Tailless Whip Scorpion
Phrynus species (Order Amblypygi)
1. Tall Cork-Bark Cave & Hanging Molt Space
2. Two Great Ways to Set Up Your Habitat
Cork Bark Angles: Why Smooth Glass Won't Work!
Tailless Whip Scorpions molt by hanging completely upside-down from rough bark and dropping out of their old shell:
Option A: Wide Cork Bark Slabs Leaned at a Slight Angle (Mandatory!)
Stand wide pieces of rough cork bark from floor to ceiling at a slight lean so they have a rough ceiling to hang from with 6" of open air below.
Option B: 3D Cork/Foam Background + Hollow Cork Tree Trunk
Gives them 360 degrees of grippy bark walls! Big No-No: their feet can't grip bare glass to molt—without rough overhanging bark, they will fall during a molt!
Keeping Humidity at 70–80% RH
Because their bodies are flat as a pancake, they dry out fast if the air gets desert-dry:
Option A: 3" Damp Reptile Soil + Sphagnum Moss Floor
Keep the bottom soil damp like a wrung-out sponge and seed with Tropical Springtails & Dwarf White Isopods to keep the cave floor mold-free!
Option B: Evening Mist Spritz + Half-Covered Screen Top
Cover half of the screen lid to hold humidity in while keeping fresh air moving.
Lighting: Keep It Shady!
In the wild they hide inside dark hollow trees and caves all day:
Option A: Shaded Room Light Only (No Bright Lamps Needed)
Skip bright overhead lights and heat bulbs in a normal 72–78°F room.
Option B: Red Flashlight for Nighttime Viewing
Sneak a peek after the room lights go out—watching them glide sideways like crabs and gently tap crickets with their feelers is mesmerizing!
3. Nighttime Bug Hunting & Molting Safety
Best Bugs for Whip Scorpions:
Climb up the cork bark right into their reach!
Soft-bodied and nutritious
Awesome enrichment—they snatch flies out of the air!
They prefer soft climbing bugs over ground worms
4. Four Keys to a Happy, Thriving Tailless Whip Scorpion
6" Hanging Clearance
Almost every bad molt in captivity happens because the tank was too short or too dry. Give them tall, slanted cork bark with plenty of open space underneath!
Keep the Moss Damp
Keep the floor soil and sphagnum moss damp at 70–80% humidity so those paper-thin feeler legs stay healthy.
Watch the Feeler Legs!
Their two long whip-like front legs are delicate sensory antennas. Always look where their feelers are before closing the tank door so you never pinch one!
Sideways Teleportation
They're super gentle on a flat hand, but if you startle them they can zip sideways in a millisecond—always open the tank calmly!
Bring-Home Shopping Checklist
Tap items to check them off on your phone while you shop at Critter Cabana.
Tall Cork-Cave Tank & Soil
Humidity & Tools
Live Climbing Bugs
Complete Reference Notes & Oregon Keeping Guide
Tall Cork-Bark Cave & Hanging Molt Space
CRITICAL RULE: They MUST Have Slanted Cork Bark with 6" of Open Space Underneath to Molt!
Temperature & Humidity Zones
| Zone | Target | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Daytime Tank Temp | 72°–78°F | Warm tropical cave / tree-hollow temp |
| Slanted Cork Ceiling | Molt Zone! | Rough cork bark leaned at a 45°–75° angle |
| Humid Cave Air | 70–80% RH | Keep soil & moss damp so air stays 70–80% RH |
| Shallow Water Dish | Fresh Water | Damp moss floor + shallow water dish |
| Nighttime Temp | 68°–75°F | Shady by day, pitch dark at night |
Two Ways That Work (100% Stocked Store Options)
Cork Bark Angles: Why Smooth Glass Won't Work!
Tailless Whip Scorpions molt by hanging completely upside-down from rough bark and dropping out of their old shell:
- Option A: Wide Cork Bark Slabs Leaned at a Slight Angle (Mandatory!): Stand wide pieces of rough cork bark from floor to ceiling at a slight lean so they have a rough ceiling to hang from with 6" of open air below.
- Option B: 3D Cork/Foam Background + Hollow Cork Tree Trunk: Gives them 360 degrees of grippy bark walls! Big No-No: their feet can't grip bare glass to molt—without rough overhanging bark, they will fall during a molt!
Keeping Humidity at 70–80% RH
Because their bodies are flat as a pancake, they dry out fast if the air gets desert-dry:
- Option A: 3" Damp Reptile Soil + Sphagnum Moss Floor: Keep the bottom soil damp like a wrung-out sponge and seed with Tropical Springtails & Dwarf White Isopods to keep the cave floor mold-free!
- Option B: Evening Mist Spritz + Half-Covered Screen Top: Cover half of the screen lid to hold humidity in while keeping fresh air moving.
Lighting: Keep It Shady!
In the wild they hide inside dark hollow trees and caves all day:
- Option A: Shaded Room Light Only (No Bright Lamps Needed): Skip bright overhead lights and heat bulbs in a normal 72–78°F room.
- Option B: Red Flashlight for Nighttime Viewing: Sneak a peek after the room lights go out—watching them glide sideways like crabs and gently tap crickets with their feelers is mesmerizing!
Nighttime Bug Hunting & Molting Safety
Drop Climbing Crickets in at Dusk • NEVER Leave Crickets in with a Molting Whip Scorpion!
