Monocentropus balfouri - adding new tarantula

[voyager156]

I have a mature female Monocentropus balfouri. Can I add another, smaller Monocentropus balfouri to her enclosure?

Will they peacefully coexist together? What are Your thoughts?

 

[BoyFromLA]

Will they peacefully coexist together?

They will be peacefully, and happily coexist side by side in separate enclosures, oh yes they will.

 

[Neonblizzard]

I would do a bit of research on it first. I'm not an expert but I'm quite sure there's a bunch of quite specific things you have to do /set up to get it to work. You definitely can't just put them together and they'll get along

 

[viper69]

I have a mature female Monocentropus balfouri. Can I add another, smaller Monocentropus balfouri to her enclosure?

Will they peacefully coexist together? What are Your thoughts?

As stated - maybe- until the female eats the other.

 

[xXTristinaXx]

They will be peacefully, and happily coexist side by side in separate enclosures, oh yes they will.

I thought when a M. Balfouri is solitary and is already an adult it may not be easy for it to move in with other T's?

 

[emartinm28]

I thought when a M. Balfouri is solitary and is already an adult it may not be easy for it to move in with other T's?

They were saying that they would peacefully co-exist in SEPARATE enclosures.
OP- the only way to ensure that cannibalism is not a risk is to keep your Ts in separate enclosures. While this species does seem to fare much better than all others when kept communally, cannibalism CAN and HAS happened. It is not worth risking the life of a T.

 

[xXTristinaXx]

k
So would it not be smart to do communal and is something the OG T keepers like here on arachnoboards don't recommend?
Also, Im super confused on what you mean by peacefully co-exist in seperate enclosure in that case for sure, they wouldn't be living together

 

[viper69]

peacefully co-exist in seperate enclosure in that case for sure, they wouldn't be living together

Sarcasm

 

[moricollins]

k
So would it not be smart to do communal and is something the OG T keepers like here on arachnoboards don't recommend?
Also, Im super confused on what you mean by peacefully co-exist in seperate enclosure in that case for sure, they wouldn't be living together

That is correct, they would not be living together. They can peacefully coexist without being in the same container... My neighbours and I peacefully coexist despite not sharing a house, for example.

 

[BoyFromLA]

Or otherwise they will be peacefully, and happily coexist one within one.

 

[Almadabes]

So would it not be smart to do communal and is something the OG T keepers like here on arachnoboards don't recommend?

As much as I love the sarcastic responses, I think this one has to literally be spelled out lol.

If you put them in together, one will probably die.

 

[xXTristinaXx]

That is correct, they would not be living together. They can peacefully coexist without being in the same container... My neighbours and I peacefully coexist despite not sharing a house, for example.

Interesting, seems like a ay ok think on yt. I know you guys say Tom Moran is a great source for info and he has a M Balfouri communal :/
Welp, I think I'll erase M. Balfouri communal off my bucket-list

 

[Almadabes]

Interesting, seems like a ay ok think on yt. I know you guys say Tom Moran is a great source for info and he has a M Balfouri communal :/
Welp, I think I'll erase M. Balfouri communal off my bucket-list

there are a lot of factors that make the communal... "work".
im like 110% sure Tom probably has a video on that and would tell you the same thing.

You can't just drop 2 completely random balfouris in and expect them to get along.

 

[xXTristinaXx]

there are a lot of factors that make the communal... "work".
im like 110% sure Tom probably has a video on that and would tell you the same thing.

You can't just drop 2 completely random balfouris in and expect them to get along.

fs, so you guys think it is ok to have one and just have to make sure everything is in great shape?

 

[Almadabes]

fs, so you guys think it is ok to have one and just have to make sure everything is in great shape?

Keep one in one enclosure.
keep the other in a different enclosure.

That is the recommendation.

I mean no disrespect but - I do not think you should be considering communals if you have to ask this.
There are alot of factors that people discuss, a lot of things people disagree on when it comes to this subject.

But one thing everyone seems to agree on - is that you cannot throw 2 random spiders in a box and expect it to work out.

Those communals you see on YT are typically done with sibling spiders that hatched together - and they still don't always work out.

 

[xXTristinaXx]

I wouldn't consider getting a communal yet. Not in a long time and having a communal is at the end of my list. They aren't cheap and I would not be willing to pay $300 for a communal that could end badly

 

[Liquifin]

Communal enclosures can work, but there is always a possibility of something going wrong. I've seen some huge communals do fine with M. balfouri. Sadly, mines didn't work out so well. But it's an individual keepers risk and their own consequences if something goes wrong. So to each there own.

I own a lot of M. balfouri's but none are communal now in my collection. I made a thread about what went wrong, but maybe someone can link it since I don't want to dig for it.

 

[xXTristinaXx]

I just went to your account and went to all threads you've posted-

M. balfouri Communal Separated

Look I'm not here to say that communals are a bad thing or that they don't work for M. balfouri, but today I decided to separate my 13 M. balfouri communal. The reasons for this is not because of cannibalism nor bad eaters, but due to their reclusive nature and to also stick together all bunched...

arachnoboards.com

 

[ccTroi]

I have a mature female Monocentropus balfouri. Can I add another, smaller Monocentropus balfouri to her enclosure?

Will they peacefully coexist together? What are Your thoughts?

From experienced communal M. balfouri keepers, the youngest slings of the same sac is the most ideal way to start off a communal M. balfouri. An adult specimen that has been living individually is likely not going to exhibit balfouri communal behaviors. I personally wouldn’t do it in your case as this outcome is likely a spider within one as said by the homie @BoyFromLA

I suggest you read the thread https://arachnoboards.com/threads/balfouri-enclosure-size.344717/ that covered communals. There’s substance voiced by both sides, that is communal vs no communal, that hold weight. I couldn’t agree more with @Liquifin as he said to each his own especially with this subject. Any interested keeper should evaluate risks, do extensive research on reports, and continue accordingly.

Unfortunately, there are few reports here on M. balfouri communals compared to other forums which sucks bc I like Arachnoboards

 

[voyager156]

The Dark Den started with 9 slings, one sling died. He has a video from Jun 18, 2018 in which he rehoused 8 spiders in total, and then Oct 7, 2019 he rehoused them again, and he still had 8.

4 female, 4 male. Later he discovered one of the females was actually a male (discovered after it molted). He ended up giving 2 spiders away, the other mature males passed away, leaving him with 3 mature females as of his last video Jan 29, 2021. During the last video he added some new slings, that he received from the pairing of the spiders he gave away. There was a brief time-lapse he left at the end, with his old females showing no hostility towards the new slings. But obviously that doesn't necessarily mean much.

Pay attention to this: "During the last video he added some new slings, that he received from the pairing of the spiders he gave away."

This sparked my interest - and that's why I asked my question. Does anyone here done something like this - and if yes - what were the results?