Damon Variegatus - Tailless Whip Scorpion Questions

[Bookuman]

Hey there, relatively new to keeping Arachnids and have become fascinated with Tailless Whip Scorpions. They are magnificent! I have a few questions I was hoping someone else might know here.

The fellow I purchased is still a juvenile, prosoma-abdomen it is a bit bigger than my thumb.

8X6 Enclosure with Zoomed creature soil as the substrate. Enclosure has a cork bark wall cut to fit the back exactly, and 2 pieces of rounded cork bark at 80 degrees. (It appears to love the round 80 degree surfaces as they are quite a bit darker.) Enclosure is on a shelf with low light and room is always about 71-73 Degrees.


My questions are:

-How well do Tailless Whip Scorpions hear? I've read that their antenniform legs are highly sensitive to sound/smell. Do they perceive sound like we do? My main concern is noise will stress my critter out.

-For this particular Species, how humid should the enclosure be? I mist to enclosure daily to ensure the substrate is slightly damp. (using Zoomed creature soil) The critter stays relatively high off the substrate on the vertical cork bark I have in there. I have heard that is a good sign it's hydrated.

-For Juveniles, how often should they eat? In the first week since I've had it, it was happy to eat twice. (micro brown crickets)

-How sturdy is this species exactly? I've read they are beginner friendly and pretty robust. Just want to make sure I provide it a long happy life.

Any insight would be appreciated as I'm deeply in love with this alien creature.

Thank you!

 

[Maxthesquid]

My experience is with my Damon Medius sub-adult raised from juvenile:

-They certainly can’t “hear” but the whips are definitely keen on locating sources of vibrations. If you tap one side of the enclosure, you can notice if its close enough that the whips will slowly go towards where you tap to figure out what happened. I wouldn’t worry about ambient noise or talking, the only noise I’ve noticed mine get agitated by and run away is my incredibly loud border collie barking about two feet away from it.

-For humidity, I would just make sure the substrate is damp by getting the bottom layer wet and provide a water dish. I used to mist everyday, but I realized a more consistent humidity and happy whip man comes from keeping the sub moist, that way you can go a week or two before you have to water again.

-Ive had no problems feeding once a week. Just monitor the booty. Small booty = feed more, Big booty = maybe cut back the cookies for a week or two.

-They are definitely sturdy overall like a tarantula but more prone to injuries because of their lankiness. Mine came with a missing leg which it regrew in a molt, and has also lost half of one of its whips. I’ve had no problems handling mine, which I’ve done only two or three times.

One more thing I would like to add is to ensure you have a nice surface where it can hang upside down from to molt and have plenty of space below it. From your description it sounds as if it can hang from the underside of the rounded cork bark, which is good.

 

[that1ocelot]

Essentially what @Maxthesquid said. I'd +1 the feeding point. Feed more often when skinnier.

I'd also mention that I've never, ever seen an actual D.Variegatus for sale. Ever. They are frequently mislabeled - the true animal is anything between a D. Medius to P. Whitei - if you post a picture of your animal, we can confirm

 

[Bookuman]

 

[Bookuman]

Thank you everyone for the comments, very helpful! @that1ocelot please see picture above for reference. (Reference picture is premolt)

I'm also happy to say they molted this morning without any issues. A nice blue color at the moment. Whips are intact and looking good.

 

[Maxthesquid]

Can’t say for certain I’m sure @that1ocelot would have a better estimation but I’m leaning towards that being a phrynus Whitei. D medius Diadema and Variegatus all look the same with very minor changes but none of their palps are that stubby and I’ve never seen the eye marks “mascara?” On a Damon. Care should generally be the same though, so don’t stress on that, and they’re all really cool regardless of species.

And yes I’m assuming it molted from where it is in the pic upside down, looks perfect for a molt, congrats.

 

[that1ocelot]

Can’t say for certain I’m sure @that1ocelot would have a better estimation but I’m leaning towards that being a phrynus Whitei. D medius Diadema and Variegatus all look the same with very minor changes but none of their whips are that stubby and I’ve never seen the eye marks “mascara?” On a Damon. Care should generally be the same though, so don’t stress on that, and they’re all really cool regardless of species.

And yes I’m assuming it molted from where it is in the pic upside down, looks perfect for a molt, congrats.

Can confirm it's Phrynus Whitei...good thing I asked haha.

No, they're still excellent animals. But you're 100% right @Maxthesquid