# Tarantula display in a zoo



## HalcyonInverts (Jul 22, 2009)

ok guys... heres one for you...

Im overhauling one of my invert displays where i work and although i have a load of experience with pet holes and baboons etc ive never really gone into the whole arboreal or show spider thing...

Well, i want to retire the veteran chile rose on display and want some suggestions of good display spiders that people would _want_ to see in a public collection. Its a display more suited to a mid sized arboreal, and it must be a sexy showy spider that will either be out alot or web up to the max!

Fire away!...


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## Josh-sama (Sep 26, 2008)

GBB? 
P. Metallica?
T. Blondis / Apophysis (Goliaths seem to catch the attention of people as they go "I KNOW THAT SPIDER!"


Could possibly have a true spider setup? Ladybird Spiders are very cool.


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## HalcyonInverts (Jul 22, 2009)

yeah ive toyed with the thought of a Nephila Sp. Tanzania display before now. Love raising those spiders! And ive done a False widow display for a British Invasion exhibiton. but ladybirds sound good, will look into that one...

keep em coming!


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## Josh-sama (Sep 26, 2008)

Alot of the Erseus species are very colorful and would look pretty good on display.










Eresus sandaliatus










Eresus ???










Eresus albopictus


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## mikemike118 (Aug 15, 2009)

*heres a gorgeous one for you*

this is lovely tarantula, which is pretty rare (so be prepared for spending of some pennys and waiting a little time, unless your really lucky) ....

but if you get some of these, then you will be in for a surprise, as they are great for the webbing, and they are baboons!

left is female and right is male, hope you like them as much as i do!









im currently saving for some:flrt::flrt:


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## HalcyonInverts (Jul 22, 2009)

are they M.balfouri???

Gorgeous spiders!!! another lead to chase up tommorow...


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## mikemike118 (Aug 15, 2009)

*spot on!*



HalcyonInverts said:


> are they M.balfouri???
> 
> Gorgeous spiders!!! another lead to chase up tommorow...


spot on mate!

im not exactly a pro, and only been into the hobby for a good year now, and absolutly amazed by these!

As of yet i haven't found a care sheet for these but search for ceratogyrus darlingi or ceratogyrus marshalli and it should be similar, but i must say that i don't follow care sheets to the words, but lets you preapre for what you want/getting!


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## jack_rep (Sep 11, 2008)

Not an arborial species, but A. geniculata are known for always sitting out in view. I know mine always does.

Thing about things like a p metallica or a any other arboreal in my experience is that they are unlikely to sit out on display.


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## HalcyonInverts (Jul 22, 2009)

hmmmm beautiful spids (M.balfouri) but getting some might be an issue. Not very common as you say, and i dont fancy going to Socotra to get one... probably end up in some Somalian pirate jail knowing my luck...

The display is too narrow front to back for an A.genti. it will need to be a mid sized and not too chunky one really.... love them tho! one of my alltime fave T's


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## mikemike118 (Aug 15, 2009)

HalcyonInverts said:


> hmmmm beautiful spids (M.balfouri) but getting some might be an issue. Not very common as you say, and i dont fancy going to Socotra to get one... probably end up in some Somalian pirate jail knowing my luck...
> 
> The display is too narrow front to back for an A.genti. it will need to be a mid sized and not too chunky one really.... love them tho! one of my alltime fave T's


as you say about going to another country to get the m.balfouri and with the way things are going at the moment, apparently they will be illegal to import, but the best place i can provide you with is tts (the tarantula store) just sign up, you need to register your email once you have registerd, and then just post something like "WANTED - m.balfouri"....you could do it today and get 100 replys with everyone selling one, and if you done it tomorrow you could get no reply at all! so its basically pot luck if you was to buy one!

good luck on what you get!...what zoo is your display at?:2thumb:


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## george dobson (May 20, 2009)

id recommend a poecilotheria species, you prehaps could set up a black light so the spider wont notice but the viewers can, something like p.rufilata or ornata have impressive colours, although p.metallica are nicer, although that would be hard to get your hands on and you would end up with a whole in your wallet


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## tesse.t (May 13, 2009)

M.balfouri are very nice, but also pet holes at best

My P.Fasciata are out on display alot, would make a nice communal display tank : victory:


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## Mr_Goodbytes (Sep 7, 2008)

Possibly a p. Irminia? Lovely looking spiders, might not see it very much though :/


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## matto2k (Nov 30, 2006)

would leave the Balfouri alone as they tend to hide alot. 
i'd recommend Euathlus vulpinus "Chilean Ocellated. doesnt web much or hide at all is always on display and looks amazing! 

Euathlus vulpinus "Chilean Ocellated" - Arachnogallery - Arachnoboards

pokies are cool but they would spend alot of time hiding.

a Singapore Blue Tarantula(Lampropelma Violaceopes) would look cool


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## iiisecondcreep (Oct 29, 2007)

Josh-sama said:


> Alot of the Erseus species are very colorful and would look pretty good on display.


They are pretty but they are also very small, and only males get the really nice colours. I believe they are also pretty much pet holes.


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

Mr_Goodbytes said:


> Possibly a p. Irminia? Lovely looking spiders, might not see it very much though :/


I agree or the p. cambridgei


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## TEENY (Jan 4, 2008)

Gbb


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## davieboi (Jul 17, 2008)

l.parahybana cheap easy stunning and quick growers fits everything


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## Mr_Goodbytes (Sep 7, 2008)

Kyle T's said:


> I agree or the p. cambridgei


I found my cambridgei just webbed up and i never saw it, my irminia sling hasnt done a single bit of webbing :2thumb:


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## ghodsgift (Aug 19, 2009)

Mr_Goodbytes said:


> I found my cambridgei just webbed up and i never saw it, my irminia sling hasnt done a single bit of webbing :2thumb:


I havent saw my irminia in a fortnight lol. It has covered the front of its hide with web and soil. If i'm luckly i'll see its feet for 2 seconds.


