does any have a communal setup ,

[chris king]

does anyone have a communal setup for ya Ts ,?
if so which have you used,any photo's
how have you found it

[Neil Richardson]

Got two at the moment, but they are still 4th instar spiderlings. P.formosa and P.regalis (obviously separate colonies) half a dozen individuals in each one. Largest is reaching about an inch legspan now.

No pics unfortunately, set up is in a large jam jar, lots of small pieces of cork bark to provide as much hiding space as possible, and about an inch of moist substrate.

[chris king]

sound very interesting,
i was thinking of one ,but with say more easy Ts,as i ve only just starting out ,

[Colin D Wilson]

Got a couple on the go, P regalis (5), P penderseni (3), P murinus RCF (, H gigas (9)(if thats what they are), not really much to photograph at the mo, just a load of holes and webbed up plants. (there's an early regalis photo in the advanced discussion forum section)
Going to attempt an Avicularia community soon not sure on which species yet (once again though if what i get is what it says on the tin, another genus muddle)
oh yeah, a couple of P imperator (emperor scorps) comunities as well.

I'd say P regalis is the easiest to come by and to keep. As richard says lots of hiding places, and i'll add not too much free space and PLENTY of food

[chris king]

many thanks

[James Box]

Colin, has my coffee not kicked in yet, or did i actually read that you have a P. murinus colony??? and H. gigas (possibly)???
are they slings still?

[Nicola Dolby]

Hi Colin,
I'd be fascinated to hear about this as well. I know some Hystocrates are communal but I thought P. murinus were totally antisocial with each other. Please tell more!

[craig hill]

ive got p.formosa and p.rufilata communal, lots of small peices of cork bark and then one big peice going across bottom left to top right

[Colin D Wilson]

Both colonies are in 12 x 10 x 10 wilko's own brand kritter keeper style tanks.

Both lots are slings up to 4th instar (just over 1 inch)

The H gigas (although the journal entry by Ray G has me sceptical at best) have only two inches of substrate to burrow in, they are very sociable and tolerant of each other and i have seen them feeding from the same food item (i sometimes squidge a large cricket and leave it in the tank for night time) i observe them with a red light so photography is rare (good photography from Ray in the journal entry i may add)
Started with nine and still have all alive.
will try for a photo one night when most of them are at the entrance to their burrows. have noticed two sharing same large burrow entrance although i'm not sure if the burrow splits or not below the surface.

The murinus are kept, with the other half of my collection at a friends, in a heavily planted tank with two - three inches of substrate, giving them the option of arboreal, terestrial or fossorial living.
I started with ten 2nd instar and have lost two in six months (ish). both were found dead on the surface away from webbing or burrow entrance and with no evidence of being fed upon by the others.
I know of two other people who have kept murinus together up untill maturity, only then has the removal of mature males been necessary.

[chris king]

thank you for the info

[James Box]

that's amazing, Colin thanks

i'd heard of the possibility of H. gigas being slightly communal early on in life, in a book, but heard nothing since.
the book also mentioned the possibility of H. gigas jumping into water to nab fish? thought that was pretty interesting.

the P. murinus is pretty amazing too. i can't wait to get one of that species!

[Colin D Wilson]

Not a good picture at all (quick snap through perspex on a crappy camera phone)
2 H gigus going on a wander. they were back in their burrows 0.8 seconds after this quick shot.