# Cyclosternum fasciatum - Advice Please



## The Lone Gunman (Oct 14, 2009)

My local reptile shop has several very nice juvenile specimens of this species in stock at the moment and I'm quite tempted to purchase one this weekend, but the care sheets and accounts I've read on the internet seem pretty varied.

Some suggest this species needs a moist substrate, while others say it prefers the substrate to be dry. Various reports say they are nervous types and frequent hair flickers, but others suggest they are relatively calm spiders.

Any advice on your experiences of keeping these beautiful tarantulas, particularly with regard to the substrate, humidity and tank decor, would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.


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## Kyle T's (Oct 8, 2009)

this may help good luck :2thumb:

YouTube - Jon3800's Channel

YouTube - Jon3800's Channel


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## Poxicator (Nov 14, 2007)

Cyclosternum pentalore - now this is where lots of confusion arrives. C. fasciatum (Costa Rican Tiger Rump) is very unlikely to be in the hobby according to Ray Gabriel. Its far more likely to be C. pentalore as they look very similar. C. fasciatum was moved to Davus fasciatus in 2005 but is still advertised as its former name. I believe C. pentalore was also moved to D. pentalore but I believe its not agreed upon by everyone. D. pentalore is from Guatemala and are often referred to as Tiger Rump Doppelganger.
I have kept one of these for nearly 2 years and whilst its a beautiful, docile species, which doesnt grow very large, it has a habit of disappearing for months. When I originally bought it it was on show in the shop, during the car journey home and during the the first day of keeping it. It then disappeared under the substrate for 2 months! Other people I've talked to have had similar experiences and that disappearing act has happened 3 times since I've had it. 
Easy to look after, mostly on a dry substrate with a monthly saturating of the substrate. Mine lives in a coconut shell and eats very little, but always seems to have a big abdomen. Never seen a threat pose and never seen anything but a graceful, docile spider.


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## MissyBats (Nov 11, 2009)

mine are appartly costa rican tiger rumps and are nervous, skittish and FAST!!!
they make loads of burrows and come out every night...
this could change as they are slings, so may get calmer and stay under longer as they get older...
cute lil devils though and not been flicked at (yet)
lol
xxx


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## Craig Mackay (Feb 2, 2009)

VERY fast! I'd heard they were fantastic webbers but mines lives in a deep burrow coming out only occassionally at night. Nice looking spiders though.


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## GRB (Jan 24, 2008)

Pete, 

I'm confused - I was sold some slings as C.fasciatum....now Davus....now C.pentalore?

Do you know what distinguishes the two species by any chance?


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## The Lone Gunman (Oct 14, 2009)

Craig Mackay said:


> VERY fast! I'd heard they were fantastic webbers but mines lives in a deep burrow coming out only occassionally at night. Nice looking spiders though.


Many thanks, Craig.

What sort of size and age is yours and what kind of substrate do you use? Is it dry or damp?


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## The Lone Gunman (Oct 14, 2009)

Poxicator said:


> I have kept one of these for nearly 2 years and whilst its a beautiful, docile species, which doesnt grow very large, it has a habit of disappearing for months. When I originally bought it it was on show in the shop, during the car journey home and during the the first day of keeping it. It then disappeared under the substrate for 2 months! Other people I've talked to have had similar experiences and that disappearing act has happened 3 times since I've had it.
> Easy to look after, mostly on a dry substrate with a monthly saturating of the substrate. Mine lives in a coconut shell and eats very little, but always seems to have a big abdomen. Never seen a threat pose and never seen anything but a graceful, docile spider.


Many thanks for the in-depth reply. Great stuff and very much appreciated.

What sort of size was yours when you got it and how often has it molted?


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## Craig Mackay (Feb 2, 2009)

The Lone Gunman said:


> Many thanks, Craig.
> 
> What sort of size and age is yours and what kind of substrate do you use? Is it dry or damp?


No probs, It's about an inch or so just now. Not seen it in a while so maybe bigger now, lol! I keep all of my T's on coir and i keep it fairly dry for this species with an occassional soak. Seems quite happy with that. It's not an aggressive feeder but it eats regularly enough. Won't eat in front of me though, I think it's shy, lol!


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## The Lone Gunman (Oct 14, 2009)

I'd estimate the specimens for sale in my local reptile shop have a leg span of about 2". I'm beginning to wonder if I'll buy one, pop it into its new home and then not see it again for months on end!

As I said in another thread earlier in the week, I'm looking for a couple more spiders to add to my collection (I have seven at the moment) and I'm interested in keeping something a bit different to the types I already have (3 x adult Chilean Roses, a juvenile Mexican Red Knee, a juvenile New River Rust Rump, a Big Bend Gold spiderling and a Brazilian Black spiderling). I would like species that produce a bit of web and perhaps burrow a little, so maybe a 'pet hole' Tiger Rump would fit the bill!

As a result of recommendations in the other thread, I'm definitely on the lookout for a Green Bottle Blue, but I am also tempted by one of these, even if the reports I'm getting here suggest I may not see it very often!


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## GRB (Jan 24, 2008)

I have 3 of these, I suppose (C.pentalore or fasciatum, that is the question!).

My three are quite skittish, but they are out in the open quite a lot. They eat regularly and are quite aggressive towards prey items. 

I keep mine damp, with temps mid 20'sC.


