# 3 New Gems: Encyocratella olivacea



## TarantulaHomes (Jul 28, 2010)

Just received these little guys from KTBG. They are about 1 inch leg span


----------



## Vespula (Jul 28, 2010)

Aww! what cuties!!!!


----------



## VinceG (Jul 28, 2010)

These are awesome ts! nice cage too! They'll have a lot of space


----------



## JoeRossi (Jul 28, 2010)

*They are fun....*

I will be interested to see if they stay aboreal in your aboreal set-up (Nice by the way).  I have raised several and when they were first described as aboreal to me I put them in aboreal set-ups.  I soon realized they went straight to the ground and chose not too use their sky spinning skills ever.  I am interested to see what they do and if others have their E.O.'s hopping trees or scooting dirt?  I since have gone to a terest set up for all of them and now have all of my new little ones from Ken as well clinging to the ground even though they are in tall aboreal deli's with cork.

Your thoughts?::?


----------



## J.huff23 (Jul 28, 2010)

Those are nice Ts and good looking enclosures, but the enclosures are over kill for 1 inch slings.


----------



## TarantulaHomes (Jul 28, 2010)

JoeRossi said:


> I will be interested to see if they stay aboreal in your aboreal set-up (Nice by the way)...  I have raised several and when they were first described as aboreal to me I put them in aboreal set-ups.  I soon realized they went straight to the ground and chose not too use their sky spinning skills ever.  I am interested to see what they do and if others have their E.O.'s hopping trees or scooting dirt?  I since have gone to a terest set up for all of them and now have all of my new little ones from Ken as well clinging to the ground even though they are in tall aboreal deli's with cork.
> 
> Your thoughts?::?


I've also heard people saying they are semi-arboreal, like GBB, and do well in both terrestrial and arboreal set-ups. At the moment all three of them are crawling the walls and logs in their cages and don't seem like wanting to go on the ground. But it's too soon to tell how they like it. By the way, here's a nice description of the species: Presumptive Habitat of Encyocratella olivacea



J.huff23 said:


> Those are nice Ts and good looking enclosures, but the enclosures are over kill for 1 inch slings.


Well, I kind of thought about getting them smaller cages, but then decided to go with these ones, since I already have some experience raising slings in cages much bigger than they require and never had problems with any of them. My first 3 slings - pulchra, gbb and redknee - all were less than 1 inch when I got them and I raised them in 5.5 gallon tanks.

Here's Blackie on the day of her arrival with her tank under my hand 







and this is her now


----------



## JoeRossi (Jul 28, 2010)

*Yes I have.....*

Yes I have read this and laugh every time http://www.tarantulahomes.com/media/raab.timo.2005.presumptive.habitat.of.encyocratella.olivacea.pdf

Kind of an oxymoron in huge print AFRICAN ABOREAL and the picture is with her webbed up on the ground with leaves LOL  Makes me smile every time.


----------



## syndicate (Jul 28, 2010)

What there aren't leaves in the rain forest??


----------



## JoeRossi (Jul 28, 2010)

*Several lol .....*

Several lol but hese happend to be on the ground dead and what looks like a well established ground webbing and not in the tree.......wee.............


----------



## Mojo Jojo (Jul 29, 2010)

I've never heard of or seen this most beautiful tarantula.  I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have to put it on my wanted list.  Very cool!  Any info on venom potency or temperment?


----------



## Arachnoholic420 (Jul 29, 2010)

Congrats!!! hands down great choice of T....
Still on my to get list... 
It has been over a year and a half ago, when they last had them up for sale, around here.... then only three this year and they where from someone else collect.... and was sold before it was even posted.... 

also you might want to put them in a smaller enclosure till they get a little bigger... Like Jake said those Enclosures are great!!! But a bit overkill for the slings.....

Enjoy your new T's....

Peace,
Armando


----------



## JoeRossi (Jul 29, 2010)

*Mean*

MEAN MEAN MEAN .  I have held my adults with extreme caution.  However, everyone I have owned rears up and flickers at me immediatley.  Especially my males have been very agressive and fast.  As far as venom goes ?  I don't ever plan on getting bit.


----------



## TalonAWD (Jul 29, 2010)

I also notice that my 2 specimens like to be on the ground. I have them in a terrestrial setup for now (cube) to see what they do. When they were in a vial, they just webbed up the lower half and made a ditch to lie in. I'm thinking GBB type of scenario as well. 
Also I just found out about these 2 months ago. I was told it was the rich man's OBT.  
I Love them!


----------



## TarantulaHomes (Jul 29, 2010)

Big Dragonfly said:


> ...Any info on venom potency or temperment?


I don't know much about their temperament yet, but even being so little, these guys are not shy at all. 2 of them threw a clear threat posture when I was prodding them into their enclosures.


----------



## TalonAWD (Jul 29, 2010)

What about leg spans? Any idea of what they reach? Male and female?


----------



## TarantulaHomes (Jul 29, 2010)

TalonAWD said:


> What about leg spans? Any idea of what they reach? Male and female?


