# Who on this page has tried a "colony"..



## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

There was a guy on another thread(can't recall which) who said he had had some success at keeping a "colony" of a given species(can't recall what).

I have heard that some people have tried this with certain species. From what I can gather the results seem a bit mixed. I guess they are not really a colony in the true sense of the word, even if there was tolerance, but I'd be interested to hear from those that have tried this, what species they tried it with, what age the T's were kept together at, and what the general conclusions of your attempts have been.


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

These look quite large as well.

Nice looking set up.


P Regalis colony hunting - YouTube

Would these be a cheaper alternative to try it with...?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwT7T4-_O20&feature=player_detailpage


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## Drift (Aug 18, 2012)

I have 6 Holothele Incei living together, they are slings from the same sack and are not very old so early days. I have seen them eating the same pray item and sharing the same retreat.

Hopefully they will get on quite well, I will split them if there is any problems.


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

Drift said:


> I have 6 Holothele Incei living together, they are slings from the same sack and are not very old so early days. I have seen them eating the same pray item and sharing the same retreat.
> 
> Hopefully they will get on quite well, I will split them if there is any problems.


 
I think I am going to try it with this species.

Could be an interesting thing to do.


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## morg (Jul 20, 2007)

I am glad that you have asked this question.
I am trying to find posts on this subject on various spider forums, and read as much as I can in books.
Id love to keep a communal Avicularia set up, but have had mixed messages from pms sent, things Ive read.I look forward to hearing other posters experiences:2thumb:


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## Drift (Aug 18, 2012)

Mr Mister said:


> I think I am going to try it with this species.
> 
> Could be an interesting thing to do.


I think it is best to use sack mates that have been together from day one as I tryed it a while ago with slings bought cheap from an online shop, but one ended up going missing shall we say :-( So split the other 2 up.

These I have now are from a breeding with my male and Oliwilliams female, they have been kept together from the start so will see how this goes :2thumb: 

I'm finding it very interesting so far, they seem to just walk all over each other lol. All moulted over the weekend and one has made a retreat a bit further away from the others. 
Should be good if it all works.

Will be watching for other peoples experience on this subject


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## garlicpickle (Jan 16, 2009)

poxicator has done a lot of communes.

I have tried it with H. incei - 10 living together from slings for 18 months, 7 remaining when I split them up when the males matured.

P regalis - 5 living together for about 18 months, until one grew to twice the size of the other 4 and they all moved out of the tube and huddled together in a corner while the big one took over and ate all the food, so I split them up.

And my most successful to date - started off with 30-odd P. subfusca, gradually sold off a few and ended up with around 15, they all lived together until the males matured and were removed. I think i still have about 5 or 6 females in there and that's 3 years on.


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## Richard77 (Feb 19, 2009)

I had 14 Avicularia versicolors in a colony. In my experience all I can say is, separate them before 4th instar, that when they seem to become much bigger from the moult and they just start eating the smaller 3rd instar siblings.


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

morg said:


> I am glad that you have asked this question.
> I am trying to find posts on this subject on various spider forums, and read as much as I can in books.
> Id love to keep a communal Avicularia set up, but have had mixed messages from pms sent, things Ive read.I look forward to hearing other posters experiences:2thumb:


 I've decided to bash on and try it with ten Holothele Incei. I will get them as soon as I can afford them, set it up and see what unfolds. If I get losses I get losses. If it works it works. I'm letting my hair down and going for it...


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

garlicpickle said:


> poxicator has done a lot of communes.
> 
> *I have tried it with H. incei - 10 living together from slings for 18 months, 7 remaining when I split them up when the males matured.*
> 
> ...


 
70% return is not bad at all there.

: victory:


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## Tarantulaguy01 (Mar 31, 2012)

Drift said:


> I have 6 Holothele Incei living together, they are slings from the same sack and are not very old so early days. I have seen them eating the same pray item and sharing the same retreat.
> 
> Hopefully they will get on quite well, I will split them if there is any problems.


