Pregnant Tailless Whip Spider; Help? Anyone?

[Allasteria]

Hello! This is my first post and I’m brand new to Arachnoboards.

I have a bit of a dilemma and it is kind of lengthy, so please bear with me!

At the start of October, my husband surprised me with what we believed to be a male Tanzanian Tailless Whip Spider, Allaster. I had been researching them for quite awhile prior and really wanted a male vs. a female because I didn’t want the chance of getting a possible pregnant female. When I say we believed it to be male, I mean that its pedipalps extended past that first (knee?) leg joint, as all research has told me before. However, I have just learned that secondary sex characteristics CAN LIE. My precious Allaster, is apparently an Allasteria, and pregnant! Hooray? At first, I thought that she was trying to molt, as she began hanging often, until I saw on *exactly* November 3rd, that she had eggs. I thought it was weird that this just now came up, as she was at the pet store for quite awhile before we purchased her. Her eggs were this blue-ish green-ish color, but now have progressed as of today, November 9, to a brown-ish red color. I’ll post a picture below, but she’s been in her burrow, so I only have a picture of when her eggs were blue-ish and whatnot. She hasn’t ate since October 15 (almost a month!!) and had eaten her one cricket on a regular, weekly, basis before. I would take her out of her vivarium and put her in a mini one to feed her her cricket before, but don’t feel comfortable doing so (nor do I think I should) since she’s obviously pregnant and doesn’t need to be stressed further. I’ve tried tong feeding, but she grabs the cricket from me, puts it to her mouth for a minute and then throws it on the ground. I know that they can go a long time without eating, but I am getting worried and don’t know what to do or where else to turn to. Otherwise, she seems happy, as she is active, drinking water, and grooming daily. I’m probably just being an overprotective momma, but hey, she’s my baby! I’m open and grateful to any suggestions. And please, be kind, as I was ready for a male and not a pregnant female.

 

[FrmDaLeftCoast]

Welcome to the community! Unfortunately my minimal knowledge I've acquired is only T based.

 

[chanda]

Pregnant whip spiders are easy - just take care of her the way you normally would if she weren't pregnant. Mist the cage every few days to give her drinking water and keep the humidity level up - but make sure she has adequate ventilation, too, so the cage doesn't get too stuffy or moldy. The cage should be kept at a comfortable room temperature - not too hot, not too cold. Continue to offer food every week or so. The only accomodation I make for my whip spiders (Damon diadema) when they are pregnant is I offer slightly smaller prey - but they continue to eat while pregnant.

It does take a LONG time for the eggs to hatch out. Within a couple of weeks of mating, the eggs can be visible on the underside of her abdomen, then after 6-8 weeks (according to Orin McMonigle's book Whipscorpions and Whipspiders: Culturing Gentle Monsters) she will extrude the eggs into her brood pouch (the little reddish pouch under her abdomen). The eggs should hatch roughly six months after mating. It is very important to maintain appropriate temperatures and humidity during the gestation period. If it is too hot or too cold, too dry or too stuffy, some - or even all - of the eggs will die.

Once the eggs hatch, the young will all cling to their mother's back. They do not need to eat yet. If any of them fall off of her, you can try to gently place them back on her. If they are not on her back, they will die. After about 10 days or so, they will molt and will then leave their mother's back. At this point, separate the mother from the young. (What I do with mine is put the pregnant mother into the cage I want to keep the babies in while she is still gravid. It should be an enclosure with room for plenty of hiding places like cork slabs or tubes, and should also have a very fine mesh top that is capable of containing fruit flies. Once the babies leave her back, I remove the mother from the cage and transfer her back to her own cage.)

Once the babies have left their mother's back, they will need to be fed frequently - otherwise they will eat each other. I try to feed mine every couple of days. I do keep the babies communally just because it is easier to do so rather than having to deal with dozens of individual little cups. When they first start out, I offer them fruit flies - but as soon as they are big enough (usually after their second molt) I will also start offering them very small crickets. If you don't want to keep all the babies, I'm sure you'll be able to sell/trade/give them away here in the classifieds or to your local hobbyists. They always seem to be in demand!

