M. Balfouri Help

[MBalfouri69]

After reading my long one paragraph I'm shortening and editing this, my two biggest questions are.
How many juveniles could you fit into the enclosure shown?
And what are your tips and tricks for keeping these beautiful ones together or separate and what's your enclosures like?

 

[OldFlash]

Here’s a thread I think you should read: https://arachnoboards.com/threads/the-great-balfouri-debate-a-communal-discussion.372396/

 

[Andrew Clayton]

Post makes no sense. What exactly is it you're asking?
Keep balfouri on dry substrate with a water dish. If you're planning on a communal you need to let us know sizes of everything.

 

[viper69]

Kept in groups they can and do eat each other- there’s no evidence in the wild they are communal.

Typically only sac mates tolerate each other, and even then I have seen them eat each other.

If you want better responses, use punctuation. No one wants to read one giant sentence

 

[Arachnophobphile]

After reading my long one paragraph I'm shortening and editing this, my two biggest questions are.
How many juveniles could you fit into the enclosure shown?
And what are your tips and tricks for keeping these beautiful ones together or separate and what's your enclosures like?

If you're asking this question then you shouldn't even be contemplating a balfouri communal.

Only advanced keepers are going to know what they are doing and they know the risk.

So if you buy 5 or 6 balfouri for a communal you'll end up with 1 or 2 left.

 

[Matt Man]

If you're asking this question then you shouldn't even be contemplating a balfouri communal.

Only advanced keepers are going to know what they are doing and they know the risk.

So if you buy 5 or 6 balfouri for a communal you'll end up with 1 or 2 left.

it all works until it doesn't. Use the search function here, tons of posts saying "You people are idiots, look how awesome my communal is doing!" and when they hit a certain size the thread goes dark

 

[BoyFromLA]

1.

 

[viper69]

and when they hit a certain size the thread goes dark

Yes, because that’s what idiots do.

 

[Andrew Clayton]

I don't agree with most posts above, just certain things in them.
These can be kept communal there is just as much evidence to suggest they can as there is to say they can't. Everyone saying they don't live communal in the wild obviously don't know as they have never been studied in the wild, we only know what we do from keeper experience, and all keeper experience points to these can be kept communal.

There are points people point out and claim they are not communal because of these points, like having to remove mature males. In the wild I would assume that mature males would leave anyway just like any other mature male T.

It should only be attempted by experienced keepers though. This is my issue here, you mentioned you are new keeper. So don't bother, enjoy you're Balfouri for what it is, these are still an amazing stunning spider.

 

[Tarantuland]

it all works until it doesn't. Use the search function here, tons of posts saying "You people are idiots, look how awesome my communal is doing!" and when they hit a certain size the thread goes dark

I’ve raised babies to adults together and still keep them communally

 

[MBalfouri69]

it all works until it doesn't. Use the search function here, tons of posts saying "You people are idiots, look how awesome my communal is doing!" and when they hit a certain size the thread goes dark

I don't agree with most posts above, just certain things in them.
These can be kept communal there is just as much evidence to suggest they can as there is to say they can't. Everyone saying they don't live communal in the wild obviously don't know as they have never been studied in the wild, we only know what we do from keeper experience, and all keeper experience points to these can be kept communal.

There are points people point out and claim they are not communal because of these points, like having to remove mature males. In the wild I would assume that mature males would leave anyway just like any other mature male T.

It should only be attempted by experienced keepers though. This is my issue here, you mentioned you are new keeper. So don't bother, enjoy you're Balfouri for what it is, these are still an amazing stunning spider.

I don't agree with most posts above, just certain things in them.
These can be kept communal there is just as much evidence to suggest they can as there is to say they can't. Everyone saying they don't live communal in the wild obviously don't know as they have never been studied in the wild, we only know what we do from keeper experience, and all keeper experience points to these can be kept communal.

There are points people point out and claim they are not communal because of these points, like having to remove mature males. In the wild I would assume that mature males would leave anyway just like any other mature male T.

It should only be attempted by experienced keepers though. This is my issue here, you mentioned you are new keeper. So don't bother, enjoy you're Balfouri for what it is, these are still an amazing stunning spider.

Thank you I understand the risks and going through with research before I do it's definitely my dream set up and my first T was a old world I understand the personality and every T is different

 

[Andrew Clayton]

Thank you I understand the risks and going through with research before I do it's definitely my dream set up and my first T was a old world I understand the personality and every T is different

Good luck in you're endeavours.

 

[Mustafa67]

After reading my long one paragraph I'm shortening and editing this, my two biggest questions are.
How many juveniles could you fit into the enclosure shown?
And what are your tips and tricks for keeping these beautiful ones together or separate and what's your enclosures like?

