Wolf135
Arachnoknight
- Joined
- May 14, 2016
- Messages
- 180
Fossorials are probably my favorite T type since their tunnels remind me fantasy rpg's but in the future I plan on getting into dwarf Ts due to them not taking up much space.
they can get 5-6"...not a dwarfEphebopus cyanognathus are pretty small
Well i think the trader who sold one of these to me, must have made a mistake than, because he told me these T's grow no larger than 4 inches.they can get 5-6"...not a dwarf
Aware this isn't the most recent thread, but I was really surprised at H villosella and gabonensis being described as 'more or less fossorial"! I've had one of each since they were small enough to live in their vials and neither have ever burrowed in the 6/7 months I've had them. They've barely disturbed any dirt. Both quickly set up web 'nets' across the fake foliage in their enclosures around the 'upper' level, while leaving a little 'sky' space, then worked on constructing a lower bunch of webbing they could pop up from or through, and eventually web tunnels - but all still above ground. The gabonensis has had one of my favourite enclosures for a while due to the webbing, and when the villosella caught up to its first enclosure after the vial it didn't do much different from the first time. Will hang out relaxed in the middle of it's enclosure while I'm feeding the others. Great feeding response, rest of the time couldn't care less - and it doesn't have a tonne of upper webbing, moreso focused on creating a carpet this time. Gabonensis is never in a rush to move either, I'm more likely to see legs waiting to ambush something - in that sense the web tunnels get treated a lot like traditional ones - but on the odd occasion I find them chilling in a more exposed spot they don't see a need to shift. I got a H sp"Mahonda" a month or so ago and they're more likely to shift if disturbed. But again, no burrowing, just webs starting around the fake foliage. And even though they do typically move when disturbed, they only do so if they're on the edges of or outside their web tube - they did the upper bit around the foliage, then brought it down and made 'carpet' which was then expanded further and further - or if the disturbance is directly above/adjacent to them while theyre within it.Heterothele gabonensis and Heterothele villosella are more or less fossorial and only get to be around 3". They're old world, but pretty shy and not prone to being really defensive. Any from the Euthycaelus genus could be considered fossorial NW dwarves. My E. colonica is very fossorial - I don't think I've ever seen her out of her burrow aside from when I rehouse her. She's gorgeous, though!
0.1 Euthycaelus colonica - Gemma
Love that copper/bronze coloration on the abdomen. Also got a new camera for father's day, so...
In my experience some fossorial Ts will just web up everything if there's enough anchor points.Aware this isn't the most recent thread, but I was really surprised at H villosella and gabonensis being described as 'more or less fossorial"! I've had one of each since they were small enough to live in their vials and neither have ever burrowed in the 6/7 months I've had them. They've barely disturbed any dirt. Both quickly set up web 'nets' across the fake foliage in their enclosures around the 'upper' level, while leaving a little 'sky' space, then worked on constructing a lower bunch of webbing they could pop up from or through, and eventually web tunnels - but all still above ground. The gabonensis has had one of my favourite enclosures for a while due to the webbing, and when the villosella caught up to its first enclosure after the vial it didn't do much different from the first time. Will hang out relaxed in the middle of it's enclosure while I'm feeding the others. Great feeding response, rest of the time couldn't care less - and it doesn't have a tonne of upper webbing, moreso focused on creating a carpet this time. Gabonensis is never in a rush to move either, I'm more likely to see legs waiting to ambush something - in that sense the web tunnels get treated a lot like traditional ones - but on the odd occasion I find them chilling in a more exposed spot they don't see a need to shift. I got a H sp"Mahonda" a month or so ago and they're more likely to shift if disturbed. But again, no burrowing, just webs starting around the fake foliage. And even though they do typically move when disturbed, they only do so if they're on the edges of or outside their web tube - they did the upper bit around the foliage, then brought it down and made 'carpet' which was then expanded further and further - or if the disturbance is directly above/adjacent to them while theyre within it.
I find this quite interesting due to how they all seem to be acting pretty similarly. I imagine they could be treating their web tubes as they would a burrow, but it still makes me wonder why that instead of burrowing. The Mahonda is bigger than the other two, and they are in an enclosure of an appropriate size. My gabonensis technically moved into their current enclosure far too soon - I now follow keeping slings in smaller containers so they may be less likely to burrow, and if that were the case for these guys I'd assume what I was seeing due to that. Except the Mahonda is doing the same sort of thing, and the gabonensis has had 3 molts in its current enclosure and I suspect could manage another two before reaching the stage where I'd be thinking of rehousing. Of course there are also always oddballs in every bunch!
Ah cool, that's fun! Maybe how we end up with 'semi arboreal' as a term. I was also thinking maybe my environment is typically a comfortable one for them and maybe they don't need to burrow to reduce temperature, but the thread reply above this suggests otherwise. I really like my little experience of fossorials so far, main downside is just the heavy tanks of dirt. And continuously wondering if there's actually still a living tarantula in there when legs are absent for a bit.In my experience some fossorial Ts will just web up everything if there's enough anchor points.
Ephebopus uatuman. I have never seen any of the mature females in my friend's collection to be over 3.5" or so, and I heard on the web that the males are even smaller between 2-3". These guys make the most intricate tunnels, even as slings. My own 1" buddy had a whole system going with 5 entrances within half a month since I adopted him/her.
The H. villosella also can vary. My mum has 3 that came from the same brood. 2 have dug tunnels while the last fellow barely touched the soil and made a web-tunnel set instead. Go figure.
I second S. raja - awesome little T's! Very busy burrowers.Phlogiellus johnreylazio (assuming it's fossorial anyway, very little info) and Sahydroaraneus raja. A few months late, but if you're still interested @Wolf135....