A few questions about Hysterocrates gigas communal setup

[pokie99]

Hello!
I'm planning on getting several slings from this species and raising them communally. I have a question about communal set up. Do I have to raise them from the moment they meet in the big terrarium they are going to live as adults or can I move them from enclosure to enclosure as they get older without them eating each other from the stress of being moved? And is inbreeding a problem? I want them to breed with each other when they get older but they are from the same egg sac. And a final question. I'm afraid their mother was WC because in this store they sell WC animals. I feel a bit guilty but this is the only place in my country where they sell this species and the slings are really cheap. I really want a communal setup with this sp. and I was wondering if it's better to buy one female instead of a lot of slings (can many of them die?). Is it a good idea to buy them and can I move them after they settle in one enclosure? I would appreciate an advice!

 

[Therasoid]

Males mature faster than females. Male sac mates will die before their sisters are mature enough to breed. Can't be of help about a communal, I haven't done one, someone w/h experience will chime in though. Good luck.

 

[pokie99]

Thanks! But what do you think about the WC thing? Should I buy the slings or the female? What do you think will happen if I introduce a male to the already matured females? Will they kill him?

 

[pokie99]

So... I saw the female gigas. I asked and they told me she may be WC. The slings are no longer an option. She's big (about 2" body) and I'm worried that she may be old but just small. I can also buy a sub - adult M. balfouri from a person who breeds them at almost the same price and I can compare it with the sexually matured males and females so I can pick a female (But I'm not very good at sexing balfouries). I don't know why I like the gigas so much. They keep her in a small box with almost no substrate and she's been like this for several months. I really want to save her and make her a beautiful terrarium with a pond. I don't know what to do. The balfouri breader keeps the Ts in a basement and it's really dark in there so I'm not sure I will be able to sex the T properly. I can ask him if we can go outside in the light but I'm still not sure. What do you think? Gigas or balfouri?

 

[terror_corpz]

So... I saw the female gigas. I asked and they told me she may be WC. The slings are no longer an option. She's big (about 2" body) and I'm worried that she may be old but just small. I can also buy a sub - adult M. balfouri from a person who breeds them at almost the same price and I can compare it with the sexually matured males and females so I can pick a female (But I'm not very good at sexing balfouries). I don't know why I like the gigas so much. They keep her in a small box with almost no substrate and she's been like this for several months. I really want to save her and make her a beautiful terrarium with a pond. I don't know what to do. The balfouri breader keeps the Ts in a basement and it's really dark in there so I'm not sure I will be able to sex the T properly. I can ask him if we can go outside in the light but I'm still not sure. What do you think? Gigas or balfouri?

I think gigas are cool because there size and the ability to swim

 

[Poec54]

I kept some Hysterocrates slings together from the same sac, and ended with a few big ones that ate all the other ones. They are not communal. Sac mates tolerate each other for a little while.

 

[pokie99]

Thanks for the advice. If I buy a H. gigas, it will be a female, not several slings. I was wondering if I should get a gigas, a balfouri (after some research I found that sexing balfouries ventrally is actually pretty easy) and a L6 P. subfusca (considering the fact that at this size it may gust be a male sold for an unsexed sling). I'm wondering which one to get and that's why I asked for advice.

 

[Poec54]

Get whatever you like, it's your money. Hysterocrates are still being imported as w/c adults, so they're not expensive (under $20 wholesale, which is what I got mine for, not sure what retail is). Hysterocrates aren't at the top of anyone's list for color, but they have some great behaviors. Besides the tendency to swim, females kill prey and give it to their young (which is why slings have some tolerance for sacs mates for a little while), plus they stridulate more readily than most species. Fascinating spiders. But they have little drought tolerance; keep that in mind if you get one.

 

[pokie99]

What would you buy if you were me?

 

[pokie99]

Just a last question. Can a 2" WC female H. gigas be old? She has molted several months ago and as I saw now has a reddish color. Can she be in premolt? Tomorrow I'm going to buy her so it"s an urgent question. I'm going to phone the owner of the pet shop and ask him if she grew a lot the last time she molted and if she may be in premolt now. Is that going to show if she is old? And if it's possible for her to be old at this size, what can I also ask to determine the age? Also how old does this sp. get as I couldn't find any information on that on the internet. I will be very grateful if you answer these questions as I feel I'm falling in love with this species and T in particular and will be very disappointed if something bad happens to her.

