M Balfouri behavioral questions

[KindaObsessed]

I acquired a tank with a female M Balfouri and the remains of a MM. Dont know if she ate him or old age got him. Couple months go by, she's active, probably on the plump side but healthy. I introduce a mature male, they both tap, looks like a good pairing, I pull him back to a temp enclosure. He just circles for a couple days, refuses food, no webbing. I put him back with the female, cause these girls are nice, I'm assured. And they can live communal. Anyways, they've had multiple encounters since 3/26. Multiple webs made and tore up. They sometimes share a cork log, most of the time if the MM is out he's webbing. For most of the day she's been in the corner that he webbed up, both of them under the webbing. Is the mating still going on? Is it possible she came from a communal and is" lonely"? Do spiders exhibit behaviors like crows when 1 dies? Is it normal to have them sleep like a pile of puppies?

New to this so go easy, I'm asking to learn.

 

[mygeniculataisnuts]

I acquired a tank with a female M Balfouri and the remains of a MM. Dont know if she ate him or old age got him. Couple months go by, she's active, probably on the plump side but healthy. I introduce a mature male, they both tap, looks like a good pairing, I pull him back to a temp enclosure. He just circles for a couple days, refuses food, no webbing. I put him back with the female, cause these girls are nice, I'm assured. And they can live communal. Anyways, they've had multiple encounters since 3/26. Multiple webs made and tore up. They sometimes share a cork log, most of the time if the MM is out he's webbing. For most of the day she's been in the corner that he webbed up, both of them under the webbing. Is the mating still going on? Is it possible she came from a communal and is" lonely"? Do spiders exhibit behaviors like crows when 1 dies? Is it normal to have them sleep like a pile of puppies?

New to this so go easy, I'm asking to learn.

I just got my first Balfori and I hope to god its true that they sleep like a pile of puppies.

 

[viper69]

I acquired a tank with a female M Balfouri and the remains of a MM. Dont know if she ate him or old age got him. Couple months go by, she's active, probably on the plump side but healthy. I introduce a mature male, they both tap, looks like a good pairing, I pull him back to a temp enclosure. He just circles for a couple days, refuses food, no webbing. I put him back with the female, cause these girls are nice, I'm assured. And they can live communal. Anyways, they've had multiple encounters since 3/26. Multiple webs made and tore up. They sometimes share a cork log, most of the time if the MM is out he's webbing. For most of the day she's been in the corner that he webbed up, both of them under the webbing. Is the mating still going on? Is it possible she came from a communal and is" lonely"? Do spiders exhibit behaviors like crows when 1 dies? Is it normal to have them sleep like a pile of puppies?

New to this so go easy, I'm asking to learn.

They cannot express being lonely. They lack the neuroanatomy.

 

[KindaObsessed]

They cannot express being lonely. They lack the neuroanatomy.

Ok. Why would she stay in the same area with him. No threat poses, no squabbling, minor leg frolicking after the deed, but nothing otherwise. Just curious, I couldn't find any behavioral studies about if they, meaning communal kept, Balf exhibit such behavior, if not the feeling. Other sp pair and get the heck out of dodge.

 

[A guy]

Ok. Why would she stay in the same area with him. No threat poses, no squabbling, minor leg frolicking after the deed, but nothing otherwise. Just curious, I couldn't find any behavioral studies about if they, meaning communal kept, Balf exhibit such behavior, if not the feeling. Other sp pair and get the heck out of dodge.

You won't find any behavioral studies, instead, look for other people's experiences with communal set ups for this species.


To answer your question - it's just what it is. M. balfouri specimens in communal set ups have been observed showing social interactions. That's what you're seeing.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

Ok. Why would she stay in the same area with him. No threat poses, no squabbling, minor leg frolicking after the deed, but nothing otherwise. Just curious, I couldn't find any behavioral studies about if they, meaning communal kept, Balf exhibit such behavior, if not the feeling. Other sp pair and get the heck out of dodge.

You're reading too far into it. You will not find any studies as none exist. It is not proven if they live communally on the island off the coast of Yemen.

Now, advanced keepers, (keepers who keep/kept NW and OW tarantulas for decades and more than just 10) have successfully kept M. balfouri in communal setups. @cold blood has this experience and hopefully he shares his experience with you.

My personal opinion is if you are a newer keeper don't even attempt it. The fact your anthropomorphisizing your tarantula's behaviour is a sign you shouldn't attempt a communal. Maybe in the future but not now.

 

[viper69]

Ok. Why would she stay in the same area with him. No threat poses, no squabbling, minor leg frolicking after the deed, but nothing otherwise. Just curious, I couldn't find any behavioral studies about if they, meaning communal kept, Balf exhibit such behavior, if not the feeling. Other sp pair and get the heck out of dodge.

I'm not a tarantula, so I cannot say. However, they do not have the ability to feel lonely. You will not find any scientific studies on communal behavior as it doesn't exist in the wild to best of science's knowledge. More importantly there is no grant money to study their behavior or even their physiology. The lion's share is for taxonomy, followed by drug discovery from the peptides in their toxins. If someone has observed it, no one has reported it. Also in captivity this species will eat other members of the "community"

 

[KindaObsessed]

Thanks for that information. Just to settle your mind, I don't plan for a communal, it is a breeding project. and the fact that I asked about behavior and used poor word choice does not mean I was anthropomorphisizing. Again, thanks for the experienced input.

 

[cold blood]

I acquired a tank with a female M Balfouri and the remains of a MM. Dont know if she ate him or old age got him. Couple months go by, she's active, probably on the plump side but healthy. I introduce a mature male, they both tap, looks like a good pairing, I pull him back to a temp enclosure. He just circles for a couple days, refuses food, no webbing. I put him back with the female, cause these girls are nice, I'm assured. And they can live communal. Anyways, they've had multiple encounters since 3/26. Multiple webs made and tore up. They sometimes share a cork log, most of the time if the MM is out he's webbing. For most of the day she's been in the corner that he webbed up, both of them under the webbing. Is the mating still going on? Is it possible she came from a communal and is" lonely"? Do spiders exhibit behaviors like crows when 1 dies? Is it normal to have them sleep like a pile of puppies?

New to this so go easy, I'm asking to learn.

If you want her to drop a sac, remove the male....

 

[KindaObsessed]

That's the plan.. he's got a few days at least before he leaves for another project. Neither seems stressed, so I left him. Is that not common for balfouri?

 

[viper69]

Thanks for that information. Just to settle your mind, I don't plan for a communal, it is a breeding project. and the fact that I asked about behavior and used poor word choice does not mean I was anthropomorphisizing. Again, thanks for the experienced input.

No problem- 99.99% who ask that type of question are anthropomorphisizing

In fact when we tell peeps they don’t have the anatomy, they tell us “you’re wrong” I don’t have time for that crap.

good luck!

 

[cold blood]

That's the plan.. he's got a few days at least before he leaves for another project. Neither seems stressed, so I left him. Is that not common for balfouri?

I'm not exactly sure what you're referring to. Common to get along, sure.....but I'd remove him, the female often wont drop a sac if there's a MM around potentially bothering her....getting him alone will also get him making fresh sperm webs, something he will need to do if he's going elsewhere.

 

[Smotzer]

Yeah the tarantula is most certainly not lonely and if they’ve been paired and you want sac production there’s not reason to leave the male in there. From the sounds of it you definitely need to remove it.

 

[KindaObsessed]

I will be removing him. Again, apologies for using the wrong words. I know that Ts don't have feelings like humans, lonely wasn't appropriate. They are pure instinct. I was questioning more the behavior since I hadn't observed it before. Thanks for understanding.