Haplopelma lividum

[kaz]

Hello all, been awhile again but recently obtained a Haplopelma lividum!! Ordered online expecting a juvenile but what arrived surprised me since setting up and buying a small critter keeper which by no means could the poor thing fit so went out that night and had to buy a small fish tank for it lol. So here's what arrived:

poor thing ended up getting moved around abit but despite the stand and threat pose she didn't seem to bad.

so as iv read they like to make their own burrows so no hides in there for her. Just stuck out in the open for now!!

 

[MassExodus]

She's gorgeous, congratulations

 

[Denny Dee]

I think she will be fine. When I first got back into the hobby after years of being away, I acquired a lividium as one of my first online orders. Talk about newbie mistakes! I was drawn to the beautiful vibrant blue colors. Almost got tagged unpacking her as she nailed my tweezers as I was removing the tissue from the vial . It was one of my first T's and my first Haplopelma species. I used a reptile clay for the base of the enclosure to create a burrow for her and covered it in deep Eco Earth. At the time, I used heat lamps to warm the tank. The spider did not cooperate with my man-made burrow and decided to make her own which was in the far back of the tank and apparently went deep. I did not see her again after she burrowed. I noticed in a bout a week, the heat lamp was way too hot for the tank and eliminated it. A month went by and noticed that after two feedings, the crickets were not being consumed. So, I assumed the worst. Shortly thereafter, I attended a reptile show and came home with a gorgeous Chilobrachys fimbriatus. Realizing I did not have an available enclosure, I decided it was time to clean out the lividum enclosure and re-purpose it since I had finally given up all hope. I completely emptied the enclosure but the clay, being molded in, was difficult. I finally chiseled it all away but decided to keep the man made burrow section since the lividum never used it and it looked quite nice. I took it and re-built a new clay enclosure and set up the tank similarly to the lividum. The next morning, I couldn't wait to check out my new Indian Violet! Ran downstairs and was horrified at what I saw. There in the back corner was my Cobalt Blue!!! . She was missing a leg and obviously had a horrible night leg wrestling with the Chilobrachys (which was quite a bit larger). I immediately rescued her and had to go buy a new enclosure and fixed it up. To this day, I cannot believe that she was able to hole up in the small enclosure that I actually had in my hand! Cannot believe I did not get tagged as this species is definitely not afraid of using their fangs. Years later, I still have her and she has done great . These are one tough species!

 

[Kymura]

what a gorgeous spider! Grats, love to get some that size, most of mine are slings

 

[MassExodus]

I think she will be fine. When I first got back into the hobby after years of being away, I acquired a lividium as one of my first online orders. Talk about newbie mistakes! I was drawn to the beautiful vibrant blue colors. Almost got tagged unpacking her as she nailed my tweezers as I was removing the tissue from the vial . It was one of my first T's and my first Haplopelma species. I used a reptile clay for the base of the enclosure to create a burrow for her and covered it in deep Eco Earth. At the time, I used heat lamps to warm the tank. The spider did not cooperate with my man-made burrow and decided to make her own which was in the far back of the tank and apparently went deep. I did not see her again after she burrowed. I noticed in a bout a week, the heat lamp was way too hot for the tank and eliminated it. A month went by and noticed that after two feedings, the crickets were not being consumed. So, I assumed the worst. Shortly thereafter, I attended a reptile show and came home with a gorgeous Chilobrachys fimbriatus. Realizing I did not have an available enclosure, I decided it was time to clean out the lividum enclosure and re-purpose it since I had finally given up all hope. I completely emptied the enclosure but the clay, being molded in, was difficult. I finally chiseled it all away but decided to keep the man made burrow section since the lividum never used it and it looked quite nice. I took it and re-built a new clay enclosure and set up the tank similarly to the lividum. The next morning, I couldn't wait to check out my new Indian Violet! Ran downstairs and was horrified at what I saw. There in the back corner was my Cobalt Blue!!! . She was missing a leg and obviously had a horrible night leg wrestling with the Chilobrachys (which was quite a bit larger). I immediately rescued her and had to go buy a new enclosure and fixed it up. To this day, I cannot believe that she was able to hole up in the small enclosure that I actually had in my hand! Cannot believe I did not get tagged as this species is definitely not afraid of using their fangs. Years later, I still have her and she has done great . These are one tough species!

That's one hell of a lucky lividus, and I agree, they are tough little spiders. I've heard people on YouTube say that they're difficult to keep because of moisture requirements..not quite sure where they're coming from, mine has flourished, kept slightly moistwith a big dish and even allowed to dry out occasionally. Maybe its people in really dry climates having trouble..I've found them to be very tough.

