Just got a P metallica... gods help... suggestions??

[miamc12321]

Soooo... I got a cute little 1 inch baby. I am not afraid of him/her... but my husband (wants an obt) kind of is. I am so friggin excited. I cannot wait to welcome this teeny one into my home. But is my care okay. What do I do but keep her like an aboreal. Dry, up high, many plants, and a water dish... anything different accept how fast he/She will be. I understand her venom is potent. We all should. But she/he is a baby. I need help... seariously... help and ridicule me... She/he needs me to be...

 

[lostbrane]

Slab of cork bark leaned against the side of the enclosure, with it partially buried (so that it can burrow). Pokies stay low. Put your cover by the base of the cork bark. I've noticed that most of mine tend to push the plants away at some point, but they web them up too, so...

P. metallica tend to be skittish so just be prepared if you take the lid all the way off. Mine used to do a lap around the outside before running back into the enclosure. So, catch cup plus putting the smaller enclosure inside of a larger tub to help prevent any escapes works well. Sub should be kept moist. I know that some people have done just fine with it dry but that's when it's beyond a sling.

I tend to throw them into 32oz deli cups pretty early on.

Other than that, enjoy your new addition. And on a biased note, I hope you get others species within the genus. They're all awesome and just as, if not more beautiful, than P. metallica.

 

[miamc12321]

Slab of cork bark leaned against the side of the enclosure, with it partially buried (so that it can burrow). Pokies stay low. Put your cover by the base of the cork bark. I've noticed that most of mine tend to push the plants away at some point, but they web them up too, so...

P. metallica tend to be skittish so just be prepared if you take the lid all the way off. Mine used to do a lap around the outside before running back into the enclosure. So, catch cup plus putting the smaller enclosure inside of a larger tub to help prevent any escapes works well. Sub should be kept moist. I know that some people have done just fine with it dry but that's when it's beyond a sling.

I tend to throw them into 32oz deli cups pretty early on. 16oz can work just fine if it's smaller.

Other than that, enjoy your new addition. And on a biased note, I hope you get others species within the genus. They're all awesome and just as, if not more beautiful than P. metallica.

Still nervous... But only for my new baby. I want a P regalia as well, but there is something about my baby's blue and yellow Still... this species is so loved. It should not be on a 'list'. I find that hateful and cruel.

 

[lostbrane]

Are by chance referring to it being listed by the IUCN as critically endangered?

 

[boina]

What do I do but keep her like an aboreal. Dry, up high, many plants, and a water dish...

No no no. That's for Avics, and Avics only.
These burrow as slings and only become arboreal later on.

So: as @lostbrane already said: moist sub (important!), and plenty of it, with a cork slab at an angle to burrow under and hang out on.

 

[miamc12321]

Are by chance referring to it being listed by the IUCN as critically endangered?

Sorry but yes. Breeders... good, honest breeders... keep them from being endangered. P vitatta had the same fate, right?

 

[miamc12321]

No no no. That's for Avics, and Avics only.
These burrow as slings and only become arboreal later on.

So: as @lostbrane already said: moist sub (important!), and plenty of it, with a cork slab at an angle to burrow under and hang out on.

Do you know how awesome you are? If you guys hadn't spoken up... My new baby thanks you. Boina, I will do that. I promise. My baby must thrive. I love him/her already.

 

[lostbrane]

They live in less than 100km² of land in the wild, so I feel that it is very well deserved, and the hobby doesn't do anything to ensure their survival in their natural habitat. Sure, there are plenty of captive specimens but that's a last, last resort I would imagine (especially since USFWS has deemed that captive specimens aren't valid, at least for the Sri Lankan species. P. metallica might be a special case, but that remains to be seen.). P. vittata, P. fasciata, P. ornata, P. smithi & P. subfusca all got put under the "protections" of the ESA. The Indian species (including P. metallica) that were part of the original petition will probably be addressed in a few years.

Anywho, I get a bit worked up over the subject because I would love to see them all be fine in nature, but well, yes I do agree that it is better to have them living, even in captivity, if that's the only way they can survive.

Back on topic, good to see you are doing your utmost for your new sling!

 

[Arachnophoric]

But she/he is a baby.

Being a baby doesn't change much. They're still just as potent, and even more skittish than their adult counterpart.

Lostbrane basically hit all of the points you need to know. Poecis are not arboreals in the sense that Avics are - they tend to stay low and even will burrow and string up dirt curtains, so you're better moving that foliage to the base of your corkbark.