 

[BenLeeKing]

I recommend getting the book “Breeding the World's Largest Living Arachnid: Amblypygid” by Orin McMonigle. I don’t have too many experience with whips, but I think she should be fine if she’s choosing not to eat~ Once they hatch, they will all cling on the back of mama.

 

[BenLeeKing]

Pregnant whip spiders are easy - just take care of her the way you normally would if she weren't pregnant. Mist the cage every few days to give her drinking water and keep the humidity level up - but make sure she has adequate ventilation, too, so the cage doesn't get too stuffy or moldy. The cage should be kept at a comfortable room temperature - not too hot, not too cold. Continue to offer food every week or so. The only accomodation I make for my whip spiders (Damon diadema) when they are pregnant is I offer slightly smaller prey - but they continue to eat while pregnant.

It does take a LONG time for the eggs to hatch out. Within a couple of weeks of mating, the eggs can be visible on the underside of her abdomen, then after 6-8 weeks (according to Orin McMonigle's book Whipscorpions and Whipspiders: Culturing Gentle Monsters) she will extrude the eggs into her brood pouch (the little reddish pouch under her abdomen). The eggs should hatch roughly six months after mating. It is very important to maintain appropriate temperatures and humidity during the gestation period. If it is too hot or too cold, too dry or too stuffy, some - or even all - of the eggs will die.

Once the eggs hatch, the young will all cling to their mother's back. They do not need to eat yet. If any of them fall off of her, you can try to gently place them back on her. If they are not on her back, they will die. After about 10 days or so, they will molt and will then leave their mother's back. At this point, separate the mother from the young. (What I do with mine is put the pregnant mother into the cage I want to keep the babies in while she is still gravid. It should be an enclosure with room for plenty of hiding places like cork slabs or tubes, and should also have a very fine mesh top that is capable of containing fruit flies. Once the babies leave her back, I remove the mother from the cage and transfer her back to her own cage.)

The babies will need to be fed frequently - otherwise they will eat each other. I do keep mine communally just because it is easier to do so rather than having to deal with dozens of individual little cups. When they first start out, I offer them fruit flies - but as soon as they are big enough (usually after their second molt) I will also start offering them very small crickets. If you don't want to keep all the babies, I'm sure you'll be able to sell/trade/give them away here in the classifieds or to your local hobbyists. They always seem to be in demand!

Well you beat me to the punch in recommending Orin’s book XD

 

[Allasteria]

Pregnant whip spiders are easy - just take care of her the way you normally would if she weren't pregnant. Mist the cage every few days to give her drinking water and keep the humidity level up - but make sure she has adequate ventilation, too, so the cage doesn't get too stuffy or moldy. The cage should be kept at a comfortable room temperature - not too hot, not too cold. Continue to offer food every week or so. The only accomodation I make for my whip spiders (Damon diadema) when they are pregnant is I offer slightly smaller prey - but they continue to eat while pregnant.

It does take a LONG time for the eggs to hatch out. Within a couple of weeks of mating, the eggs can be visible on the underside of her abdomen, then after 6-8 weeks (according to Orin McMonigle's book Whipscorpions and Whipspiders: Culturing Gentle Monsters) she will extrude the eggs into her brood pouch (the little reddish pouch under her abdomen). The eggs should hatch roughly six months after mating. It is very important to maintain appropriate temperatures and humidity during the gestation period. If it is too hot or too cold, too dry or too stuffy, some - or even all - of the eggs will die.

Once the eggs hatch, the young will all cling to their mother's back. They do not need to eat yet. If any of them fall off of her, you can try to gently place them back on her. If they are not on her back, they will die. After about 10 days or so, they will molt and will then leave their mother's back. At this point, separate the mother from the young. (What I do with mine is put the pregnant mother into the cage I want to keep the babies in while she is still gravid. It should be an enclosure with room for plenty of hiding places like cork slabs or tubes, and should also have a very fine mesh top that is capable of containing fruit flies. Once the babies leave her back, I remove the mother from the cage and transfer her back to her own cage.)