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

my cambridgei has done that but i can still see it through the enclosure has done a really cool web on the bark which leads to a pretty deap burrow

'' HalcyonInverts''any update on ur choice of display T???


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## LimaMikeSquared (Jan 16, 2008)

What about something like an adult avic versicolor female - they do interesting webs and are very colourful


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## glitchIA (Aug 25, 2009)

Which zoo are we talking about here? Im very interested in checking this out


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## HalcyonInverts (Jul 22, 2009)

Sorry for the time taken to update...

I think im going with Eresus cinnaberinus. Just bought 4 juveniles off the ever excellent V.Cheeseman. Will have to wait for a bit to grow them on and seperate them out for breeding but who knows, if they turn out nice they will make an ace display. Not to mention being an absurdly rare native species...

I know they can be hole dwellers at best so am still hunting for unusual spiders that will fit the bill incase the test display dosnt work...

Due to the size of the display being quite unusual in dimensions, another option being wieghed up is Linothele fallax 

Saying that if anyone has an adult GBB and can either post or deliver to cheshire, i may buy one for this display instead, as that was my favourite suggested T, but havnt had much luck finding displayable sized individuals for sale.

hopefully though the Ladybird Spiders will work out!


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## Oderus (Nov 24, 2009)

_Poecilotheria _just about always get a good reponse from non spider types, same with _Avicularia._

Btw: those _E. cinnaberinus_ may or may not be _E. sandaliatus_ (our native) as that now nomina dubia name can refer to at least two species.


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## HalcyonInverts (Jul 22, 2009)

Oderus said:


> _Poecilotheria _just about always get a good reponse from non spider types, same with _Avicularia._
> 
> Btw: those _E. cinnaberinus_ may or may not be _E. sandaliatus_ (our native) as that now nomina dubia name can refer to at least two species.


 
Yeah i know that they sub-divided the old taxonomy, but until i get them i wont know which they are. Fingers crossed for the English ones, or the danish ones as i believe they are extremely similar, so simlilar that they were used to bolster out native populations.


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## snickers (Aug 15, 2007)

If you want web then Chilobrachys fimbriata. Mine is usually on show, but goes in when disturbed so probably isn't that useful to you.

P. cambridgei likes to burrow and climb, and produced web, but not like the chilobrachys.

Gbb of course.


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## garlicpickle (Jan 16, 2009)

HalcyonInverts said:


> Due to the size of the display being quite unusual in dimensions, another option being wieghed up is Linothele fallax


these are beautiful spiders and produce an awesome amount of webbing. Linothele megathoides is another.


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## Poxicator (Nov 14, 2007)

Some suggestions above just don't suit a good display, they either hide in a burrow or hide in a tube and therefore the most likely time you'll see them is during the night. However if you provided a dark enclosure with a night light to simulate night during the day you might have an interesting display.
P. metallica and P. formosa are known to be very light sensitive, many of the burrowers are too. The ladybird spider creates a thick yellow/white web and is often hidden out of view. They're also quite small as are many of those true spiders.
A community of juvenile pokies eg. regalis, rufilata, pederseni could make a good display as you can cram quite a few into an enclosure and you'll likely have at least 1 on display.
Singapore Blue (L. violaceopes) make good display Ts as they're often out, grow large and change from the olives & reds of sub-adult to bright blue of the adults. Some of the large Avics eg. Kwitara would also suit.
Perhaps an enclosure that contains 1 or more OBT would be a good idea as they will adopt a semi-arboreal habitat, they'll web lots, easy to care for and are bright orange. Similar set-up to GBB but at a lower cost.


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## HalcyonInverts (Jul 22, 2009)

Poxicator said:


> Some suggestions above just don't suit a good display, they either hide in a burrow or hide in a tube and therefore the most likely time you'll see them is during the night. However if you provided a dark enclosure with a night light to simulate night during the day you might have an interesting display.
> P. metallica and P. formosa are known to be very light sensitive, many of the burrowers are too. The ladybird spider creates a thick yellow/white web and is often hidden out of view. They're also quite small as are many of those true spiders.
> A community of juvenile pokies eg. regalis, rufilata, pederseni could make a good display as you can cram quite a few into an enclosure and you'll likely have at least 1 on display.
> Singapore Blue (L. violaceopes) make good display Ts as they're often out, grow large and change from the olives & reds of sub-adult to bright blue of the adults. Some of the large Avics eg. Kwitara would also suit.
> Perhaps an enclosure that contains 1 or more OBT would be a good idea as they will adopt a semi-arboreal habitat, they'll web lots, easy to care for and are bright orange. Similar set-up to GBB but at a lower cost.


Some good suggestions there, Im hopefully using the Eresus as more of a breeding group than a display by the looks of it. The display is quite narrow and i dont fancy putting a stocky Avic in it, probably would be a good viv for it, but dont want it to appear cramped. (It wudnt be, but some customer would inevitably think it was and complain)

As for Pokies... Im awaiting confirmation of funds for a massive pokie display which should be awesome!

Im thinking a GBB, OBT, Linothele community now, with reverse lighting. Will hopefully have it sorted by mid december, will post pics when completed.

Thanks for all the suggestions!


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## andrew brazenall (Nov 12, 2009)

p.metallica gooty saphire ornamental the pokie with blue legs!


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## jc_reptiles (Jan 17, 2009)

How about sinky the spider mate!!!!?


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