My Platyomma thumped me!

Im a pretty new hobbyist and just recieved my Pamphobeteus Platyomma from Anastsia at Net-bug.net a couple weeks ago. He is already a good sized sexed male at around 4". I was recently planting some semi aquatic plant inside his enclosure for humidity and needed him to move so I nudged his back leg, he knew I was there but he sprang at me with such speed and ferocity it startled the crap out of me! He didn't bite but it felt like he thumped my hand with his front legs and scattered off!

I'm just curious if he was "trying" to bite and was unsuccessful or was it just a threat, ive seen people handle Platyomma and admit I do like to occassionally handle all my T's but I'm ok with designating display only T's lol I've also read that Platyomma will display a lot of threat postures but rarely bite!

That's called a slap. He slapped you to scare you off lol.

I don´t know why you want to handle your Ts. They certainly do NOT enjoy it and you run the risk of getting bit or haired. I also struggle to see why you would need to plant some semi aquatic plants in an enclosure. It is generally quite hard to keep live plants in an enclosure and if you do have a species that requires extra humidity it is so much easier to just mist the substrate to keep it slightly moist. If you do decide to try to keep live plants, please do remove the T safely with a deli cup before messing around in the terrarium! This way you will keep both yourself and the tarantula safe

Well it was a Don Corleone slap for sure! Haha I fully admit to being slightly butt hurt!

---------- Post added 06-06-2015 at 08:02 PM ----------

I've been having an issue with mold growth every time I mist my substrate, ive even added gravel underneath, and have a small humidor inside his enclosure but ive read (on this very board) that live plants are very beneficial to T's! I got the plants originally for my T. Stirmi, but my platyomma also requires high humidity. I understand handling T's is amongst the great debate, but to each his own! Like I said, I have no problem having display species, I thought it would be less traumatic to keep to one corner of the enclosure than to completely rip him out of it, cant imagine how bent out of shape he would have been of I had attempted to scoop him up into a container if he "slapped" me over a nudge! It was a "spear" of a plant so I wasn't relocating all the substrate or anything!

courtneyannb said:

Well it was a Don Corleone slap for sure! Haha I fully admit to being slightly butt hurt!

---------- Post added 06-06-2015 at 08:02 PM ----------

I've been having an issue with mold growth every time I mist my substrate, ive even added gravel underneath, and have a small humidor inside his enclosure but ive read (on this very board) that live plants are very beneficial to T's! I got the plants originally for my T. Stirmi, but my platyomma also requires high humidity. I understand handling T's is amongst the great debate, but to each his own! Like I said, I have no problem having display species, I thought it would be less traumatic to keep to one corner of the enclosure than to completely rip him out of it, cant imagine how bent out of shape he would have been of I had attempted to scoop him up into a container if he "slapped" me over a nudge! It was a "spear" of a plant so I wasn't relocating all the substrate or anything!

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Just be happy it didn't bite you, these have big chelicerae and as for your set up you're over thinking it. Pamphs aren't delicate like Theraphosa are, they are content with slightly moist sub with some dry spots. I've yet to have any mold issues and my pamph has been with me for 18 months, you probably have too much moisture, not enough air flow with some leftovers that need to be cleaned up.

courtneyannb said:

Well it was a Don Corleone slap for sure! Haha I fully admit to being slightly butt hurt!

---------- Post added 06-06-2015 at 08:02 PM ----------

I've been having an issue with mold growth every time I mist my substrate, ive even added gravel underneath, and have a small humidor inside his enclosure but ive read (on this very board) that live plants are very beneficial to T's! I got the plants originally for my T. Stirmi, but my platyomma also requires high humidity. I understand handling T's is amongst the great debate, but to each his own! Like I said, I have no problem having display species, I thought it would be less traumatic to keep to one corner of the enclosure than to completely rip him out of it, cant imagine how bent out of shape he would have been of I had attempted to scoop him up into a container if he "slapped" me over a nudge! It was a "spear" of a plant so I wasn't relocating all the substrate or anything!

