Holothei incei - first time communal.

[Femangel]

As you guessed i'm seeking some advice on possibly keeping Holothei incei in a communal set-up.
I'm getting two spiderlings in the mail this week and would really like this to be my first communal set-up IF it sounds viable and i can tick all the boxes that is.
Been doing a lot of reading and this is what i've found out so far:
The size of the enclosure can not be too big but neither can it be to small. They should have to feel like they are living together and not like they are each defending a seperate territory. Since Holothei incei is a dwarf species i was thinking a smallish critter keeper would be just about right. But i would really like some input on what you guys would feel was a suitable size.
Next thing up: feeding! Again lots of reding, pretty much picked up that u must make sure they have plenty to feed on so they won't cannabalize eachother. But whats enough? I feed my spiderlings an appropriate sized cricket twice a week. So with these guys should i pop a few each in there and then just keep my eyes open and add more when needed? Or just take a set number of crickets to throw in every week, checking for dead or leftovers on a regular interval?
Then last: if things doe go haywire and they fight or whatever it is they might be inclined to do. Is it still possible to 'save' one and go in and seperate them?
Also since its only two spiderlings would this make them more agressive as opposed to it beeing a larger group or would it work better because there are only two tarantula's to share a space?

Thanks a lot for any input!

 

[viper69]

As far as separating during a fight. They would most likely only break up their fight if you were able to scare/shock them so that said stimulus caused more fear than mortal combat and thus flee. However w/that said, there are instances of animals fighting to the death regardless of what is going on around them

I'd also put in more than 1 cricket per T as well. You never really know what cricket is going to set off which T to attack. If you see this video here, you'll notice the owner has at least 3, and one of them in the middle in a web tunnel is taking FOREVER to get a cricket, while one is very fiesty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezKLPHOOWn8

I know the owners of Tarantula Canada have observed them in the wild, communal too, and made a communal that contained quite a few generations. I would certainly contact them.

 

[Disquiet]

Looking forward to updates on this! I researched incei communals extensively before changing my mind (LOL). I'm 100% confident that they work under the right conditions: plenty of food, plenty of space (but as you said, not too much either). I personally would have started with a larger group, just because the chances of breeding are so much better with 5 than with 2--and that's the whole fun, multiple generations going in one tank!

Check out this thread on balfouri and their communal habits--some of the same principles apply:
http://www.tarantulas.co.za/forum/m...opus-balfouri-communal?limitstart=0&start=180

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?251893-AzJohn-s-Holothele-incei-communal-tank (I PM:ed him about a month ago and this one is still running strong--hope you don't mind me repeating that John! )

And unfortunately this thread is no longer being updated, but I circled back to it quite a few times and found it useful anyway:
http://www.edmontonreptiles.com/forum/showthread.php?2350-Holothele-incei-communal-setup

Good luck!!

 

[Femangel]

Thans for the quick replies!
Lord knows i wanted to get more, but i am trying to control my T buying habits. i've gone from nought to about thirty (counting the new arrivals) in about 5 months i guess... Thats borderline
OCD if u ask me haha! All the while this little voice in my head will go: go ahead Fiona, buy ten of them, hell buyt them all! It's madness i'm telling u
Those links and the video where very educating, thanks both Viper69 & Disquiet. This truly helps, beeing able to read what other people have experienced. I know now one of the keys is dumping in enough crickets so everyone gets to catch their meal without getting in the others way. I forgot to mention this in the first post but the two that i'm getting are sacmates by the way
It looks like the ones in the video where housed in a cricket tub if i'm not mistaking. I have loads of those so they would make an excellent choice as first enclosure. (I think my smallest critter keeper will still be on the large side to begin with)
One last question though: is it in anyway possible say two months from now i would decide to expand the communal (to hell with beating my addiction!) is it still possible to introduces new members (same eggsac or different?) is there any time limit whatsoever as to adding new additions? For example the two i got moght have settled in and livetogether comfortably and a third party might be viewed as prey only after a certain time has gone by? I would love breeding offcourse with time, though to be perfectly honest i still have to check the legality of it all in my country. I honestly believe i am bearking laws as it is

 

[viper69]

No problema Femangel, I'll expect a box of the finest Belgian chocolate in my mailbox soon I wonder if it's better than Swiss.