1

 

[Nitroxide]

At least 1.

50+ even as an option is wilddddd.

 

[bwhatch22]

After reading my long one paragraph I'm shortening and editing this, my two biggest questions are.
How many juveniles could you fit into the enclosure shown?
And what are your tips and tricks for keeping these beautiful ones together or separate and what's your enclosures like?

hey new guy, I would ignore all the people jumping up and down waving their hands claiming they know everything there is to know about m. balfouris. if you want to try a communal, give it a shot. it's really not as hard as some people here would have you think. just understand there is a reasonable chance one or two or three might disappear (I haven't had a single loss in my communal of 12 which I have had over a year) but it can happen. somebody is bound to shout out "that's not right, you shouldn't put them together if they might eat each other. " I say why not? I put roaches in there knowing the roach is going to get eaten. is the life of a spider somehow more sacred than the life of a roach? when I was researching about mine I had the same trouble you did, "use a container not to small, or not to big, use one just the right size." not very helpful... I can't really give you a definitive answer either, but I did find several videos of peoples communal and the t's were packed in pretty tight. the enclose you have pictured could EASILY fit 5-10 spiders the size of the one in your picture, and probably more than that. the videos I have seen, and my own experience, they are all going to gather together in one big ball. I have 12, all about 1.5 inch leg span, in a 32 oz deli cup and they have plenty room. they are all clumped together in the bottom third of the container. I could put them in a gallon container and they would only use 10 oz of it. I have heard and read that if you give them to much space they will create territories and are more likely to eat other. I have to question the validity of that based on what have seen in videos and in my experience they don't like being apart from each other.

 

[MBalfouri69]

Thank you great advice! It's by choice even if know the risks and do what I think is right by researchand I understand some people's old head sense but the only way a advanced keepers for these medically significant venom T's are to own them and understand the T like with my snakes I have three venomous snakes all bush vipers only way to get into it and become advanced is to it and learn from any mistakes I want 50-75 one day I'll get there and saying one person saying owning 50 is wild maybe so but that's me I have compassion to do it and I mean it's not like some with 300 in a communal which can be done

 

[Matt Man]

Thank you I understand the risks and going through with research before I do it's definitely my dream set up and my first T was a old world I understand the personality and every T is different

Good Luck. I keep hoping one of you will make a giant diorama in their garage, something like a model train, or slot car set up. Like 10' x 7'. I am guessing if each adult had a 'feeding zone' the odds would drop.
It's simple evolutionary science, as soon as one animal's proximity becomes a threat to another animal's survival you get battles. I have seen one large set up where the person, using modeling clay built a multi cave system that was pretty vast. So far they are having success with it. But again, we don't see this postings of "Adult Communal Going Strong for 5 years" which personally for which I am hoping

 

[TarantulaSouthBrothers]

You can put inside from 10 to 20 juvies a lot of branches that they can web up also my opinion would be a less substrate mix it with sand and one water bowl for them regular feeding and soon enough you gonna need a bigger enclosure as they will grow, but you need to keep an eye on them and feeding regular so they can eat nicely every one of them ,for the branch system that they will web it up use a lot of branches so they will find their spots.

 

[TheraMygale]

Read the post linked about the great balfouri communal debate.

if you want the best chances to start a communal, you start with sac mates. That is how communals, in CAPTIVITY, started. Through breeding projects.

introducing juveniles, that did not grow communaly, will increase risk of failure.

how many fit in that? I don’t know. It depends on your tolerance for losing tarantulas. I would say 5.

daves little beasties has a crazy communal video. Did you see it?

 

[MBalfouri69]

You can put inside from 10 to 20 juvies a lot of branches that they can web up also my opinion would be a less substrate mix it with sand and one water bowl for them regular feeding and soon enough you gonna need a bigger enclosure as they will grow, but you need to keep an eye on them and feeding regular so they can eat nicely every one of them ,for the branch system that they will web it up use a lot of branches so they will find their spots.

I love the webbing they produce my favorite of all and the burrow systems

Read the post linked about the great balfouri communal debate.

if you want the best chances to start a communal, you start with sac mates. That is how communals, in CAPTIVITY, started. Through breeding projects.

introducing juveniles, that did not grow communaly, will increase risk of failure.

how many fit in that? I don’t know. It depends on your tolerance for losing tarantulas. I would say 5.

daves little beasties has a crazy communal video. Did you see it?

Yes that's a fantastic keeper and I did that's actually where I first got my research from love how calm he is great teacher