New Arrivals Info needed

[Rich.Harrington]

Ok so again today the guy in the shop saw me coming a mile off and I find myself now owning a sub adult 5" Phormictopus atrichromatus, along with a sub adult 4-5" Cyriopagopus sp.

Admitidly soon as I saw the blue I knew it was going to be a sore wallet day.

Well as usual before getting spiders, I took a search around for anything I can find on a species and have got the basics. However I can find very little about Phormictopus atrichromatus, other than the usual, size region and habitat.

So anyone out there that has experience of both and can throw me tips is more than welcome to.

Oh and anyone that hasnt yet got a blue, it has to be said that even though its very aggressive, they are worth every jump and bite.

[Colin D Wilson]

for your Phormictopus sp.
Richard Gallon seems to have produced the photos for the online Theraphosid galleries on doing a search. I would think that he has the species in his collection.
Ray Gabriel has knowledge of the general "Central America" area, Panama, Costa etc etc. Hoduras (from whence they hail i believe) is just up the road a bit.
Hopefully they'll see this thread and be able to help, if not try a PM.

[James Box]

i have two species of the Phormictopus genus: cancerides and "Dominican Republic blue femur". the former are two lovely blue slings about an inch and an inch and a half in size, the latter is apparently a juvenile although he/she's 4 inches across.
i have to say i love these spiders!
now, i'm no expert, but so far i am keeping mine as normal terrestrials. warmth and moisture available. considering how the 4-incher spends half the time near the heat mat at the back and another good portion of the time near or on his water dish, i would expect them to appreciate humidity and heat. he/she feeds well (voraciously!!!) and is fairly defensive and fast. gave me a nice display today as i cleaned his/her tank!
the cancerides slings are fed fairly often, and are a beautiful shade of dark blue. i've mentioned this on a few threads lately, but they really are stunning. will hopefully post pics tomorrow of the most recently moulted one.
actually, i have pics of the older one as well.
they brown up later in life, but can have nice highlights, slightly Pamphobeteus-ish looking. think that's mainly the males though.
i've kept them now since August and September, so don't think i'm too far off in my keeping.
Sam Marshall's book Tarantulas and Other Arachnids, which is a quality book, recommends a large tank with an opportunistic burrower set up, though mine has been known to dig. he says moist substrate is good, but i'd say just a good supply of water at all times, spilling over the sides, is probably fine.
seems a robust tarantula to me, so far.

as for Cyriopagopus, i recommend doing a search through this forum for a thread i started about a cheeky Cyriopagopus schoedti. there are good instructions there from one of the moderators, i believe, on how to keep them, and i think those tips are good for most of this genus.

hope that helps! fantastic choice of spiders...i particularly love Phormictopus spp!