Phrynus marginemaculatus
Florida Tailless Whip Spider: Advanced Care Guide
Keeper Snapshot: An amblypygid. Looks harmless, moves sideways fast. Needs vertical bark and humidity. Groups can work if the animals are the same size and there is enough cork.
Group: Spiders & Other InvertsDifficulty: Spice 3: IntermediateSetup: Vertical cork amblypygid setupHandling: Not recommended
Use This Guide Safely
- Confirm the exact animal. Match this guide to the species, locality, size, and life stage on your label. If the ID is uncertain, use the more conservative part of the range and ask before changing the setup.
- Change one thing at a time. Treat temperature and humidity as target zones, then watch posture, burrowing, drinking, feeding, and molt behavior before making another adjustment.
- Respect the handling boundary. If the guide says no handling, fast, defensive, or medically significant, plan transfers with catch cups, locked lids, and no bare hands. For serious bites, stings, or symptoms, seek emergency medical care.
Quick Snapshot
| Temperature | 75-82°F |
|---|---|
| Humidity | Moderate-High ambient (70-80%) with cross ventilation; damp substrate, dry cork faces |
| Setup Type | Vertical cork amblypygid setup |
| Substrate | Moist substrate + tall cork |
| Feeding | Small roaches/crickets weekly |
| Care Difficulty | Spice 3: Intermediate |
| Handling | Not recommended |
Humidity zones: Very Low under 30% - Low 30-60% - Low-Moderate 40-70% - Moderate 60-80% - Moderate-High 70-85% - High 80%+ - Very High 90%+
Enclosure Format / Size Class
- vertical bark setup for juveniles/adults
Warnings First
- Delicate whip legs
- Fast sideways movement
- Communal only with care
- A failed molt is usually a humidity-and-airflow failure. Vent low on one wall and high on the opposite wall so the cork stays dry above damp substrate.
Simple Care
- Vertical cork slab is mandatory.
- Vents low on one wall and high on the opposite wall so air rises past the cork faces.
- Keep moderate humidity with airflow.
- Shallow water dish with pebbles in it so small instars cannot drown.
- Groups can work with similar sizes, multiple cork faces, and careful feeding.
- Do not grab or handle.
Advanced Keeper Notes
Enclosure & Microclimate
- Amblypygids molt while hanging vertically, so they need tall cork and safe vertical surfaces.
- Keep moisture available but prevent stagnant wet air. They appreciate humid retreats and ventilation.
- Set the vents low on one wall and high on the opposite wall so air enters across the damp substrate, rises past the cork, and exits above. That diagonal path is what gives you humid air moving through rather than humid air standing still, and it keeps the cork faces dry enough to grip. This matters most at molt: an amblypygid hangs for hours from a vertical surface while it extracts those long whip legs, and it needs both the ambient moisture and secure footing to do it.
- Ventilation and ambient humidity trade against each other. Hold 70 to 80% by keeping the substrate damp and running a water dish under free-flowing vents, not by sealing the enclosure. A sealed humid box is the classic amblypygid killer.
- Judge by touch rather than by gauge. Substrate damp with no free water, cork faces dry to the touch, no persistent condensation on the glass.
- Keep a shallow water dish with pebbles or coarse grit so the waterline sits below the rim. Amblypygid instars are small and long-legged and get stuck in open water easily, and in a communal setup a loss goes unnoticed.
- Mist the substrate and the base of the cork rather than the upper cork faces. Moisture rises through moving air to reach the animal, while the surfaces it clings and molts from stay dry and grippy.
Feeding, Growth & Maintenance
- They can be communal in some circumstances, but size mismatch, hunger, and molt timing can still cause losses.
- vertical bark setup is one of the best branded matches for this animal.
- Molting: amblypygids molt hanging upside-down and need clear vertical surface and humidity to do it safely. Never disturb a hanging or freshly-molted whip spider, and wait until the new exoskeleton firms up before offering prey.
Possible Origin / Range
- Likely native range: Florida and Caribbean humid cave, forest, and crevice habitats.
- Habitat translation: Vertical bark slabs, high humidity, and excellent ventilation.
Advanced Keeper Details
- They molt hanging from vertical surfaces; provide unobstructed vertical molt space.
- Group housing is optional: keep sizes close, provide several vertical cork faces, feed enough, and separate any animal that is molting, thin, or being crowded.
- Never house with prey left loose during molt; delicate appendages are easily damaged.