new Amblypygi owner, rate my setup?

[gothmoth]

hi guys! just wanted some crowd support with my new addition- i finally got my hands on a whip-spider! i have been dreaming of owning one for years and the stars aligned and now i have a beautiful boy/girl (seller didn't know sex) now to love and care for. i just want advice on how to keep them around for years to come, my baby looked kinda rough when i first got them, missing over half of one of the feeler arms, a slightly bum foot and a bit lethargic when i brought them home- but after some rest, humidity and something to drink- they seemed to perk right up, they're out and about, climbing the walls and checking out their new surroundings! i just need some tips and tricks, no-no's, etc. im used to tarantulas, centipedes, and scorpions; quick, ground dwelling animals - Crutiatus (whip's name) is very docile and relaxed. what is the best way to feed them? Croosh hasn't eaten anything yet, i brought him/her home 5/1/22. how do i avoid swamping their enclosure? how do they moult (i.e. on the ground like tarantulas or on the roof like stick bugs?), i'll attach photos of their enclosure from the outside (as to not release humidity). he/she is about and inch and a half in body, leg span is probably 3 1/2 - 4 in? i will provide a photo of them as well (pic is from the day i got them). long winded- but any advice is more than welcome! thank you!

 

[chanda]

First - what species is Cruciatus? There are lots of different species, and the care requirements will vary according to the species.

That enclosure looks way to wet to me - and all the moisture on the glass is making it hard to get a look inside. I'd lose the plastic wrap at the top, so you get some air flow going (I assume there's screen under the plastic wrap?) and cut back on the watering.

The most important thing for cage furnishings is a large, vertical or diagonally oriented slab of cork bark, with plenty of open space below it. They molt hanging upside down, so it needs to be a rough surface like cork that they can grip - with enough clear space below to extend their legs and whips during the molt. When they are molting, do not disturb them. If they fall during or shortly after the molting process, it is usually fatal.

As for feeding, I just drop a cricket or two (depending on the size) in the tank every week - along with a few bits of veggies or some dog or cat kibble. That gives the crickets something to eat until they become dinner themselves.

I have two species - Damon diadema and Paraphrynus carolynae. They don't require as much moisture as some other species. For them, I just soak the substrate once a week. (Wet, but not to the point that water is pooling on it.) The cages are screen-topped, so there is plenty of air flow. The whips can hang out down at the bottom if they want a little more moisture - or up at the top, if they want it dryer. In most of my cages, I have at least two cork slabs - a big, angled slab for molting, plus a smaller piece (or a cork tube) at the base of the big slab, to create a dark crevice where it can hide during the daytime. They do prefer to be somewhere dark when the lights are on, then they come out and are active at night.

 

[Edan bandoot]

hard to say much from these pictures.

 

[that1ocelot]

First - what species is Cruciatus? There are lots of different species, and the care requirements will vary according to the species.

That enclosure looks way to wet to me - and all the moisture on the glass is making it hard to get a look inside. I'd lose the plastic wrap at the top, so you get some air flow going (I assume there's screen under the plastic wrap?) and cut back on the watering.

The most important thing for cage furnishings is a large, vertical or diagonally oriented slab of cork bark, with plenty of open space below it. They molt hanging upside down, so it needs to be a rough surface like cork that they can grip - with enough clear space below to extend their legs and whips during the molt. When they are molting, do not disturb them. If they fall during or shortly after the molting process, it is usually fatal.

As for feeding, I just drop a cricket or two (depending on the size) in the tank every week - along with a few bits of veggies or some dog or cat kibble. That gives the crickets something to eat until they become dinner themselves.

I have two species - Damon diadema and Paraphrynus carolynae. They don't require as much moisture as some other species. For them, I just soak the substrate once a week. (Wet, but not to the point that water is pooling on it.) The cages are screen-topped, so there is plenty of air flow. The whips can hang out down at the bottom if they want a little more moisture - or up at the top, if they want it dryer. In most of my cages, I have at least two cork slabs - a big, angled slab for molting, plus a smaller piece (or a cork tube) at the base of the big slab, to create a dark crevice where it can hide during the daytime. They do prefer to be somewhere dark when the lights are on, then they come out and are active at night.

I am 99% sure this is a male Damon Medius, but I'm far from an expert.

