Room For 10

[Cashworth]

Hey! I figured I'd come on here and share my first communal enclosure with all of you. It's a 10 gallon on its end meant to hold 10 P. miranda all about 2". Let me know what you think and I'm very open to tips and suggestions as this is my first attempt at housing tarantulas communally.

 

[skar]

Whenever I see a communak especially for 10... I always think- have fun with that transfer later : /
Good luck !

 

[syndicate]

Hi there,
In my experience keeping Poecilotheria communally it is best to keep them in a smaller container or tank so they are forced to share the same space.For 10 2" miranda I would use maybe a 1 gallon jar with a cork bark tube for them to use as a retreat.The problem with adding so few spiders to such a big tank is that they will all not stick together but instead create there own areas inside this tank and that may cause some problems.I'd recommend keeping them in something smaller until they outgrow that container then move them into a bigger enclosure when needed.
Good luck with them!
-Chris

 

[Jared781]

Wow.. I no expert on communal but that looks sick!!

 

[Cashworth]

I have heard that before, Syndicate, and that's definitely what I'd be doing if they weren't currently being kept individually. The way I figured it is that they're already use to their own space so maybe less interaction would be better? Let me know if I'm way off. Ha ha. Ideally I'd be starting this with a group that's all from the same sac and has yet to be separated. Maybe if what I'm doing starts going sour I'll separate them and, when they're ready, breed them and use some from the resulting sac and maybe that will work better.

Thanks Jared781!

I am not looking forward to transferring them at all. Ha ha. I really hope they give me at least a little time to appreciate what I've built here before they decorate the walls with their poop.

 

[Jared781]

I have heard that before, Syndicate, and that's definitely what I'd be doing if they weren't currently being kept individually. The way I figured it is that they're already use to their own space so maybe less interaction would be better? Let me know if I'm way off. Ha ha. Ideally I'd be starting this with a group that's all from the same sac and has yet to be separated. Maybe if what I'm doing starts going sour I'll separate them and, when they're ready, breed them and use some from the resulting sac and maybe that will work better.
Thanks Jared781!

NP bro!.. despite all the hard work, Id still be proud of a communal enclosure! think it would be dominant very entertaining aswell!... set up a chair in front and get ya popcorn...

 

[grayzone]

Hi there,
In my experience keeping Poecilotheria communally it is best to keep them in a smaller container or tank so they are forced to share the same space.For 10 2" miranda I would use maybe a 1 gallon jar with a cork bark tube for them to use as a retreat.The problem with adding so few spiders to such a big tank is that they will all not stick together but instead create there own areas inside this tank and that may cause some problems.I'd recommend keeping them in something smaller until they outgrow that container then move them into a bigger enclosure when needed.
Good luck with them!
-Chris

i agree 100% ... most communals that are successful are with sackmate ts in "close quarters" ... they get used to and are raised always interacting with eachother and sharing space... too much space and they get territorial

 

[CoSpiderGuy]

I have a 10 gallon turned tall like with four 3-4" Avicularia avicularia. They were put together only about 6 months ago and are not broodmates. One did lose a leg, not sure how, but regrew it a couple months later. So far so good, I sold one of them and was thinking about adding a few more to the mix. I had 4 1.5" P. regalis I wanted to put them together, but only 3 were broodmates and I sold them before I gt the balls to risk it.

 

[grayzone]

when my male regalis finally matures , i plan on doing my 1st breeding attempt. Providing i get a viable sac, i will do my 1st colony with some of the slings... i cant wait

 

[Storm76]

I don't think you will have, but I wish you luck with that communal project. It's probably gonna fail like those from so many others who tried this. However, maybe it's gonna be different for you, who knows?

 

[Cashworth]

Well I really hope this doesn't fail (obviously), but I am going into knowing that there's a chance that it will. Thanks for the luck though. Also, to try to better my chances, I decided to take it from somebody who knows and start out with a smaller tank. Here's some pictures of what I'll start them out in. I'll be keeping a close eye on them and I'll separate them as fast as possible if I see need to.

 

[syndicate]

Much better tank to start with!Using this smaller container should work way better and also allow you to keep an eye on all 10 of your miranda to.Using that 10 gallon they would have been lost in there!Let us know how it gos and good luck!
-Chris

 

[Cashworth]

I actually feel a little more confident with this one. I'll save the other one for when they get bigger. Thanks for the advice, syndicate.

 

[grayzone]

just out of morbid curiosity (although i hope it works great) how many causalities are you willing to accept before you call it a bust?

 

[Cashworth]

Not many. If I see 3, maybe only 2, I'll most likely split them up. If I IMMEDIATELY see aggression, though, I'm going to separate them sooner.

 

[Bill S]

... most communals that are successful are with sackmate ts in "close quarters" ... they get used to and are raised always interacting with eachother and sharing space... too much space and they get territorial

My best luck with communals is by giving them enough room and enough hiding spaces that they CAN establish their own territories. Or at least have their own hiding places. It's worked with spiders that were raised separately and introduced as adults. If they do not have space and hiding places, each time they molt they run a high risk. If they are too crowded they "adjust" their population density at some point.

 

[grayzone]

very interesting Bill... i have read and heard wrong then... either way, when my regalis pair is done i will try BOTH ways then with upwards of 5 to 10 slings in each... (providing i get a sac)

 

[Cashworth]

Perhaps if I start to see my set-up going south in the one gallon enclosure, I'll try them out in the ten gallon. Also I'm thinking that if one of them is being especially aggressive instead of more on the skittish side while I'm transferring them from their individual containers to the communal one, I'm just going to separate that one right away.

So I picked up my new additions on Saturday and transferred them into the 1 gallon container that night. So far it seems as if they're doing good. From what I've seen, there's been no cannibalism or aggression from any of them. Here's some pictures.

 

[Justin Lacas]

So I picked up my new additions on Saturday and transferred them into the 1 gallon container that night. So far it seems as if they're doing good. From what I've seen, there's been no cannibalism or aggression from any of them. Here's some pictures.

Hi, I am years late (newbie) but I am intrigued with how things turned out with your communal setup.
I hope you're able to share us few bits of how they grew up along the way too.

 

[Patherophis]

Hi, I am years late (newbie) but I am intrigued with how things turned out with your communal setup.
I hope you're able to share us few bits of how they grew up along the way too.

Good luck waiting for answer as he wasnt active here since 2012. But I would bet my money on it turning bad, as wast majority of commmunals do...