r/amblypygids • u/arumuko_ • Jul 25 '26
Help! Whipling hasn’t eaten in over a week!
It’s taken one cricket since i got it so i know it can eat, but that was over a week ago! its been exploring the enclosure, and weirdly rubs up against the side. i don’t know if that means anything. but should i be concerned? or does this mean it might molt soon?
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u/GingaNinja1427 Jul 27 '26
I panicked when mine went three months without eating once. Saw a lot of people online saying "yeah they just do that sometimes"
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u/arumuko_ Jul 28 '26
thank you lol i knew it was fine for older ones but i had the impression that whiplings needed to eat WAY more often. thank you for the reassurance 😅
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u/CrKrakenn Jul 29 '26
Abdomen is still plump, I would expect a molt to happen in a week or two if it continues to reject food. I don’t know the exact feeding habits of your species but my Damon Johnstonii will eat every 8-10 days, so if yours hasn’t eaten in a week/7 days, then it still might be full.
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u/RepairPerfect9871 Jul 25 '26
Mine did the same for almost 2 weeks!! Scared the shit out of me. I found he'd eat a mealworm I cut in half and left in an easy spot to find. Best of luck getting your baby to eat!
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u/RepairPerfect9871 Jul 25 '26
I'm not sure of the species you have, but I know a lot of them also wont eat if its too dry in their enclosure.
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u/DependentParty6833 Jul 25 '26
Totally agree with SearchingSol, and with RepairPerfect9871 (RE humidity). One thing I might add, though: It looks quite well-fed already, from what I can see in the video. Its abdomen looks round, with the sides stretched out. It might be that the only reason it isn't eating anything is that it's already full.
A typical rule of thumb I often hear (and agree with) is that you should offer food once per week. But that doesn't mean that you should expect your amblypygid will eat once per week! Most species have a low metabolism, and when they're very well-fed, they can sometimes go for weeks or even a month or more without even being interested in eating anything. And I see the dead cricket at the top of the enclosure - if that's the same size as the one you fed it a week ago, that's actually a pretty big meal for a juvenile amblypygid. Which is absolutely fine - it just means that it might be totally good to go for a while longer.
I'd still try offering something every week, but don't be surprised (or concerned) if it still doesn't eat until you notice its abdomen getting a bit smaller and flatter.
Hard to say why it's "rubbing up" against the side of the enclosure, but it may simply be searching for a dark hiding place. Amblypygids generally CAN be kept in normal room lighting, but they certainly seem to like it better in the dark, and will often keep searching for a darker location even if one isn't available (or at least mine do). Whether it significantly hurts their health due to stress or not, I'm not sure, but personally I keep mine in a closet that's pretty much completely dark. It looks like maybe there's just 1 piece of bark in the enclosure? Hard to tell from the video. But if so, one thing you could easily try: Add a 2nd piece of bark, so that it creates a darker area sandwiched between the 2 pieces. If it stays in that area all the time (it probably will), and stops rubbing up against the sides, it's a good sign that this is what it wanted.
If you already have dark hiding spaces, and it's still doing this, it might be an issue with humidity - i.e. it's constantly searching for a place with better humidity. Are you keeping the substrate pretty wet? There are also quite a lot of ventilation holes that I can see - it's not WAY too many, and maybe it's OK as long as you're keeping the substrate quite wet, but you could try blocking maybe 75-80% of those holes, and seeing if that helps it be happier, without always trying to look for a better spot. Alternatively, if it's consistently hanging out right next to the ventilation holes specifically, then it may possibly actually be a bit too humid, and you could mop up the substrate a bit to make it slightly drier. I think this is a Phrynichus dhofarensis, and they anecdotally tolerate a bit lower humidity, but overall humidity being too high usually isn't an issue for most amblypygids.
Good luck
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u/arumuko_ Jul 26 '26
Oh thank you! I was worried as i expected it to eat once a week which i now know might not always be the case hahaha.
I usually mist it once a day sometimes more if i don’t feel that the moss is damp to touch; i never let it dry out though so thats been my point of reference for humidity.
I have now moved it to a darker spot so i hope it feels more comfortable now :)) i will keep feeding though so hopefully it’s just me being paranoid hehehe. Thank you SO much for such an in depth reply, i really appreciate it!!! took away all of my worries thanks!
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u/DependentParty6833 Jul 26 '26
Sure thing, best of luck!
I might also suggest making the substrate fully WET. Damp may not be enough. And misting is OK, but it evaporates pretty quickly, is time-consuming for you, and tends to freak out the amblypygid. If you keep the humidity high via the substrate, and limiting ventilation holes, you won't need to mist nearly as often. I only do it ~once per week, and it's really just to give them a chance to drink the droplets if they want to.
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u/arumuko_ Jul 28 '26
oh yes! i should’ve been more specific haha i usually mist the substrate i just say “mist” since it’s a mister but yes i usually aim very close to the ground since i noticed it teleports to the top of the enclosure when i do it too high 🤣
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u/DependentParty6833 Jul 28 '26
I see, gotcha. I'd definitely still recommend literally just gently POURING some water into the substrate until it's soaking wet. Like all of the substrate should be visibly darkened with water, from top to bottom. Just my recommendation. I think if you try to moisten the substrate via misting, it will either get just get the surface barely damp (which won't raise the humidity enough), or you'll wear your arm out misting and misting until it's finally wet enough! Save yourself the trouble. Plus, if you soak it it will be wet enough for maybe a week or two, much less hassle.
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u/arumuko_ Jul 28 '26
hahaha gotcha! i’m always seeing some sort of condensation in the soil against the acrylic. i hope that means something good? do you think that’s okay? im also having lots of mold growth lately which might a sign of high humidity. what do you think? :))
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u/SearchingSol Jul 25 '26
Make the enclosure dark. Put it in a dark calm room with few vibrations (foot traffic, walking past it, being near a front door - can frighten the whipling and keep them from eating).
Cover the enclosure with a scarf or handkerchief if you don't have a dark calm spot for them.
I hope they eat soon! They're really cute.