Tailless Whip Scorpion Question

[Katronmaster]

Well, I got a call from the local pet shop...

"Something freaky escaped a box and is running loose in the quarentine room, no one wants to go in there with it out. Catch it, and it's yours!" (The staff are cowards, I've had to catch ROSE HAIRS for them)

I'm now the owner of a Giant Tailless whip scorpion. I can't seem to find much information on the care and keeping of these.

What is the average lifespan, and how much room will it need? I want to get it out of the small box I have it in ASAP. I found a bit of info on them, but does anyone have any pointers? I'd say it's about 6 inches with the legs. Also, is there any easy way of sexing them?

Tips and advice would be much appreciated, it's quite the pretty little critter, I think.

 

[Ravnos]

I keep mine in a vertical tank (~10g) with a large flat piece of cork bark leaning to one side to create a shadowed area, with basic organic soil as a substrate. Mist it down a couple times a week depending on how humid the tank is. I feed small sized crickets, a few at a time in the evening, a couple times a week - I've had some that ate a lot more than others so your mileage may vary. They are capable of eating larger crickets, but the larger ones seem to have a nasty habit of chewing their whips off if they aren't eaten immediately.

Sexing them is pretty easy, females have shorter palps, and males have longer palps which are more intricately spined. Once you've seen what a mature male looks like, it makes it pretty easy to tell the difference.

 

[rubra]

The important thing with whipscorpions is to give them adequate substrate for them to burrow. 4-6" of peat or course sand is ideal. I put PVC pipes and stuff in there for them to burrow in and around. Mine just went into hibernation so I'll be putting them in the fridge till March.

Good luck with your awesome new pet!

Peter

 

[Katronmaster]

Much thanks, both of you!

Any ideas on lifespan, though?

 

[Scorpfanatic]

i think its ard 3-5 yrs,they need to be misted very very often.. use the search on the top of the page, theres quite a few thread on them. any by the way lucky you! the WC species here locally only grows to about 3 inches max.

Ravnos,

is there any other ways to sex them other then looking at the pincers? i have over 10 wild caught speceis fro Singapore and i haven ID them yet as they are quite small even as adult .

heres the link to my previous thread.

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=56893&highlight=Whipless+scorp+gave+birth

 

[Nikos]

I think there is a misunderstanding here.

Katronmaster I think is talking for uropygi aka vinegaroons aka whipscorpions while walton09 and ranvos is talking about amblypygi aka whipspiders.

Katronmaster you should stick with what Rubra advised.

 

[Tarantula_Hawk]

no... read his first thread, he's talking about a giant tailless whip scorpion aka amblypygi...

 

[Ravnos]

I've only ever used the palps to tell the gender of Damon sp. I'm not sure if it works in other species. There is a species native to Texas as well that is tiny and almost impossible to guess at too. I bet though, if you got a magnifying glass and looked at the palps that the males would be more intricately spined and fairly easy to distinguish.

 

[Katronmaster]

Thanks for the help! Quite the purdy critter really. I guessed the size off, by a fair bit. Three inches at the most, I Finally got a measure in.

The cage tag said Damon Diadema, but this store is never very accurate. The sheet said they were strictly terrestrial burrowers, which I know is off, and it guessed the lifespan at 8-10 years.

Only 3-5 years? Well, that is quite the bummer... Like having a mouse or something I guess.

 

[Katronmaster]

Another question! (Sick of me yet?)

I heard these are supposedly very delicate animals, just how fragile are they? I didn't harm it during capture, but I am concerned that removing it from the tank hands free could be harmful to it? I don't intend to handle it, but some occassions call for bug shuffling.

Thanks

 

[Scorpfanatic]

i only know about my local species, as for damon diadema, should be lobger and can grow bigger, don worry.. everything will be fine!

I've only ever used the palps to tell the gender of Damon sp. I'm not sure if it works in other species. There is a species native to Texas as well that is tiny and almost impossible to guess at too. I bet though, if you got a magnifying glass and looked at the palps that the males would be more intricately spined and fairly easy to distinguish.

Ravnos.

thanks alot, the sp i have is too small but i do observe one with longer palps(is it the claws??). the babies are now in 2nd instar! hope they grow well!

" that the males would be more intricately spined and fairly easy to distinguish.[/QUOTE]" wat u mean by this>


i hope to ppost some picture sooN!

 

[Katronmaster]

Well, I'm bummed.

She died, molting compications. She had no dish at the pet store and very low humidity, so I suspect she was too dehydrated to make it, even with my supplimented water and misting.

Very bummed.

I decided I'm best off with Ts for now, and will get another of these in the future, perhaps.

 

[Scorpfanatic]

sorri to hear that... anyway they really do need tons or humudity.