I've heard holothele incei is the sp to try if your wanting to keep a commune :2thumb:


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## pauln (Jan 24, 2007)

Looking forward to hearing how that goes as I would love to try that.


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

pauln said:


> Looking forward to hearing how that goes as I would love to try that.


 
Well I can get them for about £4 each, so I will get ten and give it a go. Probably do it before Christmas if I can.


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## sage999 (Sep 21, 2008)

I currently have 5 small P regalis in a commune. I have also kept P rufilata successfully. As garlicpickle says you do have to keep an eye out for big males when they become food dominant.


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## Reeceinleeds (Jun 26, 2013)

have a commune of 5 p regalis 15 obts 5 holothele incei and one of 2 p regalis ( this one went very wrong don't no why it was 10. 2 where male the 2 have left are female the rest was dinner ) tried h villosa too ended up with 1 fat female


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

sage999 said:


> I currently have 5 small P regalis in a commune. I have also kept P rufilata successfully. As garlicpickle says you do have to keep an eye out for big males when they become food dominant.


 
Pokies are a bit more expensive to do it with perhaps?

And I am not too crazy about them if I am being honest.


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

Reeceinleeds said:


> have a commune of 5 p regalis *15 obts* 5 holothele incei and one of 2 p regalis ( this one went very wrong don't no why it was 10. 2 where male the 2 have left are female the rest was dinner ) tried h villosa too ended up with 1 fat female


Oh really? Tell me more then. What size are they? How is it playing out? Do you have a pic of the set up?

: victory:


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## MEDICALMAN (Jul 9, 2012)

Mr Mister said:


> There was a guy on another thread(can't recall which) who said he had had some success at keeping a "colony" of a given species(can't recall what).
> 
> I have heard that some people have tried this with certain species. From what I can gather the results seem a bit mixed. I guess they are not really a colony in the true sense of the word, even if there was tolerance, but I'd be interested to hear from those that have tried this, what species they tried it with, what age the T's were kept together at, and what the general conclusions of your attempts have been.


...who said he had had some success at keeping a "colony" of a given species...

baboons?


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

MEDICALMAN said:


> ...who said he had had some success at keeping a "colony" of a given species...
> 
> baboons?


 Baboons what?


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## sage999 (Sep 21, 2008)

Mr Mister said:


> Pokies are a bit more expensive to do it with perhaps?
> 
> And I am not too crazy about them if I am being honest.


Not too expensive really. I got 5 good sized slings from TSS for around £25.


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## Mitch636 (Mar 26, 2013)

I had 5 OBTs together, one disappeared so I thought it escaped but I'm not too sure. I can only see 3 on a regular basis but I think I've seen the 4th on a few occassions. The webbing is great and it seems difficult to feed them all equally but I just throw a few locusts in and they're gone the next day!


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## martin lees (Jan 4, 2011)

I've kept quite a few communes over the last few years with quite a lot of success.The key is to keep limited space/hides so they stay as a commune.
35 x P.fasciata


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## kwacky (Feb 25, 2013)

I've got an Avic avic colony on the go. I've had one previously. No issues. 

I keep most of my pokies in small groups apart from ornata. 

There are a couple of OBT colonies on Tarantula UK without any issues.


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

martin lees said:


> I've kept quite a few communes over the last few years with quite a lot of success.The key is to keep limited space/hides so they stay as a commune.
> 35 x P.fasciata
> image


 
That looks great.

That would be fascinating to have, thanks for putting it up.


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

kwacky said:


> I've got an Avic avic colony on the go. I've had one previously. No issues.
> 
> I keep most of my pokies in small groups apart from ornata.
> 
> There are a couple of OBT colonies on Tarantula UK without any issues.


 They would be really cheap to do it with as slings.

: victory:


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## kwacky (Feb 25, 2013)

One of the guys has a massive colony from an egg sac. The mother is still in the enclosure. The difference in growth rates is pretty interesting to see. He also reports on different spiders helping out to take out prey. I've not seen that with my pokies or avics.


