How rare are P.rufilatas

[paul fleming]

Hi all,
I have just been chatting to our friends across the pond and it seems that P.rufilata are rather rare and expensive over there.
I got my ones from Pete and very thankful I am too....thanks mate .
Is Pete the only one breeding them or are there lots around ?
I have my 6 and if I can breed them,I will do the same as Pete did.Limit them to get them to more poeple and also sell for the same price as he did so we can get more of these stunners into the hobby.
I know P.fasciata and P.regalis seem abundant but I was just wondering about rufs and all the rest of the pokie family.
It would be nice if we had some sort of "table" with the availability of different pokie species......just an idea.
It may also help to see what species we should concentrate on breeding.
I personally think,this species should be made available to everybody that wants to take an interest.
Paul

[darrell hetzel]

i am not to sure exactly how rare p. rufilata is, just that it is one of the more rare pokies. i only have one. i am thinking about a commune of them in the future. i had to look for a little bit to find mine, so definitely more rare than p. regalis but i think less rare than P. subfuca. i would put it right below P. miranda. i do agree that a chart would be wonderful. perhaps a couple of the members with a little more experience with buying and selling of species in the genus could help. i unfortunately have only just begun my collection of the pokies.

[Elaine Ross]

I wouldnt say P. rufilata were rare Paul. There are a fair few around and sold for approx £6 - £7 each as slings so not an expensive Pokie either. I would say however that they are a very underated Pokie and for me, they are the most attractive by far. Our AF has to be my favourite Pokie here and we now have some little un's to grow on.

[Mark Pennell]

In the coming years they may well be a big drop off in the pokie sp availability dept.

As the UK's most successful pokie breeder (Ray Gabriel) as moved to Panama!

This is why its more important than ever to captive breed all sp of pokes.

cheers
MArk

[Nicola Dolby]

In that case how about a BTS online guide to breeding (with special tips for individual species egg sac incubation)?

[paul fleming]

In that case how about a BTS online guide to breeding (with special tips for individual species egg sac incubation)?

Very good idea

[Mark Pennell]

In that case how about a BTS online guide to breeding (with special tips for individual species egg sac incubation)?

Pretty dam sure this is covered in many a BTS back issue.

Perhaps its time to collate these and put as a single resource to download.

regards
Mark

[Dan Kennard]

In the coming years they may well be a big drop off in the pokie sp availability dept.

As the UK's most successful pokie breeder (Ray Gabriel) as moved to Panama!

This is why its more important than ever to captive breed all sp of pokes.

cheers
MArk

God knows I'm trying.

I think the biggest problem in regards to breeding Poecilotheria in captivity is the lack of free information regarding certain species.

I've tried several times to breed P. metallica over the last 18 months or so, and after much frustration, false information, and trial and error, I now believe that this attempt stands a really good chance of success.

However, if previous breeders would have just given a helping hand rather than either completely ignoring emails or giving out false information, then there would be a much larger number in the hobby.

An awful lot of elitism when it comes to breeding pokies unfortunately.

[Ray Gabriel]

God knows I'm trying.

I think the biggest problem in regards to breeding Poecilotheria in captivity is the lack of free information regarding certain species.

I've tried several times to breed P. metallica over the last 18 months or so, and after much frustration, false information, and trial and error, I now believe that this attempt stands a really good chance of success.

However, if previous breeders would have just given a helping hand rather than either completely ignoring emails or giving out false information, then there would be a much larger number in the hobby.

An awful lot of elitism when it comes to breeding pokies unfortunately.

I have sent two articles (the start of a series of 5) to the BTS editors, the first on the breeding and care of P. reglais and striata, the second on P. formosa, metallica, miranda and tigrinaweselli. The others to follow when finished on P. fasciata, smithi and pederseni, P. ornata and rufilata, and a further one on P. subfusca.

These are big articles maybe too big for a single journal which is maybe why they have not been published yet.

These articles are based on the research I did for Andy's book, so I choose to have them published in the BTS journal, when the editors see fit to publish them then they will be published for all to access nothing elitest about that.

Most of the info I have found on Pokes is repeated on the numerous posts on websites, but lets start with a basic husbandry question; are they being kept in temperature controlled heated cabinets?

