Housing Two Pokies Together?

[Elyse]

Hello Tarantula people,

What are your thoughts on housing a mature male and female p. metallica together in a 15 gallon terrarium?

I know when breeding, some people keep them together for a month at a time and hope that the male doesn't get eaten.....

I've been thinking; instead of buying two separate acrylic terrariums, I could buy one large one and put the hides on opposite sides of the enclosure....and have it heavily planted....

Thoughts?

 

[ArachnoFreak666]

Hello Tarantula people,

What are your thoughts on housing a mature male and female p. metallica together in a 15 gallon terrarium?

I know when breeding, some people keep them together for a month at a time and hope that the male doesn't get eaten.....

I've been thinking; instead of buying two separate acrylic terrariums, I could buy one large one and put the hides on opposite sides of the enclosure....and have it heavily planted....

Thoughts?

15 gallon tank will not stop them from breeding, and will not stop the female from eating the male afterwards either. very bad idea, please dont do it!

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

15 gallon tank will not stop them from breeding, and will not stop the female from eating the male afterwards either. very bad idea, please don't do it!

+1 rarely I hear big males kill females (horror story about a P regalis), that isnt worth the risk either. 1/1000 chance or w/e but it could still happen.

Communal is a matter of a T tolerating each-other little to no , species are actually 100% Communal. In the wild sometimes they will do this for higher chance of fighting off predators.

 

[Elyse]

lol! I came back on to say that I've decided it was a bad idea, and whoa!! Two responses already! Thanks ArachnoFreak666 and Ultum4Spiderz! =D

I'll cage them separately and then when I plan on mating them, I'll make sure they're both WELL fed =)

 

[ARACHNO-SMACK48]

Good luck producing a sack!

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Good luck producing a sack!

Yeah price needs to drop to other pokies price, I see no reason P met are more pricey . They are no longer rare like 5-8 years ago.

I still like my other pokies a lot better, P met are not as active.

 

[problemchildx]

I paid like 400 for my metallica when it was one of the first US sacs produced.

Seems like they are way cheaper now. Let this be a lesson to you all Patience is a virtue.

On topic: Honestly it probably would work, I just wouldn't risk it.

 

[14pokies]

Metallica usually doesn't eat the male.I've never witnessed it or had anybody I trust tell me its happened....your only other option to breed them is to shark tank them...google the term or search the threads on here..I dont like to change anything other than the water dish lol.when I'm breeding ts.. Stress plays a big role in reproductive failure IMO.. Multiple Good climbing surfaces are more important than plants for reproducing pokies of any species..the male likes to draw the female out onto mutual ground to breed..its a case where the male basically has the final say...if he doesn't feel comfortable he will just run off..the females of this species do the "chaseing". 15g is big enough for a pair of this species they are small poecs.based on your question I would suggest you do a lot more research on these guys before you attempt to breed them..loan out your male or find someone that will breed the pair for you..introducing the pair is not the beginning of makeing baby pokies..it takes weeks or sum times months of planning and preperation before you introduce them and failure is high even among very good keepers..

---------- Post added 12-09-2014 at 03:03 AM ----------

Yeah price needs to drop to other pokies price, I see no reason P met are more pricey . They are no longer rare like 5-8 years ago.

I still like my other pokies a lot better, P met are not as active.

ya there not as rare but they are the prettiest blue t in the hobby and they're a poec!!!! Nothing is more beautiful as far as blue ts...rufliata blows them out of the water though! 100 bucks really isn't that bad..look at some species of pampho or xensthis and don't get me started on h.pulchripes slings...I.Mira is still up there to..IMO there all worth the money.…

 

[Poec54]

You put a pair together for reproduction purposes, not companionship.

I've done about 3 dozen Poecilotheria pairings since I've been back in the hobby, for a variety of species. It usually works best to introduce them at night, I never shark tank. First step is getting the male in her cage calmly, without him getting wound up (I use a 32 oz deli cup and an 8" lollipop stick as a prod). You want both spiders to focus on each other, not you. He'll walk or dash in, then sit for a few minutes. When he picks up the female's scent, in the air or on her silk, he'll start drumming his palps in fast short bursts. If the female's interested, she'll tap her front legs in response. She'll come out, and courtship is much longer than in most other genera, they'll drum and tap and follow each other around the cage, maybe for 20 or 30 minutes. I've never seen a Poec insertion; I get restless and leave. I take the male out the next morning. This is what happens the majority of the time. I never re-pair my females.