 

[Morgan94]

Just a last question. Can a 2" WC female H. gigas be old? She has molted several months ago and as I saw now has a reddish color. Can she be in premolt? Tomorrow I'm going to buy her so it"s an urgent question. I'm going to phone the owner of the pet shop and ask him if she grew a lot the last time she molted and if she may be in premolt now. Is that going to show if she is old? And if it's possible for her to be old at this size, what can I also ask to determine the age? Also how old does this sp. get as I couldn't find any information on that on the internet. I will be very grateful if you answer these questions as I feel I'm falling in love with this species and T in particular and will be very disappointed if something bad happens to her.

I wish i could buy all my spiders at 2". H. Gigas will usualy live 10-12yrs some people say it can be even longer (up to 20yrs) and reach around 6-8" as an adult

 

[pokie99]

I mean body.

 

[pokie99]

Thanks for the reply! I feel better now. I'll show pictures when I get her.

 

[pokie99]

Ok... I phoned the pet shop and asked them these questions. They said she molted 4 months ago and since then they've been feeding her once a week. She still eats so she's not in premolt. They don't know the age and haven't looked how bigger she's gotten after the molt. The owner advised me to get a small CB one but I really want her. They don't care for her much at all! I'm wondering how she survived in these dry conditions. As I said, she's 2" body. Can she be old and should I buy her?

 

[pokie99]

I talked with the balfouri breeder about the gigas. He sells a lot of Ts and is maybe the most experienced tarantula keeper in my country. He told me that at this size a WC tarantula can't be more than four years old so I'm going to buy her. In a few hours I'm going to show you pics. Special thanks to all of the people who helped me and gave me advice in this post! I really like this forum because everybody here is so friendly and patient and gives great advice.

 

[Morgan94]

Buy her if u want her I would

 

[pokie99]

I bought her. And I sure made the best choice! This is the greatest tarantula I've ever seen! I am so glad I took her from this place! She was kept in a small box (a little bit bigger than the one I brought her in which is showed in the pics) with almost no substrate and she's been like this for more than 4 months! When they gave her to me she was in the corner of the box and had put her legs near her body like Ts do when they're scared. She was very clumsy and moved really slowly as if she had no strength or was very, very old. I thought to myself that at least she will spend her last moments happily. I bought her despite that because people who had seen her told me she was ok. I had to go to several shops and took her with me and that's when she started to be more active (maybe because she was wondering what was happening). I set up her terrarium when we got home and let her in it. She fought with the stick fiercely as I pushed her in the terrarium.☺ But what happened next really amazed me. She rushed immediately to the water dish and got half of her body in the water. Poor thing! She was so thirsty! After that she immediately started exploring and arranging her new home. Now she's constantly going to the water. The terrarium isn't finished. I didn't have enough substrate so I'll have to buy more. I'm going to put a larger box for the water and put some stones and branches in it. I'm going to add more decorations, too. She looks happy now and I am really amazed with this species. She turned out to be bigger than I thought and I think she's a mature female. Here are some pics (the T is measured in centimeters /1 inch - 2,5 centimeters/):

 

[Poec54]

Nice looking spider, appears healthy and active. Hysterocrates won't get the bulky abdomens that NW terrestrials often do. Keep her cage on the moist side. They're very strong. I had one in a divided 10 gallon aquarium, and she broke off a piece of the Plexiglas divider with her fangs. If you have a screen lid, she can easily rip thru that.

 

[pokie99]

Thanks. How old do you think she is considering that WC Ts are smaller than CB and her body is about 2 and 1/2" and has a leg span of 6"? About the lid thing: well, I guess I shouldn't make her mad☺. I'll try to find her a male and mate her when she molts. If she's so strong, then why didn't she rip thru the plastic box they kept her in? It wasn't even thick as a plastic bottle.
P.S. Do you think she's really a "gigas"? WC animals can be a different species, not the one they are said to be. Which is the 4th pair of legs? The front ones are bigger, but none of the parts of the 4th pair is thicker.

 

[Ceratogyrus]

There is no way to tell age from looking at size
There is a very good article in the latest BTS journal regarding Hysterocrates. Pretty much saying that just mark them as Hysterocrates sp. There are so many hybrids of these in the hobby and most are seriously misidentified. If you could find out which country it came from, that would be best, otherwise best not to breed it if you want to keep what we have left of these, pure.