The ‘mimicking the natural environment‘ Myth

[cold blood]

Besides Poecilotheria, what species need significant changes in temperature or humidity to breed well?

a while ago i paired 4 pokies...2 i went the whole 9 yards with regards to seasonal cues...cooling period, damp period, etc....one i just dampened, one i did nothing to, just left it be, warm and predoninantly dry like always....the only one to drop a sac was that last one.

I dont always believe the 'this t requires seasonal cues" argument....as my experiences just dont support this very strongly.

 

[EDED]

Not all pokies need sig changes to temp/ humidity haha
subfusca was easy
tigrinawesseli was also 'easy' as in no changes were needed
spray , let it dry out, spray repeat,
room temp

Xenesthis, Pamphobeteus (not all),
Haplopelma
some ornithoctonus
G. pulchra
G. rosea
some Brachy and Aphono (but not drastic)
are ones i can think of either personal experience or from what i have heard from successful breeders. Successful breeders in my optinon is a person who can repeatedly produce CB stock from one species or many species

not only breeding, but even general keeping, i noticed C. cyaneopubescens need higher temperature in order to start eating. Higher temp higher metabolism for that particular species and I am sure others can name sevearl other species

most burrowing asian Ts from, even from super hot jungle by the equator line, most prefer cooler environment for breeding. Orphnaecus sp Kaki tebal for example, I thought from being Indonesia it would be super hot/humid but i had to mover her to bottom shelf in a room that was 74F, before i had her mated and kept in 80F. she was trying to escape the container 24/7 so i quickly changed the temp and she dug even more and made eggsac.

species like Haplo schmidti/hainanum/bach ma the mustache clan, also prefer cooler temp.
this is waht i have done for 7 eggsacs of Bach Ma , 3 schmidti, 1 hainanum eggsac two years ago, also Haplo robustum too..
mate if possible in the fall.
flood late autumn, let it dry it out over the next two periods, best dec to feb. and lower temp to 66 to 68F
then gradually warm back up to 72 or 74F they will emerge from plugged burrow to feed at this point,
gradually add moisture.
where using a humidity probe, surface can be 66% or so humidity while the very end of burrow is 90%+ humidity. this can happen if you have lots of dirt (buffering effect or gradient effect?)
like 10 to 12 inches substrate.
open top ventilation as in screen top ,,not blocked with tape to lower ventilation.

kind of writing off topic here but i hope this helps somewhat

 

[Venom1080]

Not all pokies need sig changes to temp/ humidity haha
subfusca was easy
tigrinawesseli was also 'easy' as in no changes were needed
spray , let it dry out, spray repeat,
room temp

Xenesthis, Pamphobeteus (not all),
Haplopelma
some ornithoctonus
G. pulchra
G. rosea
some Brachy and Aphono (but not drastic)
are ones i can think of either personal experience or from what i have heard from successful breeders. Successful breeders in my optinon is a person who can repeatedly produce CB stock from one species or many species

not only breeding, but even general keeping, i noticed C. cyaneopubescens need higher temperature in order to start eating. Higher temp higher metabolism for that particular species and I am sure others can name sevearl other species

most burrowing asian Ts from, even from super hot jungle by the equator line, most prefer cooler environment for breeding. Orphnaecus sp Kaki tebal for example, I thought from being Indonesia it would be super hot/humid but i had to mover her to bottom shelf in a room that was 74F, before i had her mated and kept in 80F. she was trying to escape the container 24/7 so i quickly changed the temp and she dug even more and made eggsac.

species like Haplo schmidti/hainanum/bach ma the mustache clan, also prefer cooler temp.
this is waht i have done for 7 eggsacs of Bach Ma , 3 schmidti, 1 hainanum eggsac two years ago, also Haplo robustum too..
mate if possible in the fall.
flood late autumn, let it dry it out over the next two periods, best dec to feb. and lower temp to 66 to 68F
then gradually warm back up to 72 or 74F they will emerge from plugged burrow to feed at this point,
gradually add moisture.
where using a humidity probe, surface can be 66% or so humidity while the very end of burrow is 90%+ humidity. this can happen if you have lots of dirt (buffering effect or gradient effect?)
like 10 to 12 inches substrate.
open top ventilation as in screen top ,,not blocked with tape to lower ventilation.

kind of writing off topic here but i hope this helps somewhat

Yeah, I don't think many American breeders go the whole nine yards with mimicking seasons when pokie breeding .Something I haven't bothered doing either in my limited breeding experience either.

Cool to know about the haplos. Congrats on all those sacs, wow.

 

[Mr Centipede]

Would there need to be a certain temperture and/or habitat for a beetle to eat? (sorry beetle newbie)

 

[MikeofBorg]

I have my Ts in bioactive enclosures with live plants. I included red worms in the substrate to naturally add fertilizer in worm casting for the plants. I used drought tolerant species to avoid constant watering, 10-20 drops of water every 10 days. I use Pothos plants, air plants and dwarf grass species that can handle less water. Added springtails, isopods and some micro snails (about 1mm max size) as detritivores. I've had the Ts in the same enclosures for 3 years now minus my two new additions (A chalcodes mature female (6 months) and a B. hamorii sling for 4 months. All my Ts have molted multiple times and have no issues catching prey. My Avic male who is close to maturing loves incorporating the Pothos plant leaves into his tube web. My A. seemani was a pet hole until I put in live plants and micro fauna. Now he comes out and wanders his enclosure at night. The only downside is maintenance. You will have to prune plants about once month. I just trim back a few leaves. Drought tolerant plants are very hardy and can handle pruning.

Now trying to mimic the environmental factors down to humidity and such is a waste of time. In the small enclosure we keep Ts it is nearly impossible for the environment outside the enclosure to not have some effect. Also I have all my Ts prominently displayed in my family and living room. So I need their enclosures to look good even if the T is in its tube web or hide. Usually my Ts are where folks can see them in the enclosure except my Avic sometimes. He loves his tube web, but he always has his pink toes sticking out ready for a cricket or roach.

 

[Mr Centipede]

Thank you for informing me.