Harpactira Pulchripes & Tapinauchenius sp Caribbean Diamond

Hedge Witch

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Feb 18, 2019
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Hello Arachnoboard, thought id introduce myself and show you my spider enclosures. These aren't my first spiders, i had a Chilean Rose and Zebra Knee as a kid and recently decided to dive back into the hobby with the purchase of a couple of Slings from The Spider Shop UK. My Harpactira Pulchripes is now 1.5-2 inches and the Tapinauchenius sp Caribbean Diamond is not so big but almost an inch. The Baboon has been showing adult colours for a while now, but the CD is still very brown but has some silver hairs. Will post pics in a reply to this thread.

I'm sure you can guess which viv the Baboons in. Just transferred the spider yesterday. Probably could have done with growing it on a bit more, but i like them to have space. The CD is still in the faunarium for now but i'll be transferring her as soon as she's bigger.

IMG_20190218_161134.jpg

I'm also currently breeding Triblonotus Novaeguinnae. Says "Hi!"

IMG_20190214_090943.jpg
 
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Andrew Clayton

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Dec 19, 2018
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579
Hello Arachnoboard, thought id introduce myself and show you my spider enclosures. These aren't my first spiders, i had a Chilean Rose and Zebra Knee as a kid and recently decided to dive back into the hobby with the purchase of a couple of Slings from The Spider Shop UK. My Harpactira Pulchripes is now 1.5-2 inches and the Tapinauchenius sp Caribbean Diamond is not so big but almost an inch. The Baboon has been showing adult colours for a while now, but the CD is still very brown but has some silver hairs. Will post pics in a reply to this thread.
I hope you realise the jump you have made as the species you kept as a kid are ideal beginner species harpactira pulchripes is an old world baboon spider and lightning fast compared to you're previous experience and I've never seen much on the CD but most species from the Caribbean are pretty fast too. Just thought I'd let you know what you're in for as they are still slings
 

Liquifin

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A lot of issues, why put a sling about less than 1'' in a kritter keeper?? It could possibly slip out and escape. Not to mention it is large for a sling with too much hiding spots for feeders to hide in. Which is going to make it hard for it to catch prey or find them in that large enclosure. The H. pulchripes enclosure could work, but it's not ideal and it is a little too large and too little amount of substrate depth for me. Those guys are burrowers that digs quite a bit. Not to mention mesh lids, those can pose a potential hazard for them, as they can get stuck if they choose to climb on the screen mesh. I personally think the H. pulchripes should to be in the Faunarium/kritter keeper and rehouse the carribean Diamond sling into something smaller.
 

Hedge Witch

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I hope you realise the jump you have made as the species you kept as a kid are ideal beginner species harpactira pulchripes is an old world baboon spider and lightning fast compared to you're previous experience and I've never seen much on the CD but most species from the Caribbean are pretty fast too. Just thought I'd let you know what you're in for as they are still slings
Yea, fast is an understatement both these critters seem to be able to teleport at will. i think the H. Pulcripes is about 3 moults into juvenile stage and has been showing adult colours for a while, the CD just grew toes but is still quite brown looking.

A lot of issues, why put a sling about less than 1'' in a kritter keeper?? It could possibly slip out and escape. Not to mention it is large for a sling with too much hiding spots for feeders to hide in. Which is going to make it hard for it to catch prey or find them in that large enclosure. The H. pulchripes enclosure could work, but it's not ideal and it is a little too large and too little amount of substrate depth for me. Those guys are burrowers that digs quite a bit. Not to mention mesh lids, those can pose a potential hazard for them, as they can get stuck if they choose to climb on the screen mesh. I personally think the H. pulchripes should to be in the Faunarium/kritter keeper and rehouse the carribean Diamond sling into something smaller.
The H. Pulchripes was in a critter keeper till yesterday, i only just moved her over. The CD is a little bigger than a sling, one or two moults just not showing much purple or black yet just little silver hairs. There's no escape out of there for her, and its amazing how perceptive she is to any crickets in her enclosure. Footsteps on the outside of her tube and shes out there crunching away before i can blink an eye. Shes feeding very well. The main reason for moving the H. Pulcripes early was its getting cold and i wanted to get her under a bulb. Warm air has really made her much more active. Ive got mats on everything with a probe in the Exo Terra set to 26c. The light on the Pulcripes is set to a dimmer stat an 28c. My flat is very cold.
 

Andrew Clayton

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Yea, fast is an understatement both these critters seem to be able to teleport at will. i think the H. Pulcripes is about 3 moults into juvenile stage and has been showing adult colours for a while, the CD just grew toes but is still quite brown looking.



