Cilantica psychedelicus (formerly Haploclastus devamatha) Behavior Question

[Bsonderman]

Hi y’all, my name’s Berg, I’m an animal science student studying captive animal habitats and behavior!

I just got a tiny Cilantica psychedelicus sling (pinky nail size), and I have some questions about captive behavior of this species, specifically the proper conditions to cause them to make turrets with their web.

I haven’t been keeping tarantulas for the past couple of years but I had an old world collection in highschool.

I love fossorial old worlds, they are the coolest spiders but I’m aware they are a ”pet hole” most of the time. I like to build enclosures for spiders that are hard to see because you can build their habitats in a way that causes them to build burrows you can see them in.

I was able to prompt complex burrowing behaviors with Ceratogyrus species through structural features in their substrate, but I’m nervous that it’s unlikely that I can control the equation enough to prompt them to build a turret.

I would also love to hear about husbandry information, I know what’s available online but I have no experience with this genus whatsoever.

Thank y’all so much!

 

[A guy]

Hi y’all, my name’s Berg, I’m an animal science student studying captive animal habitats and behavior!

I just got a tiny Cilantica psychedelicus sling (pinky nail size), and I have some questions about captive behavior of this species, specifically the proper conditions to cause them to make turrets with their web.

I haven’t been keeping tarantulas for the past couple of years but I had an old world collection in highschool.

I love fossorial old worlds, they are the coolest spiders but I’m aware they are a ”pet hole” most of the time. I like to build enclosures for spiders that are hard to see because you can build their habitats in a way that causes them to build burrows you can see them in.

I was able to prompt complex burrowing behaviors with Ceratogyrus species through structural features in their substrate, but I’m nervous that it’s unlikely that I can control the equation enough to prompt them to build a turret.

I would also love to hear about husbandry information, I know what’s available online but I have no experience with this genus whatsoever.

Thank y’all so much!

I think this species can and will always build a turret as an entrance to their burrows

 

[NMTs]

They'll build a turret, you just need to provide the materials for them to use. I keep my sling in a large dram vial about 2/3 filled with moist substrate (this is what you'd consider to be a moisture dependent species). Use an appropriate-sized tool (paintbrush, pencil, etc.) to make a starter burrow down the side of the vial and the sling will use it and you'll be able to see it underground. I put leaf litter (small leaves and a couple bigger ones crumbled in pieces) and some sphagnum moss on the surface and the sling has gradually been adding bits to the entrance of the burrow, extending it's turret upward. Mine is extremely shy and reclusive - I have to be very quiet and sneaky to get a glimpse of it waiting at the top of the turret, but usually I can see it down in the burrow after I've been too noisy on approach.