Psalmopoeus ecclesiasticus

[Leila]

Ok, this has been on my mind lately, so I decided to make a thread.

I know a few of you on here who own a P. ecclesiasticus; but are there more of you out there lurking in the shadows?
Because I have some questions. (Any and everyone with this species, please respond. )

Do any of you actually own a female?

Have any of you bred this species?

What have your experiences been with this species (sex not important unless you noted differences in behavior in regards to it)? Temperament, visibility, etc?

My unsexed juvie is about 3 inches now. It is incredibly reclusive, somewhat defensive, obviously very fast, and has a great feeding response.
This is not a species I'd personally suggest to a brand new hobbyist (only based off the one juvie I own...)

Your turn. Tell me your personal experiences.

 

[Leila]

So I'm just going to tag the few people I know who have these (or have had them in the past) then.
@The Grym Reaper @KezyGLA @louise f
@CEC @babelfish

@JoeRossi, I see you posting these for sale?

Anyone else? Does nobody own a P. ecclesiasticus?

 

[boina]

I used to own a sexed female juvenile but it died for reasons unknown and that is still a sore topic for me.

 

[Leila]

I used to own a sexed female juvenile but it died for reasons unknown and that is still a sore topic for me.

What was she like?
Edit: sorry for asking that right after you said 'sore topic.' I am sleepy.. And I am sorry for your loss, love.

 

[boina]

What was she like?
Edit: sorry for asking that right after you said 'sore topic.' I am sleepy.. And I am sorry for your loss, love.

She was active and often out, but skittish, with a great feeding response

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Mine is only a sling but pretty much the same as @boina said, it's out often, active, a bit skittish, great feeding response.

I'll add that mine has made 2 web tubes, one at ground level near the water dish and one up high behind the cork bark/under a leaf, and it likes to alternate between which it uses.

 

[KezyGLA]

I had a few juv/ subadult. Good species. Ridicilously fast.

I recently got some slings in and about half of them died after a moult no idea why

 

[Leila]

I wonder why more hobbyists don't own them. Have they only been in the hobby for a short time? Are they difficult to breed for some reason?

None of these questions are critical; I am simply curious due to the fact that there is minimal information about them online.

 

[KezyGLA]

The are redily available here in Europe. Fetching £15 a sling here in UK. They still dont seem common among hobbyists here either. Just not so well known, I guess.

 

[boina]

I had a few juv/ subadult. Good species. Ridicilously fast.

I recently got some slings in and about half of them died after a moult no idea why

I've heard elsewhere that they can be fragile, too. That kind of keeps me from getting another one. I seriously dislike spiders dying on me.

 

[Leila]

I've heard elsewhere that they can be fragile, too. That kind of keeps me from getting another one. I seriously dislike spiders dying on me.

Completely understandable.

Do any of you happen to know when they begin to show signs of sexual dimorphism?

 

[louise f]

So I'm just going to tag the few people I know who have these (or have had them in the past) then.
@The Grym Reaper @KezyGLA @louise f
@CEC @babelfish

@JoeRossi, I see you posting these for sale?

Anyone else? Does nobody own a P. ecclesiasticus?

I had 2 of these, they turned from sling to MM both of them within a year. I traded one away and the other just died here with me. I couldn`t find anyone who wanted to trade or buy him. That sucked.

They were fast as F... liked to stay in their hides. Great feeding response. And all in all a very beautiful T. <3

Psalmopoeus ecclesiasticus

• louise f
• Nov 13, 2016
• 6

My MM just showed up today, not happening a lot. He is so sweet <3

Psalmopoeus ecclesiasticus MM

• louise f
• Jul 6, 2016
• 15

Psalmopoeus ecclesiasticus MM

• louise f
• Jul 6, 2016
• 2

Psalmopoeus ecclesiasticus

• louise f
• Jul 4, 2016
• 4

IMG_1184

• louise f
• Feb 26, 2016
• 1

Psalmopoeus ecclesiasticus

 

[cold blood]

I wonder why more hobbyists don't own them. Have they only been in the hobby for a short time? Are they difficult to breed for some reason?

None of these questions are critical; I am simply curious due to the fact that there is minimal information about them online.

Fairly new to the states and not very common or easy to locate...although they certainly are out there, they are also not too cheap usually.

 

[edesign]

I have 1.3 and my male just matured. The females are juvies around 2.5", all three in premolt so next time I see them I imagine 2.75-3"

I purchased all four as 3/4" slings and received the ones I have on May 23rd. The first three I ordered in early April all arrived DOA from a very reputable seller who noted that they seemed to be a more fragile species. I was refunded for all four and reordered three more in May with another order I placed and one extra was tossed in as a freebie. They may have molted once between my purchases as I think that was partially why the wait to order more, a little larger for hopefully a little more hardiness. Seemed to have worked. I also live at high altitude (5300' or so).

I have noticed no discernable difference in behavior between any of them. Up until about 2" they were quite apt to run and hide. Once they broke that size they became more bold when it came to disturbances and I began to see threat displays but not with any regularity so far. I also noticed their hunting behavior became MUCH stronger which combined with their newfound tendency to retreat less has made for a few interesting feeding sessions. I can often pick up their containers from the top of my wire shelves at head height and move them to the floor for feeding, remove the lid, take multiple pictures with flash or an external light source, before they contemplate hiding. Once food is dropped in they are often quick to respond despite previous activity that made them hide. I wouldn't recommend any Psalmo as a beginner spider.