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

If I put ten OBT slings in that were eating size one crickets, and plenty of them, do you think it would play out okay? At what point would you look to split them up? Would you incline to initially give them a larger enclosure or make it smaller so they stayed together, at least while young?


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## Poxicator (Nov 14, 2007)

OBTs, lots of Pokies, Avics, and Psalmos


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

Poxicator said:


> OBTs, lots of Pokies, Avics, and Psalmos


How would you compare your efforts with each of those four?

What tips would you give if it were for OBT's for example?


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

I'd be interested to hear from those that have kept some sort of colony if they found they had higher losses as some tried to moult, being that they are obviously not going to all moult on the same day and therefore one or two would be vulnerable during it..? 

Also, if you had say 10 OBT slings together and they were eating small crickets, would you just chuck in about 20 a week at once? Too many/too few?


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## andie (Sep 23, 2007)

I have 10 Holothele incei , only been together since beginning of October 13 but all seem to be doing good, well I say all but not really sure if all 10 are there. Defo counted 7. I have been dropping in roach oothecas and Fruit flies while they were very small but now they are taking crickets. I didn't like feeding crickets as I was worrying about moulting but now they are growing i'm risking it.


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

Looks good.

: victory:


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

Mr Mister said:


> I'd be interested to hear from those that have kept some sort of colony if they found they had higher losses as some tried to moult, being that they are obviously not going to all moult on the same day and therefore one or two would be vulnerable during it..?
> 
> Also, if you had say 10 OBT slings together and they were eating small crickets, would you just chuck in about 20 a week at once? Too many/too few?


 'Mon then, what do you think..?

:whistling2:


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## Mitch636 (Mar 26, 2013)

As for feeding, I throw 4 locusts in for 4 OBTs. It's very webbed up so can't be bothered picking through to find a ton of "spares". If any are uneaten, it'll only be the one or two.


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## kwacky (Feb 25, 2013)

Not much to report from mine. 

My regalis tend to start a pokie mexican wave when one moves and comes into contact with another. They all start darting about. This was a risk as they had previously been living on their own. I experimented putting them together and 3 months on it's still working. There are lots of places to hide but all of the hiding spots are very close to each other. I'm keeping my eye on these to make sure they remain friendly. 

My vittata are great. Very relaxed with each other. I think I got those from Poxicator at the BTS earlier this year. They all molt and feed and drink without any issues at all. These will need rehousing soon. 

With the avics I tend to find that as they grow they like their own room in the enclosure, so unlike the pokies I give them a decent sized enclosure to allow them to do their own thing. I have done this with adults as well as spiderlings. No losses to date. 

I've got 5 spiderlings in a sweet jar. 3 of them hang out together all the time. 1 likes to wonder about, I never know where it is and the 5th has webbed up a home near where the other 3 hang out.


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## corpselight (Jan 10, 2008)

I've tried 4 colonies. My results fuel my opinion against doing this, but obviously others have had better luck. It's up to an individual to choose to try it, and sometimes experimentation is worthwhile. 

H. incei...about 10-11. Lost them all in a huge tub so wasn't easy to keep tabs. Had one escape twice (found it running across my floor both times, luckily). I realised it wasn't happy and potted it on its own.
Finally realised i was down to 2...both on opposite sides of a 3' tub. One went out of its way to attack the other. I separated them when i saw them fighting (again, lucky i was home to see it). This was over a decently long period of time...they were slings when i got them, and juves when i saw what went down. I had been feeding and watering as normal over the period

H. villosella. Started with 3 i think, ended up with one fat one. Didn't take that long.

Yamia sp "koh samui" (pretty sure this is reclassified...if i manage to source some again, i'll care then...atm, Yamia sp "koh samui" will do). This was moderately successful, in that they rarely move from their burrows. I had them in a relatively big tub, and thy made their private flats and got on with growing up. Thought they'd probably died, but kept chucking in food and watering them...then found a mature male. Then found slings.
Here's where it broke down. Slings competed for burrow space, and numbers definitely dwindled. Still, the best success i had.
This was a decent period of time though...just need to extract all the spiderlings before competition happens.

