Let me know if my whip spider enclosure is alright

[Ms Ratty]

Hi! (I hope I am posting in this in right place this time...)

I would like yall's opinions if my tailless whip scorpion setup is alright or not! I don't have a picture of the actual whip, but I did some research and I think he may be a Damon variegatus... maybe Damon medius? I really need to get a photo but he just arrived so I don't want to stress him out. Though he does definitely look more Damon - something. I'm not sure if that is extremely important to know or not. He seems more darker black colored compared to other whips but I might not know what I'm talking about

I have a heating pad on one side, I am regularly misting, and he has 2 big pieces of lightweight bark in there that makes a nice dark area in the back. I put 4 crickets in there with him currently (should I do more??). Not in the picture, but I covered the top with a covering to help keep in humidity since it kept going down (I'm not too worried about ventilation right now, there's still places for it like the door crack on the sides). Also I am thinking about putting a shallow dish of water to help humidity too.


Is this the sort of whip that needs 100% humidity? Is high humid actually dangerous for some species? And what are some tips for maintaining a good humidity? I've heard humidity is the main killer for these creatures and I already struggle with getting humidity in pet enclosures.
Anndd finally, someone told me it may take awhile for it to get used to his new home and it will be stressed for awhile. Does anyone know how long this generally lasts? I mean like 48 hours? a week? a month? I would love to finally get a good picture of it but I want to make sure it's recovered a bit before taking it out or moving the bark away to get a pic.

Thank y'all in advance so much! I should have an image of the enclosure here somewhere if I did things right!

 

[douglas weird]

I don't use any heat source and I don't mist either, but I do keep two water dishes that I refill once a week. One is hot-glued up high on the cork bark backing of the enclosure, and the other is partially buried in the substrate. I overfill the lower water dish to let some soak into the substrate for added humidity- not swampy.. just a little extra moisture. I've found that most of my guys greatly dislike 'misting' which I assume is the movement of the air bothering them but idk for sure.

I ended up hot-gluing some thin flat cork bark to the underside of the lid/roof of the enclosure. These guys like to hang upside down when they molt!


ETA: I should have mentioned that my room temp is around 76-78 in the summer and low 70's in the winter.

 

[Grayman1984]

Substrate needs to be wet, not moist. If you see your Amblypygid hanging out on the substrate it means he’s too dry. Pour water onto the substrate to get it good and wet and if he climbs back up to the bark, he’s happy. Don’t worry about mold, it won’t hurt him, but you can add springtails to help keep it in check. And as stated above, ditch the supplemental heat unless your house is unusually cold, these guys to fine anywhere between 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit. Looks good though.

 

[Ms Ratty]

Thank you both!! I need the heater because my house is like a refrigerator sometimes, lol. I've been getting the humidity up and working on getting everything really wet. He's been chilling out behind on one of the bark pieces but comes out a lot when the lights are off or dim. He's quite active! Again thank you both for the comments! I'm more confident now haha

 

[Grayman1984]

Thank you both!! I need the heater because my house is like a refrigerator sometimes, lol. I've been getting the humidity up and working on getting everything really wet. He's been chilling out behind on one of the bark pieces but comes out a lot when the lights are off or dim. He's quite active! Again thank you both for the comments! I'm more confident now haha

Sounds like he’s happy! My Damon medius sits on his bark closest to his enclosure wall during the day but then crawls all over it at nighttime. They must have internal clocks because I keep him in a room with no window and the light is either always on or always off, but he seems to know what time of day it is regardless. They’re incredible arachnids, I hope you enjoy yours as much as I enjoy mine.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

Misting doesn't really do much - the substrate moisture is the important thing. Reducing airflow will help a lot as well - they don't need or enjoy much ventilation. You can mist or dribble water occasionally on the cork background to simulate condensation - they drink from that if they need extra moisture. Most don't tend to use water dishes, but all will drink moisture from their climbing surface.

As noted by @douglas weird, a piece of cork or styrofoam glued to the ceiling makes an excellent moulting surface for a larger amblypygid. It's not strictly necessary but it can make things a bit easier.

Please do NOT leave live prey in with your animal for more than a few hours. It only needs to eat once every week or two, depending on the size of the prey, and having live animals running around in there with your amblypygi will stress out the animal. Additionally, live prey can kill a molting amblypygi! For an adult, one large cricket per week is plenty, and if it doesn't eat it within the first few hours, it's not hungry. In that case, remove the prey item. Sometimes my critters will go several weeks without eating even when they're not close to a moult. If you're only able to get smaller crickets, you still only want to offer one at a time, just a little more frequently.

By the way, if you got this animal at a pet store, it's almost certainly Damon medius, and wild-caught. That means it's very likely to be stressed out and not in fantastic health, so keep things quiet, dark, and moist, and leave it alone as much as possible while it settles in. That may take weeks or even months, depending on its condition.

 

[Ms Ratty]

Thank you both so much for all the information!! I do have 1 more question..how am I supposed to get the crickets out after a few hours without disturbing the spider? They simply disappear behind the bark.
And yes I know it's not a spider but it's easier to type that haha

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

Thank you both so much for all the information!! I do have 1 more question..how am I supposed to get the crickets out after a few hours without disturbing the spider? They simply disappear behind the bark.
And yes I know it's not a spider but it's easier to type that haha

Long forceps (tweezers) will be your best friend. You can get them on Amazon and in a lot of pet shops. Look for something around 12-16 inches long. Alternately you can grab them out with your hands if there’s enough space.

 

[Ms Ratty]

Long forceps (tweezers) will be your best friend. You can get them on Amazon and in a lot of pet shops. Look for something around 12-16 inches long. Alternately you can grab them out with your hands if there’s enough space.

The only problem is that they go where the spider is... I don't want to be stressing out the spider by moving his hidey places to find the crickets.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

Put a piece of apple or something in a spot away from where the shelters are. Then wait for the crickets to come to the food.