Socotra Communal

[Frogdaddy]

And yet every seller of balfouri in the classifieds on this site lists them as communal and sells with communal price break-points

It's called marketing.

 

[Rigor Mortis]

Oi. TLDR: A balfouri communal has the potential to work but if you're just introducing juveniles\adults, it's probably not going to end well.

 

[Frogdaddy]

Personally, I don't think there's any other way to formulate a conclusion whether or not communals work with certain species unless you try it.

Dude, look at the preponderance of evidence. Communals don't work long term. It's been tried. Repeatedly. Ad naseum. The results are in. Why this insistance to keep trying at something that is destined to fail, all the while jeopardizing/sacrificing innocent spiders lives?

And that's all well and good but it's not anyone's place to tell him not to do it. Regardless of the wonderfully valid points you made, it doesn't amount to anything at the end of the day except to back up the common belief around here to not do communals.

Great, we've established no one here likes them, and that's okay! I respect the opinion either way. But gathering up as a group to crap on the dude for having one rather than just giving him a simple answer about the T in question doesn't seem productive or constructive in my opinion. It's closer to a bullying mentality than a constructive one. It doesn't take a mod to see how many new people come in for a singular post and disappear due to feeling outcast because of something they said that's against the "AB Code".

Thank you all for stopping by to offer your opinion that what he's doing is Satan's work. I think you've well established the thoughts of the herd.

I'll excuse myself from the convo, since we seem to be running in circles. That tends to happen with opposing or even neutral opinions. Today is rehousing day for the communal, I call it the "T Salad", because it has a little bit of every species in it.

I see no instances in this thread where the OP has been crapped on, berated, called names, etc. People posted their opinions on communals. Who knows where this keeper got their information. Maybe from a decades old care sheet. What was done here was no different than someone posting about misting/humidity or someone posting about feeding vertabrates. Information was conveyed to the owner who may or may not have had the information to make a proper decision. Maybe the only spider hobbyists they have been in touch with is on a FB Communal Spider Group.

 

[Benson1990]

I mean, to each their own. You can hate it all you want, and people will still do it. I think there's plenty of other things to preoccupy our minds with than worrying about other people doing something we think is "abhorrent". I don't agree with abortion, and think it's murder, but I choose to utilize my time and efforts towards the things I can control vs. the things I disagree with but have no control over.

What I don't understand is how someone can come to AB, who already has a communal, to ask questions and only receive backlash. If you don't agree with OP having a communal, don't respond, and allow them to receive help from someone who's views differ from your own. You're not going to change their mind about their decisions by bashing on the ones he's already committed to. Help them where they're at, or don't respond.

OP, if you want to have a communal, go for it. I don't agree, or disagree. I also don't have the answer to your original question, but what happened here wasn't necessary.

I really don't get your middle paragraph...the whole point of asking a question on a site dedicated to arachnids is to get advice/opinions on what you plan on doing, you willingly leave yourself open to critique, if something is wrong or dangerous you can't expect people to just not say anything and go with it, if people did that husbandry would never move forward, I also don't agree with not changing peoples minds, any reasonable person with an animals best intentions at heart is not going to ignore the advice of other more experienced keepers and continue to put animals at risk just because they don't want to hear what they are doing is wrong.

 

[Irithyllian]

Dang!! After reading all these I get where everyone’s coming from, I am sort of new to this admittedly.

I simply ask because I do care for their lives, the money spent is what it is I’m not worried about that, but their lives are under my care and I want them to live the best the can. I do watch my T’s often, and watching the way the live is very interesting. But something about how they interact with one another is even more interesting.

I’m not someone who should say my T’s enjoy being communal but one thing with my P Metallica communal, they were very slow to interact the first day, but regularly I see them on the wall next to each other, many times even touching legs, the weirdest thing I saw was when the slightly bigger was near molt, the other two stayed very close to it during and after, they didn’t separate for a long while. It was after I saw these work out so well I wanted to see how balfouri interact together.

I have no way to determine a tarantulas happiness, but finding information about communals is difficult, and I understand if no one supports it here and thus doesn’t have much. It was just important for me to notice some habits that may determine a threatening communal for some, sorry for breaking a taboo my guys.

 

[Polenth]

Dang!! After reading all these I get where everyone’s coming from, I am sort of new to this admittedly.

I simply ask because I do care for their lives, the money spent is what it is I’m not worried about that, but their lives are under my care and I want them to live the best the can. I do watch my T’s often, and watching the way the live is very interesting. But something about how they interact with one another is even more interesting.

I’m not someone who should say my T’s enjoy being communal but one thing with my P Metallica communal, they were very slow to interact the first day, but regularly I see them on the wall next to each other, many times even touching legs, the weirdest thing I saw was when the slightly bigger was near molt, the other two stayed very close to it during and after, they didn’t separate for a long while. It was after I saw these work out so well I wanted to see how balfouri interact together.

I have no way to determine a tarantulas happiness, but finding information about communals is difficult, and I understand if no one supports it here and thus doesn’t have much. It was just important for me to notice some habits that may determine a threatening communal for some, sorry for breaking a taboo my guys.

I don't want to keep communal tarantulas, but I've been interested in information on it. It's not hard to find people talking about their experiences. They're just not saying what you want to hear.

The two main points are that spiderlings will live together, but as they mature, it's very likely that they'll want their own territory and they'll turn on the others (relevant to your P. metallica), and that the model of a successful-for-now M. balfouri communal is spiders who seek each other out, not spiders who are trying to stay as far away from each other as possible (your situation). This isn't a good situation and most likely will end with deaths.

There are plenty of animals who are truly communal for their entire lives in all situations. Woodlice, mealworms and cockroaches are some examples. It is fun to watch them interact, but you can do so knowing cannibalism won't be any more than it is in the wild and won't result in one animal killing all the rest.

 

[viper69]

@Irithyllian

Here's how Ts do in communal, including this species. You know, there's not a single communal out there that I have seen where the people have kept the animals for their complete life cycle and observed no deaths. Everyone always says "I've got X species, and my communal is going great!" Yeah sure it is- you haven't watched them all lived out their natural life cycle, so one cannot say it's successful.

M. balfouri, communal or individual?

Ordered a 1/2" pair of these and wanted to hear from other keepers on enclosures, temperment and whether to house communal or individual

www.tarantulaforum.com

it seems like you're doing it more for the research

What a joke- research, you have to be absolutely crazy to call it "research".

As long as you understand the risk

Except the Ts DO NOT understand the risk, OR did you forget that part?

Are we keepers possibly confusing “communal with forced confinement “

Agreed!

It's irresponsible, cruel, and ignorant.

Agreed!

he things I can control vs. the things I disagree with but have no control over.

I'm glad you can control things- but again, the Ts cannot control things.

And that's all well and good but it's not anyone's place to tell him not to do it.

That's your opinion! hah, Or, did you forget that too. It's absolutely no different if someone posts an arboreal tank for a big fat Brachy and asks if "this is OK", so we should encourage all sorts of bad husbandry? This forum isn't about the owners, at least for me it isn't. It's about the animals.

 

[RoachCoach]

I gotta commend @EnigmaNyx for sticking to his guns against the onslaught of disagreements. I'm no stranger to getting them disagree stacks. But when I do, I retreat and take note of the counter argument and research it into the center of the earth. And ya, I'm usually wrong. I mean, dude. I just tried to replace the Moen cartridge in on my 200 year old shower and gouged the inside of the valve yanking that crusty <edit> out. Message boards said "ya, you <edit>". So instead of just researching it, I now have to pay like $700 minimum. Do your DD FOR REAL.