First attempt pairing Phrynus maesi

[somebugnerd]

Hi there, I'm pretty new to this and any feed back is appreciated! I tried pairing my Phrynus maesi yesterday. When I introduced the female she slowly approached the male's hide and raised her pedipalps in a threat display. They exchanged slow antenniform leg movements and over the next few minutes she lowered her pedipalps and took a nonaggressive posture. After a while I was fairly sure they weren't about to murder each other and I left for 30 minutes. When I came back to check on them I saw a spermatheca deposited on the bark and still no signs of aggression so I left them in the same enclosure overnight. Today I separated them into their own enclosures, they were under the same hide, neither showed any signs of fighting (all legs/whips still attached) and the spermatheca was gone.
My questions are:
1. Should I have kept them together longer or was it already too risky leaving them overnight?
2. If things did go well, what will be some of the early signs? (Will developing eggs be visible in the female's abdomen in several months, or are there other indicators?)

Thank you for taking the time to read all of that!

 

[Godsmack1934]

I think this question would be better suited for the "scorpions" group. But you can always leave it in both because you'd prob get more advice in doing that.

 

[Purplepuffball]

Hi there, I'm pretty new to this and any feed back is appreciated! I tried pairing my Phrynus maesi yesterday. When I introduced the female she slowly approached the male's hide and raised her pedipalps in a threat display. They exchanged slow antenniform leg movements and over the next few minutes she lowered her pedipalps and took a nonaggressive posture. After a while I was fairly sure they weren't about to murder each other and I left for 30 minutes. When I came back to check on them I saw a spermatheca deposited on the bark and still no signs of aggression so I left them in the same enclosure overnight. Today I separated them into their own enclosures, they were under the same hide, neither showed any signs of fighting (all legs/whips still attached) and the spermatheca was gone.
My questions are:
1. Should I have kept them together longer or was it already too risky leaving them overnight?
2. If things did go well, what will be some of the early signs? (Will developing eggs be visible in the female's abdomen in several months, or are there other indicators?)

Thank you for taking the time to read all of that!

View attachment 468263

1. Male female pairs seem to be fine cohabiting for longer periods of time- that said the chance of cannabilism is not non zero. I would recommend keeping them in a dark space without any vibrational disturbance for around 3-4 days.
2. Spermatophores will show up on pieces of bark- check there, and look for online resources as to what they look like.

 

[somebugnerd]

1. Male female pairs seem to be fine cohabiting for longer periods of time- that said the chance of cannabilism is not non zero. I would recommend keeping them in a dark space without any vibrational disturbance for around 3-4 days.
2. Spermatophores will show up on pieces of bark- check there, and look for online resources as to what they look like.

Thank you! I saw 1 spermatophore after their introduction, but it was gone the next day. I've read that they sometimes eat the stalks after they are used or the whole thing if they are rejected, maybe that's what happened. The female's appetite has increased since then, hopefully it worked, if not I 'll try again in a few months and give them more time.