Setting up P. Formosa and P. Rufilata communes

[maitre]

P. Formosa and P. Rufilata communal enclosure (pics)

So at the last reptile show, I picked up a new T: a P. Formosa sling. A day or two later, tarantulacanada released their Rufilatas slings and since I've been waiting forever for this species, I couldn't help but order some : P

I ended up ordering 3 P. Rufilata and 2 more P. Formosa and the package is arriving tomorrow.

The idea is to start a commune with each species. It's my first time setting up communes so I have a question for each set up.

I'm going to house the 3 Rufies in a tall Michaels 2x2x4" rectangular prism. It has about 0.5 - 1 inch of eco-earth substrate and 1 piece of cork bark w fake leaves glued to it. For ventilation, I used a 1" circular saw to cut a hole in the lid and one in the side. Metal screening was hot glued over the holes. I'm pretty sure the amount of space is somewhat limited so I'm hoping there wouldn't be a chance for any of the slings to set up territories. My biggest worry however is that the ventilation holes are too large and there will be too much loss of humidity. In my house, it is ~40% humidity. Do you guys think the size of the ventilation holes will be an issue?

At the moment, the single Formosa I have is in a large pill bottle with a piece of bark and 1mm holes drilled into the sides and lid. It has similar dimensions to the Rufie cage but is circular instead of squarish. My biggest concern with this set up is whether or not this singleton has already established a 'territory,' and whether it will be an issue if I introduce 2 new slings into the pill bottle. Do you guys think I should just take the sling out and set up an entirely new environment so that when all three slings are introduced, it will be 'new' for all of them?

Thanks in advance! I'll post pictures of the cages tomorrow.

 

[paul fleming]

the first part I can't answer because I can't picture what you mean....pics would be better.
The second part......Formosa are not really a communal pokie .....the main pokies for communes are P. regalis, P. fasciata, P. rufilata, and P. subfusca .
If you introduce new pokies to an existing one,chances are you are going to get trouble.Pokie communes should mainly be from spids from the same sac.
It is up to you really but I would not try it.
I have 6 rufilatas in a small glass jar with holes drilled in the lid.These like it on the cool side,around 70F.Misting the jar every few days.
my fuf commune jar.

 

[maitre]

See, there's another debate that's bugging me: whether or not P. Formosa is suitable as a communal species. After 2-3 days of thorough research, I still haven't come to a conclusion because all I've found are mixed reports on the net. Some people say they do really well in a commune while others say they're so-so. I know Rufies are known, generally, to be quite communal while Ornatas are not. Regalis are somewhat like Formosa - they get mixed reviews as well. It is a risk I'm taking and I'm hoping for the best. I think I will intoduce the Formosa's into a completely new 'tank' just so it is new for all of them. This should help with territorial behaviour.

I'm pretty certain the Rufie slings are all from the same sac. Not 100% sure but they are from the same supplier who JUST made them available so I am hoping they're from the same sac. I will observe them closely today and if I notice any agression, well, I have enclosures ready to house each seperately if needed.

As for the Formosa, same thing as the Rufies. I just bought my 1" sling last sunday so hopefully, the 2 arriving today are all from the same sac. Kind of makes sense but I'm not 100% sure so I won't make the claim.

Thanks for your input!

 

[patrick86]

I understand the draw of having a tank full of spiders living together in harmony. The thing is it doesn't usually work out, for some reason nature designed them to be a tad antisocial. Yet folks continue to try and usually end up losing a few spiders before giving up.

The Poecilotheria rufilata has shown the ability to coexist with each other some of the time. I've never heard of anyone successfully keeping Poecilotheria formosa communal. I would bet it's been tried before though.

Good luck and I hope you update this thread with any findings.

 

[paul fleming]

Mate,I am not saying "do not do it".
All communes are experiments and until you try,you don't know.
I was just quoting the "normal" pokie communal spids but good luck to and hope it works.
You need to keep us all updated so everyone can learn from what you find keeping (formosa) these pokies together
My communes consist of rufs and fasciatas and they are fine together..........good luck.
Paul

 

[maitre]

Hey Spit, I never thought you were telling me no : P and I think I know which article you're referring to cuz it's the same one I refer to for guidance haha (you're quoting from the newbie guide to poecilotheria on RFUK, right?).

Patrick, I really hope my communes turn out well. I've seen/heard the horror stories and, believe me, I'm very worried that I'll a horror story of my own to tell. Hopefully that won't be the case. I'm going to keep a very, very close eye on the communes and if things don't seem right, I will separate them right away. If everything goes well, I will keep them together as long as possible - except for any mature males that I will separate from the commune.

Anyways, tarantulacanada just called and said my package got sent back to them. They're sending it again today so my slings will arrive tomorrow instead.

I'll use this thread to keep everyone updated about the pokies. Gonna take some pics of the enclosures now to show everyone.

 

[paul fleming]

you are right and everything I know about pokies comes from him.......he is a nice guy to get to know and very helpful.
Paul

 

[maitre]

As promised, here are images of the enclosures I plan to use. There are other 'backup' enclosures (pill bottles) in case things go wrong and I need to separate the slings but I didn't take pics of those They aren't as elaborate and just consists of substrate + small piece of cork + drilled holes.

