Help with an Unexpected Amblypygi

[Kibosh]

So this all just happened the last two hours. We got a local guy who lives around me who works at a big box pet store. Sure we can all assume which. Starts with a Pet and ends with a Co. Lol He has a habit of buying "weird" animals there that he just kills with bad husbandry or gets rid of because he gets bored of them. Actually how I got my A. Seemanni. Well tonight he posted that he had this "Tailless Whip Scorpion" that he needed to get rid of in the next 24 hours or he was going to euthanize it. So rushed over there and picked it up and this is what I got.

I have a lot of questions. My initial research tells me that they are arboreal, like it warm & humid, and need a horizontal piece of bark for molting, and also like cover. What am I missing? What are the "must know" things for careing for Amblypygi? I had a ton of extra stuff laying around for arboreal T's so just threw something together quickly. Please let me know what I need to change and improve uppon and point me in the direction of a good care guide for these guys.

I am already in love with this little guy and am amazed by how beautiful and unique a life form it is. Can anyone also tell me exactly what species it is?

Thanks for any help in advance.

 

[DomGom TheFather]

I've never kept them so I'm not going to be very helpful but...

he had this "Tailless Whip Scorpion" that he needed to get rid of in the next 24 hours or he was going to euthanize it.

What the hell? Why?

 

[Poonjab]

I need a petco like that around me. I’d be insect rich.

 

[Kibosh]

I've never kept them so I'm not going to be very helpful but...

What the hell? Why?

Idk something to do with his girlfriend. Think the real reason was he is just bored with it. Guy comes off as a real scumbag, but I'll keep taking his arthropods if he keeps giving them out lol.

 

[Hardus nameous]

Expert I ain't but I think it might be a Damon medius.
Dark, room temperature, dark and plenty of vertical space to molt. My Amblypygi enclosures are just a few inches of damp substrate and a slanted piece of cork bark about the full height of the enclosure. I'd post a picture but I'm at work.

How the hell anyone can be bored watching one of these hunt is incomprehensible to me.

 

[mantisfan101]

Damon medius, likely from Benin...keep it extra wet as most medius come in extremely dehydrated

 

[schmiggle]

Damon medius, likely from Benin...keep it extra wet as most medius come in extremely dehydrated

I was gonna say. @Kibosh your substrate is too dry. Pour water in until it's saturated but not mud.

Other things to know:

• They like grounded prey that walks around. Whipspiders often won't touch mealworms; crickets or roaches should do the trick.
• Amblypygi generally appreciate high humidity. Spraying won't work nearly as well as keeping the substrate damp always. On the other hand, they don't tend to mind low ventilation too much. If it's hanging out on the dirt, it's probably too dry.
• As @Hardus nameous said, give it a vertical surface to molt on. All the other stuff he said was spot on too, actually.

They're not too difficult once you get the hang of it, but the beginning is the hardest.

@mantisfan101 How do you know it's from Benin? Not doubting, just curious.

 

[Kibosh]

Great stuff guys. I really soaked down the sub as you can see better in the first pick. Other things you guys said are covered now.

Next question is about space. I know a lot of scorpions enjoy a bit more wandering room then Tarantulas.

With these animals I have no idea. Do you think I have provided it with a large enough enclosure? Do they wander? I just checked on it and it seems to enjoy being tucked upside down on the horizontal piece of cork bark I provided.

Thanks again for all the input guys. A truly beautiful arachnid I am excited about, but want to give it the best care possible. Maybe even breed it one day.

 

[schmiggle]

With these animals I have no idea. Do you think I have provided it with a large enough enclosure? Do they wander? I just checked on it and it seems to enjoy being tucked upside down on the horizontal piece of cork bark I provided.

They'll explore as much space as you give them, but they won't mind not having much space. That container looks fine to me, at least at its current size.

 

[chanda]

I would switch it to a larger enclosure. Get rid of the silk plant, and just give it a couple of tall vertical/diagonal cork slabs, loosely stacked, that go nearly to the top of the enclosure, but leave plenty of empty/open space below them. When it comes time to molt, it will need to hang upside down, under the cork - and will also need free space to stretch and extend its appendages as it pulls them free of the old exoskeleton. These guys are nocturnal, so in the daytime, the stacked cork provides a narrow crevice between the slabs that it can hide in. If it just has a single cork slab, it will hang out on the back side of it.

 

[Edan bandoot]

Probably imported Damon medius, they like their substrate flooded and they usually come in dehydrated due to neglect.