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## Kyle T's (Oct 8, 2009)

mine is only 5mm lol had it over two months still hasn't molted begining to wonder if it is indeed a Cyclosternum pentalore/fasciatum (hard to tell from the colours) i thought these were relatively fast growing..:lol2:


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## Poxicator (Nov 14, 2007)

GRB said:


> Pete,
> 
> I'm confused - I was sold some slings as C.fasciatum....now Davus....now C.pentalore?
> 
> Do you know what distinguishes the two species by any chance?


It is confusing Grant.
As I suggested, Ray informed us that the liklihood of D. fasciatum (formerly P. fasciata) being in the hobby is very small, its too rare for such low prices. However C. pentalore is more prevalent and looks very similar to D. fasciatum as well as being easier to export.
TSS recently had both species on offer as C. fasciata and C. pentalore. Its not for me to say whether these were correct ID but the confusion obviously suggests trying to obtain a proper ID before mating.
To add to the confusion there's a smaller Tiger Rump species but I can't remember the name, sorry.


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## GRB (Jan 24, 2008)

Poxicator said:


> It is confusing Grant.
> As I suggested, Ray informed us that the liklihood of D. fasciatum (formerly P. fasciata) being in the hobby is very small, its too rare for such low prices. However C. pentalore is more prevalent and looks very similar to D. fasciatum as well as being easier to export.
> TSS recently had both species on offer as C. fasciata and C. pentalore. Its not for me to say whether these were correct ID but the confusion obviously suggests trying to obtain a proper ID before mating.
> To add to the confusion there's a smaller Tiger Rump species but I can't remember the name, sorry.


Hmmmn....confusing indeed. 

I might try get in touch with Ray and see if he has any papers I could read. I do recall seeing the smaller species too, but the name fails me.


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## Poxicator (Nov 14, 2007)

The small one is Metriopelma zebratum
Metriopelma zebratum female - BTS photogallery


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## GRB (Jan 24, 2008)

Poxicator said:


> The small one is Metriopelma zebratum
> Metriopelma zebratum female - BTS photogallery


Bingo!

Quite an uncanny match. Interesting convergence between the 3 species, on first glance you'd think such bright stripes wouldn't be an advantage for them.


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## Oderus (Nov 24, 2009)

I can't see anyone taking the time and risk to smuggle real _D. __fasciatus_, I think Ray G and others have pointed out before that there is far better stuff to be had in CR if they did, as such it's fair to assume most or all of them are _D. pentalore _then again you know what they say about assuming:Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## GRB (Jan 24, 2008)

Oderus said:


> I can't see anyone taking the time and risk to smuggle real _D. __fasciatus_, I think Ray G and others have pointed out before that there is far better stuff to be had in CR if they did, as such it's fair to assume most or all of them are _D. pentalore _then again you know what they say about assuming:Na_Na_Na_Na:


I'm just curious as to what separates the species anyway (besides locality). To me they look pretty much the same, although I am only going on photos with no scale. Perhaps it is really obvious when you have 2 side by side.


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## The Lone Gunman (Oct 14, 2009)

Following the valuable advice from Poxicator and Craig in particular (thanks again guys), I took the plunge and bought one of these spiders a week ago today. So far, I'm very glad I did, as its behaviour has been fascinating.

After reading what the lads said about examples of this species burying themselves in the substrate and disappearing for months at a time, I opted to place a small piece of driftwood towards the front of the tank in the hope that the spider would view it as a natural place to hide. 

Thankfully, that plan appears to have worked to perfection. The new arrival moved from her sales tub into her new enclosure with no problems at all. She was slow and deliberate in her movements, and opted to make the driftwood her home almost immediately:










As you can see from the above picture and from the one below (which were both taken on Saturday morning), she has already produced plenty of web and adds to it every day. However, she hasn't done any digging yet and instead seems content to use the hollow in the piece of driftwood as her hideout:










I've put a large water bowl at the back of the tank and I'm hoping that keeping that topped up will suffice as far as humidity goes. All that remains now is for Poxicator or one of our other rersident experts to identify what species she actually is. Although she was sold to me as a Cyclosternum fasciatum, I don't have a clue what she really is. All I can tell you is she definitely has a Tiger Rump!


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## Craig Mackay (Feb 2, 2009)

Congrats, nice addition. What size is he/she? Plenty webbing already. As I said before mine doesn't web that much. I'm jealous, lol! Keep us updated on how she progresses. As for the cyclosterm/davus, fasciatum/pentalore thing I really don't know enough about these genera to give any kind of clues. Enjoy!


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## The Lone Gunman (Oct 14, 2009)

I'd say her current leg span is between two and two and a half inches. I haven't seen her eat yet, but I've put two small crickets in the tank and they have disappeared, so there's a good chance she took them.

Her web-building routine is hilarious. She seems to work busily for an hour or so and then rests for most of the day. She also throws some very odd shapes at times - I swear she was doing handstands the night before last! Really slow in her movements, very deliberate and even quite graceful on occasions.


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## The Lone Gunman (Oct 14, 2009)

Very glad I bought one of these. She is proving a very interesting addition to the collection. A very busy webber, which was exactly what I was looking for. As you can see here, she has added to her web palace quite considerably since the last photos were taken:










She moulted last week, and since then has been out and about quite often. Whenever food is dropped into her web, she darts out and grabs it, as was the case in this picture:


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