Damon Medius DO tend to like it more humid than other species, but the advice @chanda gave is correct.
I assume your animal is wild caught as well, so the excess wetness right now isn't a bad thing. They're often dehydrated from travelling.

My advice would be this...

1. Use some paper towel on the excess water in the substrate. It should be moist but no pools. Since it's very likely a Medius, leave the plastic wrap on OR just wet the substrate more often than you would with the plastic wrap.
Chanda was right on (obvii) when he said wet the substrate. Only misting is a rookie mistake and isn't really necessary. I know you didn't but just FYI.

2. If you wanted to see your animal more, you could remove the fake plants. My, and many other ambly enclosures are super barebones. If anything, the fancy stuff hinders their ability to find prey. This is really up to you though.

3. Since it's a Medius and the intention is for it to be humid all the time, Springtails are an excellent addition to help with fungus or mold. Saying that, Ambly don't really care about these things.

Clearly though you did your research Medius are a bit more tangly because of their humidity requirements and the fact they're often wild caught & mislabeled.

 

[gothmoth]

I am 99% sure this is a male Damon Medius, but I'm far from an expert.

Damon Medius DO tend to like it more humid than other species, but the advice @chanda gave is correct.
I assume your animal is wild caught as well, so the excess wetness right now isn't a bad thing. They're often dehydrated from travelling.

My advice would be this...

1. Use some paper towel on the excess water in the substrate. It should be moist but no pools. Since it's very likely a Medius, leave the plastic wrap on OR just wet the substrate more often than you would with the plastic wrap.
Chanda was right on (obvii) when he said wet the substrate. Only misting is a rookie mistake and isn't really necessary. I know you didn't but just FYI.

2. If you wanted to see your animal more, you could remove the fake plants. My, and many other ambly enclosures are super barebones. If anything, the fancy stuff hinders their ability to find prey. This is really up to you though.

3. Since it's a Medius and the intention is for it to be humid all the time, Springtails are an excellent addition to help with fungus or mold. Saying that, Ambly don't really care about these things.

Clearly though you did your research Medius are a bit more tangly because of their humidity requirements and the fact they're often wild caught & mislabeled.

Thank you! And thank you all for your responses!
Seller didn't know exactly what species they were so I was assuming Damon Medius as well, since they're the most commonly sold here in the US, thats the only reason the enclosure is so wet and humid. I asked around at Repticon (where I found my little one) and the only thing anyone said was "don't let them dry out!" so I figured it's better to be safe than sorry. I was going to ask about the addition of springtails or isos in order to help with mold- I had a minor issue with mold with one of my centipedes way back when and I was wanting to include isos or springtails in some of my other more humid enclosures as well, so any tips you've got on them as well is awesome!
I don't mind not seeing my inverts, my main intention is that they're happy and healthy- so the constant humidity on the glass isn't too much of an issue for me. However, if it may impede his ability to find prey, I can remove the plants and switch it out for more bark.
As for the excess wetness, I'm going to let a lot of that evaporate, there is plastic wrap on the top but has small cuts for ventilation, plus the holes near the door of the enclosure. I don't plan on misting or adding any more warm water for a while lol
Like you mentioned, they ARE wild caught a lot of the time and with that I've seen the horror stories of parasites and early deaths due to stress or dehydration, so really my main goal is to just give him the best opportunity for a long, happy life!

 

[that1ocelot]

Thank you! And thank you all for your responses!
Seller didn't know exactly what species they were so I was assuming Damon Medius as well, since they're the most commonly sold here in the US, thats the only reason the enclosure is so wet and humid. I asked around at Repticon (where I found my little one) and the only thing anyone said was "don't let them dry out!" so I figured it's better to be safe than sorry. I was going to ask about the addition of springtails or isos in order to help with mold- I had a minor issue with mold with one of my centipedes way back when and I was wanting to include isos or springtails in some of my other more humid enclosures as well, so any tips you've got on them as well is awesome!
I don't mind not seeing my inverts, my main intention is that they're happy and healthy- so the constant humidity on the glass isn't too much of an issue for me. However, if it may impede his ability to find prey, I can remove the plants and switch it out for more bark.
As for the excess wetness, I'm going to let a lot of that evaporate, there is plastic wrap on the top but has small cuts for ventilation, plus the holes near the door of the enclosure. I don't plan on misting or adding any more warm water for a while lol
Like you mentioned, they ARE wild caught a lot of the time and with that I've seen the horror stories of parasites and early deaths due to stress or dehydration, so really my main goal is to just give him the best opportunity for a long, happy life!

