Pictures of Plump Abdomens - How do you know if your Whipspider is getting enough to eat?

[Rinfish]

Hey all!

My D. medius is settled in nicely (no more humidity issues!) but alas, the questions keep coming.

I've been waiting to feed him for about 3 1/2 weeks based off the advice of the place where I got him from. Threw a cricket in the enclosure, it disappeared, and I assumed he ate it. A week later, I found the cricket dead in the enclosure. So I throw in another cricket. It sits in the enclosure for another week (at the top of the exoterra foam background) and my spider didnt eat.

So....I took that cricket out and threw in two more who did not know the terrain, and they have since disappeared.

I have no visual guidelines to what a plump Whipspider looks like vs a hungry one, and im afraid mine might starve. He hasn't eaten in about 5 weeks at this point. I know spiders can go a while without food, but im cautious about his fragility since he was WC.

You guys have pics of your plump whipspider bellies?

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

Crickets are ridiculously good at hiding, and if your enclosure is very large the Damon may have trouble finding them - remember they are sit-and-wait hunters for the most part. That said, it is not unusual for an amblypygi to go many weeks without eating. Looking at the animal from the side, is the abdomen the same thickness or thicker than the cephalothorax? If so, don't worry, your amblypygi is fine. If it's thinner that the cephalothorax, I'd expect it to be hungry, so that might indicate some issue that needs addressing. If you're not sure, post a photo of yours from the side so we can advise.

 

[mantisfan101]

My whipspider did't eat fr 3 months after I bought it.

 

[pannaking22]

Make sure you maintain good humidity and that'll help it keep going even if it isn't hungry. It's not too unusual for it not to have eaten yet, Damon get that way sometimes.

 

[wizentrop]

How to know if your whip spider is getting enough to eat - the ultimate guide:
1. Make sure your whip spiders enclosure provides the requirements for keeping Amblypygi.
2. Feed your whip spider. If it eats, great. You can leave it at that or offer more the next day, up to 3 prey items per week. If it doesn't eat, it had enough. Remove the food and try again next week.
3. Repeat no.2

The crucial part is that the whip spider is not stressed when feeding time comes. If you are worried about crickets running/hiding you can either crush their hind legs or lightly crush their head prior to releasing.

 

[Pepper]

Just wanted to share this plump mama. A lot less bulk than this is fine.
Edit: what a bad picture! It looks a lot better on my phone

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

Just wanted to share this plump mama. A lot less bulk than this is fine.
Edit: what a bad picture! It looks a lot better on my phone

She got some junk in the trunk.

 

[Arachnoenthusiast]

I have a damon diadem that hasn't eaten since I got her, 2 months, nice to hear I'm not the only one dealing with this issue

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

I have a damon diadem that hasn't eaten since I got her, 2 months, nice to hear I'm not the only one dealing with this issue

My Phrynus barbadensis moulted a few weeks ago and has eaten exactly one tiny cricket since then. She's so skinny and it's stressing me out but I know if she wants to eat, she will. Nothing you can do but make sure the environment is right and keep offering food periodically

 

[Arachnoenthusiast]

My Phrynus barbadensis moulted a few weeks ago and has eaten exactly one tiny cricket since then. She's so skinny and it's stressing me out but I know if she wants to eat, she will. Nothing you can do but make sure the environment is right and keep offering food periodically

Will they take prekills?

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

Will they take prekills?

Babies will take very fresh kills but adults and subadults tend not to. You can break cricket knees or pop off their back legs to slow them down, though. A hungry adult would likely take a still-twitching kill.

 

[Arachnoenthusiast]

Atleast I know its hydrated, still won't eat though

 

[aphono]

Atleast I know its hydrated, still won't eat though View attachment 337025

My thoughts: as for high humidity loving species(medius is one), it's a good thing if one rarely/never sees them drinking. For these drinking is an indication of extremely low humidity.

Picture shows a far too dry substrate. Flood it to the point of being extremely moist/soaked and mist everything hard. If maintaining humidity is a challenge due to evaporation, cover half of the ventilation at least to help keep in the humidity.

IME, doing the above resulted in dramatic changes in behavior. Before those changes, they seemed inactive, slow to eat, caught them in the act of drinking several times. Post changes they became much more active, better eaters- some individuals became very aggressive hunters when hungry. Completely different beasts from "before". And never saw them drink again. Having a water dish is fine, it could help with humidity or offer a hydration source in case the humidity gets too low.

Perhaps offer larger prey- large crickets rather than mediums.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

Whoa that is a DRY setup. They won't eat if they're dehydrated, and one of the biggest risks to this guy is desiccation. Wet down that substrate!

 

[Arachnoenthusiast]

I thoroughly sprayed it this morning

 

[mantisfan101]

Soak the substrate. It should stay extremelt wet and waterlogged 24/7. It is plump enough so it will likely not eat in a while. Misting once a day is not enough. There should be heavy condensation 24/7

 

[Arachnoenthusiast]

Soak the substrate. It should stay extremelt wet and waterlogged 24/7. It is plump enough so it will likely not eat in a while. Misting once a day is not enough. There should be heavy condensation 24/7

Its soaked, I will keep it wet going forward

 

[Orion42]

This may be a dead thread but mine didn't eat for 11 months and just started eating last month. They can refuse food for a very long time. As for humidity, my enclosure is like a swamp, everything is extremely wet and humidity gauge reads in the 90's, otherwise my medius sticks her head in the substrate. Don't be afraid to make it really wet in there and don't give up hope that it might eat even if it's been months.