Phormingochilus arboricola : behavior

[vounti]

Hi y'all

Just ordered a 1-1.5 inch (I guess body size - no legs) female P. arboricola

From my research, enclosure should be arboreal but lot of sub since it likes to dig. Correct me if wrong

Question is : will I see that T a lot?
I see my Phormingochilus sp. rufus quite a lot but it is a lot bigger than 1 inch. What about P. arboricola ?

 

[NMTs]

I don't have experience with P. arboricola, but I do have an immature male P. everetti. From my research, I believe that most Phormingochilus will display similar behaviors. As a sling, it was a very rare occasion to see him out of his burrow. I kept it in a 32oz deli cup about 2/3 full of sub, with a piece of cork bark leaned up against the side. The sling burrowed into the sub at the bottom of the cork and built a turret-style entrance to it's burrow that went right up to the lid of the enclosure. When I rehoused it into it's current enclosure (an 8"x8"x12" Exoterra), it still burrowed but didn't build the turret (yet, but it's been 7 months already). I rarely see more than the front legs sticking out, but every so often you get a better glimpse, especially when he's chasing a cricket!

 

[campj]

I've got three, all smaller than the one you're getting. They're reclusive, but out more when they're hungry. So far they're all showing fewer arboreal tendencies than the other Asian arboreals I've got. I've got three P. sp rufus as well, they're all out more often than the arboricolas are. Might change as they get bigger, but I've read from others that they're generally pretty reclusive.

Look at it this way though... you've got other spiders to observe regularly, and then when the reclusive ones are out it's a real event!

 

[CrazyOrnithoctonineGuy]

Most arboreal ornithoctonines/"Asian arboreals" (Phormingochilus, Omothymus, Lampropelma, Ornithoctoninae sp. "Hati Hati", etc) are very photosensitive and shy. Giving them a lot of cover (especially at lower levels) and keeping the enclosures darkened will get them to be out more often, but IME even so they'll mostly restrict themselves to sitting at the entrance of a web tunnel/hollow waiting for food to come by. In the wild they live in the hollows of large trees or snags, which contain various soft, woody debris that they can dig into.

Do watch the moisture level with these guys as they require high levels of moisture in the substrate, but also good ventilation and airflow (so you can't keep them quite like, say, an avic where substrate moisture doesn't matter too much as long as you have good ventilation and some source of water). @l4nsky has written a fair bit on the husbandry of these tarantulas, it might be a good idea to reference his posts.

 

[l4nsky]

Hi y'all

Just ordered a 1-1.5 inch (I guess body size - no legs) female P. arboricola

From my research, enclosure should be arboreal but lot of sub since it likes to dig. Correct me if wrong

Question is : will I see that T a lot?
I see my Phormingochilus sp. rufus quite a lot but it is a lot bigger than 1 inch. What about P. arboricola ?

You're correct. For lack of a better term, they're 'fossorboreal' lol. They'll need both climbing height and substrate depth. In regards to visibility, the key factor IMO is enclosure setup. It's a paradox with Ornithoctoninae (and a lot of tarantulas in general) that in order to see them more, you have to set their enclosures up so that you may never see them at all. Basically, give them a secure enough hide with additional cover and they'll become bolder, sitting out on display because they have that security a mere bolt away.

As @CrazyOrnithoctonineGuy mentioned, I've tried to contribute as much as I can to the general knowledge of the husbandry for this genus and subfamily, although I haven't specifically worked with P. arboricola yet. Here's some information you might find useful to better understand their captive requirements :

https://arachnoboards.com/threads/the-husbandry-of-moisture-dependent-slings.359214/

https://arachnoboards.com/threads/l4nskys-methodology.343787/post-3161927

https://arachnoboards.com/threads/the-paradoxical-importance-of-humidity.346451/post-3190549

 

[vounti]

Thank you guys! I think i have a correct husbandry. I keep several C. sp hati hati, O. violaceopes and Phormingochilus sp. rufus but i'll still check the threads just to make sure

Thank you for the very interesting information

 

[Jaycooks1]

I love my sp rufus great looking spider. She exhibits the same behavior as mentioned from 1inch sling to 2.5 sling stayed in her burrow with large dirt curtain turret that went most of the way up the cork bark. Now at three inches she has made a second entrance to her turret at the bottom where i see her most often she rarely climbs the cork bark but I catch her out all the way late at night every now an then mostly her toes waiting for snacks.

