Phormictopus Cancerides owners? Any advice for a newb?

[FraddyCat]

Bought a Haitian Brown. Didn't feed it for first 2 days but today she (... I say she cause it's brown instead of purple) crushed 5 or 6 baby crickets. Is this unusual? Also, what's an optimum or ideal diet for T's? Roaches, Crickets, etc?
Daily, weekly? I'm looking for experienced advice besides what I've read online. Any other advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Arachnophoric]

P. cancerides are mostly brown with a nice tint of purple, male or female, and isn't a very accurate way to sex a tarantula at all unless you have a sexually dimorphic species i.e. P. ornata. It's not unusual for tarantulas to take down multiple prey items at a time, even after only being in your care for two days - most of my Ts were willing to eat the first day I got them. P. cancerides are supposed to have great feeding responses, too.

How large is your T roughly, in legspan?

A diet of crickets is just fine for your T, although I like to vary mine with some superworms every once in a while. I don't believe there's been any notable differences in a T based on which feeders you use. I think which feeder people use is generally up to personal preference, seeing that some are more pesky to deal with than others.

Something else that can help us give you some tips would be to post an image of your tarantula's setup. You use the word "newb" in your title, is this your first tarantula?

 

[cold blood]

My first advice for a new keeper would be to get something other than a P. cancerides...they are one of the most defensive ts you can possible get, and they get quite large.

I say she cause it's brown instead of purple)

Until a male matures, males and females look the same....only mature males turn that bright purple.

crushed 5 or 6 baby crickets. Is this unusual?

Not if you feed it 5 or 6 crickets...they're voracious eaters. But that is a lot for one sitting unless its an adult.

Also, what's an optimum or ideal diet for T's? Roaches, Crickets, etc?

Feed it whatever inverts you like...crickets, roaches, super worms....for larger ts, larger prey is easier than wrangling a bunch of smaller prey. Any feeder can be used, there's never been any evidence that a varied food source is required...but most of us switch things up anyhow....but not everyone does, and their ts do just fine, too.

Daily, weekly?

Depends...how big is the t in question....where is it in the molt cycle (how plump is it), how big are the meals you are feeding.

As a rule, ts are hungrier after molting and can be fed more often, as they plump, they require less food, so they can be fed less, less often.

Same for feeders, if you are feeding a huge meal, you could feed once or twice a month, if you are feeding small prey (like one cricket at a time), you could feed twice a week...there are a lot of variables, and there is no one set best feeding schedule...you could feed a lot, or a lot less, and in both cases have a healthy t.

I will say, the faster you plump them, the longer your pre-molt fast will be....fatten them really quick, and the t may go months on end without needing food while its body gets physically ready to molt....moral of the story here is: there's no hurry to plump them super fast.

 

[FraddyCat]

I would say no bigger than 2 inches. It is my first T. So I call my self a newb. Just don't want my kids growing up with the same stigma that I had.

My first advice for a new keeper would be to get something other than a P. cancerides...they are one of the most defensive ts you can possible get, and they get quite large.

Until a male matures, males and females look the same....only mature males turn that bright purple.

Not if you feed it 5 or 6 crickets...they're voracious eaters. But that is a lot for one sitting unless its an adult.



Feed it whatever inverts you like...crickets, roaches, super worms....for larger ts, larger prey is easier than wrangling a bunch of smaller prey. Any feeder can be used, there's never been any evidence that a varied food source is required...but most of us switch things up anyhow....but not everyone does, and their ts do just fine, too.



Depends...how big is the t in question....where is it in the molt cycle (how plump is it), how big are the meals you are feeding.

As a rule, ts are hungrier after molting and can be fed more often, as they plump, they require less food, so they can be fed less, less often.

Same for feeders, if you are feeding a huge meal, you could feed once or twice a month, if you are feeding small prey (like one cricket at a time), you could feed twice a week...there are a lot of variables, and there is no one set best feeding schedule...you could feed a lot, or a lot less, and in both cases have a healthy t.

I will say, the faster you plump them, the longer your pre-molt fast will be....fatten them really quick, and the t may go months on end without needing food while its body gets physically ready to molt....moral of the story here is: there's no hurry to plump them super fast.

I just got it.. I have to wait and see when it molts next. Thanks for responding and the advice. Much obliged!

 

[cold blood]

Just don't want my kids growing up with the same stigma that I had.

Not sure a P.cancerides is the right choice to accomplish that...lol. It might make the kids more scared of spiders.


Looks bigger than 2"...are you talking body length of 2"?....I meant leg span...its more telling as to the actual size. Really you could feed it one cricket a week and be fine....or one prey item....you don't have to feed crickets.

 

[boina]

It needs more substrate - they like to burrow. Does it have a hide? - And yes, I know that wasn't your question .

 

[Arachnophoric]

It needs more substrate - they like to burrow. Does it have a hide? - And yes, I know that wasn't your question .

Looks like that may be a corkbark hide off to the right in the pic? Definintely agree on the substrate though.

A picture that shows the entire enclosure would be more helpful, Fraddy.

