Tailless Whip Scorpion Species I.D.???

[MadDog]

Is anyone here familiar enough to help me identify which species of whip scorpion this is? I bought it a week ago from a local pet store and all they said was "it's supposed to get really big". Lol

 

[Biollantefan54]

Phrynus whitei I believe

 

[amblypibitch]

Definitely Phrynus whitei! I was sold two of these guys under the guise of ‘these are Charon grayi and they will get huge’ but was immediately suspicious haha. Maybe your local pet store was also told they’re C. grayi? They don’t get huge! Moderate size super cute though

 

[that1ocelot]

I can confirm Phrynus Whitei, however, there are a couple things to note.

The animal recently underwent a molt, and not a great one at that. I'm willing to bet the pet store didn't provide an adequate molting surface/space, or kept it too dry.
Or - @MadDog, did the animal molt with you? If so, you should take a good look at your husbandry.

Both of the whipslook malformed, and it has lost a leg segment. Unless this is SO soon after a molt that it hasn't completely dried, I wouldn't be surprised if it autonomized it's whips.
If the next molt is successful, everything should return to normal. However, you might want to reevaluate how you're keeping the animal

 

[MadDog]

Both pictures are the same whip scorpion. The pet store I bought it from was not keeping it in an arboreal type set-up. Nor did it have much humidity. It was missing a leg when I bought it. So probably a bad molt with the pet store. It hasn't molted with me yet. I've moved it into an arboreal set-up with a thick layer of peat moss substrate for humidity. Hopefully the next molt with me will be much better. I also suspected Phrynus Whitei, but wasn't completely confident in my I.D. I'll keep you guys posted as he acclimates and settles in.

 

[MadDog]

Also, what do you mean by it has probably autonomized it's whips? Is there anything special I should do for it until it molts again? Do you think it's hunting abilities are affected by the bad molt?

 

[that1ocelot]

Good to hear that you changed it up a bit! Your current set up sounds great.

Autotomized means to drop - if it hasn't dropped it's whips yet, then it probably won't. They don't look in great shape though. It might have been disturbed during the molt. Everything should go to normal at the next molt, and honestly it'll look like a completely different animal. In my experience, animals that have dropped limbs DO take a bit longer to molt however.

Hunting shouldn't be a huge problem, but it would help to feed pre-killed if it'll take it, or heavily maimed or slowed prey

 

[MadDog]

Thanks for the help! I'm hoping he does good in my care. I've wanted one for awhile and I'm stoked to finally have one.

 

[mantidsRcool]

I didn't think these guys could make it through a molt on the ground at all...got a survivor on your hands

 

[MadDog]

Hopefully he keeps on fighting through this adjustment period and settles in nicely!

 

[MadDog]

Well, he ate for the first time in my care today. Took down a small cricket like a champ. I wanted to try to get a picture of it, but didn't want to disturb him. I was so relieved to see him with that cricket in his mouth.

 

[MadDog]

Got a quick picture of him eating and his current setup. Thought you guys would like to see it.

 

[mantisfan101]

Definitely Phrynus whitei! I was sold two of these guys under the guise of ‘these are Charon grayi and they will get huge’ but was immediately suspicious haha. Maybe your local pet store was also told they’re C. grayi? They don’t get huge! Moderate size super cute though

First damon variegetus, then damon diadema, now charon grayi, how are they coming up with these names?

 

[amblypibitch]

First damon variegetus, then damon diadema, now charon grayi, how are they coming up with these names?

Probably just pulling the first thing they find on google

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

This is a pretty robust species. With decent care it should recover well.

Here's my adult Phrynus whitei, so you can get a sense of how large they get. Not huge, but a decent size.

 

[MadDog]

Thanks for that! I've been looking for size reference pics but they're hard to find. Can't wait for my guy to get this size.

 

[MadDog]

No pictures just yet... But it molted perfectly! Regenerated it's leg perfectly and it's whips are even longer than before. I'll try to get some pictures soon.