Poecilotheria questions

AlbinoDragon829

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I'm considering getting a Poecilotheria as my next tarantula.. And I was wondering, how do you guys feed yours? I know some people feed moths and grasshoppers (I can catch moths, but there really aren't grasshoppers around here) to them, but will they come down from above to get crickets and mice? And when you take the top off of the cage, what special precautions other than the obvious do you take? Also, which one do you think looks the best of the Poecilotheria species?
 

Gail

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Well, I am FAR from the authority on these as I just got my first pokies recently but it has been my experience so far that they will hunt their prey much more so than my avics. If I place a 1/2" crix in the petpal with one of them, even though it appears as if the spider has no clue it is there, within 5 minutes it has caught the crix. Mine have also taken crix right from tweezers.
As for precautions when taking off the lid, I have the tiny petpals on their side so that the lid opens towards me instead of opening up. They don't try to escape but I think if the cage was right side up and I took the lid off that they would run right out.

Gail
 

Phillip

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yes they will come down...

When they get hungry they will come down for the food so they aren't a prob when it comes to feeding time.
Best looking.... they all look great but I'm partial to my Subfusca.
Phil
 

Vayu Son

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><

your best bet is to turn the terrarium on its side so its vertical and the T can climb. I have a screen top held down with clips that has an opening door with a lock on it, but thats just gettin fancy.

-V
 

Lasiodora

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Poecilotheria aren't super aggressive like many people make them out to be. They are very fast though. They (there's always an exception) don't lunge out at you. If you wanna make your life easy when keeping one, here's what you need to do: They need a vertical enclosure, because they are arboreal.
They need a vertical hiding spot. Cork bark curls work best. This will make the spider comfortable. It will make this its home and lay plenty of webbing on and around this. If you use dirt as a substrate the spider will camoflage the webbing around its hide spot with it. That's cool to watch. When you need to work in the cage you can remove the hiding place spider and all. The spider won't run out if it's settled in. They're awesome spiders, don't let what you hear about them intimidate you. Just respect them.
 

Lasiodora

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Oh and they will come out of their hide spot at night to hunt. I have seen my females outside of their cork bark curls waiting for something to stroll by. I've also seen them on the move looking for prey. If in doubt you can always toss crickets directly into their hiding spot. That works too. :D
 

Lasiodora

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P.ornata, P.subfucosa, and P.rufilata females are very pretty. Males tend to be more drab than females. I'd get a female before a male, so you can fatten her up in case you want to breed her.
 

AlbinoDragon829

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Unfortunately, due to my current limited resources, I have a vacant terrarium which isn't recommended to be turned on it's side. If I put cork bark and other things with which to climb on, it will have enough vertical space. I have a top for it, and will most likely tape it down. Anyone out there have a terrarium with a top on the top and not the side? Any tips for that?
 

Phillip

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I do...

My P ornata female is in a ten gallon that sits normally and not on its side. I just have the spring clips on it which works fine as well as a piece of cardboard sitting on top so that I can stack two or three pet pals along the top. This has worked great for quite some time and truthfully I don't think she could get out even without the added weight of the petpals. I mainly do it to keep in the humidity.
Phil
 

Alonso99

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w00t

try your best to figure out a way to put it sideways, arboreals need air circulation.
 

Phillip

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I am aware of that Alonso...

I've kept Pokes for a few years with absolutely no problems and trust me she has plenty of air. The top is far from airtight and she is just fine the way she is.
Phil
 

Phillip

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Not sure what you mean...

I'm not too sure what you're asking but if you mean does she run out the answer is no. She is flighty but no too bad as long as you don't touch her and she really prefers to stay down around the many pieces of propped up bark rather than up on the top. The only time she ever gets on the top would be running around mating. Once mature Pokes aren't nearly as flighty as they are when small and as long as you move gently and slowly you can pretty much make them go where you want them to. It all comes down to understanding their behavior and what makes them feel threatened. Don't scare them and they're fine.
Phil
 

AlbinoDragon829

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Re: Not sure what you mean...

Originally posted by Phillip
I'm not too sure what you're asking but if you mean does she run out the answer is no. She is flighty but no too bad as long as you don't touch her and she really prefers to stay down around the many pieces of propped up bark rather than up on the top. The only time she ever gets on the top would be running around mating. Once mature Pokes aren't nearly as flighty as they are when small and as long as you move gently and slowly you can pretty much make them go where you want them to. It all comes down to understanding their behavior and what makes them feel threatened. Don't scare them and they're fine.
Phil
You hit the spot with that response, thanks! What I originally was wondering would be would she run or lunge or whatnot when I remove the horizontal top. I mean, I'm not too worried about one running around the tank, but I don't want it getting out.
 

AlbinoDragon829

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I know that pokeys grow rather fast, but how large is yours, and how often does yours moult? Logically speaking, since I've seen a bunch of sites that have theirs moulting once a month or every month and a half, musn't they almost be in constant pre-moult mode?
 

Code Monkey

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Phillip

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humidity not important?

Not until they dry up and die then it becomes real important. Now don't get me wrong I don't lose any sleep over whether or not my humidity is 78% or 79% like some do but you must keep a water dish in the enclosure at all times so yes humidity does matter.
Phil
 

Code Monkey

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that's right, *humidity* is not important for most species

A water dish and humidity are two entirely different things. A water dish provides for such an insignificant change in relative humidity as to be meaningless. The point of the water dish is exactly what you would think, water.

If you want to worry about *humidity*, then that involves restricting air exchange and getting a far larger evaporative body of liquid than a water dish. I always have a water dish, I never consider humidity. The closest I come to considering humidity is the few I keep on moist substrate, but I still do nothing for increasing RH.
 
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