Is My Whip Scorpion Eating?

[shedua]

Hello, recently I got a tailess whip scorpion at an expo. I haven't had access to anything to feed except mealworms this first week I've had her, but I do plan on getting her crickets or dubia roaches this week. Since she's in a tough place in her enclosure it makes it difficult to try and tong feed her, so what I've been doing instead is leaving a mealworm in a shallow bottle cap, but not too shallow that I it would be too easy for it to climb out. The worm will sit there and not move for hours. Then, I'll look away for like, 15-30 minutes and I'll look back and it'll be gone. I won't see the mealworm anywhere, or proof of it digging underground. I'll peek at the whipscorpion in her hide and I won't see her holding onto anything or any bits and pieces of mealworm around her. Could she be eating them really fast? Could they be burrowing really fast? Do whipspider generally leave behind any proof they've eaten like spiders? I'm also worried that if they're borrowing, if they could pupate into beetles and possibly harm her. Thanks for any help in advance

 

[MrGhostMantis]

Dig through the substrate. It takes hours for Amblypygi to fully consume prey, and they often will leave signs behind that they have eaten. Very likely they are burrowing. Can we see the enclosure (just because you’re a beginner and it’s always good to check).

 

[shedua]

This is her enclosure, she spends most of her time behind the cork bark but she occasionally goes underneath the wood tunnel. I did dig around in the substrate and found nothing, but as you can see there's a lot of it. Should I worry about them pupating and turning into beetles? Could they hurt her?

 

[MrGhostMantis]

Yes they could eat her while molting. Also, is the top mesh? Get rid of the plant, she’s not gonna use it. Maybe get a bigger slanted cork bark to lean in the tank. They like tight dark places. It also looks too dry.

 

[shedua]

I will go ahead and replace the substrate then, and take the plant out. Yes the top is mesh, and I spray her enclosure every day twice. The substrate is damp and I try to wet the spagnum moss as much as possible. I'll look for some bigger cork bark too, thanks for the suggestions!

 

[MrGhostMantis]

I will go ahead and replace the substrate then, and take the plant out. Yes the top is mesh, and I spray her enclosure every day twice. The substrate is damp and I try to wet the spagnum moss as much as possible. I'll look for some bigger cork bark too, thanks for the suggestions!

Don’t spray, pour water into the substrate so it’s wet to the touch but not to the point of where you can squeeze water out of it. Cover about half that mesh with a towel.

 

[shedua]

I will pour some water in there from now on, however would it be good to still spray so she can drink? Does this towel look ok?

 

[Spoodfood]

If that is in fact diadema, they aren’t as moisture dependent as medius but it won’t hurt them to keep it humid. I keep my diadema in an arboreal enclosure with two tall pieces of cork hot glued together and she goes between the two and all around it. They usually don’t touch the ground at all from what I’ve seen. I give her a water dish although I don’t believe they drink from it, and I spray the walls of the enclosure occasionally because in the wild, they drink water off of cave walls. I’ve had mine for almost two years now, it has molted multiple times in my care, and only refused food during premolt. Mine really likes hornworms, and will snatch them up quickly. Hornworms give them a good amount of water. She also likes crickets. I’ve never attempted feeding her super worms because they don’t really climb. For arboreal species like this, you want something that climbs. Especially considering they hardly if ever touch the ground.

this is what I mean by the two pieces of cork bark. She hangs out between them or behind the wide one most of the time, but I’ve seen her on the front of them. More vertical space is better for them, as they don’t utilize the ground space at all. Please excuse the background mess, I was in the middle of mixing substrate together for new spider acquisitions!

 

[MrGhostMantis]

If that is in fact diadema, they aren’t as moisture dependent as medius but it won’t hurt them to keep it humid. I keep my diadema in an arboreal enclosure with two tall pieces of cork hot glued together and she goes between the two and all around it. They usually don’t touch the ground at all from what I’ve seen. I give her a water dish although I don’t believe they drink from it, and I spray the walls of the enclosure occasionally because in the wild, they drink water off of cave walls. I’ve had mine for almost two years now, it has molted multiple times in my care, and only refused food during premolt. Mine really likes hornworms, and will snatch them up quickly. Hornworms give them a good amount of water. She also likes crickets. I’ve never attempted feeding her super worms because they don’t really climb. For arboreal species like this, you want something that climbs. Especially considering they hardly if ever touch the ground.

this is what I mean by the two pieces of cork bark. She hangs out between them or behind the wide one most of the time, but I’ve seen her on the front of them. More vertical space is better for them, as they don’t utilize the ground space at all. Please excuse the background mess, I was in the middle of mixing substrate together for new spider acquisitions!
View attachment 384039 View attachment 384040 View attachment 384041

Dude...that enclosure is like really, really dry. Like, no TWS should have sub that dry. Not even diadema.

 

[Spoodfood]

Dude...that enclosure is like really, really dry. Like, no TWS should have sub that dry. Not even diadema.

it’s only been around 2 days since I’ve watered it down. And the back side behind the cork bark is moist. That’s where I water it down because that’s usually where it hangs out. The front facing part is dry though. You probably can’t tell to well from the pictures but the back half is kept moist.