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What kind of substrate do you use and do the enclosure have sufficient air holes? Maybe this is a stupid question, but what kind of a humidor do you keep in the enclosure? (English is not my mother tongue and a humidor in my language is where I keep my Cuban cigars). Actually, I think it will be so much easier for us to give you some advice if you can post a picture of your enclosure.

I use eco earth in a critter carrier with the black vented top, im still trying to figure out pic posting let me see what I can do

enclosure

Here is what I keep him in

That tank could use higher sub, don't want your T to fall and get hurt. What kind of substrate are you using? You could try putting some springtails in the tank for mold control.

I've been slapped by my MF Aphono a few times hahaha, there's something really humbling about being slapped by a dang bug. She also slaps her water bowl whenever I put it back after cleaning it.

I do admit I need more substrate, I live about 40 minutes from town and have been meaning to make a trip, my Rose hair did get springtails in her enclosure naturally wich she seems to like, I freaked the first time I saw "bugs" in her water dish but now she seems to poop there on purpose!

courtneyannb said:

Here is what I keep him in

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hmm, I keep all my Ts in similar kritter keepers with coco fiber as substrate and I never had a mold problem. What I would do is to give it more substrate because as it is now the T has way too much height to climb and a fall from the top might actually injure or in the worst case kill it. With more substrate it should also be enough to mist the top of it to keep the humidity up. It does not need to be wet, just slightly moist.

courtneyannb said:

I do admit I need more substrate, I live about 40 minutes from town and have been meaning to make a trip, my Rose hair did get springtails in her enclosure naturally wich she seems to like, I freaked the first time I saw "bugs" in her water dish but now she seems to poop there on purpose!

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Springtails won't live in a dry rosea enclosure, they require moisture to breathe, the pamph enclosure would be a more proper place for them. With a rosehair being kept dry, there's little need for springtails or isopods for that matter.

I'm concerned about the set up altogether. With that lid, it should be over-ventilated and generally I'd suggest covering parts of it....but the fact that you are getting mold, plus the fact that you're planting semi-aquatic plants tells me the enclosure is waaaaaay too wet. Set up properly, those plants wouldn't stand a chance at survival. You're making more of the humidity requirements than you should or need to be. Simplify, just sprinkle a little water on the sub, wait for it to dry and repeat....and keep a water dish of course and that's really about it. You don't have to wet 100% of the sub at a time, either. And give the mister to a botanist while you're at it...misting is a worthless way to attempt to maintain humidity as its effects last only a short time unless you go monsoon....but by then the damage is done.

And of course, it does need a ton more sub....I'd suggest potting soil, maybe its easier to get, I dunno, just throwing it out there...but a 40lb bag costs less then $2, so you don't have to be concerned with either cost, of running out should an emergency arise.

This actually looks like a classic example of a hygrometer causing more trouble than it could ever alleviate.....if that's just a thermometer and not a hygrometer, so be it.....if it is indeed a hygrometer, take it out and use it as a paper weight, it will be of better use on a desk holding papers down.

As for your landscaping, that should be done before you ever put the spider in the enclosure...hands are not something you should be using for ANY maintenance, especially with a hungry Pamph running free. Long tweezers should do your work within the enclosure....you were lucky to have not been tagged IMO.


Pamphs are NOT a good or even reasonable handling t from any standpoint...they're fast, exceedingly prey driven, so they tend to attack first and deduce the situation after, they have notoriously bad hairs and they get big, which means extra-large fangs with which to damage your flesh without even a need for strong venom and they tend to be rather skittish...don't watch idiots on youtube, they teach bad habits.

Pamps aren't the best beginner species, and your housing/husbandry issues are an example of why. Sounds like you need to forget a bunch of what you "learned about them.

