I saw a while ago on the boards. Now, he seems to have lost his ability to climb the background! Really worry about him, I want him to do well. Hate to think that I am not giving him what he needs. His abdomen is so small, I am really worried. Here are some pics of him and his enclosure.

Thanks for reading, Abyss
 

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TeaandTs

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 1, 2016
Messages
31
I did some research, and couldn't really find anything: are these similar to spiders in that males don't live long after maturing out? Because if so, that sounds like old age to me. I know many species of spiders will stop eating as mature males, having interest only in mating. And, elderly spiders often lose the ability to grip onto surfaces. So in that case, the good news would be that there isn't anything wrong with your care. The bad news would be that your specimen might not have long to go. I hope I'm wrong. :(

If that's the case though, I'd probably take out the background so that he doesn't hurt himself and just keep him on a horizontal surface. At the very least, I'd make sure there's plenty of padding so that if he climbs and falls, he'll have something to break his fall.

I apologise if this reply is completely ignorant. These creatures may be nothing at all like spiders. For all I know the males live twenty times as long as females. Old age is just what it sounds like to me, from the perspective of someone who's knowledge mainly pertains to spiders.
 

BobBarley

Arachnoprince
Joined
Sep 16, 2015
Messages
1,486
I did some research, and couldn't really find anything: are these similar to spiders in that males don't live long after maturing out? Because if so, that sounds like old age to me. I know many species of spiders will stop eating as mature males, having interest only in mating. And, elderly spiders often lose the ability to grip onto surfaces. So in that case, the good news would be that there isn't anything wrong with your care. The bad news would be that your specimen might not have long to go. I hope I'm wrong. :(

If that's the case though, I'd probably take out the background so that he doesn't hurt himself and just keep him on a horizontal surface. At the very least, I'd make sure there's plenty of padding so that if he climbs and falls, he'll have something to break his fall.

I apologise if this reply is completely ignorant. These creatures may be nothing at all like spiders. For all I know the males live twenty times as long as females. Old age is just what it sounds like to me, from the perspective of someone who's knowledge mainly pertains to spiders.
Males actually live as long as females (more or less) and continue molting once mature. Though, you are right about one thing, it could just be his time to pass. Did you buy him as a WC mature male?
 

TeaandTs

Arachnopeon
Joined
Dec 1, 2016
Messages
31
Males actually live as long as females (more or less) and continue molting once mature. Though, you are right about one thing, it could just be his time to pass. Did you buy him as a WC mature male?
Thank you for the information. Like I said, I don't know anything about these, and it's nice to learn. :)
 

WeightedAbyss75

Arachnoangel
Joined
Feb 22, 2014
Messages
921
Males actually live as long as females (more or less) and continue molting once mature. Though, you are right about one thing, it could just be his time to pass. Did you buy him as a WC mature male?
I bought him as a CB mature male. He definitly looks like he has been through the wringer, so it could be it's his time to pass. I had never owned these before this guy, so I thought I could be doing something wrong. Thanks for all the info! Never thought of old age as a problem. Should have bought a whipling or inquired about the age of the specimen. He was the coolest animal though, glad I could watch him for the past few months if it is his time :)
 

Ghoul

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jul 16, 2016
Messages
134
It may be old age, but I've often heard about tailless whips that are hard to get to eat. I struggled with that too. Benji my Damon d. rarely ate crickets. I also had a mold problem, so I got some isopods. Then Benji started to eat the isopods, every day and multiple ones a night. I sometimes sprinkle some fish food in his enclosure for the isopods or a small piece of apple, potato ect. Both species are nocturnal, I don't have to buy food for him and there's no more mold problem. It's perfect :d I dont know if that would work for yours but it's worth a try. Though if you have isopods living with the whip a bit more space might be better.

I suggest you to use natural cork bark for your whip to climb on as its more rough and he can probably hold onto it much better. A vertical surface would also be needed because they like to molt hanging upside down. Here's my set up, it's quite big for a juvenile but I wanted him to have a lot of space. :p The isopods usually stay near the ground so if Benj doesn't feel like hunting he can chill higher up without being bothered by them.
 
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WeightedAbyss75

Arachnoangel
Joined
Feb 22, 2014
Messages
921
Yeah, I really worry about him. I almost feel he has no energy after not eating for weeks. Not sure what else to feed, however. Crix are the only good sized feeder I have for an adult. Roaches weren't a hit either. Are there any other options for food to feed an adult? I plan on getting some nice bark at my local expo next week, but he still isn't doing very well. Maybe they like smaller prey? Idk, just hate to see him like he is now. May just end up, if continuing with amblys, to get a whipling.
 

Ghoul

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jul 16, 2016
Messages
134
As I said, my tailless whip loves woodlice. Maybe he will prefer smaller food like mine. Smaller crickets maybe. I hope he pulls through! ;-; Good luck!
 

InvertsandOi

Arachnoknight
Joined
Feb 12, 2016
Messages
233
I've seen a few posts on here by people who are worried about their amblys not eating and, if my memory serves me correctly, It almost always turns out that the ambly was just in pre-molt. That said, if by "a few months" you mean three months, that's kind of a long time for it to be in pre-molt and not eating. If you said two months, I'd say it's probably about to molt. If it is spending a lot of time on the substrate, It might just be trying to soak up some humidity (also consistent with pre-molt behavior). It might just be your ambly's time to go, but just in case, all you can do is make sure the humidity is high, give it a verticle to horizontal (or anything in between. as long as it can hang for molting) climb that is large enough for it to spread out all of it's walking legs, and maybe offer it slightly smaller prey. I'm not too sure about that last bit of advice to be honest. I've never had problems with my D. diadema not eating crickets. Also, it looks like you're using cork board for the climb. That should be fine, but just in case I think it's a good idea to pick up some cork bark like you said you would. Can't hurt. I hope it works out. If it doesn't though, I hope you don't give up on amblys. They're really amazing creatures. My favorite. Good luck!
 

Cazador

Arachnosquire
Joined
Feb 11, 2016
Messages
54
He may be getting ready to molt. That's the only time I've ever had a problem getting mine to eat. Has he changed color slightly? That's usually how I can tell if mine are getting ready.
 
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