Once the babies have left their mother's back, they will need to be fed frequently - otherwise they will eat each other. I try to feed mine every couple of days. I do keep the babies communally just because it is easier to do so rather than having to deal with dozens of individual little cups. When they first start out, I offer them fruit flies - but as soon as they are big enough (usually after their second molt) I will also start offering them very small crickets. If you don't want to keep all the babies, I'm sure you'll be able to sell/trade/give them away here in the classifieds or to your local hobbyists. They always seem to be in demand!

I read that when they mate and the female accepts the spermatophores, they can decide when they want to impregnate themselves, essentially? I don’t know how true that is, but it would make sense since I’ve had her about a whole month since her eggs appeared. Also, her tank is a bioactive vivarium, with isopods and springtails so that I never have to worry about mold or anything gross because they eat mold, cricket carcasses that she doesn’t finish, and her own waste! It’s been a godsend. Highly recommend doing it. I was wondering if the mothers get cannibalistic or not. The only sweet thing I’ve heard about them is that the mothers will caress their babies. *squee* But the other tank is a great idea, especially since I’d only have to buy the tank itself. I have left over coconut core, sphagnum moss, bark, and could easily transfer the isopod and springtail colonies. So, after their second molt will they be good to find their forever homes? I have a dozen or so friends interested and know a local breeder and, of course, the specialty pet stores in my area. They do seem to be gaining popularity! I think they’re so easy to care for and are super sweet. My Allasteria is so social and lovey. I never thought I’d ever be saying that about an arachnid. Lol.

 

[Allasteria]

I recommend getting the book “Breeding the World's Largest Living Arachnid: Amblypygid” by Orin McMonigle. I don’t have too many experience with whips, but I think she should be fine if she’s choosing not to eat~ Once they hatch, they will all cling on the back of mama.

Thank you!! The hardest part about caring for these sweet babies is that I feel like there isn’t so much correct and available knowledge about them out there! You either have to know someone who has one, breeds them, or hope that someone is knowledgeable about them at whatever pet store you get them at.

 

[chanda]

I read that when they mate and the female accepts the spermatophores, they can decide when they want to impregnate themselves, essentially? I don’t know how true that is, but it would make sense since I’ve had her about a whole month since her eggs appeared. Also, her tank is a bioactive vivarium, with isopods and springtails so that I never have to worry about mold or anything gross because they eat mold, cricket carcasses that she doesn’t finish, and her own waste! It’s been a godsend. Highly recommend doing it. I was wondering if the mothers get cannibalistic or not. The only sweet thing I’ve heard about them is that the mothers will caress their babies. *squee* But the other tank is a great idea, especially since I’d only have to buy the tank itself. I have left over coconut core, sphagnum moss, bark, and could easily transfer the isopod and springtail colonies. So, after their second molt will they be good to find their forever homes? I have a dozen or so friends interested and know a local breeder and, of course, the specialty pet stores in my area. They do seem to be gaining popularity! I think they’re so easy to care for and are super sweet. My Allasteria is so social and lovey. I never thought I’d ever be saying that about an arachnid. Lol.

Yes, once the babies have left the mother's back, she will sometimes eat them. I left the mother in with the babies once, and she ate a fair number of the babies before I realized what she was doing and removed her. Now I pull the mother as soon as the babies hop off.

Once the babies have left their mother, they should be self-sufficient, able to catch their own (small) prey and feed themselves. You can try finding homes for them at any point after that - though the odds of survival and ease of care increase dramatically with each successive molt, just like with most inverts.

While I do keep the babies communally, there can also be cannibalism among siblings, even when they are kept well-fed - particularly as they approach the sub-adult stage. I usually try to separate them once they start getting bigger, if I haven't sold or traded them away yet.