 

[Whitelightning777]

With any aggressive type of T, having multiple large hiding places is very important. Tap the corner of the cage before you open it up.

For some enclosures, you can add a small feeding port but that isn't always possible.

Have a plan for rehousing and containment. As with any tarantula, have a can of cornstarch nearby in case it gets injured somehow.

 

[draconisj4]

Yours looks larger than 2", mine after it's last molt is close to 3" and your looks about the same in the picture. I feed mine a good sized B. lateralis roach once a week.

As others have said it needs more substrate, at least 4". My biggest advice is to never put your hand in the enclosure they are very defensive, tongs are your best friend. Mine will go after everything that invades his domain including water, he's not named Mr. Bitey for nothing. Always stay alert it can move a lot faster than you think.

 

[Andrea82]

Keep fingers and other appendices (sp.?)
out of the enclosure at all times. Besides being food motivated, the temperament of this species is notorious.
One of the few NW I would still like to add to my collection actually

 

[Arachnophoric]

Keep fingers and other appendices (sp.?)
out of the enclosure at all times. Besides being food motivated, the temperament of this species is notorious.
One of the few NW I would still like to add to my collection actually

*Appendages

 

[Andrea82]

*Appendages

Autocorrect and Google translate are not my friends.

 

[Arachnophoric]

Autocorrect and Google translate are not my friends.

That's okay - I am, and I'm way better!

 

[FraddyCat]

It needs more substrate - they like to burrow. Does it have a hide? - And yes, I know that wasn't your question .

A piece of cork bark and plastic house. I ordered some sphagnum moss to go over the coco fiber as well but I will add more coco too. She was in her plastic house this morning but I added water to her dish and she came out to say hi.

Yours looks larger than 2", mine after it's last molt is close to 3" and your looks about the same in the picture. I feed mine a good sized B. lateralis roach once a week.

As others have said it needs more substrate, at least 4". My biggest advice is to never put your hand in the enclosure they are very defensive, tongs are your best friend. Mine will go after everything that invades his domain including water, he's not named Mr. Bitey for nothing. Always stay alert it can move a lot faster than you think.

Ok. Yeah it's hard to gage without a molt and yeah I'm not sticking a ruler next to it. Haha. And I've read that they are both defensive but would rather retreat than attack. She is very fast. I will not be feeding it like this any more it was more of a test to see if she would eat. The crickets were rather small so I figured that would be ok. She was very active last night so hopefully she is a happy spider.

With any aggressive type of T, having multiple large hiding places is very important. Tap the corner of the cage before you open it up.

For some enclosures, you can add a small feeding port but that isn't always possible.

Have a plan for rehousing and containment. As with any tarantula, have a can of cornstarch nearby in case it gets injured somehow.

Right on thanks for the advice. Good tips. No one has mentioned corn starch. I will research more on that. Thanks again.

 

[Andrea82]

That's okay - I am, and I'm way better!

Why do i get the image in my mind of a pup of about Typhon's size dancing around me going ''canwegototheparkcanwecanweIllbegoodIpromisecanwecanwegonowcomeonlet'sgo!
*Takes a deep breath. Never knew you could get short of breath by typing without spaces *

 

[cold blood]

I ordered some sphagnum moss to go over the coco fiber

A little moss isn't a bad idea, but don't over do it...excessive moss just gives feeders hiding places.

And I've read that they are both defensive but would rather retreat than attack.

Lol, I have 5...not one of them retreats....they tend to stand their ground...sometimes scampering towards you, sometimes rearing up and slapping the ground daring you to approach further.....but retreating....not so much....they can be very bold, especially as they gain size.

And don't let the size fool you, even large adults can be quite fast when they want to be.

 

[Whitelightning777]

I prefer using frog moss to other types. It gives a very clean uniform look. Thrse are 2 enclosures where I use it.

Persephone is P sp machala, unedited pic.

 

[Nightstalker47]

I prefer using frog moss to other types. It gives a very clean uniform look. Thrse are 2 enclosures where I use it.

Persephone is P sp machala, unedited pic.

View attachment 273346 View attachment 273347

Pretty useless though. Your keeping the pampho juvie too dry btw.

 

[Whitelightning777]

Pretty useless though. Your keeping the pampho juvie too dry btw.

I took the shot before topping off the water dish. Usually I try to keep the humidity over 50%, typically around 60%-70% most of the time. She has molted twice successfully. I keep the water dish and frog moss moist and the other side dry.

How do you keep yours?

 

[Nightstalker47]

I took the shot before topping off the water dish. Usually I try to keep the humidity over 50%, typically around 60%-70% most of the time. She has molted twice successfully. I keep the water dish and frog moss moist and the other side dry.

How do you keep yours?

View attachment 273351 View attachment 273352

On moist sub, with a proper hide and water dish.

Your doing it wrong man, measuring ambient humidity serves no purpose. Get rid of the massive skull and add a suitable hide in there, partially buried cork works well. The water dish is also enormous and unnecessary for such a small T, just takes up lots of valuable space...I would aim for something much smaller and more shallow.

What kind of lid are you using?