The Rufies will go in here:
The temperature in my room is 73F, which should be okay for Rufilata.
The humidity, however, is only ~52%.
Do you guys think there might be too much ventilation? I can always seal 1 hole up.

Here's my Formosa.. I plan to house all 3 slings in here:
This one is kept in my reptile/spider room. Temp ~80F, Humidity ~40%.

When they older, they will go into either of these:

Just started building this one. I've glued in the background wall and will add 1 more piece of cork bark.

This one is complete. Just debating whether or not to drill 1" holes + screening.

 

[paul fleming]

Looks nice mate.
May be a bit too much ventilation.My ruf slings are kept at about 70% humidity.
Could try blocking up the side hole and just leave the top....try to increase the humidity that way.
The fun starts when they get big and you have to rehouse them.......then it's welcome to supersonic pokie land :
You really see how fast they are then....lol
Paul
ps.I always find it better to just drill small holes in perspex tanks....for ventilation

 

[maitre]

So the Formosa and Rufilata have been together for 2 days now. The Rufilata's got along right away.. they huddle together and sit next to each other all the time and show no signs of aggression towords each other.

The Formosa got me a little nervous at first. When they were first placed in their containers, they were all seperated. Then two of them found each other and proceeded to explore each other with light touches. They would face each other and walk slowly back and forth and in circles as well. This went on for a good 15-20 minutes!! The third kind of stayed back and didn't try to interact at all. From then on, the two 'dancers' have been sticking pretty close to each other. They would always side next to one other and often times would be touching. The third would would be close by but never right next to the pair. For example, if the pair was sitting on the plastic surface, the third might be 1cm away but on the cork bark.

I'm still keeping a very close eye on the formosa though. If the third sling starts to stray away from the pair and doesn't interact at all, I will remove it to avoid any trouble in the future.

The Rufilata's are just a joy to watch. They usually stick close to one another. Sometimes when I pick up their little cage to look at them, they'll all scramble like crazy idiots and all huddle in one corner as a big fuzzy mass - it's quite cute really.

Oh, they're all eating very well! For each commune, I threw in 4 b. lateralis so there would always be extra food. I just leave the dubia in their cage because 1) food will always be available, 2) the leftover roaches just sit there and don't bother the slings, and 3) I don't see the need to.

Will post pictures soon.

 

[jayefbe]

Is it any surprise that one of the formosa is not getting along with the other two considering that it was from a different sac?

 

[syndicate]

Formosa is communal!I have 4" sub adults living together right now.
The Poecilotheria you do not want to keep together are striata,metallica or ornata.
-Chris

 

[maitre]

Hey Jay,

I wouldn't say they the third Formosa isn't getting along with the pair - it just isn't as interactive. That is, I didn't witness the third "introduce" itself to the pair. It may not spend all its time together with the pair but it is usually still in close contact with the pair. When it could have easily isolated itself on the other side of the pill bottle or hidden itself in a hidey-hole, it didn't. I'll take some pictures later to illustrate what I mean.

The interesting thing with both communes is the individuals are usually either close together or completely apart. All I can do now is observe and take further measure if necessary! : )

The communes are FOR SURE much more interesting than just a solitary T. When my first Formosa was alone, it sat there all day long, hidden away. Now, it is usually in the open sitting next to its friend (or two). I just really hope the pair turns out to be two females so that I could MAYBE keep them together well into adulthood.

 

[jayefbe]

So is it clear that the third formosa is less interactive with the other two? I guess nobody will know if it'll work until someone tries. Good luck with them both, and post lots of pics.

 

[Simox]

I bought 10x(2nd instar)p.rufilata from tarantulacanada.Its been 1 week now and they eat like crazy!(and some shares meals!!).So far so good with 0 death.
and yeah...the communes are much more interesting than just a solitary T!!

 

[Steve Calceatum]

Formosa is communal!I have 4" sub adults living together right now.
The Poecilotheria you do not want to keep together are striata,metallica or ornata.
-Chris

I've heard differently about the ornata. I believe that RobC has a pretty successful setup going on. I'm interested in why P. striata isn't known to be communal, though. For some reason I though all Pokies were "tolerant" towards each other, but apparently that is not the case.

 

[Noexcuse4you]

I've heard differently about the ornata. I believe that RobC has a pretty successful setup going on. I'm interested in why P. striata isn't known to be communal, though. For some reason I though all Pokies were "tolerant" towards each other, but apparently that is not the case.

Robc's communal failed. One of his males started killing the others.

http://www.atshq.org/forum/showthread.php?t=22949

 

[Steve Calceatum]

Robc's communal failed. One of his males started killing the others.

http://www.atshq.org/forum/showthread.php?t=22949

Thanks for sharing. Must have overlooked that somewhere along the line.

 

[maitre]

I bought 10x(2nd instar)p.rufilata from tarantulacanada.Its been 1 week now and they eat like crazy!(and some shares meals!!).So far so good with 0 death.
and yeah...the communes are much more interesting than just a solitary T!!

How often are you feeding yours? I'm planning on throwing in 4 items (for 3 rufies) every 4 days.

 

[paul fleming]

with any pokie commune,you have to overfeed them.......don't want these puppies going hungry.They can certainly take care of any left over crix.
For the above........I put about 8 or 9 suitable size crix in every 4 or 5 days for my 5 ruf commune.