Alternative endings:
- the male drums, but the female doesn't respond: take the male out after 15-20 minutes. Try another night.

- the male doesn't drum: take him out after 15-20 minutes. Try another night.

- When the male is introduced, the female immediately runs out and kills him. I've had this happen twice (vittata and ornata), both females were well-fed and fat. The ornata female shed later in the year, I fattened her up, re-bred her, and took the male out the next morning. You'd never know it was the same spider. The vittata was in a tight Exo Terra cage, she instantly nailed the male before he could start drumming. Tried a 2nd male; he drummed, she tapped. An hour later she killed him. Tried a 3rd male but put her cage inside a huge plastic storage box so they both had more room. He tapped, she drummed, and I took him out the next morning. Eventually the vittata female molted but never laid a sac.

- Leave the male in for days or weeks, and at some point he gets killed. If the female sheds, you probably don't have a spare male, and therefore ruined your chance of getting a sac.

- Female lays sac, and eats it within a few weeks.

- Female lays sac and discards it within a few weeks. An ornata female disposed of her sac in her water bowl, drowning dozens of EWL's. Ever since them I remove water bowls from females that lay ball sacs (as opposed to hammock sacs).

- You pull the sac at 30 days, and many eggs/EWL's are black.

- You pull the sac at 30 days and it's full of healthy egg's/EWL's.

- Female never lays a sac and molts.

---------- Post added 12-09-2014 at 06:12 AM ----------

Metallica usually doesn't eat the male.I've never witnessed it or had anybody I trust tell me its happened.

your only other option to breed them is to shark tank them

Any female Poec can kill a male, including metallica. Don't make that assumption and get complacent. Kelly Swift had metallica kill each other, including siblings that slaughtered each other back when the prices were sky high: half the sac of slings ate the other half. He's had other incidents with larger metallica. On a rare occasion, a male Poec has killed a female. A guy here posted about it last year with a regalis pair.

Shark tanks are worthless. The female's scent is all through the room and house. If you shark tank the male and then they start courting, then you have to interrupt them to let the male out, and ruin the pairing. If you put the male in later without the shark tank, you're starting back at square one.

 

[Elyse]

Thank you SO much everyone for your responses, you're very helpful!!!!!!

I can't wait to start breeding. My female is ready to breed she's around 5" and fat though the male I'm ordering is around 3", so I have to wait until he grows more.

How large would you say a male needs to be before breeding? I suppose he should be the same size as the female, but what do you guy's think?

 

[Poec54]

Thank you SO much everyone for your responses, you're very helpful!!!!!!

I can't wait to start breeding. My female is ready to breed she's around 5" and fat though the male I'm ordering is around 3", so I have to wait until he grows more.

How large would you say a male needs to be before breeding? I suppose he should be the same size as the female, but what do you guy's think?

With most Poecs, I want the female to be 6" minimum so I have the best odds for a full-size healthy sac. With ornata and rufilata, I want the females to be close to 7". For metallica, which is a small species, 5" minimum. If in doubt, wait until after the next shed. When the female is still in active-growth mode, resources have to be pulled from that to develop eggs. There's not enough to do both well. Once growth has slowed down, then she can focus her reserves on egg production.

 

[cold blood]

How large would you say a male needs to be before breeding? I suppose he should be the same size as the female, but what do you guy's think?

Males can only mate after they have their maturing molt. Whatever size they are at that time, is the size they will breed at.

 

[Poec54]

Males can only mate after they have their maturing molt. Whatever size they are at that time, is the size they will breed at.

And there's frequently some variety in an adult male's size within a species. You go with what you have. Little guys get the job done too, although a male that has a similar DLS as the female usually has a better chance of making it out in one piece if she gets feisty after insertion.