I have also had the occasional mysterious molting death, where I will find one of them dead on the floor following an apparently perfectly normal and successful molt. The best theory I can come up with is that the molting whip spider was somehow dislodged by one of the other whip spiders while it was still soft and vulnerable following the molt. It does not appear to be cannibalism related, because the dead ones are completely intact and uninjured.

 

[aphono]

Bioactive is great! I use springtails in all of my amblypygi enclosures and also dwarf white isopods in a few set ups.

Orin's book is excellent.

Pedipalp sexual dimorphism isn't an universal amblypygi trait. It's reliable in Damon diadema. Not very reliable in Damon medius*. Many species have identical or nearly so pedipalps in both sexes.

For the last couple years, a majority of large sized amblypygi species for sale have been wild caught imports of D. medius. That along your proven female with the pedipalps longer than the leg joint points to her being a D. medius.

D. medius is a Western African species. Tanzania is in the east. "not even close..." IIRC, Tanzania has a ban on imports(?). So she's not actually "Tanzanian whip spider" despite what the place/person sold her as. A lot of stores and some private sellers continue to label them as such. Unfortunately, recently I've started to encounter advertisements for D. diadema but the actual specimens available for purchase in reality are D. medius.

*there are some who still think it is reliable for this species(medius) and might defend it or mistakenly sex them by pedipalp size. I used to think it was reliable until getting two females with the longer pedipalps. Turns out it's been confirmed independently by others, just not that well known yet.

p.s. D. medius is reliably sexed by the pattern on their genital shield- females have a trapezoid pattern, males either a Y or sort of a heart shape pattern.


Good luck with the new pet, I'd love to see pictures of the babies when they hatch!

 

[BenLeeKing]

Bioactive is great! I use springtails in all of my amblypygi enclosures and also dwarf white isopods in a few set ups.

Orin's book is excellent.

Pedipalp sexual dimorphism isn't an universal amblypygi trait. It's reliable in Damon diadema. Not very reliable in Damon medius*. Many species have identical or nearly so pedipalps in both sexes.

For the last couple years, a majority of large sized amblypygi species for sale have been wild caught imports of D. medius. That along your proven female with the pedipalps longer than the leg joint points to her being a D. medius.

D. medius is a Western African species. Tanzania is in the east. "not even close..." IIRC, Tanzania has a ban on imports(?). So she's not actually "Tanzanian whip spider" despite what the place/person sold her as. A lot of stores and some private sellers continue to label them as such. Unfortunately, recently I've started to encounter advertisements for D. diadema but the actual specimens available for purchase in reality are D. medius.

*there are some who still think it is reliable for this species(medius) and might defend it or mistakenly sex them by pedipalp size. I used to think it was reliable until getting two females with the longer pedipalps. Turns out it's been confirmed independently by others, just not that well known yet.

p.s. D. medius is reliably sexed by the pattern on their genital shield- females have a trapezoid pattern, males either a Y or sort of a heart shape pattern.


Good luck with the new pet, I'd love to see pictures of the babies when they hatch!

I have one that’s labelled Damon variegatus, but I have read that they are frequently mislabelled... till this day I don’t know Damon what the hell it is...

 

[aphono]

I have one that’s labelled Damon variegatus, but I have read that they are frequently mislabelled... till this day I don’t know Damon what the hell it is...

That's what I've read also. The consensus seems to be "there are no variegatus in the U.S. hobby, period". By now I wouldn't even be surprised if it was simply a mislabeled medius either. Not kidding- over 90% of mid-large sized amblypygi being sold have been medius in my experience so far. No matter what the label or seller says. There's even a place with this label: "Tanzanian whip spider, Damon medius" which I find so very interesting because theirs are actually medius but that common name... More unfortunately, been starting to see advertisements using pictures of diadema(or eastern species of some sort at the very least) yet the actual specimens you can buy are medius.

 

[BenLeeKing]

I got a molt here of my "varigatus", not sure if the photos are clear enough for ids tho~