how good has your experience been with Monocentropus balfouri so far? any experienced "joe"?

[matt82]

Thanks for posting that link Shrike - I actually stumbled upon this thread after doing a quick google search to find some info on he natural habitat of M. balfouri

If anybody's interested, the latest issue of National Geographic has an article focusing on the native plants and animals of Socotra. While the article doesn't specifically discuss M. balfouri it paints a pretty cool picture of where the species calls home. It also touches on some of the challenges native species will face under development pressures being pushed by Yemen. You breeders need to keep up the good work!

This isn't the entire article, just a short excerpt and some pictures:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/06/socotra/white-text

---------- Post added 05-25-2012 at 01:28 PM ----------

Just read it, and it is no wonder such an unusual tarantula hails from such an unusual place. Excellent read.

 

[Shrike]

Thanks for posting that link Shrike - I actually stumbled upon this thread after doing a quick google search to find some info on he natural habitat of M. balfouri



---------- Post added 05-25-2012 at 01:28 PM ----------

Just read it, and it is no wonder such an unusual tarantula hails from such an unusual place. Excellent read.

Glad you liked it. I enjoyed the article myself. A nice photo of M. balfouri would have been a bonus, but oh well.

 

[Shaka]

I am a moderator on the South African tarantula forum www.tarantulas.co.za and one of our most experienced keepers who is also an M.balfouri breeder hosts a thread about his M.balfouri communal experience. I don't want to add any links to this post as I got in trouble for adding a link on here before, but the info on this thread is a report about the M.balfouri's communal tendencies, behaviours and breeding experiences/habits - that is second to none.

Just get on the site and search for "Monocentropus balfouri communal" and enjoy the read.

---------- Post added 05-25-2012 at 09:58 PM ----------

Oh and I must echo ONE VERY important point which was mentioned above, especially when it comes to slings, KEEP THEM DRY, as in bone dry with perhaps one light misting a week.

Slings are very sensitive to moisture and will die very easily with even slightly excessive moisture.

 

[HomoPortoricens]

Mitch robot, that was a very good information you posted. I really think the real problem with the spiderlings is actually quite the opposite of what you think. an overly dry enviroment is not good for any sling no matter what species, slings always need some form of moisture and i must point out that in nature the soil is usually dry on the surface and as you go deeper, it starts getting more moist. this is true for any enviroment, no matter how hostile or dry it may be. this is why they teach survivalists to dig for water if caught lost on the desert in order to survive. so logically, tarantulas have more moisture in the deeper hideouts of their burrows, which is were they usually hang their eggsacs. What does this tells you? well, that you can recreate this enviroment by slowly pouring water into the walls of the container, slowly so as to not allow the water spread and soak the surface of the soil, just the sides, until the water gets to the bottom of the container. you probably are asking yourself how is this possible? now here's the catch: if you use eco earth as substrate and it is bone dry, as you just said, then the substrate, by loosing moisture, quite possibly shrank leaving minuscules spaces in between the walls of the container and itself. When you slowly pour the water down the sides of the wall ( notice i said directly the sides of the wall, and not into the soil itself) the eco earth does not absorb the water as fast other types of substrates, therefore it just keeps escaping through the tiny crevices in the soil, making its way to the bottom of the container until it acummulates and is finally absorbed by the bottom portion of the coconut husk. This is a physical property of water (or essentially, any liquid) and is called capillarity. Depending on the porosity of the material, will depend on how water moves through the material and how and at what rate the water will be absorbed. i have used this method with my tanzanian trapdoors (which are the biggest dryness lovers in my collection) and it works like a charm. However, beware that you do not abuse it. too much water will completely soak the soil and this is something you want to avoid at any cost. What you really want to do with this method is to create a "vertical humidity gradient" instead of a horizontal humidity gradient or, in other words, moister on the bottom and, as you go up, dryer and dryer, just like nature intended. You can also achieve the vertical humidity gradient by injecting the bottom with water using a siringe with a long needle or a flexible tube that is long enough to reach it.Remember that the better you imitate your pet's natural habitat, the more comfortable it will be in its surrounding enviromment, therefore increasing its chances of survival and REPRODUCTION in the process. I honestly hopes this little thread sparks more creative methods into the mind of aspiring breeders and keepers as well as the more experienced tarantula folk. With that being said, thank you for the info and the oportunity to bring some enlightment to the hobby...