Mist them once or twice a day (depending on ventilation) , preferably before it gets dark so they can drink the water droplets.

For enclosures I'd recommend "the wizentrop":

Whip-spider-enclosure

Acanthophyrnus coronatus in its enclosure

arachnoboards.com

That's how I keep mine but with a large leaning corkbark, they are mildly photosensitive and prefer to sit in the dark.

The consensus on water dishes is that amblypygi won't use them however, I caught my Damon diadema drinking from it's water dish last night and have in the past.

They don't mind low ventilation, high ventilation just means more work from you to keep it moist.

Only need a few inches of substrate to hold water, a healthy amblypygi will almost never touch the ground, if you find them sitting on the ground that generally means that they are dehydrated.

Being wild caught it is recommended that you quarantine from the rest of your collection in case of nematodes.

That concludes my info-dump.

 

[Kibosh]

I would switch it to a larger enclosure. Get rid of the silk plant, and just give it a couple of tall vertical/diagonal cork slabs, loosely stacked, that go nearly to the top of the enclosure, but leave plenty of empty/open space below them. When it comes time to molt, it will need to hang upside down, under the cork - and will also need free space to stretch and extend its appendages as it pulls them free of the old exoskeleton. These guys are nocturnal, so in the daytime, the stacked cork provides a narrow crevice between the slabs that it can hide in. If it just has a single cork slab, it will hang out on the back side of it.

I will have to put something larger on order. Think it will be fine in what I have provided for a week or two?

 

[Kibosh]

Also how do I go about sexing this species?

 

[Edan bandoot]

I will have to put something larger on order think it will be fine in what I have provided for a week or two?

They only really need space for molting, otherwise you could probably keep them in a duotang and they'd be happy

You can get a nice container from Walmart or something similar probably

You can sex Damon by pedipalp size or more reliably by genital operculum shape and hairs.

Both sexes live equally long though so it's not very important unless you intend to breed.

 

[Kibosh]

They only really need space for molting, otherwise you could probably keep them in a duotang and they'd be happy

You can get a nice container from Walmart or something similar probably

You can sex Damon by pedipalp size or more reliably by genital operculum shape and hairs.

Both sexes live equally long though so it's not very important unless you intend to breed.

Actually where I got the jar lol but I do like to keep my specimens in nice clear containers so I can see them when they are out and about. Most Walmart containers tend to be opaque which is a hard pass for me.

That's awesome news about the sex. How long does this species normally live? I would actually like to breed them since most of them sold in the US seem to be WC for not reason. Are they really that difficult to breed?

 

[Edan bandoot]

Actually where I got the jar lol but I do like to keep my specimens in nice clear containers so I can see them when they are out and about. Most Walmart containers tend to be opaque which is a hard pass for me.

That's awesome news about the sex. How long does this species normally live? I would actually like to breed them since most of them sold in the US seem to be WC for not reason. Are they really that difficult to breed?

I know D diadema is easy to breed, so I assume medius wouldn't be that hard but they produce fairly small sacs in comparison to tarantulas. WC will always be more numerous until they get restricted due to the sheer volume they are imported in.

As for the lifespan for CB specimens I'm not too sure, I'll let someone else get that question in the morning.

 

[Kibosh]

Well just checked on it again and it's devouring a large cricket so it can't be too stressed. Lol

 

[mantisfan101]

I was gonna say. @Kibosh your substrate is too dry. Pour water in until it's saturated but not mud.

Other things to know:

• They like grounded prey that walks around. Whipspiders often won't touch mealworms; crickets or roaches should do the trick.
• Amblypygi generally appreciate high humidity. Spraying won't work nearly as well as keeping the substrate damp always. On the other hand, they don't tend to mind low ventilation too much. If it's hanging out on the dirt, it's probably too dry.
• As @Hardus nameous said, give it a vertical surface to molt on. All the other stuff he said was spot on too, actually.

They're not too difficult once you get the hang of it, but the beginning is the hardest.

@mantisfan101 How do you know it's from Benin? Not doubting, just curious.

There was a recent import of whips from Benin with the same coloration and reddish pedipalps. I’m not sure if it’s limited to that locale only however

 

[Edan bandoot]

There was a recent import of whips from Benin with the same coloration and reddish pedipalps. I’m not sure if it’s limited to that locale only however

How do you keep up with the imports?

 

[mantisfan101]

How do you keep up with the imports?

i contact importers that I know, and you begin to recognize some patterns with what’s available