Your experience with Thrixopelma ockerti?

[BoyFromLA]

I received 1/2” healthy looking Thrixopelma ockerti sling in the morning.

Correct me if I am wrong:

• Arboreal type.
• Pretty fast growth rate.
• Keep it moist.

A few questions:

• Does it web a lot?
• Keep it similar as Caribean versicolor?

How was/is your experience with this tarantula?

 

[KezyGLA]

Semi- arboreal, medium growth, keep mostly dry, fairly heavy webber, very skittish, big flickers. Setup as you would GBB

 

[BoyFromLA]

Semi- arboreal, medium growth, keep mostly dry, fairly heavy webber, very skittish, big flickers. Setup as you would GBB

Ah ha! Is that right?

 

[draconisj4]

This is how I have my little one set up, I gave it a choice of where it wanted to be and enough substrate to burrow if it so desired. There's also a small hide behind the plant in the foreground but it chose to make it's home under the leaves of the plant. I do moisten the substrate around it a bit on occasion as it seems to appreciate it. I know the enclosure is kind of big, but it was all I had at the moment.

 

[BoyFromLA]

This is how I have my little one set up, I gave it a choice of where it wanted to be and enough substrate to burrow if it so desired. There's also a small hide behind the plant in the foreground but it chose to make it's home under the leaves of the plant. I do moisten the substrate around it a bit on occasion as it seems to appreciate it. I know the enclosure is kind of big, but it was all I had at the moment.

Thank you for the insights!

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Basically a more 'rare' (well, this depends) 'GBB'.

 

[cold blood]

They are very.

As in, very good eaters, very fast, very skittish, very flicky and very beautiful

I agree with the medium growth...males matured for me in a year and a half to two years....my female is 3.5 years and still under 4" easily.....once she hit 3", her growth slowed a bunch...but she still eats everything she can.

ockerti

• cold blood
• Mar 1, 2018

 

[BoyFromLA]

They are very.

As in, very good eaters, very fast, very skittish, very flicky and very beautiful

Very nice!

 

[The Grym Reaper]

I only recently got mine (It ate once, fasted for 10 days and then moulted) but my setup is probably closer to a Psalmopoeus setup (albeit drier), angled cork bark to climb on if it wants to (or to hide under if not) and lots of plants at ground level, it has webbed a fair bit in the short time I've had it.



IIRC, in the wild they mostly live at ground level until the rainy season forces them to seek shelter off of the ground.

 

[BoyFromLA]

I only recently got mine (It ate once, fasted for 10 days and then moulted) but my setup is probably closer to a Psalmopoeus setup (albeit drier), angled cork bark to climb on if it wants to (or to hide under if not) and lots of plants at ground level, it has webbed a fair bit in the short time I've had it.

I set up as below.

 

[boina]

I don't like your setup much, I think it's wrong. They aren't arboreals, although people keep claiming they are, but that's a myth. They are semi-arboreal, as @KezyGLA said. You should set them up like a GBB with much more ground space and webbing anchors than you have. They are also fairly active, so cramming them into an arboreal enclosure where all they can do is go up, is not a good idea. That's a Pokie-setup. These are not Pokies.

Btw, I've never seen one that burrows, they just don't. They web, extensively and horizontally. So give it a chance to do so.

Edit: And DON'T keep them moist. They need it predominantly dry. I don't know where you got your initial information but practically all of it is wrong.

Edit 2: You know what annoys me? You got a lot of great information from people who are known to be very knowledgeable, like @KezyGLA , @Chris LXXIX , @The Grym Reaper... and still you decided to ignore them all and set it up as a purely arboreal, and moist, too. Why did you even ask if you had already decided you were going to stick with your first information and disregard everything else?

 

[The Grym Reaper]

I set up as below.

This is mine, mine was purchased at 3cm so I gave it a bit more floor space.

