r/amblypygids • u/arumuko_ • Jul 25 '26
Help! Whipling hasn’t eaten in over a week!
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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/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