 

[MrGhostMantis]

it’s only been around 2 days since I’ve watered it down. And the back side behind the cork bark is moist. That’s where I water it down because that’s usually where it hangs out. The front facing part is dry though. You probably can’t tell to well from the pictures but the back half is kept moist.

Also, you can remove the water dish. If it’s the proper humidity they won’t use it.

 

[Spoodfood]

Also, you can remove the water dish. If it’s the proper humidity they won’t use it.

It doesn’t use it. I just keep it in there anyways in case it does decide to one day. If it doesn’t I don’t really mind lol

 

[shedua]

If that is in fact diadema, they aren’t as moisture dependent as medius but it won’t hurt them to keep it humid. I keep my diadema in an arboreal enclosure with two tall pieces of cork hot glued together and she goes between the two and all around it. They usually don’t touch the ground at all from what I’ve seen. I give her a water dish although I don’t believe they drink from it, and I spray the walls of the enclosure occasionally because in the wild, they drink water off of cave walls. I’ve had mine for almost two years now, it has molted multiple times in my care, and only refused food during premolt. Mine really likes hornworms, and will snatch them up quickly. Hornworms give them a good amount of water. She also likes crickets. I’ve never attempted feeding her super worms because they don’t really climb. For arboreal species like this, you want something that climbs. Especially considering they hardly if ever touch the ground.

this is what I mean by the two pieces of cork bark. She hangs out between them or behind the wide one most of the time, but I’ve seen her on the front of them. More vertical space is better for them, as they don’t utilize the ground space at all. Please excuse the background mess, I was in the middle of mixing substrate together for new spider acquisitions!
View attachment 384039 View attachment 384040 View attachment 384041

That enclosure is super nice!! I love the flowers. I have some leftover fake flowers from one of my jumping spiders enclosure that I should utilize like that, did you just super glue them? I'm pretty sure she is Damon diadema as that's what the seller said and also her appearance matches up with what's online. Here's a picture of her.
Would it be best to use hornworms then? I was thinking crickets but if hornworms are the best then I will try those first! Thank you!

 

[MrGhostMantis]

That enclosure is super nice!! I love the flowers. I have some leftover fake flowers from one of my jumping spiders enclosure that I should utilize like that, did you just super glue them? I'm pretty sure she is Damon diadema as that's what the seller said and also her appearance matches up with what's online. Here's a picture of her.
Would it be best to use hornworms then? I was thinking crickets but if hornworms are the best then I will try those first! Thank you!

Looks to be a true diadema actually.

 

[shedua]

Looks to be a true diadema actually.

What is the difference?

 

[MrGhostMantis]

What is the difference?

Diadema have way more prominent leg stripes it seems. I suck at IDing anything besides mantids though, maybe ask @mantisfan101

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

I agree with all the suggestions you've gotten so far. You'll have a MUCH easier time keeping the humidity in a good range is you block off all but a small square of that mesh with an acrylic sheet.

Crickets and roaches are good food choices. I haven't tried hornworms personally, but if yours will take them, they should be fine and readily available. Tong feeding isn't a great idea to begin with, so it's just as well that yours usually hangs out in a spot that makes it difficult to do.

While a few simple pieces of fake plant material are fine to add, you do want to keep the enclosure fairly simple - too much complexity just gives prey good hiding places and does nothing for the amblypygi.

 

[MrGhostMantis]

I agree with all the suggestions you've gotten so far. You'll have a MUCH easier time keeping the humidity in a good range is you block off all but a small square of that mesh with an acrylic sheet.

Crickets and roaches are good food choices. I haven't tried hornworms personally, but if yours will take them, they should be fine and readily available. Tong feeding isn't a great idea to begin with, so it's just as well that yours usually hangs out in a spot that makes it difficult to do.

While a few simple pieces of fake plant material are fine to add, you do want to keep the enclosure fairly simple - too much complexity just gives prey good hiding places and does nothing for the amblypygi.

I was gonna @ you but I forgot your username

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

For comparison, here is my bare-minimum setup for my Acanthophrynus coronatus: https://arachnoboards.com/threads/spent-way-too-much-building-an-amblypygi-enclosure.338631 I keep my other species in very similar setups.

It's not beautiful, but it has everything an amblypygi needs. I would consider anything between mine and the one @ivyalmighty posted above to be a reasonable level of complexity - anything more and you're just making things difficult for your animal. I choose to keep mine this simple because a) the amblypygi truly don't care how pretty it is and b) I can see at a glance how my animal is doing: whether it has fed, if it's going to moult soon, if it's in trouble, etc. If I wanted to make it prettier for display, the *only* thing I would change is replacing the foam backdrop with either cork bark or a faux rock wall. If I want a pretty terrarium, I have isopods for that - for me, the priority is making sure my animals are safe and have their needs met.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

I was gonna @ you but I forgot your username

What, Albireo Wulfbooper doesn't just roll off the fingertips?