M. Balfouri: A burrowing species

[Pavlor]

I acquired an M. Balfouri a couple of weeks ago and it hasn't really burrowed and seems to be very active, walking around the enclosure and climbing. Yep, climbing. And staying on the roof of the enclosure. The parametres of the enclosure seem to be fine: 27°C (80.6°F) and humidity is at 50% (sometimes 60%). I have put about 5" of 4/5ths peat/vermicullite as the substrate and made her a starter burrow with a hide.

Also, I notice that she hasn't eaten yet - she taps the cricket and goes into defense position and stays like that for a while. I have tried different sized crickets but she acts the same way. I have thought that she is in pre-moult so I monitor how long the cricket is in the enclosure and take it out after an hour or so...

Any other suggestions/comments?

 

[happysmile88]

It's possible that it is in premolt as you have stated. Also these tarantulas aren't reluctant to throw a threat posture even as tiny slings. It is probably not burrowing because it feels that it does not need to burrow. Maybe to it, the enclosure feels like a burrow already. I have a couple of M.balfouri and they don't really burrow but web up the whole enclosure very much like a GBB. I also leave a prey item in their enclosure for a whole day before I remove them because these tarantulas tend to not want to catch their prey when you are observing them.

 

[Pavlor]

Thanks for this, happysmile88. I have read that in the wild, they climb over rocks and bolders, so maybe this is why she seems so active and climbs all over her enclosure =)

---------- Post added 01-30-2012 at 12:38 PM ----------

She's doing quite a bit of preening at the moment... 3rd and 4th leg going as she scissors her sweet little chelicerae up and down =)

 

[happysmile88]

Here's a video by urosu that you may have already seen. My enclosure also looks very much like the one in the video but without the burrow. If you really want your balfouri to burrow, maybe providing a high amount of ventilation may induce it to burrow. Personally, I'm happy seeing mine all the time

 

[tarantulagirl10]

Wow, that video is amazing! I need a M balfouri, not want, NEED.

 

[xhexdx]

M. balfouri tend to web things up, not burrow. They should be kept similarly to an OBT - they are heavy webbers and like dry substrate.

If your substrate is damp, that would explain why it is spending so much time on the walls and roof.

 

[Pavlor]

Here's a video by urosu that you may have already seen. My enclosure also looks very much like the one in the video but without the burrow. If you really want your balfouri to burrow, maybe providing a high amount of ventilation may induce it to burrow. Personally, I'm happy seeing mine all the time

Yes, *LOVE* that video!

---------- Post added 01-30-2012 at 03:09 PM ----------

M. balfouri tend to web things up, not burrow. They should be kept similarly to an OBT - they are heavy webbers and like dry substrate.

If your substrate is damp, that would explain why it is spending so much time on the walls and roof.

If a spider is running around on the roof of its enclosure, I would automatically think something was wrong in how it's being kept, so that's why I looked at the parametres, and everything seems as it should be. I put a little cap of water in there a few days after she arrived and within minutes, I saw her drinking from it for quite some time. The substrate is dry. I put some card around the outside walls of the enclosure as I thought maybe she needed to feel safe but maybe she just likes to climb.

xhedx, do you know where they are from in the Socotra Islands as I've been trying to find out but can't seem to locate any reliable info.

 

[Pavlor]

She has been milling around on the substrate for hours so I don't think I need to be concerned, but still monitoring. It's quite fun, actually *lol*

 

[Formerphobe]

do you know where they are from in the Socotra Islands as I've been trying to find out but can't seem to locate any reliable info

I remember reading an article that said they were frequently found 'in the rocks above the shoreline'... Can I find that article now? Of course not! I don't remember if it specified freshwater or coastline.

One of mine is burrowed to the very bottom of its ~6" of substrate with a couple mounds of webbing at the burrow entrances. It usually stays deep in the burrow and is rarely seen. The other started a burrow (I don't know how deep it goes), but has webbed extensively topside and created a lovely web maze with a centerpiece mound that is its day time basking area. It only disappears into one of its tunnels after the sun goes down. I have no idea which is 'normal', or if the behavior is gender specific.

 

[SuicidalSock]

Mine has taken to a half coconut hide very well. Webbing the entrance and all the inside. He often comes out and wanders around, and may sit at the top of his enclosure for a while.

He also sits at the entrance to his hide, legs hanging out.

They seem to all act differently!!

I wanna find a female for him soo bad though! Hes not mature yet, but will be in a year or so.

 

[Pavlor]

It's funny as until I got Sweetness, I had never heard of the M. Balfouri before and I got her "by mistake". She completely reignited my interest in tarantulas even though I have had tarantulas for years now. She is the reason I am writing to you know, SuicidalSock *lol*

---------- Post added 01-30-2012 at 05:43 PM ----------

I remember reading an article that said they were frequently found 'in the rocks above the shoreline'... Can I find that article now? Of course not! I don't remember if it specified freshwater or coastline.

One of mine is burrowed to the very bottom of its ~6" of substrate with a couple mounds of webbing at the burrow entrances. It usually stays deep in the burrow and is rarely seen. The other started a burrow (I don't know how deep it goes), but has webbed extensively topside and created a lovely web maze with a centerpiece mound that is its day time basking area. It only disappears into one of its tunnels after the sun goes down. I have no idea which is 'normal', or if the behavior is gender specific.

Gah! I will have to venture there and find out! I have been reading everything about the Socotra Islands and watching videos *ALL DAY*, and not one picture of *teh baboon* =/

 

[Pavlor]

So I've been monitoring her all day and this morning she was running around all over the place getting less and less towards the afternoon. Late afternoon she was in one place for a couple of hours and now, at 9pm, she has started to look upwards... =)

 

[happysmile88]

Here's an interesting thread by Scarab in a different forum, which you may have already seen. From what I gather, they're rather communal to a certain extent. Although I wouldn't recommend placing very expensive Ts together in one enclosure, it would be awesome to have a communal M.balfouri set-up

 

[Pavlor]

Thanks for this happysmile88 - yet another great link =) I think she's acting normally now as she's webbing much more and when I left her, she had her fangs into a rather large mealworm. I offered her quite a dinky cricket yesterday but took it out as she tapped at it and then went all defence, so I took it out *just in case* she's pre-moult. Today, I offered her a large mealworm which I thought she would go defense at but *MUCH* to my surprise, in went the fangs. Good girl. So, webbing and eating. Oh and I put more water in the enclosure earlier although the humidity is lower than normal (about 30%).