P. lugardi (this was slightly experimental, as P. murinus is said to be relatively tolerant to others). Nope. Ended up with one. He later hooked out. 

After all this plus some anecdotal evidence from others i've spoken to, i don't believe that it's worth trying colonies/communes except with certain species of Poecilotheria, and apparently M. balfouri (though don't know if they are tolerant as adults or just juves...they seem to need it when slings, though, so they appear to be fairly unique there). Just my opinion, however, and if anyone gets a healthy colony going of something that lasts for their whole lives with no noticeable cannibalism, i'll be keen to hear.

Oh, apparently Hysterocrates is "tolerant", but i have heard that they didn't appear as content as they did when kept separately.


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## corpselight (Jan 10, 2008)

morg said:


> I am glad that you have asked this question.
> I am trying to find posts on this subject on various spider forums, and read as much as I can in books.
> Id love to keep a communal Avicularia set up, but have had mixed messages from pms sent, things Ive read.I look forward to hearing other posters experiences:2thumb:


I went to a zoo once (Marwell? maybe that one, can't remember exactly) where they had a group of Avics in a large glass tank. Each adult spider had made its home in a corner...as far away from the others as possible.


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

corpselight said:


> I went to a zoo once (Marwell? maybe that one, can't remember exactly) where they had a group of Avics in a large glass tank. Each adult spider had made its home in a corner...as far away from the others as possible.


Which is precisely what they probably do in all the trees, it is less a colony and more a sort of co habitation really.

Anyway, I am going to give it a go with my ten OBT slings.

If I get losses I get losses. If it works then great. Six months or a year from now, something will have developed. What that something is remains to be seen.


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

*All done *

That's my OBT slings housed then. More fiddly than anything else. There seemed to be 12vials and not ten, so I think I copped a couple free, albeit one of the vials had nothing in it all other than the tissue and a bit of sub(which I went right through).
　
　
　
I switched methods in the end. At first I tried just putting each one right in (with the enc inside a larger one), but since they are so small, and with the tissue and earth around it I found it was much easier to _just tip each vial onto a piece of white paper then catch the spider again, then put it in_. It was much faster and more efficient that way.: victory:
　
　
　
Did not take long once I did it that way, and apart from the one that simply was not there and the one that ran right under my sleeve, it was not too bad a first punt at getting such small things in all at one time!
　
　
　
So by reckoning there are 11 in there.
　
　
　
I will try to get a pic of the set up, it is not too bad actually what with my happening to have a spare house of spiders cube I was able to afford them a bit of space and it looks nice and clean and clear.
　
　
　
It is near impossible to see the slings once they are on the sub and bark, esp being that they are not orange for now. I have put in 4 tiny crickets or so, and they are the most interesting thing in there right now 
　
　
　
I am not even going to attempt to fuss around with this at all. Now that they are all in I will just let nature take it's course. If I get losses along the way, I get losses along the way. I am not going to be hovering over it every day to make sure I can still see 11.


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## Mitch636 (Mar 26, 2013)

You'll be lucky to see any after a while, they'll burrow away and cover the entire thing with thick web and sit inside horizontal tunnels and only come out at night or f there's food. I'll have to stick up some photos of mine at some point.


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

Mitch636 said:


> You'll be lucky to see any after a while, they'll burrow away and cover the entire thing with thick web and sit inside horizontal tunnels and only come out at night or f there's food. I'll have to stick up some photos of mine at some point.


 Yeah, if they do that, that is fine.


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

Day two.

All seems to be going well so far. Hard to see really, but I managed to count about nine last night. Sometimes they all come out together and are on the sides of the cube, an hour later you come back and they are hiding in the sub etc again.

The biggest hassle is trying to feed them, picking out small crickets is a hassle from the tub.

If I killed a larger cricket and put that in, would that do just as well?


