Heterothele Villosella care

[Urzeitmensch]

I ordered an beginner mystery box several month ago. It came with a H. Villosella sling. I just resently realized that this is an OW tarantula. I only looked up the scientific name in my research when I got it and assumed it was NW. When reading "Tansania chestnut baboon" somewhere it dawned on me.

I keep it in a standard sling vial so far without problems which is the same for all my terrestrial and forsorial slings but want to be prepared for the juvie/adult phase. Can anyone give me a basic rundown on substrate (dry, moist?) requirements foe adults and behaviour (skittishnes, defensiveness, venom potency)?

PS: yes, yes I know many people here have a strong opinion on mystery boxes and this topic probably shows the deficiencies of this concept. Just keep the bashing to the necessary minimum and consider that I was very new to the hobby when I got it

Enclosure atm:

 

[draconisj4]

Mine has gone from sling to mature male in the same 4"x4" enclosure. When I first got it the substrate was slightly moist, I just let it dry out and kept it dry with a water dish, a hide and anchor points for webbing. It made a network of webbing and I barely saw it at all until it matured. Mine matured at about 2 inches and is very skittish, he's going on 10 months mature and still eats about every 2 to 3 weeks. I gave him enough sub to burrow but he never has .

 

[Rushophobia]

I ordered an beginner mystery box several month ago. It came with a H. Villosella sling. I just resently realized that this is an OW tarantula. I only looked up the scientific name in my research when I got it and assumed it was NW. When reading "Tansania chestnut baboon" somewhere it dawned on me.

I keep it in a standard sling vial so far without problems which is the same for all my terrestrial and forsorial slings but want to be prepared for the juvie/adult phase. Can anyone give me a basic rundown on substrate (dry, moist?) requirements foe adults and behaviour (skittishnes, defensiveness, venom potency)?

PS: yes, yes I know many people here have a strong opinion on mystery boxes and this topic probably shows the deficiencies of this concept. Just keep the bashing to the necessary minimum and consider that I was very new to the hobby when I got it

H.Villosella is a very good OW to start with don’t be afraid of the little guys they are dwarf and they are communal not defensive what so ever but very sketchy so watch out for there speed as for there requirements they are very hardy and simple enough substrate to burrow but they won’t always burrow he will how ever Webb the whole enclosure so give him lots of anchor points.hope this helps out

 

[boina]

That vial is too wet. African tarantulas can be sensitive to too much moisture (few exceptions, but this isn't one). Keep the substrate on the dryer side and moisten sparingly as long as it's still small and not at all when juvenile to adult - provide a water dish then. And get it out of that vial!! With that much moisture it's a death trap and I'm somewhat surprised that it's still alive after several months, but that only speaks to the general hardiness of these tarantulas.

 

[Urzeitmensch]

That vial is too wet. African tarantulas can be sensitive to too much moisture (few exceptions, but this isn't one). Keep the substrate on the dryer side and moisten sparingly as long as it's still small and not at all when juvenile to adult - provide a water dish then. And get it out of that vial!! With that much moisture it's a death trap and I'm somewhat surprised that it's still alive after several months, but that only speaks to the general hardiness of these tarantulas.

Thanks for the feedback!

Already rehoused it since posting. I will give special attention to the moisture level.