Some nice shots of our Ornithoctoninae females with their cocoons in their so-called Haplotanks

[Theraphosid Research Team]

The attached film shows some of our female Asian tarantulas currently having a sack. So it is not a film that was recorded in nature, but a recording in our haplotanks made with an endoscope. The haplotank is a type of terrarium developed by Volker von Wirth in the late 1980s specifically for burrowing species. It offers the animals the opportunity, similar to nature, to create a tube, but at the same time to be able to be observed by the owner . We keep our tube dwellers, such as Haplopelma, Ornithoctonus, Selenocosmia or Aphonopelma, exclusively in such haplotanks. We will soon make a posting where we will show how the haplotanks work and how to set them up.
View attachment YouCut_20220326_143853967.mp4

 

[BoyFromLA]

Wish I have an access to enclosures like that. Since, I can’t make one myself, and no one seems to selling one.

 

[Introvertebrate]

Wish I have an access to enclosures like that. Since, I can’t make one myself, and no one seems to selling one.

When I Google haplotank, they look like any other enclosure. They just have way more substrate in them.

 

[spideyspinneret78]

That is really interesting. I've never seen those here in the US but they seem like a great idea.

 

[Theraphosid Research Team]

Unfortunately, I never had the name "Haplotank" protected, so that almost every terrarium could be offered under this name. There is a clear concept behind the haplotanks I have developed. The following article from 2004 BTS Journal 19(4) explains the concept of haplotanks quite well. As you can see, not every haplotank deserves this name.

 

[Arthroverts]

Very interesting, I have seen this basic concept before for housing fossorial tarantulas but never one with this built-in method for watering the substrate. If only cereal boxes were more consistently larger and flatter (without the hand grips that reduces the total space inside the container), as they would be perfect for this purpose.

Also, for anyone without Dropbox, I have attached the linked-to article.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[rock]

These are really well thought out, I like the ability to water from below so you don’t flood the burrow. A Lund tank is easier to make but these take up so little floor space

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

We will soon make a posting where we will show how the haplotanks work and how to set them up.

I used the cereal container style for the small and medium Haplopelma species after I read the BTS article back in 2004/2005 and had a hard time getting the tarantulas in and out of the containers. If you are going to make another post on how the Haplotanks work, I would suggest adding some images or video of how you manage to get them in and out. When I did it, I removed as much soil as possible from the top and tipped the whole container on its side and chased the tarantulas out. I'm not sure how I would have managed it with the bigger glass tanks.

These are really well thought out, I like the ability to water from below so you don’t flood the burrow. A Lund tank is easier to make but these take up so little floor space

To water these, you put the whole container/ tank ,with tarantula inside, in a bigger container full of water. The water comes into the tank from the bottom holes and floods the tarantula burrow as the soil soaks up the water. The tarantula floats in the water filled burrow until you take the Haplotank out to drain. Very counter intuitive compared to the traditional way of watering and caring for tarantulas, but very effective. No water dishes needed.

 

[Theraphosid Research Team]

I no longer use those plastic cans. It is simply too moist in these cans, which is not good for the spiders. I've only been using the glass terrariums for a few years now, as you can see on my shelving system at the end of the video.
When watering these terrariums, the spiders often stay in the lower part of the tube in the water for up to 45 minutes. Only when they can't breathe anymore do they leave the tubes. Incidentally, in nature it often happens that a tube is full of water after a heavy rainfall. Even cocoon-carrying females stay in the tube with their cocoons and wait for the water to run out. New World species in particular, which build their cocoons towards the end of the rainy season, stud them with urticating hairs in order to keep the water out of the cocoons, for example, because these cocoons are water-repellent due to the urticating hairs, according to the investigations of the biologist Dirk Weinmann.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

I want a camera like that. What kind of camera did you use?

 

[Theraphosid Research Team]

I want a camera like that. What kind of camera did you use?