If your profile is up to date on what species you currently own and have experience with, I honestly think it is a poor decision to get this sling. All of the Ts listed are NW terrestrials, so your lack of experience with arboreals, which tend to be much faster and far more athletic/acrobatic in their ability to leap, maneuver, and escape, leaves you at a decent disadvantage. An OW for your first arboreal is going to present quite the challenge, one that can go bad very quickly, sling or not. In fact, it has the advantage of its small size giving more places to hide in the event its speed takes you by surprise (None of your Ts have a fraction of the speed these guys do) and manages to successfully escape. You'd be much better off at least getting something like a Psalmopoeus and grow one of those up before trying your hand with Poecis - they exhibit a lot of the same attributes, the only obvious differences are their appearance and the fact that Psalmos don't have nearly as bad of a bite as a Poeci.

I do hope you'll reconsider. If not, I wish you the best of luck.

Edit - I see I missed that it mentions you also have an A. avic, but I still stand by what I said. Getting a Psalmopoeus spp. would be a better choice to properly prepare you to take on a Poeci.

 

[miamc12321]

They live in less than 100km² of land in the wild, so I feel that it is very well deserved, and the hobby doesn't do anything to ensure their survival in their natural habitat. Sure, there are plenty of captive specimens but that's a last, last resort I would imagine (especially since USFWS has deemed that captive specimens aren't valid, at least for the Sri Lankan species, P. metallica might be a special case, but that remains to be seen). P. vittata, P. fasciata, P. ornata, P. smithi & P. subfusca all got put under the "protections" of the ESA. The Indian species (including P. metallica) that were part of the original petition will probably be addressed in a few years.

Anywho, I get a bit worked up over the subject because I would love to see them all be fine in nature, but well, yes I do agree that it is better to have them living, even in captivity, if that's the only way they can survive.

Back on topic, good to see you are doing your utmost for your new sling!

Thing is... I agree. So what can we do for these cuties here and now?

 

[miamc12321]

Being a baby doesn't change much. They're still just as potent, and even more skittish than their adult counterpart.

Lostbrane basically hit all of the points you need to know. Poecis are not arboreals in the sense that Avics are - they tend to stay low and even will burrow and string up dirt curtains, so you're better moving that foliage to the base of your corkbark.

If your profile is up to date on what species you currently own and have experience with, I honestly think it is a poor decision to get this sling. All of the Ts listed are NW terrestrials, so your lack of experience with arboreals, which tend to be much faster and far more athletic/acrobatic in their ability to leap, maneuver, and escape, leaves you at a decent disadvantage. An OW for your first arboreal is going to present quite the challenge, one that can go bad very quickly, sling or not. In fact, it has the advantage of its small size giving more places to hide in the event its speed takes you by surprise (None of your Ts have a fraction of the speed these guys do) and manages to successfully escape. You'd be much better off at least getting something like a Psalmopoeus and grow one of those up before trying your hand with Poecis - they exhibit a lot of the same attributes, the only obvious differences are their appearance and the fact that Psalmos don't have nearly as bad of a bite as a Poeci.

I do hope you'll reconsider, but if not, I wish you the best of luck.

It seriously wasn't for the color. I swear it. I wanted the M balfouri... I saw him/her, and... I'm so stupid. Damn me!! Damn my dumb ass!!!!! I can't cancel. It's too late. But I will take care of this hell fire non the less. I will. I will do it. He/She will have a home. A loving home!

 

[miamc12321]

Being a baby doesn't change much. They're still just as potent, and even more skittish than their adult counterpart.

Lostbrane basically hit all of the points you need to know. Poecis are not arboreals in the sense that Avics are - they tend to stay low and even will burrow and string up dirt curtains, so you're better moving that foliage to the base of your corkbark.

If your profile is up to date on what species you currently own and have experience with, I honestly think it is a poor decision to get this sling. All of the Ts listed are NW terrestrials, so your lack of experience with arboreals, which tend to be much faster and far more athletic/acrobatic in their ability to leap, maneuver, and escape, leaves you at a decent disadvantage. An OW for your first arboreal is going to present quite the challenge, one that can go bad very quickly, sling or not. In fact, it has the advantage of its small size giving more places to hide in the event its speed takes you by surprise (None of your Ts have a fraction of the speed these guys do) and manages to successfully escape. You'd be much better off at least getting something like a Psalmopoeus and grow one of those up before trying your hand with Poecis - they exhibit a lot of the same attributes, the only obvious differences are their appearance and the fact that Psalmos don't have nearly as bad of a bite as a Poeci.

