Glasgow Andrew Has A Question.

[Andrew Murdoch]

Hi everybody, so here goes.
At present I have my Mex Red Knee housed in a 30x30x30 viv and it is doing great, it has a burrow and spends most of its time in it. I am waiting for a L. para which is a juvinile. Would it be ok to house it in a 'smallish' container which is then placed into the viv. The viv is warm and has a good humidity. Is this wrong or can it be done. If it is a poor idea I will continue with totally seperate housing. Look forward to hearing your suggestions, thanks.

[Colin D Wilson]

If you mean putting a smaller container into the tank already housing your smithi
personally i wouldn't, just to be on the safe side.
just one forgetful moment (they happen to all of us) could be the end for one of the spiders, i.e. not clipping the lid on properly, or even the parahybana getting out on its own accord (i've seen spiders chew through plastic containers and squeeze through very small holes).
plus i would imagine there would be stress on each of the spiders due to close proximity with differing genus/species.

sorry to come across as negative mate

Colin

[Andrew Murdoch]

Thanks Colin

Better safe than sorry Colin, your right, it was just an idea but I will keep them totally seperate. I will keep it in mind for the future as well. i suppose there is also a risk of cross contamination if I ever had an unhealthy one, perhaps I was trying to take short cuts! But your experience has been helpful.
As for my Mex Red Knee, well he is doing great, its amazing to see him in his burrow, when I see him head on all I see is a full row of legs and all the colour markings corrospond, it looks beautiful.
Anyways at the moment i am waiting on a delivery, new viv, fenaurium, substrates ect, I can hardly wait, it arrives tomorrow, got the stuff new, but as far as I am cncerned it has been a good but compared to petshops.
Hope things are good Colin.

[Clinton Hogben]

I am waiting for a L. para which is a juvinile. Would it be ok to house it in a 'smallish' container which is then placed into the viv.

Hi Andrew
As Colin points out you may stress either spider out and your smithi will probably see it as an invasion of its territory and get a tad annoyed
speaking from experience the L Para is a pretty strong spider once it gets bigger and escape is a real possibility
You could split the viv with an opaque divider but again unless it meets the lid with no gaps you could find an escape

Clint

[Colin D Wilson]

Yeah things a good here mate thanks.
Nice you're enjoying your smithi, they're a very pretty spider (well most Brachy's are i think). You won't regret buying a parahybana, they're a fantastic addition and Clinton's right, they are quite a robust spider and grow into a nice thick set individual.
Let us know how you get on with it and post some piccies in the pix section if you can of both.

Colin

[Tom Forman]

as long as the smithy cannot see the other spider I would say that it is fine to do.
After all, most tarantula keepers I have seen keep their tarantulas stacked in boxes right ontop next to and underneath other species.

If you can, close off a corner of the viv with a cardboard divider and "hide" the L para there, making sure the smithy won't get there exploring one day.

But up to you at the end of the day. Imo it can be done but yes if the smithy sees the para it won't be happy and if the para escapes well then he is a goner just like if he would escape elsewhere lol.

[Colin D Wilson]

The original idea of just dropping a tub in the tank is still, in my opinion, a bit 'dodgy'

Toms idea of closing the area off completely & making it secure as possible is another reasonable idea to consider and is entirely possible and gives you another option.

Colin