Giant Tailless Whip Scorpion and...moss?

[Rinfish]

A breeder recently told me they have giant tailless whip scorpions for sale. I've kept them before in a relatively normal setup, but was wondering if they would do well in a vivarium. I'm interested in the idea of live plants/moss to help keep humidity where it should be, but im unsure if this is too far from their natural environment. I currently have a vivarium in its early stages (3+ weeks), so the isopod culture is growing and the mold traces have yet to diminish. If i were to put a whip scorpion in here, it probably wouldn't be for another few months.

Anyone have any experience keeping these in vivariums? Of course, above everything, hide spaces would be of the utmost importance. =)

 

[jake9134]

I have experience in vivariums(dart frogs) and whip scorps, but never kept one in a vivarium. Moss require a decent amount of ventilation and high amounts of light, and depending on the species of moss think the humidity might be too high for whip scorps. Moss molds easily and if there's not enough ventilation the mold kills it before it gets established. Not saying it can't be done, but might be a bit difficult to get the conditions right for both. Have only successfully grown moss(star and sphagnum moss) in a dedicated terrarium for carnivorous plants with a fan that turns on for 15 min a day, 99% humidity under 4 T5HO lights(12inch width tank) with soil wet at all times. People that keep frogs with moss in the tanks will have high light, a fan for ventilation and a misting system that turns on once or twice a day. I think some plants would work though, pothos can't be killed for example but can quickly fill a tank. A false bottom or expanded clay pellets can be used to prevent substrate from becoming saturated but keeps it moist with a water reservoir that's out of direct contact with the substrate. Since dart frogs require a vivarium Dendroboard forums might be a good resource to check out. I normally keep whip scorps on the drier side with a good misting once a week on one side of the tank and let it dry out so mites don't become a problem, dart frogs eat mites so they don't have any problems with a high humidity cage. Also have to make sure there's no cracks they can slip through, but they cant climb glass so I just keep the stuff they can climb far enough away from the sides/top of the cage. Hope that helps.

 

[Aquarimax]

A breeder recently told me they have giant tailless whip scorpions for sale. I've kept them before in a relatively normal setup, but was wondering if they would do well in a vivarium. I'm interested in the idea of live plants/moss to help keep humidity where it should be, but im unsure if this is too far from their natural environment. I currently have a vivarium in its early stages (3+ weeks), so the isopod culture is growing and the mold traces have yet to diminish. If i were to put a whip scorpion in here, it probably wouldn't be for another few months.

Anyone have any experience keeping these in vivariums? Of course, above everything, hide spaces would be of the utmost importance. =)

I keep Damon diadema and several planted vivaria, but not together. I have thought about it, but one concern I've had is that the plants might provide too many hiding places for the prey items, and the whip scorpion might not get enough to eat, and/or a few crickets might survive in there long enough to attack a recently molted amblypygid. I can't say either of those potential issues would definitely be a problem, but...???

 

[schmiggle]

There is not, to my knowledge, any such thing as "too high humidity" for Damon, which is I assume what the breeder is selling. They are often found in caves in the wild. The concerns about prey are legitimate but they depend largely on what kinds of plants you have. Whipspiders don't need much ventilation, but I would imagine it can't hurt as long as the humidity is where it needs to be.

My advice would be to go for some kind of moss that will grow happily in many conditions on stones or wood. The whipspider can hide on on the stone or wood, the moss will be too short to hide the prey, and it would look really great. Just find some kind of weed moss--I bet one of the reasons many don't do well in invertebrate tanks is because frogs need more ventilation than invertebrates and the mosses people use do well in those environments. Make sure you have sufficiently bright supplemental lighting.

Alternatively, you could maybe go for something large-leaved like pothos and then not have to bother with wood or stones. I'm not sure about that, but a whipspider might be ok hiding out on the leaves. For that sort of thing, though, pothos itself would probably not be what you would want--maybe something with very large leaves, like certain philodendron or a bromeliad. However, you should at least provide an alternate hide at the beginning and see what gets used.

 

[Rinfish]

Thanks you guys! This is exciting news and gives me hope for perhaps introducing one into a moss/live plant tank. =) I have a few lovely pieces of cork bark that i plan on using for the hide spaces. I'm also thinking i'll grab some springtails since the isopods may not be enough to clean the mold in the timeframe i'm looking at. I may even be able to wedge some moss into the cork bark cracks. There are a few mosses right now that don't seem to mind drying out in the middle of the day, so i'm thinking those will be the ones to shoot for (looks like some hardy variety of fern moss).

I'm relieved to hear whipspiders don't need as MUCH ventilation as frogs. Assuming I can keep the mold down and the moss happy around 80% humidity, I should be set!

I do wonder about prey escaping, but will keep a good eye on what my spider is eating and will always search for crickets before putting more in.

 

[schmiggle]

I'm excited. You have the privilege and responsibility of posting pictures of this enclosure when finished

 

[Arachnid Hobby]

I want to try this but I don't have the money.

 

[Ryan Reynolds]

How long do the Tailless Whip Scorpions usually live for?

 

[Johnny Q]

I've heard that Damon Diadema can live for 15 years. I have had mine for a little over 4 years.