Ray

[Dan Kennard]

I have sent two articles (the start of a series of 5) to the BTS editors, the first on the breeding and care of P. reglais and striata, the second on P. formosa, metallica, miranda and tigrinaweselli. The others to follow when finished on P. fasciata, smithi and pederseni, P. ornata and rufilata, and a further one on P. subfusca.

These are big articles maybe too big for a single journal which is maybe why they have not been published yet.

These articles are based on the research I did for Andy's book, so I choose to have them published in the BTS journal, when the editors see fit to publish them then they will be published for all to access nothing elitest about that.

Most of the info I have found on Pokes is repeated on the numerous posts on websites, but lets start with a basic husbandry question; are they being kept in temperature controlled heated cabinets?

Ray

Ray, I like you and respect what you've done for the tarantula keeping community, but sometimes you seem to get awfully defensive. I don't believe that I mentioned you once in the previous post, or even implied to that end.

In regards to the "basic husbandry" question, I've not personally seen any breeding tips and information involving a heated cabinet. In fact, many Poecilotheria breeding attempts (including mine in regards to regalis) seem to succeed without a heated cabinet. I will not be using one this time either for my next metallica attempt. However, I am using 3 heat mats attatched to a thermostat to raise the ambient temperature rather than provide a localised source.

What I refer to is specific seasonal information. For example, many people will advise soaking metallica to produce a sac, despite the fact that they aparrently make them during the dry season in their natural habitat.

And then there's the hide issue. Most people who have bred Poecilotheria before are aware of how important the right shaped/sized hide can be. I'll admit, I've provided hides that were too big, and they resulted in either a failure, or an eaten sac. This is quite a basic piece of information, but it's not made particularly aparrent in online resources.

You've worked hard, and I'm sure that you've had as many failures as the rest of us. As such, I'm sure you realise how frustrating it can be. Bearing in mind most of us don't have access to the specimens and knowledge base that you and your colleages do.

Personally, I don't feel that if someone wants to breed a species to better the hobby, that they should have to join the BTS to become privy to that information. They should join the BTS because they love tarantulas and want to be a part of the amazing society it is. Considering how endangered many Poecilotheria examples are, I feel that the breeding information should be made freely available. If I have any luck with my metallica attempt, that's something I certainly will be striving towards.

[Peter Lacey]

I think we've all been waiting for an English speaking Poecilotheria book for a while, more so once the German one arrived. Its therefore great news to hear your plans Ray, very commendable and I look forward to a good read.

Paul, sorry m8 but I have to correct you, I merely supplied the males for the P. rufilata slings that I sold earlier in the year. I've recently tried 2 regalis, 1 rufilata and have several potential pokie breeding projects at mo. Fingers crossed

[alex smith]

You'll get there Pete-perseverance seems to me to be one of the best assets to breeding poec's.I have mated some of my females over the past four or five years with no result-and then (relative)success all of a sudden.

Dan it is frustrating but you will get there its just being commited to the long term, if your females dont produce one year then try again the next, and a bit of my twisted logic for you-you cant loose something you don't have in the first place, what ever you get with breeding is a bonus.

My subfusca breeding report on AP is intended to provide as much info as I could muster in the aim of outing some breeding info for others to follow-and judging by the amount of views hopefully its working.

Great to hear from Ray-and couldnt agree more with you Mark, we have lost our most respected and successful pokie breeder, but I will continue trying to breed them and every time I do I will learn a little more, that to me is where the pure power of knowledge is gained-first hand.Of course some pointers wouldn't go amiss.

As with Pete, I will be looking forward very much to reading your articles Ray and an example of how BTS members are privileged to an immense pool of knowledge, help and assistance for next to nothing in monetary terms every year.If your into arachnids and not a member whats stopping you?!!!

[paul fleming]

I think we've all been waiting for an English speaking Poecilotheria book for a while, more so once the German one arrived. Its therefore great news to hear your plans Ray, very commendable and I look forward to a good read.

Paul, sorry m8 but I have to correct you, I merely supplied the males for the P. rufilata slings that I sold earlier in the year. I've recently tried 2 regalis, 1 rufilata and have several potential pokie breeding projects at mo. Fingers crossed

No worries m8
Just glad you let me have them
Paul