I don't like your setup much, I think it's wrong. They aren't arboreals, although people keep claiming they are, but that's a myth.

Mine's probably not ideal either.

Literally all I could find on them was arguments about whether or not they were fully arboreal or fully terrestrial with the most voices saying arboreal so I decided to go arboreal with ground cover and floor space and see what it preferred.

As for moisture, everything was either "half and half" or "just overflow the water dish", I've erred on the side of the latter.

Good to know you can just set them up like a GBB, I'll be doing that in future.

 

[BoyFromLA]

You know what annoys me? You got a lot of great information from people who are known to be very knowledgeable, like @KezyGLA , @Chris LXXIX , @The Grym Reaper... and still you decided to ignore them all and set it up as a purely arboreal, and moist, too. Why did you even ask if you had already decided you were going to stick with your first information and disregard everything else?

Wah wah @boina, easy easy. I am not ignoring or disregarding anything here. I am thankful for all the insightful informations I’ve got from kind fellow members.

 

[boina]

This is mine, mine was purchased at 3cm so I gave it a bit more floor space.
View attachment 271740

View attachment 271739



Mine's probably not ideal either.

Literally all I could find on them was arguments about whether or not they were fully arboreal or fully terrestrial with the most voices saying arboreal so I decided to go arboreal with ground cover and floor space and see what it preferred.

As for moisture, everything was either "half and half" or "just overflow the water dish", I've erred on the side of the latter.

Good to know you can just set them up like a GBB, I'll be doing that in future.

Just look at their body shape - it's typical terrestrial and they can get quite plump. I wouldn't give them too much height since I'd worry they'd go *splat* if they fall from too high up. Having said that, they do show a tendency to climb and they don't like tight hides, unlike a terrestrial. I've had one since 3 years and experimented a bit with the setup to see what she prefers. The end result is a short, but large, piece of bark, leaned against the side. There's a lot of space behind it and that's where she's made her home. Mine really hates tight spaces and refuses to go into a hide or behind a bark if it's not roomy enough. The rest of the horizontal space is taken up by a very large hide (she still refuses to go in there) and plenty of sticks to web, that got webbed in extensively. She also has a large enclosure (60x30x30cm / 24"x12"x12") and uses every bit of it.

 

[cold blood]

i disagree with boina...yes, their body says terrestrial, but they arent terrestrial. Ive talked to several breeders that feel the same way....i would never force one into a terrestrial lifestyle.

Ive had a bunch of these and ive never had a single one web much at any stage in life.

Just look at their body shape - it's typical terrestrial and they can get quite plump. I wouldn't give them too much height since I'd worry they'd go *splat* if they fall from too high up. Having said that, they do show a tendency to climb and they don't like tight hides, unlike a terrestrial. I've had one since 3 years and experimented a bit with the setup to see what she prefers. The end result is a short, but large, piece of bark, leaned against the side. There's a lot of space behind it and that's where she's made her home. Mine really hates tight spaces and refuses to go into a hide or behind a bark if it's not roomy enough. The rest of the horizontal space is taken up by a very large hide (she still refuses to go in there) and plenty of sticks to web, that got webbed in extensively. She also has a large enclosure (60x30x30cm / 24"x12"x12") and uses every bit of it.

View attachment 271741

that said, i think your set up is great...they dont burrow and i agree they arent much for tight places....but you do have things at elevated positions and like mine, they tend to sit at these elevated locations most of the time.

 

[boina]

i disagree with boina...yes, their body says terrestrial, but they arent terrestrial. Ive talked to several breeders that feel the same way....i would never force one into a terrestrial lifestyle.

No they aren't terrestrial. I think semi-arboreal was the word I used. A hide and a water bowl definitely doesn't work. I don't think they'd do well in a purely arboreal or in a purely terrestrial setup - they like something in between. Interesting that your's don't web.

 

[viper69]

Big flickers like boehmei, not arboreal, terrestrial. People often use semi-arboreal.