- Juveniles (2× Per Week): 2–3 Small Crickets or Small Dubia Roaches: They love bugs that climb right up onto the cork bark at night.
- Adults (1–2× Per Week): 2–3 Medium Crickets or Soft Roaches: Check their belly: if it's flat like a wafer, feed 'em; if it's plump like a raisin, wait a few days!
- Molting Time (Pull All Crickets!): Huge Safety Rule: Right after molting, their shell is soft white and helpless for 24 hours—a single loose cricket in the tank can chew on them while they hang!
Best Bugs for Whip Scorpions:
- Live Crickets (Small/Med): Climb up the cork bark right into their reach!
- Small Dubia Roaches: Soft-bodied and nutritious
- Blue Bottle Flies / Moths: Awesome enrichment—they snatch flies out of the air!
- Skip Hard Beetles / Big Worms: They prefer soft climbing bugs over ground worms
Keeper Note: Zero Venom Fact: Despite looking like a medieval torture device, Tailless Whip Scorpions have zero venom and aren't even scorpions! Those spiky front arms (pedipalps) are just little 'Venus flytrap' baskets for hugging crickets.
Essential Keeper Rules & Pro Tips
- 6" Hanging Clearance: Almost every bad molt in captivity happens because the tank was too short or too dry. Give them tall, slanted cork bark with plenty of open space underneath!
- Keep the Moss Damp: Keep the floor soil and sphagnum moss damp at 70–80% humidity so those paper-thin feeler legs stay healthy.
- Watch the Feeler Legs!: Their two long whip-like front legs are delicate sensory antennas. Always look where their feelers are before closing the tank door so you never pinch one!
- Sideways Teleportation: They're super gentle on a flat hand, but if you startle them they can zip sideways in a millisecond—always open the tank calmly!
Complete Store Setup Checklist
Tall Cork-Cave Tank & Soil
- 12"×12"×18" Tall Front-Opening Terrarium or Tall Arboreal Acrylic
- 2–3 Wide Natural Cork Bark Slabs & Hollow Cork Tubes (Floor to Ceiling!)
- Reptile Soil + Sphagnum Moss (3" damp bottom layer)
Humidity & Tools
- Shallow Water Dish + Mist Spray Bottle + Dechlorinator
- Digital Hygrometer / Thermometer (Keep at 70–80% RH!)
- 10-Inch Soft-Tip Feeding Tongs
Live Climbing Bugs
- Small to Medium Live Crickets & Small Dubia Roaches
- Bug Gut-Load Chow (for feeding the crickets)
How We Keep Them at Critter Cabana & Gresham Pet Supply
- Oregon Winter Furnace Air vs. Molting Humidity: When Pacific Northwest furnaces kick on from October through April, indoor room humidity drops fast and dries out small enclosures from the top down. Rather than misting the spider or invert directly (which stresses terrestrial species and invites stagnant mold), we keep Tailless Whip Scorpion at
70–80% RHby using a deep moisture-retaining substrate bed (ReptiSoil + Coco Fiber + Sphagnum Moss), overflowing the water dish slightly into one corner, and maintaining cross-ventilation. - Safe Room Heating in the Willamette Valley: If your house drops below 65°F on winter nights, never stick a heat pad on the bottom of a burrowing invertebrate tank—they dig down to escape heat and will cook themselves. Use a low-wattage side-mounted heat mat on a digital thermostat or warm the room ambiently to
72°–78°F. - Stocked at Newberg & Gresham: At Critter Cabana (Newberg) and Gresham Pet Supply, we stock acrylic and glass invertebrate enclosures, cork bark flats and tubes, bioactive substrates, flightless fruit flies (D. melanogaster and D. hydei), pinhead to adult crickets, dubia roaches, and live Temperate White Springtail and Isopod cultures.
Common Questions (FAQ)
How do I keep my Tailless Whip Scorpion warm and humid enough during an Oregon winter?
Target 72°–78°F and 70–80% RH. When Oregon winter furnaces dry out the air, use a deep 3–5 inch substrate mix of Zoo Med ReptiSoil and coco fiber, keep a shallow water dish filled, and dampen one corner of the substrate rather than misting the animal directly. Never put a heat mat underneath a burrowing invertebrate enclosure.
What size enclosure does a Tailless Whip Scorpion need?
An adult Tailless Whip Scorpion thrives in 12"×12"×18" Tall with secure ventilation. For terrestrial tarantulas and scorpions, floor space and deep substrate matter most (keep open fall height low so heavy-bodied species cannot rupture their abdomen); for arboreal species, prioritize vertical cork bark tubes and cross-ventilation.
Can I put isopods in a Tailless Whip Scorpion bioactive enclosure?
Around molting tarantulas and scorpions, skip protein-hungry large isopods and stick to Temperate White Springtails (or gentle Dwarf White isopods in humid detritivore setups) so a soft, newly molted animal is never nibbled.
Where can I find Tailless Whip Scorpion, cork bark, and feeder insects in Oregon?
We stock live invertebrates, tarantulas, jumping spiders, cork bark flats and tubes, bioactive substrates, and gut-loaded feeder insects at our two exotic animal stores: Critter Cabana in Newberg (514 E First St, 503-537-2887) and Gresham Pet Supply (2185 NW Burnside Rd, 503-665-7606).