 

[Olan]

I have two adult females. They come out at night if they are hungry, definitely more visible than I thought they would be.
They are kept on a dark green bookcase in a room that doesn’t get much light during the day. I think this makes them feel more secure.

 

[campj]

I have two adult females. They come out at night if they are hungry, definitely more visible than I thought they would be.
They are kept on a dark green bookcase in a room that doesn’t get much light during the day. I think this makes them feel more secure. View attachment 441003

What's it munching on?

 

[l4nsky]

What's it munching on?

Looks like a fuzzy mouse. I hope she kicked that bolus out for you instead of webbing it into the burrow walls lol. That would be quite aromatic for a long time lol.

 

[campj]

Looks like a fuzzy mouse. I hope she kicked that bolus out for you instead of webbing it into the burrow walls lol. That would be quite aromatic for a long time lol.

Grim, thought maybe it was a baby bird lol

 

[Olan]

What's it munching on?

Yeah that was a fuzzy mouse.
The bolus was left on the surface.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

I have two adult females. They come out at night if they are hungry, definitely more visible than I thought they would be.
They are kept on a dark green bookcase in a room that doesn’t get much light during the day. I think this makes them feel more secure. View attachment 441003

I.........AM...........ENVIOUS

One of my 'most wanted' tarantulas on my list.

Absolutely a beautiful and quite healthy looking tarantula.

The venom potency from these are no laughing matter either. The bite reports I've read from envenomations are indeed extremely severe and long lasting.

 

[curtisgiganteus]

I.........AM...........ENVIOUS

One of my 'most wanted' tarantulas on my list.

Absolutely a beautiful and quite healthy looking tarantula.

The venom potency from these are no laughing matter either. The bite reports I've read from envenomations are indeed extremely severe and long lasting.

They are relatively cheap as far as Phormingochilus goes. I see slings for 30-45 almost everywhere. Sometimes you can even get them as freebies

 

[Arachnophobphile]

They are relatively cheap as far as Phormingochilus goes. I see slings for 30-45 almost everywhere. Sometimes you can even get them as freebies

It's not price it's room. I don't have the space for anymore atm. One day though....one day lol.

 

[curtisgiganteus]

It's not price it's room. I don't have the space for anymore atm. One day though....one day lol.

They are babies xD

 

[Arachnophobphile]

They are babies xD

I know but I plan ahead for when they are adults. I don't have extra space for a bigger enclosure.

 

[Olan]

They are super cool. Two out if the 3 slings I bought ended up female. Usually when that happens I sell off the extra females and keep one. But I couldn’t do it with these.
Maybe that means it’s my favorite species?

 

[vounti]

Finally received mine ! Smaller than expected but really stunning.

And look at that Chilobrachys sp. Kaeng Krachan already webbing up the place after only 30 min

Thank you all again for sharing your experience and advic

 

[Olan]

Finally received mine ! Smaller than expected but really stunning.

And look at that Chilobrachys sp. Kaeng Krachan already webbing up the place after only 30 min

Thank you all again for sharing your experience and advic

At that size, you can probably sex them just by color:

Lampropelma sp. 'Borneo' sexual dimorphism

Lampropelma sp. 'Borneo' males start showing tarsus and metatarsus coloring early as two inches. 2" Male Leg I tarsus and metatarsus 2" Female Leg I tarsus and metatarsus By 3" the males other legs have gained the colors......... 3" Male 3" Female When the...

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