Injured damon variegatus saved from petco

[Griff45]

So I was on my way back home when I decided to swing by a petco I usually don’t frequent because it was “reptile rally” all weekend 50% reptiles, inverts and accessories so I decided to have a look and see if I couldn’t save a T or two all the Ts were gone unfortunately but I stumbled upon a couple of damon variegatus one large male and a significantly smaller female usually $40 a piece I got the pair for $40 the main reason I purchased them was I noticed the female was missing both whips and a portion of a leg I’ve only owned Ts but I did some quick research and decided they would be better off under my care my main fear is that the female won’t make it do to her missing whips I would just like to know what to expect and how to help her get through to her next molt so they start to grow back

 

[pannaking22]

Welcome to the forum! Unfortunately purchasing anything from Petco just encourages them to buy more, so there'll be more poorly cared for amblypygids there soon.

That said, they're probably D. diadema since variegatus is pretty rare in the US hobby, though many pet stores and non-invert specialists will label them as such. Even with the missing whips, the female should still be ok. You'll just have to baby her a bit when it comes to food. Toss in crippled prey instead, so she doesn't have to work as hard to track it down. Place it near her as well so there's a better chance that she notices it. Are the whips completely missing, or cut off at the elbow?

At least while they're settling in, keep humidity higher than normal so they have a chance to rehydrate.

Hopefully a mod can move this thread over to the "True Spiders and Other Arachnids" subforum. You'll get more responses there since there are a good number of ambly keepers here on AB.

 

[Desert scorps]

@pannaking22 basically covered it. I would like to add though, I purchased a D. diadema several years back, and it had one broken “whip” and it has molted several times in my care and it has not regrown at all, so i’m not sure if it ever will regrow.

 

[Griff45]

I know I shouldn’t buy from petco but I’m a bleeding heart for all things invert also you’re correct after taking a closer look and doing some research they are indeed D. Diadema and one of her whips is broken at the elbow the other is almost completely gone I’ve been babying her she takes prey straight from my tongs I’m keeping her humidity around 75 she seems to be doing pretty well these are my first whip scorps very cool specimens

 

[pannaking22]

Sounds like you've got her settling in well. She's eating and I think humidity around that level with occasional spikes should be good. As long as they aren't sitting on the substrate at the bottom of the enclosure the humidity should be good. Amblys are super cool, very underrated pets.

 

[velvetundergrowth]

I received my Euphrinichus amanica with both whips broken off. She won't catch prey without them so I've been hand feeding her with pre-killed feeders. I just hold them up to her and she usually doesn't hesitate to grab it and tuck in. hopefully she molts soon and re-grows the lost whips.

 

[Collin Clary]

Do you have any pictures? It's probably D. medius, not D. diadema. The latter have been scarce since Tanzania closed wildlife exports.

 

[Rhino1]

Good luck with it, hope they have settled in. I don't want to be that person but it's not really saving the D.Variegatus, basically your just supporting Petco but I recently got myself banned from one of the local pet super stores here so my method doesn't work either.