P. Regalis Communal Tank

[LimaMikeSquared]

I wasn't sure where to put this so I am putting it here as it is a topic that pops up from time to time: and when I look it up I can't find quite what I wanted, in respects to what experiences people have had with it and tank setups. So I hope it will help other people.

I started out with an 8x8x16inch tank - I believe that is what it was, for 6 3-4cm Poecilotheria regalis. i put these into the tank with one piece of flat bark and two tubes, so there is lots of hiding spaces. I also made sure that there was an amount of spare crickets in the tank at all times.

I introduced the spiders to the tank on the 19/01/07

http://limamikesquared.spaces.live....11_PhotoAlbum_addCommentFocus=0&_c=PhotoAlbum

I then made the mistake of misjudging the size of the spiders against the size of the gap around the glass door and arrived home from scouts that evening to find half of the tanks residents on my ceiling. I moved them back to the tank and cellotped the door shut so there are no gaps.

I lost one to, I believe, legs missing (27/01/2007). And then another a week later (04/02/2007) due to now apparent reason, I tried to put it in an ICU as it was just alive but it had died the next morning. There were no signs of damage on the spider.

Nothing else much out of the ordinary went on for a long time, for this time and I could only account for one or two spiders. So I presumed the others had died. I saw the two regularly sitting together in the webs and on the top of one tube, where they all seem to have set up their hides.

http://limamikesquared.spaces.live....11_PhotoAlbum_addCommentFocus=0&_c=PhotoAlbum

I had a moult on the 07/04 which went successfully, and another on the 05/05. Here I account for two spiders which I definately had, thinking the smaller of the two had moulted. But today I have accounted for three, 2 at about an inch and 1 at its original size.

So it was going better then I thought it would. This is when I found an interesting behaviour, I have not had many crickets in the tank due to not be able to get to the pet shop much, so when I fed today I found that when the larger spider - of a common pair I see together a lot - caught a cricket, the smaller seemed to come up underneath, maybe helping to hunt of feeding from it. The smaller spider was not eaten. It may be hard to see from the photo, but there is the odd leg the wrong way up from the smaller spider underneath.

http://limamikesquared.spaces.live....11_PhotoAlbum_addCommentFocus=0&_c=PhotoAlbum


LMS

 

[P. Novak]

Very interesting, I guess you can consider it going well, since only 2 died and not by other pokies. There should be 4 now right? 6-2= 4, but you just haven't seen a fourth one so you presume it's dead?

Have you ever thought of searching for the 4th one?

Anyways congrats on the partial successful communal setup, and keep us updated!

 

[LimaMikeSquared]

Yes.I have looked down the tubes, but you cant see down them, past the webbing.

I was looking around the substrate and have seen imense burrowing, around the side of the tanks so it may well be somewhere there, unless the crickets have been borrowing.

But i definately have three which is a better result then I had hoped.

 

[P. Novak]

Yes.I have looked down the tubes, but you cant see down them, past the webbing.

I was looking around the substrate and have seen imense burrowing, around the side of the tanks so it may well be somewhere there, unless the crickets have been borrowing.

But i definately have three which is a better result then I had hoped.

IS the tank you have them in now going to be their adult tank as well, or are they going to be transfered once they grow out of this one?(Maybe you'll find it then)

3 is alot better then 1 that's for sure.

This makes me want to try my own communal group. I think I'll try it with Avicularia avicularia though, since I have some 1st instars from a sac that my female laid a couple of months ago.

 

[LimaMikeSquared]

IS the tank you have them in now going to be their adult tank as well, or are they going to be transfered once they grow out of this one?(Maybe you'll find it then) QUOTE]

its not their adult tank.

I found that there was alot of ones that didnt work out to well, but i also found just as many that did on various other forums. So from what i could see it was about equal chances in it working and not working. However I did make sure that i chose a species that wasnt too high in price. I paid £20 for 5, one was a refunding on the postage as it was lower than thought.

It's a judgment thing really, as there seems to be alot of contraversy about it. I think tho it may be down to the lack of knowledge about the subject.

LMS