I would classify mine as "great display species". Otoh, of my near 100 tarantulas the vast majority are regularly visible except during premolt and sometimes a while post-molt. Maybe only the forelegs but still visible These Psalms are regularly fully out of their burrows/webs in full display though. My 4" female irminia is regularly visible too *shrugs* I also have a pair of emeraldus slings, five juvie pulchers (3.2), three langenbucheri slings/maybe barely juvies, and three cambridgei slings to compare behavior and all to as they grow. Sold my MM cambridgei this summer.

All of mine have been very visible most of their lives so far. I keep them in a dedicated invert room with minimal vibrations and an east facing window containing closed venetian blinds and no curtains so dimly lit at best. I have a humidifier set to 50% (I drop it to 40-45 sometimes if I want some tanks to dry out a little faster). Other than that they're just in some plastic food containers from The Container Store. I spritz water 1-2x a week for drinking/grooming and feed every 7-14 days depending on abdominal size. Room temps are in the mid-80's in the summer (no AC) for the highs, mid-upper 70's for lows. Winter they've been upper 60's for lows (rare mid-60's but I don't like most of my critters being that cold) to 70-72F for the highs.

With that said you asked about time to maturity for males, my male seemed to mature rather quickly, five months from receipt. My invert room is a bit warm in the summer so I'm sure that sped the process along. Although, what summer accelerates winter slows I noticed no real dimorphism differences until the male matured despite having molt sexed it 2-3 molts prior. Might've had a slightly leggier build the last molt or two but nothing that really made me take notice. I am not always the most observant person though.

Sorry so long. Sorta haha. Hope some of it was helpful.

 

[darkness975]

I have 1.3 and my male just matured. The females are juvies around 2.5", all three in premolt so next time I see them I imagine 2.75-3"

I purchased all four as 3/4" slings and received the ones I have on May 23rd. The first three I ordered in early April all arrived DOA from a very reputable seller who noted that they seemed to be a more fragile species. I was refunded for all four and reordered three more in May with another order I placed and one extra was tossed in as a freebie. They may have molted once between my purchases as I think that was partially why the wait to order more, a little larger for hopefully a little more hardiness. Seemed to have worked. I also live at high altitude (5300' or so).

I have noticed no discernable difference in behavior between any of them. Up until about 2" they were quite apt to run and hide. Once they broke that size they became more bold when it came to disturbances and I began to see threat displays but not with any regularity so far. I also noticed their hunting behavior became MUCH stronger which combined with their newfound tendency to retreat less has made for a few interesting feeding sessions. I can often pick up their containers from the top of my wire shelves at head height and move them to the floor for feeding, remove the lid, take multiple pictures with flash or an external light source, before they contemplate hiding. Once food is dropped in they are often quick to respond despite previous activity that made them hide. I wouldn't recommend any Psalmo as a beginner spider.

I would classify mine as "great display species". Otoh, of my near 100 tarantulas the vast majority are regularly visible except during premolt and sometimes a while post-molt. Maybe only the forelegs but still visible These Psalms are regularly fully out of their burrows/webs in full display though. My 4" female irminia is regularly visible too *shrugs* I also have a pair of emeraldus slings, five juvie pulchers (3.2), three langenbucheri slings/maybe barely juvies, and three cambridgei slings to compare behavior and all to as they grow. Sold my MM cambridgei this summer.

All of mine have been very visible most of their lives so far. I keep them in a dedicated invert room with minimal vibrations and an east facing window containing closed venetian blinds and no curtains so dimly lit at best. I have a humidifier set to 50% (I drop it to 40-45 sometimes if I want some tanks to dry out a little faster). Other than that they're just in some plastic food containers from The Container Store. I spritz water 1-2x a week for drinking/grooming and feed every 7-14 days depending on abdominal size. Room temps are in the mid-80's in the summer (no AC) for the highs, mid-upper 70's for lows. Winter they've been upper 60's for lows (rare mid-60's but I don't like most of my critters being that cold) to 70-72F for the highs.

With that said you asked about time to maturity for males, my male seemed to mature rather quickly, five months from receipt. My invert room is a bit warm in the summer so I'm sure that sped the process along. Although, what summer accelerates winter slows I noticed no real dimorphism differences until the male matured despite having molt sexed it 2-3 molts prior. Might've had a slightly leggier build the last molt or two but nothing that really made me take notice. I am not always the most observant person though.

Sorry so long. Sorta haha. Hope some of it was helpful.

Hey good to see you man, you gave @Leila a book to read! haha


Is there any indication as to why they seem to not be as hardy? Just a more fragile species in general?

 

[edesign]

My posting has become very sporadic again but nice to be greeted! I ramble when I'm not sober lol.

No indication that I'm aware of. Seller probably noticed more deaths than he typically sees with Psalms and/or other slings (he has noticed that shipments to Denver seem to have a slightly higher DOA rate). As to what causes them to seem a bit more fragile I'm clueless. Maybe it was because the originals were shipped out again soon after being imported and already stressed. Maybe it's something in their genetics that makes them more susceptible to problems from temp changes or high stress situations.

From what I've read even if the parents were WC, first generation CB slings don't exhibit the same sensitivities to environmental changes that the WC parents often do. I think these are well established in captivity in Europe though.