Awesome! Yeah, the water shouldn't be a huge issue for Medius. I would say they are more of an intermediate species, despite being so common in the hobby. I've got a WC one myself.
They would always appreciate more places to hide I actually think I have Medius in the same enclosure, I've just got 2 corkbark slabs and keep plastic over the top

Iso's are probably a no, maybe dwarf whites but otherwise they can just cause too much damage to a molting ambly. Springtails however are my one true love. I live on the east coast of Canada (wet) and in a basement (wet) and there is a ton of mold naturally. The springtails really help my scorpion and ambly enclosures.

I've got a couple populations of springtails on the go, just tupperware with charcoal and water inside. Open them up for air every day or so and you're golden. Not like the charcoal pucks but just the regular stuff. I've seen people use rice or couscous as a food medium, but many vendors sell specific springtail food that molds really quickly. Whenever I get a new animal I just chuck a few in with a wee bit of springtail food to get them going. Ambly tend to be messy eaters so theirs tons of foods for the little guys and gals. Saying that, ambly are probably the one invert that lives with mold really well, so it's not a MUST but I like having them in there regardless.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

Looks good for a Damon medius, which I agree this appears to be. Personally I'd remove the plants - the Damon won't care, they give shelter to prey, and they'll hide your view. Up to you, though.

It can take a while for them to want to eat when they're settling in, and a reasonably well-fed adult can go a long time without food, so I wouldn't worry too much if it's not taking food yet. You can continue to offer a prey item every week or so until it takes one. Don't leave uneaten prey in the enclosure for too long though - it can stress them out. Other than that, your best bet is to leave it alone as much as possible to heal and strengthen after its ordeal.

As chanda said, Amblypygi will moult on a vertical surface or an overhang, so you want to make sure you have a good spot for that with plenty of clearance below.

Enjoy your new pet!

 

[gothmoth]

Thank you all so much! Awesome advice. I got some powder orange isos just for fun, to see if i could accomplish establishing a colony- so I may just keep them as a decomp pit for when i take out remnants or do a clean out of an enclosure- my T. stirmi is a messy eater and sometimes misses crickets so they just die eventually, and she's got such a large enclosure (secondhand, didn't choose the enclosure, just the spider lol) I'm sure they'd fare well in there too if I decided to put a couple in there. What do you guys think?

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

Do they climb at all? If they climb, then definitely no. If they stay in the soil, then you should be okay.

 

[gothmoth]

if you're talking about the spider, she will explore sometimes- the most "climbing" she does is up on top of her little hut. If you mean the isos, people online say they climb but my few haven't been all that interested in climbing, more digging and hiding away in nooks and crannies but I also have only had them for two days, so I don't know them all that well. They're still sticking with the biodegradable packing peanuts they came with. What would be the damage if they climbed? Uncontrolled reproduction? Escapees?

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

if you're talking about the spider, she will explore sometimes- the most "climbing" she does is up on top of her little hut. If you mean the isos, people online say they climb but my few haven't been all that interested in climbing, more digging and hiding away in nooks and crannies but I also have only had them for two days, so I don't know them all that well. They're still sticking with the biodegradable packing peanuts they came with. What would be the damage if they climbed? Uncontrolled reproduction? Escapees?

I meant the isopods. I haven’t kept this species so I don’t know if they’re climbers. Climbing isopods can stress out and even kill a moulting amblypygi. Don’t keep climbers with your amblypygi. Dwarf varieties that stay underground all the time are a safer bet.

 

[gothmoth]

I meant the isopods. I haven’t kept this species so I don’t know if they’re climbers. Climbing isopods can stress out and even kill a moulting amblypygi. Don’t keep climbers with your amblypygi. Dwarf varieties that stay underground all the time are a safer bet.

Oh! Yes, a friend of mine keeps springtails so she's going to share some of them with me, they'll be going in with the ambly- no worries! I just have no idea what to do with my powder oranges now lol