A few questions about her majesty

[gypsy cola]

I am looking at picking a p. muticus. A few LPS are selling adults and slings. Slings are pretty cheap and adults are over $200 but are sexed as females. Is this one of the few species that is recommended to get an adult? I know the species are incredibly slow growers and very long lived.

The other question is enclosure. 10 Gallon or get one of those thingy's that people use to dispense tea/lemonade? I know these are burrowers but I want something that looks nice that is not a plastic box. Ideas for an enclosure?

Final question. Are these really that slow of a grower to adults? I heard it can take over 10 years for them to grow.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Well, it's up to you that choice (sling VS adult, I mean). They really took forever to grow that you can put one in the testament, ah ah

In general people loves to buy a 0.1 directly because, if someone isn't interested in breeding, really sucks to wait that time and then ending with a 1.0 since they are so little and IMO a bit ugly compared to females (no lovely rear legs, btw, on males. Only females possess that feature).

I keep mine into a XXL KK and for being an hardcore pet hole I can spot a good 40% of her almost everyday :-s

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Just a consideration about the prices... yes, I know that in the U.S T's are in general high priced than in Europe but $200 for a 0.1 P.muticus, man :-/

I payed mine 55 Euro ($54, more or less).

Pro is, an adult female is very easy to I.D, no matter the exuviae. Just check for those rear legs and you can't go wrong.

Another trick is to buy cheap P.muticus slings in a bulk, therefore having nice % of ending with females. Only a matter of Jedi patience only :-s

 

[TownesVanZandt]

Another trick is to buy cheap P.muticus slings in a bulk, therefore having nice % of ending with females. Only a matter of Jedi patience only :-s

I can attest to that!

 

[Walker253]

I bought a 2.5" sexed female in my area. She's a nice little thing. With her growth rate I'll have her til I'm an old man. After having her for a short while I realized I wanted a big temper tantrum throwing female. So the hunt is on. I bought a 20H tank and lid. I'll keep her in that. It won't be the 10 feet of soil or even a 55 gallon garbage can that some purists suggest I maintain one in, but it will be nice. I can force her burrow to the side, so I'll see her.
After I find my mature female, and 200 is too high btw, I'll have the Queen and the Princess

 

[Chris LXXIX]

I can attest to that!

Ah ah I know, was expecting your comment

How are your potentially Goddess btw?

 

[TownesVanZandt]

Ah ah I know, was expecting your comment

How are your potentially Goddess btw?

All four of them are doing fine . They are really too easy to care for at this size. I have yet to see a threat pose or hear any hissing. It´ll come with size, I hope.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

I have yet to see a threat pose or hear any hissing. It´ll come with size, I hope.

You can count on that

 

[dopamine]

Final question. Are these really that slow of a grower to adults? I heard it can take over 10 years for them to grow.

I can vouch for this. Yes they're very very slow growing. Your kids will be graduating college before one of these has matured lol. I bought mine as a tiny 1" unsexed sling in 2009 and she's still only about 4.5". Also, after about the 3" mark these girls start displaying G. rosea eating habits, (well, mine did) which can be frustrating. I don't mean to sound discouraging, but it's stuff to consider. Otherwise i love mine and wouldn't trade her for anything. Those beautifully thick back legs have started to spoil me though, as other species all look so thin

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Spread the word, rejoyce with the hissing verb, for that we need more Goddess! Goddess 0.1 Pelinobius muticus PBUH -- Peace Be Upon Her -- among us

BEHOLD! v

 

[basin79]

My girl was bloody murder. Unbelievably stunning but she just refused to ever come out of her burrow. Webbing in or burying leftovers. I had to put roaches down her burrow otherwise she wouldn't eat.

 

[Haksilence]

i bought my 7.5" female for 130$ dont get ripped off. i agree with chris ive had slings in the past and this is BY FAR the slowest species ive ever kept. literally Gramostola grows faster. a 5g with like 8-9" of sub will work out well, you dont necessarily need to give them a hide, but if you do chances are they will start their burrow there, if you dont they will almost certainly burrow under the water dish.

a note on care:
its a common misconception that this is a hot, bone dry species, but this isnt entirely true. these species are from kenya around nairobi and are usually found burrowed into the roots of shrubbery and bushes, this is commonly believed to be done to escape the dry, above ground, climate in favor of slightly more humidity and moisture underground.
alsot he temperatures of kenya are not what most people believe. http://www.worldclimate.com/cgi-bin/data.pl?ref=S01E036+1102+63741W the average daily temperature for any given time of the year NEVER exceeds 70f, granted this is AVERAGE, daily highs can be quite warm, but as a whole the average temperature for kenya is quite cool. given they are nocturnal this also leads us to believe they actually prefer the cooler temperatures.

so TL;DR keep a patch of the sub moist or overflow the dish every once in a while, maybe place some spagnum moss at the bottom of the enclosure before adding sub so there is something there to hold the humidity underground. ive found that when ive let the enclosure completely dry, and then add a damp patch, id find that my girl had constructed a fresh burrow right into/under the damp patch, further solidifying this line of thought. also when ive had slightly more moisture ive found her to be MUCH more active, have a better appetite and above ground much more often.


EDIT:
also on the subject of rainfall, and this is something quite interesting that i just realized, the average rainfall for nairobi is only 2" a year less than my home town in south jersey. also if you go the the southern end of their geographical loaclity in tanzania the rainfall is actually HIGHER

 

[KezyGLA]

I have looked at buying adult female as I have zero patience when it comes to slow growing baboons (which are rare).

I still find it funny how similar they are to H. gigas and laticeps apart from the fact of growth rate. The Hysterocrates are the complete opposite in that respect.