Poecilotheria metallica care

[Angel Minkov]

Yes, I understand that there are sometimes individuals who jump in on OWs as first Ts and do it to look "cool". I've kept Ts for a long time. I know what to expect. I received the sling an hour ago. I set up its enclosure and tried to make it go in, but instead it climbed on my finger and even tried to bite me I think. I tried to guide it with an object, but just couldn't and since its small I decided to just give it a little "push" with my index finger and it went in. I know I'm not supposed to do such things, but I thought "hey, it's travelled 200+ kilometres to get to me... better not stress it more".

Now I turned on the heater and set it to 23C and left the T in my room. I should open a picture thread, but sadly I rarely have the opportunity to take pictures :cry:

 

[Martin1975]

Hello
I haven't posted here yet,but when I saw P.metallica I had to post. I have two large females,no mature males so far. I have made a communal of these,they've been doing well I have added 4 to the communal size when added 4 cm now the largest 7cm. Their care as any pokie,I also have a regalis communal and have P. Smithi and P.subfusca.

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[cold blood]

Hello
I haven't posted here yet,but when I saw P.metallica I had to post. I have two large females,no mature males so far. I have made a communal of these,they've been doing well I have added 4 to the communal size when added 4 cm now the largest 7cm. Their care as any pokie,I also have a regalis communal and have P. Smithi and P.subfusca.

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Martin that post is quite difficult to follow....do you only have 2 females? Living together? Or are there 4 additional slings in the mix, too?

 

[Martin1975]

Hello I apologise if it came through incoherently, I have two large females and a communal of 4 slings.

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[cold blood]

Hello I apologise if it came through incoherently, I have two large females and a communal of 4 slings.

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Thanks, that makes sense....don't worry too much about it, with people here from all over the world, it just happens...not a big deal.

 

[Martin1975]

Before I added extra sides to the setup(Poecilotheria Metallica communal)



Added sides (Poecilotheria Metallica communal)




One of my larger females



My regalis communal





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Thanks, that makes sense....don't worry too much about it, with people here from all over the world, it just happens...not a big deal.

Hopefully no more messages like those haha.

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[Poec54]

Poecilotheria Metallica communal

My regalis communal

Wait a minute. Those can't be arboreal cages, there's no feces sprayed all over the sides!

 

[Martin1975]

Wait a minute. Those can't be arboreal cages, there's no feces sprayed all over the sides!

Oh they are haha,I do cage maintenance with a soft wet cloth/tissue and long tongs.

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[Angel Minkov]

Absolutely stunning photos

Today I tried feeding it a pre-killed mealworm. It didn't take it. I'm going to leave it there until tomorrow.

 

[Martin1975]

Today I tried feeding it a pre-killed mealworm. It didn't take it. I'm going to leave it there until tomorrow.

You could try different feeders as well,mixing it up. I use a set size,smaller or equal to the abdomen. Not saying it's a rule,but it has worked with all my T's so far.

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[Angel Minkov]

For now I'll feed him mealworms until he molts 1-2 times. I can't remember the last time I kept this small of a sling so now I'm quite nervous LOL

 

[SuzukiSwift]

Wow those communals are fantastic! I've always wanted to try something like that but I'm missing a crucial factor

Money =P

 

[Angel Minkov]

P. regalis communals shouldn't be that expensive.

After it didn't even look (I guess it may have caught a glimpse with one of its 8 eyes LOL) at the pre-killed mealworm, I cut another one just now but didn't crush its head and gave it to it. For now it shows no interest. I'll see what happens.

 

[goodyt]

Mealworms are not so great. They can kill a sling just after molting especially. I use dubias and flightless fruit flies.

 

[Martin1975]

I have found that crickets with slings,roaches with larger specimens. I just love the way they hunt,it is an awesome sight. With communal setups,regalis works out the cheapest but some say they are more tolerant than communal. Whereas m.balfouri,are true communal species. I have a female,but I am receiving 3 slings this week and there we go my new communal project. I will also be receiving others,like more pokies and Ornithoctonus aureotibialis.

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[SuzukiSwift]

P. regalis communals shouldn't be that expensive.

After it didn't even look (I guess it may have caught a glimpse with one of its 8 eyes LOL) at the pre-killed mealworm, I cut another one just now but didn't crush its head and gave it to it. For now it shows no interest. I'll see what happens.

Maybe to people with full time jobs no but I'm just a student haha

 

[Poec54]

Wow those communals are fantastic! I've always wanted to try something like that but I'm missing a crucial factor

Money =P

'Communals' aren't as easy as they seem. Very few T's are anything approaching communal. It's an abused term in this hobby. The correct phrase is almost always: 'species that tolerate each other, at least for a while.' With regalis and fasciata slings I've hatched out, I've kept some together; invariably some individuals will hog the food and in several months will be 2 or 3 times the size of others. These are animals looking out for themselves, not the group's best interests. Another food problem is they can be in all stages of the molt cycle. That means some post-molt skinny and starving, some fat and premolt and due to molt at any time. Do you feed them so the hungry ones can eat (and not cannibalize their molting siblings), or do you wait? Will uneaten crickets roaming the cage eat the unfortunate ones spiders? Every choice has risks. In group cages, sometimes slings/juveniles will grab far more food then they would otherwise, while others are intimidated and go hungry. Put in extra food so they can all eat, and the cage is crawling with crickets and premolt or molting spiders may be killed.