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

OBT sling colony experiment - day four/five
　
Began with 11. Really hard to tell how many could be in there now to be honest. Last night I saw seven on one wall of the cube, and one on the substrate. Tonight I see two on the cube and none sitting on the sub.


Albeit there are little bits of webbing here and there, in among leaf litter and bits of cork bark. I would imagine there are some among that, but like I said, I am just going to leave it be and see what plays out.


One or two may have moulted already, again it is hard to tell when they are that size to see an old moult. 


Tried pre killing a cricket tonight and just putting that in.


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## lee middleton (Nov 25, 2011)

im about 6 months into a p. regalis colony. theres ten in there. i got one dominant feeder about 3inch legspan, 7 are about 2 and a half inch legspan and theres 2 which are lagging and there still tiny but surviving.

they seem to tolerate each other quiet well and i seen no signs of aggression. i also got individuals from same sack growing nicely. my aim is to have at least 6 adult females from the 10. if i get mostly males i will try to introduce females from the original sack, but only time will tell. 

i have had them in three different enclosures now and i noticed they seem more 'relaxed' when given less space... think i read somewhere less space is better for a colony to reduce the chance of an individual creating a ' territory ' but il let you know if anything exciting happens...........


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## Drift (Aug 18, 2012)

6 weeks into my x6 H.Incei sling commune all seems well upto now, all have moulted once and 1 or 2 have recently moulted again.
All 6 are mostly huddled up together in one corner which they have webbed up quite nicely :2thumb:


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

This little colony of OBT's that I am keeping together. Couple of weeks into this project now, and all seems to be going fairly well. Just thrown a bunch of size 2crickets in there, and at least 8 of the original spiders came out from where they are hiding. For all I know the other three could well be in there as well, or_ maybe_ they were taken out in a natural selection way.

A few look visibly bigger than they did two weeks ago. 

Don't think pre kill really works when you have a colony this way, they prefer it if I lift lid + tip a bunch of crickets in. Will be interesting seeing how this plays out as the months go by.....


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## Mitch636 (Mar 26, 2013)

As promised, a few pics of mine.

When I got them

















5 in total at first, some looking pretty fat









After a while I moved them into an arboreal type tub

















2nd moult with me









3rd moult

























This is where they all live. The bigger one seems to come out every day hence being the first to get the food! The two at the top hardly ever come out (from what I've seen anyway) as they've sealed themselves in so I sometimes rip the entrance open so they can bolt out and grab some food when it's offered.


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

At what stage do these get their full colours?


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## Mitch636 (Mar 26, 2013)

I'd say about now or next moult. The biggest is orange but just nt as vibrant. I have a SAF which I bought so never raised these before but I've seen photos of them at just over an inch with full colours.


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

Do you think small slings would be able to penetrate skin?

I've never been bitten by any size of spider, but I have my doubts if slings would have the fangs and bite force to do so.


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## Mitch636 (Mar 26, 2013)

Depends on the size. The first photo I posted, I'd say no. But the size they're at now then yes for sure.

Here's a great shot I just got, no idea why they felt so brave while the lid was off but I'm not gonna turn down a photo opportunity.


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

Mitch636 said:


> Depends on the size. The first photo I posted, I'd say no. But the size they're at now then yes for sure.
> 
> Here's a great shot I just got, no idea why they felt so brave while the lid was off but I'm not gonna turn down a photo opportunity.
> 
> image


 
Is it about half a dozen you have in there? Remind me - how long have you had this going now? I'm into around week 3. One or two seem to have taken perma residence on the walls of the enclosure, and have webbed into it. Most of the others have settled for areas on the ground.


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## Mitch636 (Mar 26, 2013)

There's 4, that's why the pic is so special as they're all in one shot. Since I've had them in there I've only ever seen 2 out at once so I got really lucky!!

Think I've had it around 3-5 months. I've deleted the PM's where I arranged the sale so can't be precise but it's around that.