Here's another article on this species that I've found. It says adult females reach body length of 55 mm and leg span 120 mm which is about 5 inches: http://tarantulas.tropica.ru/en/evolution/Stromatopelminae/Encyocratella


----------



## Jorpion (Jul 29, 2010)

OUTSTANDING! Awesome cages too!!


----------



## JoeRossi (Jul 29, 2010)

*Taranthla Homes, Talon ?'s, & Young Boy*

Thanks for the input youngboy and it seems many are joining the ranks of ground dwellers for the E.O.'s.

"I don't know much about their temperament"  As I stated, they are mean and not scared of anything as adults Tarantula Holmes. 

Talon & Homes: "What about leg spans? Any idea of what they reach? Male and female? 
"Here's another article on this species that I've found. It says adult females reach body length of... "

As was stated they do average around 5".  Here are some pics of my E.O.'s as adults in the breeding section http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=186927 .  Its great that you are reading up on them as well though Homes let me know if you have any other ?'s


----------



## sharpfang (Jul 29, 2010)

*Nice!*

Tarantula Homes you made there  GL w/ the Species


----------



## BCscorp (Jul 29, 2010)

Nice score! As long as they find their prey, the enclosure size is fine. I would add more to it personally, to give them the chance to decide if they want to live close to the ground or up abit.

JoeRossi..did you notice that the pic of the E. olivacea in Timo Raabs article is cropped? You have no idea of where that web is in relation to where the spider lives. Is that why you have such a beauty species on wood chips with a water dish? In the article it clearly states that the specimens observed in their natural habitat, were found in between layers of peeling tree bark...on a tree. Which to me is higher than the ground. At least give them a chance to do what they will IMO.
Something like this...not barren with just a water dish.
[YOUTUBE]BbgGadLR_ew[/YOUTUBE]


----------



## JoeRossi (Jul 29, 2010)

*Lol...ur fun*

who let the dogs out who who...attack. As I stated, if u actually read the full discussions, I had them ALL in aboreal set ups (http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showpost.php?p=1709109&postcount=4) .  They hated it (I know I asked) and never used any of the fun fancy leaves etc....so I moved them to terest. Now all my t's are happy and housed in appopriate settings.  You might be correct on the cropping but it does look like dirt and leaves not tree and dead leaves (but I could be wrong and I still find it funny).  Now as far as barren water dish lol back off they always have fresh aqua (in there), cork, a funnel tube, etc...This was the setup I used to breed the two and again I can guarantee I show as much love for my T's as you do BC so lets take it down a notch.....oh by the way the small deli fully webbed up that the male EO came out of in your video you presented looked like a real fun place for him to live for the amount of time it took him to web that baby up.....Ruff  Ruff Buddy lol


----------



## TarantulaHomes (Jul 29, 2010)

*Much appreciated!*

JoeRossi, I really appreciate your input! Looks like you are the pioneer in raising this species in US and it's always good to learn from somebody who has a hands-on experience. I've found out about this species from a good customer of mine who purchased an adult female E.o. from you (you know who I'm talking about  
I'll be watching these jewels closely and will document every bit of information I will be getting from keeping them and will gladly share any facts with other people.

Vitaliy


----------



## JoeRossi (Jul 29, 2010)

*Thank you for your kind words but....*

Thank you for your kind words, but I know there are others who have raised a few E.O.'s in the U.S. as well.  I am looking foward to seeing the first EO successful hatchlings  in the U.S. (whom ever that might be) and am all about getting as many beautiful T's into the U.S. hobby as possible.

Keep up the good work Homes and I look foward to swapping E.O. MM's with you when we get these buggers raised up.


----------



## dianedfisher (Jul 30, 2010)

JoeRossi said:


> Several lol but hese happend to be on the ground dead and what looks like a well established ground webbing and not in the tree.......wee.............


You and I have briefly discussed your Encyocratella olivacea set-up.  I'm curious.  Do you consider Psalmopoeus arboreal?  My E.olivacea were much more prone to web above ground level than my Psalmopoeus but the E.olivacea uses heavy webbing fixed to objects in her habitat. Di


----------



## BCscorp (Jul 30, 2010)

OP and JoeRossi, my apologies I came off harsh sounding. I am sure we all love our spiders and do what we see as best for them. Just so you know, thats not my video and I said the area was barren, not the water dish.
I am rehousing mine and will document how they use their new setups and share with you guys.


----------



## JoeRossi (Jul 30, 2010)

*There she is welcome Di!*

I state, "but I know there are others who have raised a few E.O.'s in the U.S. as well" I didn't want to just drag you into the conversation Di, but here she is all. She is another I know of who loves these beauty's, raised them, and is one of the best in the hobby.  Glad you made it

Di-
"You and I have briefly discussed your Encyocratella olivacea set-up. I'm curious. Do you consider Psalmopoeus arboreal? My E.olivacea were much more prone to web above ground level than my Psalmopoeus but the E.olivacea uses heavy webbing fixed to objects in her habitat. "

Actually a great question and my  Pulcher, Irminia, Cambridgei, Reduncus are opposite my EO's.  They are all in aboreal set ups and almost all of them web near the sides and actually stay above ground in the webbing unlike my EO's, especially my Pulchers they webbed up cork bark areal style.  My EO's have always looked for cork at ground level and then dug under and webbed it up (hence the pics)...maybe they think their in a big tree lol:?.  It just seems my EO's web ground level much like my Ceratogyrus Meridionali, just thicker.  The coolest one is my Idiothele sp.blue foot.  She webs like the two, but then covers the webbing in substrate and makes a trap door.  Much like the trap door spiders she waites then pops out and nabs her prey.  Man is she cool.....I love all these African species.

