M. balfouri sling thoughts

[octanejunkie]

Ordered a 1/2" pair of these guys and wanted to hear from other keepers on enclosures, temperament/husbandry practices and whether to house communal or individual

I have done the research (opportunistic burrowers, dry enclosures, medium growth) and am really just soliciting advice from keepers experienced wtih this species.
TIA!

 

[cold blood]

They dont really require anything special. Pretty straight forward.

 

[testdasi]

Ordered a 1/2" pair of these guys and wanted to hear from other keepers on enclosures, temperament/husbandry practices and whether to house communal or individual

I have done the research (opportunistic burrowers, dry enclosures, medium growth) and am really just soliciting advice from keepers experienced wtih this species.
TIA!

I responded to your post on the other forum.
"Communal" is sort of a taboo over here because a certain rude high horse on here will refuse to accept updated information and chastise anyone not accepting his way as the bible.

 

[octanejunkie]

They dont really require anything special. Pretty straight forward.

Got it. Thx.
Communal (paired) or individual?

I responded to your post on the other forum.
"Communal" is sort of a taboo over here because a certain rude high horse on here will refuse to accept updated information and chastise anyone not accepting his way as the bible.

Replied over there lol

I'm not worried about being admonished here. I value experienced keeper's opinions even if they don't agree with mine. The bible has been rewritten several times, and will likely be again.

 

[cold blood]

Communal" is sort of a taboo over

Not when it comes to balfouri....they are pretty accepted as a commonal.

I'm not worried about being admonished here.

And you shouldn't be.....people one does not know on the internet, should never be a source of worry or concern...to me the basic prospect of this is simply laughable.

 

[octanejunkie]

Not when it comes to balfouri....they are pretty accepted as a commonal.

Assuming the slings ship packaged separately, is a community of two reasonable to start, and, can I add more individuals to the community in the future?

 

[cold blood]

Assuming the slings ship packaged separately, is a community of two reasonable to start, and, can I add more individuals to the community in the future?

I would be concerned about adding additional balfouri in the future, although I have heard of it working out....but its something I would personally be too worried about to attempt. I have 3 in a communal, I also have another from another source that's smaller, and housed separately....I do not plan to ever add that one to the group of three.

I wouldn't start a communal with just two...but I did with three, sooooo...not much difference, right...so if you are inclined to do so, its your call.

 

[octanejunkie]

I would be concerned about adding additional balfouri in the future, although I have heard of it working out....but its something I would personally be too worried about to attempt. I have 3 in a communal, I also have another from another source that's smaller, and housed separately....I do not plan to ever add that one to the group of three.

I wouldn't start a communal with just two...but I did with three, sooooo...not much difference, right...so if you are inclined to do so, its your call.

That was my concern, too. Two is a crowd in some cases where four of more is just a bunch

 

[viper69]

Ordered a 1/2" pair of these guys and wanted to hear from other keepers on enclosures, temperament/husbandry practices and whether to house communal or individual

I have done the research (opportunistic burrowers, dry enclosures, medium growth) and am really just soliciting advice from keepers experienced wtih this species.
TIA!

They are easy to keep. I wouldn't call them mellow however, They are more feisty than Ceratogyrus members I've kept. Even as 1-2" slings they may threat pose Keeping they are easy going, sub, cork bark and dish. They web a lot as you probably know so make sure you can clear the dish of webbing w/out disturbing them. You could outfit a setup using Excavator Clay if you wanted to resemble their native environment more, it's a wild looking island. There's a great video on a setup for them if I recall.

You'll easily be able to tell males from females once the males mature.

Assuming the slings ship packaged separately, is a community of two reasonable to start, and, can I add more individuals to the community in the future?

This is a bad idea for any species. It's always wise to start one up with all the roommates together. If you add another later one, potentially your 3 may become 2 again. Just remember if you do it, you risk nothing, but that new T is forced to risk its life through no choice of its own. So either you care about its life, or you don't. It's that simple, good luck!

 

[LarsCody]

Ordered a 1/2" pair of these guys and wanted to hear from other keepers on enclosures, temperament/husbandry practices and whether to house communal or individual

I have done the research (opportunistic burrowers, dry enclosures, medium growth) and am really just soliciting advice from keepers experienced wtih this species.
TIA!

I have a communal set of 3 slings that I've had since almost the beginning of the year. I'd totally recommend it if you feel up to the challenge. I throw in about 6 small crickets a week and let them sort it out themselves. Contrary to some belief, no they don't seem aggressive towards one another let alone apt to munch one one of their brothers/sisters. Some might say they're more docile in a communal. I have no point of reference, but I've definitely still seen them threat posture in there. Some people say that a communal grows faster, but IMO that's only because I think some keepers are too paranoid about losing one to the others that keepers tend to overfeed.

These guys love to burrow and make web tunnels. Pretty amazing to watch. Imagine a baboon of another species and how much they web, now multiply that by however many you are keeping together.

As it's been said, I personally wouldn't risk adding more. Even ones that are separated overnight can be hostile towards one another the next day.

You seem to have the right idea with room to burrow, and dry enclosures. Only moisture I might recommend is some to start them off with, so they can start their burrow.

Do not underestimate these little guys. They can be testy and are extremely fast.

 

[Chebe6886]

Just got 5 was going to do a small communal but they were just too small for the enclosure I had in mind. Mine are all doing great alone and scavenging on pieces of meal worms almost as soon as I put them in. These little guys are super sensitive to light though. That’s the one thing I’ve noticed, more so than any sling or adult I’ve ever had. So just a heads up

 

[testdasi]

Just got 5 was going to do a small communal but they were just too small for the enclosure I had in mind. Mine are all doing great alone and scavenging on pieces of meal worms almost as soon as I put them in. These little guys are super sensitive to light though. That’s the one thing I’ve noticed, more so than any sling or adult I’ve ever had. So just a heads up

If yours are anything like mine, they should grow out of it once reaching juvie stage. I have one hanging out on the branch in the wide open at the moment and doesn't care that I'm shining my phone light on it.

 

[octanejunkie]

Thanks for all the replies.

I've decided 2 is too few for a real community. I have no desire to lose animals to less than optimal conditions that I can control. Might consider a communal with 4+ in the future.

Saw a communal OBT video online, much lower cost of entry to that experiment if I decide to go that route lol

 

[testdasi]

Saw a communal OBT video online, much lower cost of entry to that experiment if I decide to go that route lol

From my experience, OBT would start eating each other by the time they start showing adult colour so keep that in mind (obviously beside the fact that if the experiment works, you will have to deal with multiple orange devils at the same time - the thought sends chill up my spine).

For a lower cost experiment than M. balfouri, try Neoholothele incei. They can have some attitudes to them but don't grow too large and from my experience is slightly more tolerant than Pokies.