That info was easy to fine, just called my friends at Google.

 

[Femangel]

Chocolate it is! I wonde if i could find tarantula shaped chocolates, that would be totally awesome and offcourse they are better then the Swiss

Oh yes good old Google... I suck at Google

 

[viper69]

Chocolate it is! I wonde if i could find tarantula shaped chocolates, that would be totally awesome and offcourse they are better then the Swiss

Oh yes good old Google... I suck at Google

How can you suck at using Google? That doesn't make any sense at all haha.

 

[Femangel]

How can you suck at using Google? That doesn't make any sense at all haha.

I know it doesn't but it's the truth i swear keep getting wrong hits! Or it insists to send me to dutch pages. And u should know i am engaged to an IT 'geek' moawhaha! My problem is i keep making gigantic sentences like 'how do you get a nephila to live in ur living room' and then i wonder why i get zit

 

[viper69]

Engaged to an IT geek too? That makes your problems with Google even more embarrassing. I found that video link for you using 2 words via Google.

 

[LordWaffle]

Definitely interested to see how this goes over time. Lots of pictures are required.

 

[Femangel]

Definitely interested to see how this goes over time. Lots of pictures are required.

And i promise they will be supplied Can't wait for them to arrive now! Hopefully tomorrow

 

[AmbientXplosion]

I am excited for you! I can't wait

 

[ClosetCollector]

Definitely interested to see how this goes over time. Lots of pictures are required.

Yes lots of pics, I have myself been interested in a communal for the same species, I am interested to see how it goes!!

 

[Femangel]

Yes lots of pics, I have myself been interested in a communal for the same species, I am interested to see how it goes!!

Thanks for the interest. still no arrival helas really hope they come through before the end of the week! I do NOT wan't them stuck in a stuffy post office over the weekend

 

[Femangel]

Yes lots of pics, I have myself been interested in a communal for the same species, I am interested to see how it goes!!

Just posted a thread in the picture section.
All goes well so far. Second one didn't want out of its cozy tube yet though and all the while the frist one tried to escape the tub zo i ended up placing number 2 in there whilest still in its tube. later on when my fiancee gets home and i have an extra set of hands i'll give it another go, then he can keep an eye out for Speedy while i coax out Gonzalez. All the other dwarfs i got where reallyyyy tiny. Like three could fit easily side by side on my pinkie nail. One of the C. perezmilessi earned it's name already. he shall forever be known as Houdini 'the one that escaped not once, but twice!' Did a good runner on my dining room table, good thing all my reflexes are intact!


Day two: gonzales has come out on his own accord. Went to get the tub yesterday and noticed the tube was emptyIch is good as it saved u the trouble of dealing with Speedy twice ine day haha! :hey have both taken nicely to their little corner of the tub overnight. One has webbed up near the cork bark in one corner. The other has webbed and even digged a bit under the fake leaf. All is going well so far and i am very pleased with the results so far

 

[Den29]

Heres my wee Incei community. these are the normal coloured. I started with 3 and still have 3. They are in a bigger enclosure now from that pic.
Iv also got a Gold Incei, started with 3 now have 2 ;-(
Iv read you can intro new spiders, so Im going to wait till I have another 2 Gold, move them all to a much larger enclosure.

I love the communities ;-)

Den

 

[Wadew]

A communal or group would consist of more than two spiders. The communal I had going for 4 years consisted of 22 incei all from the same eggsack. I do not know how successful you will be adding to the two you have housed together. After seeing cannabailism in my set I broke it up and sold them off in groups.
Lol....There will be no separating any disagreements with loud noises. Disagreements will end in missing limbs or even death.

-Wade