I wish you the best, its a spectacular genus and you are sure to love it...its going to be spectacular once it matures, I hope you breed him, there's definitely a shortage of the genus in the hobby.

Feel free to try nudge my A. geniculata out of the way with bare hands. I wouldn't.

Storm76 said:

Feel free to try nudge my A. geniculata out of the way with bare hands. I wouldn't.

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I'd try with someone else's bare hands. Or maybe bear hands.

Mold generally dies down after a month or two. I very rarely ever have problems with mold after that time.

Tenevanica said:

Mold generally dies down after a month or two. I very rarely ever have problems with mold after that time.

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It's pretty easy to prevent it all together, there is no need to "wait for it to go away". With a proper set up and not flooding everything there is no need to worry about mold. I occasionally have to spot clean but then I adjust my husbandry to eliminate it happening again in the future or just be more diligent when looking for prey leftovers.

Everything that cold blood said. I have Pamphos and they do not need to be kept in especially moist conditions (in fact there are only a couple of Ts that do). Forget the spraying, forget the hygrometer, get that sub up to about halfway up the container and remove the plant, then you'll be most of the way there.

Personally I would never nudge a T with my fingers or indeed put my hand into a T container when they're at home - it's just not necessary.

I think everyone is making a lot of assumptions from other peoples replies, I simply asked about the slap and this post went WAY off subject! I bought the plants for my T. Stirmi I had some left over so thouggt what the hay I'll put one in there, I did my research on the plants, of anyone wants to say they are actually harmful then I would love to discuss that, I didn't "put" springtails in anything, they simply showed up in my Rose Hairs water dish, im worried about potting soil because all I have is wal mart and I cant find any organic without anything added that makes me uneasy, is it ok to put potting soil with added chemicals in my T's enclosure? Show me a discussion or something so I can feel easier about it? I was getting the mold issue with another T so was nervous of wetting down substrate too much, on a side thought , i considered the plant might help me not have to wet it. my humidity is staying at an 75-80% with the platyomma, i was simply trying to jistify why on a side thought i would plant one spear of a plant in there, i didnt think it was a "bad" thing to have them there? I don't know who thought I had a mister in there but I dont, it is however a spongy material inside tgat releases slowly, that might be considered a mister, idk. I love in a very dry climate and its helped a lot! I understand that platty 's are more for display, I had just mentioned I have occasionally handled my other T's. I assure you all I didn't just go buy a Platyomma on a whim cause "ooh, its pretty" I do my research! Hours, days, and weeks of it! And one thing is very clear....there is a lot of misinformation out there! I'm taking every new challenge as it comes, im not trying to dismiss any body's advice at all I welcome everyone's opinion and experiences, just please don't assume anything without a clear description or reply from ME?

You should not use any soil that contains any additives. If you can´t find eco earth at your local gardening shop, you can order a brick of coco fiber online. The plant is not harmful to your T, but it is a hassle to keep live plants in a terrarium, so you will be so much easier off without it. It seems to me that your hygrometer is giving you more stress than it is being useful. It´s not important to keep a constant humidity of 75-80% for this species, just slightly moist substrate will do the trick. You do however have way to little substrate in the enclosure. A good rule of the thumb for terrestrial Ts is to give it no more climbing space than one and a half times the spiders leg span. Just give it more substrate, sprinkle it with some water from time to time and toss away the plant if it doesnt thrive in this set up and you will be good to go

I keep my pamphos in plastic sterilite containers with holes around the sides-- NOT on the lid. I've been use using with some sphagnum moss mixed in just at the top. Every two days I wet down the substrate and moss and let it dry out before wetting it again.

I feel like KKs aren't the best enclosure for Ts who need their sub dampened once in a while. Not enough airflow, and the airflow it does have is all the way at the top. I like airflow closer to the substrate line.

As stated, you shouldn't be doing cage maintenance with your T out and wandering about. I'd put a plastic catch up overtop of him inside of the enclosure and do what you need to do, then remove the cup.