Monocentropus balfouri communal setup

[Ian Hall]

[Mitch DuCran]

This is something I've considered doing but being mainly fossorial I assumed they'd all dig away and not create anything cool. Let's face it, the only reason we do stuff like this is for our benefit but it seems that you've got them to all stick together.

I have a Pterinochilus murinus colony of 5 which looks roughly the same. Good luck with the project.

[Ian Hall]

Update!


I've had first moults and web construction has started to take place within the enclosure.


Very hard to confirm whether there has been any deaths or if all 10 are still alive.


How ever many are here still do seem to be thriving.

[Ian Hall]

My communal balfouri enclosure is still thriving and I do get the occasionally appearance by two or three at a time late on in the evening especially at feeding time (of cause).

I wish I could tell you that all ten are still alive but without destroying their habitat I will never know and I won't be doing that.

[Ian Hall]

[Ian Hall]

[Ian Hall]

[Ian Hall]

Eventually I am going to need to transfer these ten tarantulas into a new, larger enclosure.

Anyone got any tips, advice or past experiences with re-homing tarantula communities?

[Ian Hall]

Eventually I am going to need to transfer these ten tarantulas into a new, larger enclosure.

Anyone got any tips, advice or past experiences with re-homing tarantula communities?

Plus update...

This community is growing from strength to strength and each time I see my M.balfouri out on a hunt they seem to be bigger and bigger. They are growing fast. I imagine partly because I do give them more than plenty of food to share between one and other to decrease the chances of eating each other.

Once again I don't know for certain how many remain. And I won't until it comes to judgement day (Re-homing day).

[Ian Hall]

My M.balfouri are growing so fast. Their starting to show colours.

[Magnor Pedersen]

Eventually I am going to need to transfer these ten tarantulas into a new, larger enclosure.

Anyone got any tips, advice or past experiences with re-homing tarantula communities?

I separated my balfouri communal of elleven subadult and adult individuals last night. Aside from one running out of the enclosure and up my bathroom walls, it whent great. They kept to their burrow (they all lived in the same underground chamber with several entrances) until coaxed out, one by one. They were very well behaved, allthough fighting my catch cup somewhat. Just keep calm, and so will they, in my experience. Just to be on the safeside, I had availible atleast one catch cup per individual in the enclosure, in case of all of them panicking and bolting out of the enclosure.[emoji6]

On your concern about cannibalism, I wouldnt worry to much. Mine lived together for over two years without any sign of aggression towards eachother. I even observed as many as four of them sharing the same feeder on several occations. Now with them separated, I see there was one runt that was just half the size of the rest, but even that one wasnt considered food by the rest. My guess is that this is one of very few truly communal species of tarantula.


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[Ian Hall]

I thought I best use many, many capture cups and set other traps up in every direction for extra back up.

This is a great bit of feed back and some good tips. Thanks a lot.

[Ian Hall]

[Ian Hall]

New enclosure chosen!

[martin hudson]

That's a nice enclosure, what are they called, did you get them online,?

Nice thread by the way,