I use a normal endoscope with an integrated camera. Just google endoscope camera.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

I use a normal endoscope with an integrated camera. Just google endoscope camera.

Thanks I found some online for sale.

 

[curtisgiganteus]

The attached film shows some of our female Asian tarantulas currently having a sack. So it is not a film that was recorded in nature, but a recording in our haplotanks made with an endoscope. The haplotank is a type of terrarium developed by Volker von Wirth in the late 1980s specifically for burrowing species. It offers the animals the opportunity, similar to nature, to create a tube, but at the same time to be able to be observed by the owner . We keep our tube dwellers, such as Haplopelma, Ornithoctonus, Selenocosmia or Aphonopelma, exclusively in such haplotanks. We will soon make a posting where we will show how the haplotanks work and how to set them up.
View attachment 413989

What is the second species in the video? I attempted to search it and I can’t find anything. As an avid Ornithoctoninae keeper, I would love to work with these.

 

[Jaycooks1]

They sell Haplotanks at the Spider Shop

 

[Theraphosid Research Team]

They sell Haplotanks at the Spider Shop

Hi, Do you have a link to the haplotanks on Spidershop? I'm afraid that - as in most cases - they don't work the same way as the terrariums I developed for tube-dwelling tarantulas. At least many of the alleged "haplotanks" sold here in Germany are completely wrongly designed. The only thing they have in common with mine is that you can put a lot of soil in them.

 

[Theraphosid Research Team]

What is the second species in the video? I attempted to search it and I can’t find anything. As an avid Ornithoctoninae keeper, I would love to work with these.

Hi,this is a Species which was collected in a single female Specimen before some Years ago from a friend of mine. The species originates from the area around Pha Chor in Thailand. Fortunately, it built a cocoon from which I was able to "rescue" 24 babies. In the meantime I have a second generation of this species in my collection. And, no, I am not currently selling them.

 

[curtisgiganteus]

Hi,this is a Species which was collected in a single female Specimen before some Years ago from a friend of mine. The species originates from the area around Pha Chor in Thailand. Fortunately, it built a cocoon from which I was able to "rescue" 24 babies. In the meantime I have a second generation of this species in my collection. And, no, I am not currently selling them.

It’s gorgeous, and there was no assumption you would. I just have never seen this sp. before and was combing through the online forums for anything I could find about them. Thank you!

 

[curtisgiganteus]

Hi, Do you have a link to the haplotanks on Spidershop? I'm afraid that - as in most cases - they don't work the same way as the terrariums I developed for tube-dwelling tarantulas. At least many of the alleged "haplotanks" sold here in Germany are completely wrongly designed. The only thing they have in common with mine is that you can put a lot of soil in them.

Here is the link for the “Haplotanks”

Spider Haus 'Haplotank' 4x12x14"

Popularized in Europe, the haplotank style enclosure is suitable for "tube-dwelling" tarantulas. We're bringing this design, in acrylic, to US keepers.

spidershoppe.com

I think their final design has more ventilation.

 

[Theraphosid Research Team]

Here is the link for the “Haplotanks”

Spider Haus 'Haplotank' 4x12x14"

Popularized in Europe, the haplotank style enclosure is suitable for "tube-dwelling" tarantulas. We're bringing this design, in acrylic, to US keepers.

spidershoppe.com

I think their final design has more ventilation.

 

[Theraphosid Research Team]

Unfortunately, it's just as I thought. First of all, the terrarium is made of plastic. Unfortunately, that scratches over time. Also, the ventilation at the top is far too little. My terrariums have a lid made entirely of perforated sheet metal at the top, which ensures good drying of the top substrate, while the substrate at the bottom, where the spider usually stays, remains sufficiently moist for a long time, which ensures good cocoon care, as the spider with the cocoon can simply choose the right moisture range. Another problem is the small size of this terrarium in relation to the size of the adult spider. One of the participants in the discussion here had made the article I posted about the haplotanks in the BTS Journal available for download. Anyone interested should read it.