 

[kaz]

haha yea that's quite a story lol. Least he survived.

 

[Denny Dee]

Regarding humidity, I do keep mine quite high. Water dish and automatic misters on the enclosures. Nickname is "swamp tarantulas" so the more the merrier but think they could survive in a variety of environments. These are very tough T's. Don't let the gorgeous looks fool you. I am confident that out of all of my tarantula's my lividums would LOVE to take a bite out of me.

 

[Kymura]

Regarding humidity, I do keep mine quite high. Water dish and automatic misters on the enclosures. Nickname is "swamp tarantulas" so the more the merrier but think they could survive in a variety of environments. These are very tough T's. Don't let the gorgeous looks fool you. I am confident that out of all of my tarantula's my lividums would LOVE to take a bite out of me.

Don't be so stingy, they just want a little taste

Gorgeous spiders though ^^

 

[TabithasMom]

Love, love, LOVE my lividum! She is my pride and joy. It wasn't a mistake that I named her Maleficent, as her tenacity to tag anything invading her space adds to her allure. Sure, she is an expensive pet hole, but on the very rare occasions I see her, it's like Christmas. I've had no issues keeping her. She'll tell me if things get a bit too dry for her liking, so I try to keep the humidity levels up by simulating rain fall when I notice the substrate drying out. They are a lot more hardy than one is lead to believe, unlike the finicky Theraphosas. Enjoy your blue, feisty beauty!

 

[Zurchiboy]

What a beautiful Tarantula. Good thing he lived.

 

[kaz]

Doesn't seem to bothered on digging itself a burrow!!

 

[micheldied]

I'd give it far deeper substrate. I know some prefer to keep their burrowers on shallow substrate thinking they'll see them more, but IME these Ts will only show themselves when they're very comfortable. That means a very deep burrow to retreat to (at least 10-12 inches deep for adults).

 

[Kymura]

Good Gods thats a beautiful spider! I love the bigger black stocky ones the most I think ^^

 

[TabithasMom]

Definitely deeper substrate. I have mine in a 10 gallon, with the substrate sloping high on one side. The picture attached only shows a section of how deep it goes, but it's filled almost to the top on the deep side. She made several tunnels way down, and eventually made a second exit.

 

[RedCapTrio]

I think she will be fine. When I first got back into the hobby after years of being away, I acquired a lividium as one of my first online orders. Talk about newbie mistakes! I was drawn to the beautiful vibrant blue colors. Almost got tagged unpacking her as she nailed my tweezers as I was removing the tissue from the vial . It was one of my first T's and my first Haplopelma species. I used a reptile clay for the base of the enclosure to create a burrow for her and covered it in deep Eco Earth. At the time, I used heat lamps to warm the tank. The spider did not cooperate with my man-made burrow and decided to make her own which was in the far back of the tank and apparently went deep. I did not see her again after she burrowed. I noticed in a bout a week, the heat lamp was way too hot for the tank and eliminated it. A month went by and noticed that after two feedings, the crickets were not being consumed. So, I assumed the worst. Shortly thereafter, I attended a reptile show and came home with a gorgeous Chilobrachys fimbriatus. Realizing I did not have an available enclosure, I decided it was time to clean out the lividum enclosure and re-purpose it since I had finally given up all hope. I completely emptied the enclosure but the clay, being molded in, was difficult. I finally chiseled it all away but decided to keep the man made burrow section since the lividum never used it and it looked quite nice. I took it and re-built a new clay enclosure and set up the tank similarly to the lividum. The next morning, I couldn't wait to check out my new Indian Violet! Ran downstairs and was horrified at what I saw. There in the back corner was my Cobalt Blue!!! . She was missing a leg and obviously had a horrible night leg wrestling with the Chilobrachys (which was quite a bit larger). I immediately rescued her and had to go buy a new enclosure and fixed it up. To this day, I cannot believe that she was able to hole up in the small enclosure that I actually had in my hand! Cannot believe I did not get tagged as this species is definitely not afraid of using their fangs. Years later, I still have her and she has done great . These are one tough species!

That is quite a story! Must have been carnage in there when the lights went out!

 

[kaz]

she's. Been too easy so far. Thinking pre molt especially since she's not bothered with digging yet and hasn't seemed to move from that spot. Not during the day anyways.

 

[Chubbs]

They generally take some time to begin burrowing anyway, so it's impossible to really determine that if you're just going off of a few days. Could be weeks before she starts doing any truly impressive digging. Best of luck though, they are a great species. The whole genus is awesome IMO.