Is My Damon medius (tailless whipscorpion) eating?

[isopodluvr]

I've been throwing in a cricket every week or so, if I can see them crawling around the next morning (I usually feed in the evening/night) I take out the cricket and try again later. I assume it's been eating because sometimes I cannot find the crickets after i throw them in. Today I found the cricket I'd thrown in earlier but it was like...half of a cricket, like it had been killed and the creature got full after eating its head or something. I figure it didn't just get itself stuck somewhere and it *was* right under/near near place the spider was hanging out. Anyways, is this a common concern, not seeing them eat? Does anyone else with this type of arachnid ever find half eaten crickets?

 

[ThemantismanofPA]

they are normally very messy eaters, so its not uncommon to find chunks of crickets. As for not seeing it eat, considering you feed him at night, i wouldnt worry about it. The crickets are disappearing, and I assume the ambly doesnt look deathly slim, so you should be just fine.

 

[aphono]

Best way is to check the abdomen. It should have the amblypygi version of plump. If possible, view it without disturbing the enclosure before feeding. With experience it generally gets easy to tell if one might or might not eat that week.

Medius aren't the most regular eaters, sometimes it's them in premolt, sometimes they're on weeks long fast for no discernible reason and they'll start again. The tricky part here is not seeing yours or the enclosure- it's a problem with enclosures kept on too dry side for this species. In that case they can seem to be very sporadic feeders. They can either be messy eaters or leave a neat little bolus.

 

[NotreallyJeff]

I got a Damon medius recently and he only ate like 1/4th of the cricket for about a month. He's gotten better recently, but like others have said, they are very messy eaters and will often drop freshly killed and half eaten prey. Make sure their husbandry is satisfactory, especially humidity.

That said, sometimes whips, and arachnids in general, will go on hunger strikes even if they're kept perfectly, and can go for months without food, so I wouldn't worry about it. It's good that they're eating, even if they mess up and drop their meal.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

Sounds like it's eating normally.

 

[isopodluvr]

Best way is to check the abdomen. It should have the amblypygi version of plump. If possible, view it without disturbing the enclosure before feeding. With experience it generally gets easy to tell if one might or might not eat that week.

Medius aren't the most regular eaters, sometimes it's them in premolt, sometimes they're on weeks long fast for no discernible reason and they'll start again. The tricky part here is not seeing yours or the enclosure- it's a problem with enclosures kept on too dry side for this species. In that case they can seem to be very sporadic feeders. They can either be messy eaters or leave a neat little bolus.

Ok, thank you