To keep ones of similar sizes together, I combined 2 females from one cage and 1 female from another together. The two stayed together under the cork, and the third kept it's distance. After a few weeks, they all started to keep away from each other, and suspecting future trouble, I separated them. These were siblings and of the same size, and not wanting to be near each other.

Please forum members, stop using the term 'communal', and don't look at group cages as some kind of panacea. Of the few species that have some tolerance for each other, we can't duplicate their conditions in the wild, and what we end up doing is usually very unnatural. We have them confined and forced to work things out. They can't take a break from each other. We don't know about prey type and frequency. Whatever challenges we have with a single spider in a cage, it's greatly amplified when you put a group together. Most of the people who group cages appeal to are beginners, and with lack of experience and understanding, are the last people who should be doing it, especially with Poecilotheria.

 

[Martin1975]

'Communals' aren't as easy as they seem. Very few T's are anything approaching communal. It's an abused term in this hobby. The correct phrase is almost always: 'species that tolerate each other, at least for a while.' With regalis and fasciata slings I've hatched out, I've kept some together; invariably some individuals will hog the food and in several months will be 2 or 3 times the size of others. These are animals looking out for themselves, not the group's best interests. Another food problem is they can be in all stages of the molt cycle. That means some post-molt skinny and starving, some fat and premolt and due to molt at any time. Do you feed them so the hungry ones can eat (and not cannibalize their molting siblings), or do you wait? Will uneaten crickets roaming the cage eat the unfortunate ones spiders? Every choice has risks. In group cages, sometimes slings/juveniles will grab far more food then they would otherwise, while others are intimidated and go hungry. Put in extra food so they can all eat, and the cage is crawling with crickets and premolt or molting spiders may be killed.

To keep ones of similar sizes together, I combined 2 females from one cage and 1 female from another together. The two stayed together under the cork, and the third kept it's distance. After a few weeks, they all started to keep away from each other, and suspecting future trouble, I separated them. These were siblings and of the same size, and not wanting to be near each other.

Please forum members, stop using the term 'communal', and don't look at group cages as some kind of panacea. Of the few species that have some tolerance for each other, we can't duplicate their conditions in the wild, and what we end up doing is usually very unnatural. We have them confined and forced to work things out. They can't take a break from each other. We don't know about prey type and frequency. Whatever challenges we have with a single spider in a cage, it's greatly amplified when you put a group together. Most of the people who group cages appeal to are beginners, and with lack of experience and understanding, are the last people who should be doing it, especially with Poecilotheria.

Hello
In general communal setups not communal species(since like above in my statement are deemed tolerable not communal),some people would want one by the pure allure of having one. As for other hobbyists,they first do their homework and put in a lot of time towards this. Some have had communal setups for years,not just within a month or a singular year. A communal setup could fall apart instantly,or thrive without hick ups.

A lot of things factor in,food availability group setup boundaries when the enclosure is too large a specimen may deem an area it's own and kill off any intruder or just one member losing it since they are predatory by nature. With the communal setup I have P.regalis they've been together for years,they were put together from sling size from the same eggsack. One male matured,died off from old age naturally not being killed etc.

As for other observations,recently they have adopted in molting in the same exact spot. One would molt,and a while after say a week or so the next would using the same spot. This is behaviour I haven't seen before,or I just missed it. With my newer communal setup,the P.metallica have shown similar behaviour might just be coincidental or something to it. I know of two people keeping Poecilotheria setup communally for years now,they will discuss the good and the bad and warn where it need be.

So I will warn anyone trying this,there are always risks and you need to put in a lot to it. Chances are it could turn out great,or very bad since a lot of factors need to be taken into consideration. I have tried a hystericrates gigas communal setup,that is one I would never advise to anyone since I lost one specimen in that trial as well as Holothele Ince is another I would also warn against. So let me finish by saying,not communal tarantulas but communal setups since if they are or not it is up for debate.

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[goodyt]

Oh, I think I will still keep using the term communal, but I will agree with your "tolerant" statement. I have kept P mets together in various ways in two years without eating each other. There were a couple threats along the way though and I always separated them before anyone got hurt.

 

[Poec54]

Oh, I think I will still keep using the term communal, but I will agree with your "tolerant" statement. I have kept P mets together in various ways in two years without eating each other. There were a couple threats along the way though and I always separated them before anyone got hurt.

The definition of 'communal' isn't that they happen not to slaughter each other. That doesn't make a community. Working together for the common good is a community. Poecilotheria ARE NOT communal. They're individuals that occasionally share retreats in the wild, due to a scarcity of them in the trees they live in (not being big spinners like Avics). Poecs are 'in it for themselves', and tolerate each other when that works out for them. They have no obligations to their friends and neighbors.