The H. Pulchripes was in a critter keeper till yesterday, i only just moved her over. The CD is a little bigger than a sling, one or two moults just not showing much purple or black yet just little silver hairs. There's no escape out of there for her, and its amazing how perceptive she is to any crickets in her enclosure. Footsteps on the outside of her tube and shes out there crunching away before i can blink an eye. Shes feeding very well. The main reason for moving the H. Pulcripes early was its getting cold and i wanted to get her under a bulb. Warm air has really made her much more active. Ive got mats on everything with a probe in the Exo Terra set to 26c. The light on the Pulcripes is set to a dimmer stat an 28c. My flat is very cold.
Bulbs and matts are a kinda touchy subjecttest to use a space heater and heat the room rather than an enclosure you can cook a T using a heat mat or a bulb so not recommended
 

Hedge Witch

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I noticed there was a bias, I must say I've had allot of success regulating temperate and tropical microclimates using a combination of both mats and bulbs. I know just where to put sensors and what kind of bulbs work. But to try and provide a stable environment for such a tiny organism without 20 years of expirience I'd say you're definitely in danger of cooking your critter.I have a space heater too, 2000W and it doesn't cut it, plus its expensive. Ive got a balance with all three that can deal with extremes.

IMG_20190218_180026.jpg
 
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viper69

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You're the first person I've seen on here that is using bulbs, heat mats and a space heater all at once. @cold blood quite a bit of external heating hah.
 

EtienneN

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Just saying, I own a 2.5 cm H. pulchripes and I wouldn’t be caught dead keeping it in a tank like that. Baboon tarantulas are fossorial, they only truly thrive with a nice amount of substrate to dig in. Should have named mine ‘Bulldozer’ because it loves moving dirt around so much. Really you should seriously reconsider giving it ample dirt to play in. :)
 

Andrea82

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While I think heat pads or - cables can work fine when applied carefully, heat bulbs are no good at all for Theraphosidae. These animals rely on fluid to move, and those bulbs dry out the air too fast, creating conditions for a dehydrated spider fast.

The H.pulchripes could get away with it if you had provided enough substrate to burrow in, but as it is, it is not deep enough to shelter it from the heat/drought.
The Tapinauchenius needs it a bit more humid so I would definitely not use a bulb in that enclosure.

What temperatures are you chasing that you need so much added heat?
 

Vanisher

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The tanks where very beutiful, but i agree, there should be more substrate in the tank with the H pulchripes. I have had this problem with cold apartment myself and i think the best solution is to have the spiders in a diffrent room and use a room heater and carefully heat up the entire room to maybe 25c in the day and let it fall to 20c or something in the night! That much light and directwarmth from an bulb and mat will dry out the tanks pretty quickly!
 

Hedge Witch

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You're the first person I've seen on here that is using bulbs, heat mats and a space heater all at once. @cold blood quite a bit of external heating hah.
i got a pulse stat running the mats and a dimmer stat running the bulbs. It only just heats the air a little. My flats a loft conversion and does get very cold. I wouldn't ever have wanted to attempt this on such a small scale without plenty of practice first. Ive bred hundreds of honduran milksnakes in my time. You do have to be very carefull, especially with such delicate organisms.
 

Hedge Witch

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Feb 18, 2019
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The tanks where very beutiful, but i agree, there should be more substrate in the tank with the H pulchripes. I have had this problem with cold apartment myself and i think the best solution is to have the spiders in a diffrent room and use a room heater and carefully heat up the entire room to maybe 25c in the day and let it fall to 20c or something in the night! That much light and directwarmth from an bulb and mat will dry out the tanks pretty quickly!
Thank you for your compliments, there is quite a bit of substrate in the box, ill post a pic from another angle and you'll see. Its like a mound. I live in a studio flat. I mist everything by hand and have orchids and a temperate moss vivarium which has really honed my humidifying skills. The mat is only a 4", but its backed with 3mm foam board which spreads the heat out nicely.
 

Hedge Witch

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While I think heat pads or - cables can work fine when applied carefully, heat bulbs are no good at all for Theraphosidae. These animals rely on fluid to move, and those bulbs dry out the air too fast, creating conditions for a dehydrated spider fast.

The H.pulchripes could get away with it if you had provided enough substrate to burrow in, but as it is, it is not deep enough to shelter it from the heat/drought.
The Tapinauchenius needs it a bit more humid so I would definitely not use a bulb in that enclosure.

What temperatures are you chasing that you need so much added heat?
The 4" pads on a pulse stat are set to 26C the bulb is only a degree higer at 27C for the baboon. There's a thermometer in the hot spot, i keep a close eye on it. The bulbs also directly over the water bowl now as i like the evaporation creating a little humidity.
 

Hedge Witch

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IMG_20190223_183551.jpg the mesh on the exoterra does seem kinda pinchy, is this really a problem for tarantula? This spider spends most it's time upside down so obviously it's going to be a problem. Not transferred her yet so plenty of time to replace this with perspex if it's really an issue.

IMG_20190223_183454.jpg the mesh on the Komodo is much wider, and I his spiders never upside down. She climbed on it once when I transferred her but has stayed on the ground ever since. Very terrestrial. The bulbs not hot as you can see with my hand on it. And the thermometers just below. IMG_20190223_183520.jpg its not hot at all,. although South Africa definitely is. The pads are 4 inch and linked to a separate pulse stat. You say overkill, I like contingency.
 
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