I do hope you'll reconsider. If not, I wish you the best of luck.

Edit - I see I missed that it mentions you also have an A. avic, but I still stand by what I said. Getting a Psalmopoeus spp. would be a better choice to properly prepare you to take on a Poeci.

It seriously wasn't for the color. I swear it. I wanted the M balfouri... I saw him/her, and... I'm so stupid. Damn me!! Damn my dumb ass!!!!! I can't cancel. It's too late. But I will take care of this hell fire non the less. I will. I will do it. He/She will have a home. A loving home!

I say an A avic is nothing compared to a P met, P regalis, the majestic P vitatta... A avic is a sweetie. It just does not prepare you. Now... I have to be extra cautious. Extra paranoid even. Watch all movement when rehousing. Maybe even when watering and feeding... however, not because my new baby is dangerous. I just know the outside world is...

 

[Arachnophoric]

Maybe even when watering and feeding...

Definitely when watering and feeding. If you startle them, they will bolt. They're one of the shyer Poecis from what I understand, though IME my two slings hang out in the open a lot. They're still quite jumpy, regardless. If they don't have a place to hide and feel safe, they'll dart around until they find something suitable.

 

[miamc12321]

I have just the the place for my little one... I'll take pics later, but something just dawned on me...

 

[The Grym Reaper]

I say an A avic is nothing compared to a P met, P regalis, the majestic P vitatta... A avic is a sweetie. It just does not prepare you.

Yeah, it's a bit of a leap, a P. pulcher would've been perfect prep tbh. Mine was a bit of a spaz, much like my metallica is so I've gotten used to letting it settle down a bit before taking the lid off.

 

[AnObeseHippo]

I agree it is a leap. I also agree you’ll be fine. Australians don’t have the option of starting with NWs and they make it through okay. I’m doing the ladder system myself, and am at the point where my next T could safely be an OW.

My one heads up, because you seem nice and care about your spoders. These things are fast. I’m sure you can manage it. I’m also sure that even with me telling you they’re fast, you’ll still be taken aback by how fast they are. Make sure you find a flawless rehouse technique where there is no possibility for escape. I made that mistake with my P. irminia a week ago and I spent an hour trying to track and catch it.

 

[antinous]

I'm going to echo the part that it wasn't the smartest decision whatsoever as the species you have will not prepare you for these. I've had people come up to me at my university who bought Pokies and they asked me to rehouse them because they were taken aback by the speed, and sometimes the attitude (some of those people work with venomous snakes). Everybody kinda hit the point, I'll just say that house it in larger enclosures than they need to be in to reduce the amount of rehousings. Give them plenty of places to hide as well so when you do open the enclosure, it has a place to retreat to. Also PRO-TIP (which helped me a lot): Tap the enclosure when you're about to open it, this will let them know you're there and they'll probably go inside their hide. I'm not over-exaggerating when I say a bit from one of these is no joke and I'd rather be bitten by a Pampho or Phormic, which I know aren't potent whatsoever, but I'd rather take a bite from a possibly mechanically damagining species than a highly potent one. Please be safe when working with them, I don't want to see another restriction placed on them because someone was in the hospital for a Pokie bite.

Also, just because an animal is bred in captivity, and is fairly common, doesn't mean it's any less endangered in the wild. They can't be returned there anyways.


I'm going to India next year and I'll be looking for this species in the wild, curious to see how hard it will be to find.

 

[AnObeseHippo]

I agree it is a leap. I also agree you’ll be fine. Australians don’t have the option of starting with NWs and they make it through okay. I’m doing the ladder system myself, and am at the point where my next T could safely be an OW.

My one heads up, because you seem nice and care about your spoders. These things are fast. I’m sure you can manage it. I’m also sure that even with me telling you they’re fast, you’ll still be taken aback by how fast they are. Make sure you find a flawless rehouse technique where there is no possibility for escape.

 

[antinous]

Australians don’t have the option of starting with NWs and they make it through okay.

I wouldn't compare Phlogius species to Pokies, Pokies make them look like G. roseas tbh.

 

[AnObeseHippo]

I wouldn't compare Phlogius species to Pokies, Pokies make them look like G. roseas tbh.

Fair enough. I don’t know anything about Australian Ts. Just that they ain’t new worlds

 

[Venom1080]

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/poecilotheria-care.291471/

They have a undeserved reputation. Yes, their venom is really bad, but they are by far the most relaxed ow I've ever owned.

Being huge and arboreal, they're still not for beginners.