Officially lost my first Amblypygi... what can I do differently?

[gothmoth]

Hey guys, I posted here a few months ago with questions on my setup for my Damon medius. Fast forward- he'd been acting strange for the past couple days, and I knew he might leave me soon. He was my first and was in rough shape when I initially got him, no age known, not even sure on sex, and missing left antennae/feeler. I was really hoping I could bring him back to his former glory and keep him for at least a couple years, but this evening, I got home from school and he'd passed. I'm really upset and I feel it may be my fault through just not having any experience with them prior to him. If I decide to keep another, what should I do differently? His enclosure was always at about 75-85% humidity, fed regularly though i never saw him snatch anything up, crickets would 'go missing'. I introduced springtails a couple months ago to hopefully decrease the chance of mold and fungus gnats in his humid enclosure- they're in my S. subspinipes and birdeater's enclosures as well without incident. i'm just so upset, I truly don't know what I did wrong but I'm sure there's some vital piece of information I'm missing. Any advice for the future is very helpful. Thank you all.

 

[ForTW]

Any pictures to visualize the shape and gender?

 

[that1ocelot]

I remember your post

Honestly, only thing I can think of is that he couldn't find food because the enclosure was a bit more complicated, but that's unlikely.
Wild Caught is a coin flip, honestly.

I also keep microfauna in all my enclosures and it's never been a problem.
Sorry for your loss! But it doesn't seem to be your fault. A CBanimal might give you better luck.

 

[Sarkhan42]

Unfortunately wild caught Damon medius require some serious TLC to recover from the ordeal of being collected, and even then it’s iffy. The most successful rehabilitations I’ve seen have been in almost swamp like conditions.

In general I’d avoid the use of ambient humidity numbers as it doesn’t tell a consistent story, and is often an unreliable crutch for maintaining moisture conditions. It’s better to get a feel for how wet your substrate should be, and how often water is provided on a surface they can drink from.

As the @that1ocelot also said, when it comes to delicate specimens simpler is also better for enclosures. Easier for them to get food, be monitored, molt, etc.

All in all don’t beat yourself up too much. WC beat up whips can be a challenge for even very experienced keepers, and are often considered a coin toss as mentioned.

 

[gothmoth]

Unfortunately wild caught Damon medius require some serious TLC to recover from the ordeal of being collected, and even then it’s iffy. The most successful rehabilitations I’ve seen have been in almost swamp like conditions.

In general I’d avoid the use of ambient humidity numbers as it doesn’t tell a consistent story, and is often an unreliable crutch for maintaining moisture conditions. It’s better to get a feel for how wet your substrate should be, and how often water is provided on a surface they can drink from.

As the @that1ocelot also said, when it comes to delicate specimens simpler is also better for enclosures. Easier for them to get food, be monitored, molt, etc.

All in all don’t beat yourself up too much. WC beat up whips can be a challenge for even very experienced keepers, and are often considered a coin toss as mentioned.

I wasn't sure if I could respond to more than one person at one time but thank you all, @that1ocelot and @Sarkhan42 - I really appreciate the advice. I'll keep trying, @that1ocelot mentioned CBanimal, I'll look into them. His enclosure was always fairly moist; and in the beginning, to kick off humidity, I about swamped his enclosure for the first couple weeks, then got worried it was TOO wet and let it dry out a bit- but never to where the soil was dry. His enclosure was notably warmer and more humid than the outside. I figured it'd be kind of a coin flip given how rough he looked when we first picked him up, but I've had success rehabbing a few different scorpions and tarantulas so I gave it a shot. I do agree, @that1ocelot , I think the decor was too much. I removed the plants and such so it was just bark but I do think the crickets still had the upper hand, if you will, with all the nooks and crannies.

Thank you both for lifting my spirits and giving me some wonderful advice!

 

[Sarkhan42]

I wasn't sure if I could respond to more than one person at one time but thank you all, @that1ocelot and @Sarkhan42 - I really appreciate the advice. I'll keep trying, @that1ocelot mentioned CBanimal, I'll look into them. His enclosure was always fairly moist; and in the beginning, to kick off humidity, I about swamped his enclosure for the first couple weeks, then got worried it was TOO wet and let it dry out a bit- but never to where the soil was dry. His enclosure was notably warmer and more humid than the outside. I figured it'd be kind of a coin flip given how rough he looked when we first picked him up, but I've had success rehabbing a few different scorpions and tarantulas so I gave it a shot. I do agree, @that1ocelot , I think the decor was too much. I removed the plants and such so it was just bark but I do think the crickets still had the upper hand, if you will, with all the nooks and crannies.

Thank you both for lifting my spirits and giving me some wonderful advice!

Very glad to hear you’re not giving up with them! They’re really amazing animals, with a lot of interesting behavior to learn and observe. If you eventually decide you’re interested in trying again with a captive bred animal, shoot me a message- I might have some available