P. trans burrow question

Reitz

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 12, 2003
Messages
339
I realize I've been asking a lot of P. trans questions lately, but bear with me, this is my first time with this sp.

So my communal P. trans (tentitive ID) tank is up and running, and I'm very excited about it. It's only natural, however, that I'm worried about cannibalism, so I supplied them with more housing possibilities than they could possibly use. Strangely, they've taken up residence in the same burrow. I thought I provided them with multiple burrows at similar temps/humidity, but apparently not. My question is, should I re-do the entire tank and create more burrows in the spot where the current favorite is, or should I let them be? I'm concerned that they're going to fight over territory soon, though they've never given me reason to assume that they would.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Chris
 

Kugellager

ArachnoJester of the Ancient Ones
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Jul 24, 2002
Messages
2,363
IMO disturbing them more than is necessary would be more likely to stress them out and therefore increase the likelyhood of fighting. I would not re-do the enclosure at this point in time as they seem to have overcome territory issues...at least for the time being. Of course if you are concerned that the size of the enclosure is not adequate the you might want to re-do it. Other than that I would just see how it goes. I'd pay particular attention to their behavior toward one another after the lights go out and they become active searching for prey.

I think one of the points that would concern me most with a communal setup like this would be the higher likelyhood of getting tagged....at least thats how I would feel...though if your experiment goes well I may try it too.

John
];')
 

Eurypterid

Arachnerd
Old Timer
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Nov 7, 2003
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492
Well, I've only ever kept one of these, so my experience is limited and I have none at all with communal keeping of this species. But what I did notice is that the little guy didn't really have a particular favorite hide. He would go through short phases - a week under the rock - 5 days under a piece of bark - etc. Is that hide big enough to give them both adequate room? Do you notice them being at all aggressive? Watch them when they feed. If one or both have a prey item, do they get belligerent with each other?

Certainly you should have an increased level of concern with this housing experiment, but if they seem to be tolerating each other, they're probably okay. If one or the other gets a little cranky, one will probably move, as long as you have sufficient hides.

Gary
 
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