BC-
"OP and JoeRossi, my apologies I came off harsh sounding"

No problem, lets have some fun, and yes we all love these incredible creations.


----------



## syndicate (Jul 30, 2010)

I've been keeping these for a while now and currently have adults and they all act like normal arboreals to me.I would not house them in a terrestrial setup.
-Chris


----------



## JoeRossi (Jul 30, 2010)

*Thanks for the input Chris Respectfully I*

Thanks for the input Chris and respectfully I appreciate the fact we can chalk one down for the aboreal only vote (off-topic, but hows the Crested geckos by the way?).  I don't know if there is a lo-cal difference, but I tried for months even a year to house many of mine in an aboreal set up.  I had the damp mulch, vines/ leaves, verticle cork bark, even had a little pump water fall in at one piont.  It was useless they kept retreating to the ground in the corner of the cage, digging under the substrate, and then webbing.  The second I put the cork flat on the ground they were happy campers, dug under, and webbed up quick.  I wonder if temperature is a factor...?


----------



## Protectyaaaneck (Jul 30, 2010)

Sorry for the quality, but here's what mine do:






I know they are both at the bottom in the pic, but I regularly find them hanging out near the top of their vials.


----------



## JoeRossi (Jul 31, 2010)

*The following .....*

The following is what Rick West stated about my questions on aboreal issues and if temperature played any role for our EO's climbing trees or hitting the ground running: 

"From what I have heard and read about E.o. (I have never had any to rear),
this species is an opportunistic burrower.  The fact that they were 'alleged' to
be arboreal from Tanzania (personally, I would like to see photo proof 'in
situ') is debatable.  I do not think temperature has much to do with anything ...
they go and live in retreats where their prey are found.  Funny enough, I have 
Poecilotheria spp. that have made deep burrows into the soil down the
backside of angled bark.  NEVER assume there are any hard and fast rules about any theraphosid species ... they will always prove you wrong!  Chilobrachys andChromatopelma are both fossorial AND arboreal.  I've also seen Haplopelmasp. make perfect trapdoor retreats, like a trapdoor mygalomorph ... go figure?!" 

So, I guess temperature is not much a factor......silly me


----------



## dianedfisher (Jul 31, 2010)

This is how my E.olivacea have lived for the past year.  4 molted into mature males and I hope the one in this container is female.  When she molted, she wasn't mature, so I hooked her up with the MM I kept.  I observed mating bahaviour.  I actually thought all of this new webbing might indicate a sac, but I don't really see a hammock anywhere so I guess not.  But she is perched in a hole in the webbing about halfway up the jar.  The corkbark slab is on the left side and all of her webbing is attached to it and then to the side of the jar.  Di


----------



## JoeRossi (Jul 31, 2010)

*Holy webbing.......*

Man, she webbed that baby up good and it actually looks almost identical to my C. Meridionali webbing, but she hangs at the bottm.  It will be difficult to see a hammock with all the webbing especially if she is deep intrenched somewhere.  Also remeber they only have like 35 babies (that looked near the count when I pulled my sac as she started eating it,) therefore the hammock is very easily missed.  However, she will purch on top, behind, or in front of it and will not move.  If you see no movement and her guarding like behavior you can bet she has a sac.


----------



## dianedfisher (Jul 31, 2010)

Thanks, Joe.  Your experience has already been invaluable to me.  The hammock style sacs already baffle me and finding one in there will be extremely difficult.  She put down all of that webbing in a three day period.  Prior to that she was perfectly content to just web a little on her cork bark and remained highly visible.  Now I can hardly find her and don't want to bother her too much, just in case she hid a little surprise in the middle of her efforts.  Di


----------



## Quixtar (Jul 31, 2010)

Hi, I purchased Joe's female and currently have her set up in a semi-arboreal enclosure (a custom made one from Adam Hunt at Tarantula Cages) that is as tall as it is wide. I have used it for my GBB before, with a piece of cork bark that leans against the side, and she chooses to web on the substrate and stay close to the ground. She is not often on the walls and prefers to stay on the substrate behind the cork bark. She eats nearly every time I feed her and throws up a threat pose whenever provoked. It is in fact quite difficult to get her to back off or turn the other way and run as other Ts tend to do. She will continue to bite and/or remain in the threat pose for some amount of time without signs of retreat.


----------



## JoeRossi (Jul 31, 2010)

*Hey Chris........*

Hey Chris, great to hear from you, and glad you jumped in the conversation.  I am glad she is doing well for you and is sounds like she is doing the same thing with you she did for me.  I hope to see a sac from her so lets work on finding you a male.  She is ready again and in my opinion one of the prettiest EO's in the world along with my other EO's (LOL I'm biast).  Keep pe posted......


----------

