Coexist....maybe?

C

Cj Baker

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I made a large living terrarium for my T. Blondi and everything has been going well, but I found that because he is the only predator in the terrarium, the isopod community along with a few pinheads have grown in number and I'd like to know if I can put another SMALL species of spider to hunt the smaller creatures and not of an overpopulation of isopod/crickets eating all my plants and annoying the big guy. I know that Blondi are solitary creatures but in the wild they would have to deal with other animals/insects... so there should be something right?
 
Python

Python

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You can do that but don't expect it to last. They do come across other creatures in the wild, but then they eat them. It won't end well
 
Trenor

Trenor

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If I had to guess I'd say the smaller spider would likely become food pretty quickly. I've not used isopods much but I'm guessing once their food supply (in the substrate and from leftovers) dwindles they should drop back down in numbers.
 
Ellenantula

Ellenantula

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I suppose if you could glue gun a coconut shell quarter to a corner (to prevent blondi access) and put in a webbing species (non-wandering) spider that would stay put under the shell and wait for prey....
Truly, I don't think there is a workable solution. [Imagine crix taking refuge behind the coco shell]
But I have to admire your wish for a small ecosystem. It would be cool! :)
 
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chanda

chanda

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As has already been said, any other creatures you add to the enclosure have a pretty good chance of being eaten. I do have small household spiders (Steatoda grossa and Steatoda triangulosa) in many of my enclosures, including my T. stirmi, and the live terrarium I have for my snake. They are not exactly invited guests but the babies are small enough that they get in through screen tops and ventilation holes and I can't seem to get rid of them. At best, I knock back the overall population slightly by killing/relocating any particularly large or easily accessible specimens and destroying any egg sacs that are out in plain sight.

My inverts tend to pretty much ignore them, and the Steatoda generally ignore their cage mates as well, enjoying the buffet of crickets and fruit flies. We have lost a few smaller creatures (gecko hatchlings, baby scorpions and whip spiders, phasmid nymphs) to them because they rudely refuse to differentiate between roommates and food, but the toll hasn't been too high. They may not go after the isopods, but they should help out with the pinhead crickets. (I'm guessing these crickets are the offspring of large crickets that you are feeding to your blondi?) If your blondi is small enough to eat the isopods and crickets herself, you risk her ending up on the menu if you introduce another spider. If your blondi is a sling, I'd strongly recommend against introducing any other predators.
 
mconnachan

mconnachan

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As has been said it wouldn't end well, the T.Blondi would have a great meal but the isopods would still be there, so no not a good idea, like the thinking behind it but it's not in the wild it's in a enclosure, certain death for the unfortunate species, the isopods will find a natural balance.
 
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Cj Baker

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No my blondi is a MM roughly 9.5" maybe more, he can't eat the ispods or pinheads at all.
They occasionally go into his burrow and he flicks them off but that's about it. His fangs are just too big to eat one. And as far as the "houseguest" I don't want to put anything that'll get bigger than say 1/2" just too feed on the pinheads (and yes they are the offspring of long since eaten parent) I'm aware of the possibility of my Goliath eating anything else but honestly...he's a very picky (and quite frankly, lazy) eater. I have live plants that I don't want to get destroyed by a pack of hungry Rollie pollies lol

@Ellenantula do you know of any web spinner species that are easily obtained?
 
Ellenantula

Ellenantula

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Cj Baker said:
@Ellenantula do you know of any web spinner species that are easily obtained?
Click to expand...
Pretty much every corner of my house (and sometimes in windows). Mine certainly seem to stay put. Look around. If you have an attic -- you're sure to hit pay dirt!

[But finding one is no guarantee it's gonna wanna set up housekeeping under a coco shell in the corner of a ginormous blondi enclosure. lol]
 
C

Cj Baker

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Ellenantula said:
Pretty much every corner of my house (and sometimes in windows). Mine certainly seem to stay put. Look around. If you have an attic -- you're sure to hit pay dirt!

[But finding one is no guarantee it's gonna wanna set up housekeeping under a coco shell in the corner of a ginormous blondi enclosure. lol]
Click to expand...
Very true... interviews maybe? Haha
 
PidderPeets

PidderPeets

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They can get a bit larger than you'd like (females can get up to an inch), but what about woodlouse spiders? They're wanderers, but they should take care of any excess isopods and pinheads well. I've never kept them, but there's basic care for them online and I believe there's even a thread on here for them. It should stay small enough that it shouldn't bother his big roommate. I'm not an expert and have literally no experience with them so I could easily be wrong with this suggestion, but you're looking for something to take care of isopods, and this is literally called a woodlouse hunter, so I thought it might be something worth mentioning
 
user 666

user 666

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Cj Baker said:
I made a large living terrarium for my T. Blondi and everything has been going well, but I found that because he is the only predator in the terrarium, the isopod community along with a few pinheads have grown in number and I'd like to know if I can put another SMALL species of spider to hunt the smaller creatures and not of an overpopulation of isopod/crickets eating all my plants and annoying the big guy. I know that Blondi are solitary creatures but in the wild they would have to deal with other animals/insects... so there should be something right?
Click to expand...
Here's what I do with cricket infestations in my hermit crab tank to keep the cricket population down.

Get a dustbuster, and every so often vacuum up the crickets.

Or, put something in the enclosure that the cricket can hide inside. Once a week, take the object out and shake it in a bag. This will get the crickets out, and you can feed them to other Ts/
 
darkness975

darkness975

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user 666 said:
Here's what I do with cricket infestations in my hermit crab tank to keep the cricket population down.

Get a dustbuster, and every so often vacuum up the crickets.

Or, put something in the enclosure that the cricket can hide inside. Once a week, take the object out and shake it in a bag. This will get the crickets out, and you can feed them to other Ts/
Click to expand...
You feed crickets to your hermit crabs?

@Cj Baker Like @Ellenantula said your best bet might be a sedentary web dwelling species but there is no 100% guarantee that even that would work.
 
TarantulaArvind

TarantulaArvind

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Cj Baker said:
No my blondi is a MM roughly 9.5" maybe more, he can't eat the ispods or pinheads at all.
They occasionally go into his burrow and he flicks them off but that's about it. His fangs are just too big to eat one. And as far as the "houseguest" I don't want to put anything that'll get bigger than say 1/2" just too feed on the pinheads (and yes they are the offspring of long since eaten parent) I'm aware of the possibility of my Goliath eating anything else but honestly...he's a very picky (and quite frankly, lazy) eater. I have live plants that I don't want to get destroyed by a pack of hungry Rollie pollies lol

@Ellenantula do you know of any web spinner species that are easily obtained?
Click to expand...
9½"?? :bookworm::wideyed::astonished:
 
1

14pokies

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Trenor said:
I'm guessing the OP doesn't have new photos after the male matured. These are old ones.
Click to expand...
Oh I misread it.. I thought one pic was from when he got it and one was from when it matured:wacky:... To say I'm having an off day is an understatement...
 
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