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

Mitch636 said:


> There's 4, that's why the pic is so special as they're all in one shot. Since I've had them in there I've only ever seen 2 out at once so I got really lucky!!
> 
> Think I've had it around 3-5 months. I've deleted the PM's where I arranged the sale so can't be precise but it's around that.


 At what point are you planning to split them up?


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## Mitch636 (Mar 26, 2013)

I'll probably give them another 2 moults and then I'll rehouse them but reckon I'll keep them together in the new tub too. It makes for great webbing and feeding time will be awesome. Not sure what size is separate, I'll let th get to at least 3 inches before I even consider it though.


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

Mitch636 said:


> I'll probably give them another 2 moults and then I'll rehouse them but reckon I'll keep them together in the new tub too. It makes for great webbing and feeding time will be awesome. Not sure what size is separate,* I'll let th get to at least 3 inches before I even consider it though*.


 Fair play.

I am just going to do the same then.

: victory:


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## Poxicator (Nov 14, 2007)

I kept about 6 til they reached sub-adult. Sold them together not knowing how many there was left


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## ebmoclab (Nov 21, 2009)

I've kept OBTs communally, started off with 10 slings in a large faunarium, fed them small and medium crickets, put about 15 - 20 in a week, after 6 months rehoused the whole lot and after about a year still had 9 live all sub adult and one that was found in the substrate stuck halfway through a moult. 

Just had an egg sac hatch out from my female OBT so I'm going to start a new colony now I think. got loads of slings so if anyone else fancies giving it a go give me a shout.


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

ebmoclab said:


> I've kept OBTs communally, started off with 10 slings in a large faunarium, fed them small and medium crickets, put about 15 - 20 in a week, after 6 months rehoused the whole lot and *after about a year still had 9 live all sub adult* and one that was found in the substrate stuck halfway through a moult.
> 
> Just had an egg sac hatch out from my female OBT so I'm going to start a new colony now I think. got loads of slings so if anyone else fancies giving it a go give me a shout.


 Really? Within one year, from slings to s/adults?

Mine seem to have split themselves into two ways of living for some reason.

There are several that have made hides in the bits of cork bark and leaf litter, I can see if I shine a torch right in.

And there is this one group of 4 that have now webbed up together in one corner of the enc wall (bit of a hassle as it is near lid).


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## ebmoclab (Nov 21, 2009)

Mr Mister said:


> Really? *Within one year, from slings to s/adults?*
> 
> Mine seem to have split themselves into two ways of living for some reason.
> 
> ...


Probably more like 15 months all together but yeah all 3 -3.5 inches legspan there abouts although some people may still consider them juveniles at that size.


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

ebmoclab said:


> Probably more like 15 months all together but yeah all 3 -3.5 inches legspan there abouts although some people may still consider them juveniles at that size.


 Still. Faster than I would have guessed.


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## Mitch636 (Mar 26, 2013)

I've just found the one I lost 3/4 months ago on the upstairs landing!!!!!!!!! Still the same size as it was when I got it, still alive but not looking great. 

Got it tubbed up and it's drinking like crazy...fingers crossed I can save it.


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

Mitch636 said:


> I've* just found the one I lost 3/4 months ago* on the upstairs landing!!!!!!!!! Still the same size as it was when I got it, still alive but not looking great.
> 
> Got it tubbed up and it's drinking like crazy...fingers crossed I can save it.


 As in today?

:gasp:


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## Mitch636 (Mar 26, 2013)

Yup!!


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

Mitch636 said:


> Yup!!


Good then!

Mine are going okay so far still, there is one group of four that seem to live together on webbing constructed on the enclosure wall, handily near the lid as it goes.....


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## Mr Mister (Oct 12, 2011)

I added a bit more cork bark and vertically, to see if any would take up residence in that. So far - no.

It's been an interesting thing to do, esp when it is not that expensive to do it at all. There is a good amount of food given to them every week, no issues there. There is no sure way to say how many of the original 11 are still in there, not until I need to maybe upsize the set up, but I have a feeling there are not all 11, albeit I had legislated for that being the case.

: victory:


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