Ephpebopus cyanognath VS Aphonopelma burica?!

[Kibosh]

Like the title of this thread says. What are the major differences in these species as far as Care, Temperament, Appearance, ect? Love the look of both and want to pick one or the other up soon but trying to get as much info as I can before hand.

 

[viper69]

Like the title of this thread says. What are the major differences in these species as far as Care, Temperament, Appearance, ect? Love the look of both and want to pick one or the other up soon but trying to get as much info as I can before hand.

What information have you learned so far?

 

[Kibosh]

Well from research on the web Ephpebopus cyanognath is fast, aggressive, likes a humid environment, and is a obligate burrower.

Aphonopelma burica on the other hand is shy, docile, slow, likes a dryer habitat but not a desert dry T, and an opportunistic burrower.

Out side of this I know nothing and have heard nothing from others personal experience as fare as care or appearance besides pictures on the web. Looks like E.C. has much brighter coloration though.

 

[viper69]

Blue Fangs are extremely colorful, from blue, orange banding and metallic olive green. However, I would not say they are aggressive at all, I've never had a threat display from any of mine. They are quite shy and QUICKLY go back into their burrow. They are very shy IME. They are also unpredictable once out of the burrow. That is, if the T can't get back to its burrow, and decides to move, there's no way to predict where it will go because they move so FAST. At least w/my Brachy's I know what direction they are moving usually haha.

Hands down, I'd get a Blue Fang w/out a doubt.

 

[Kibosh]

Great advice thanks.

 

[viper69]

Blue Fang Pics

Great advice thanks.

Glad I could help. I prefer those types of questions, as opposed to "OMG what should I do, I've only owned my T for 2 days...." and you can tell they don't know squat about anything, as in didn't do research.

And I meant to add a pic of one of mine last post, same T. It doesn't show well, but the large hairs on legs are actually a yellow/orange in color. :biggrin:

 

[Kibosh]

So gorgeous. Just skipped to the top of the list in my next purchases. Have any adults?

 

[Formerphobe]

Ephebopus genus is definitely humidity loving - Theraphosa humidity levels. Heavy webbers, obligate burrowers. Visibility is dependent on individual. I would occasionally see mine all the way out of their burrows, more frequently sitting in the entrance with carapace and forelegs visible. I had one E. cyanognathus that was a rock thrower. There was a small amount of small pea gravel mixed in with the substrate I used. I swear the one spider collected them all and kept a pile near burrow entrance to throw at me to discourage me approaching. It would fling the gravel with enough force that it would 'ping' against the side of the enclosure.

E. cyanognathus definitely more colorful than A. burica. E. cyano starts off with bright blue fangs and the color fades some with maturity. A. burica develop the blue fangs as juveniles. Females keep the blue fangs as adults, males lose nearly all the blue at maturing molt. Females may get deeper blue with age - I've not been fortunate enough to have an adult female to comment on that.

I raised my A. burica on dry substrate with water bowls (once they reached 1" dls). Slower growing than E. cyanognathus, but not as slow as I had anticipated. My males matured at about 2.5 years of age. As slings and juveniles, they burrow. My slings burrowed deep and sealed their entrances at about 1" and didn't re-emerge for 7 months. When they opened their burrows, all had doubled their size and were fat and sassy. They had to have been eating dirt... Even after emergence, they preferred to hang out in their burrows. Great excavators, love to bury their water bowls and any decor you may put in there. My males filled in their burrows after maturation and are continually topside now. I assume that females may maintain their burrows.

As far as skittish, the two species are pretty comparable, IMO. I did recently have to chase one of my MM A. burica around the bedroom. (The boys are definitely more skittish since maturation, which is to be expected.) He was equally as fast as my first OBT sling that also once led me on a merry chase.

A. burica juvenile male


A. burica MM - definitely a handsome spider at maturation! And their appetites continue to be voracious 4 months after maturing molts.

 

[viper69]

So gorgeous. Just skipped to the top of the list in my next purchases. Have any adults?

No, just google, easy to find. The blue changes to a purple, not quite as bright, but easily noticeable. The banding on the legs remain however, yellow/orange. Can't go wrong.