Husbandry for E. rufescens

becca81

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Sep 17, 2004
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It's very difficult to find a lot of information for E. rufescens! I've searched different forums and sites, but haven't really found a good source of information for this species.

What type of enclosures/setups are best? I've seen some set up as obligate burrowers and others as a burrowing/arboreal setup (room to do both). Should they be kept identical to E. murinus?

Is the growth rate similar to other members of this genus?
 

Brian S

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Keep as you would any obligate burrowing species. I have E uatuman only but I am quite sure that all "E" species have about the same husbandry. For that matter I have even seen them housed in sterlite boxes on a shallow layer of substrate and a hide.
 

Code Monkey

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I've not kept them personally, but everything I've ever heard or read leads me to agree with what Brian just said: they are a new world species that will do best if you treat them like a Haplopelma.
 

Raqua

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I keep 3 of Ephebopus species and they all seems to do fine in any setup. I consider them semi arboreals, so I use arboreal tank with higher substrate. They seems to be half burrowed and web a lot. They climb and made 2 level burrows - one at the bottom and other arboreal like.

Here is pic of my enclosure. It is much more webbed now. You can see a bit of the bottom burrow, but now she has webbed also the upper part where she sits on this picture. I might take another picture ..
 

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aaronrefalo

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Apr 5, 2005
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hyi, i did search on this species but with poor results...so Raqua does it has its cephalothorax white/PALE CREAM?...i like this species...her webbig to!!

Aaron
 

Raqua

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aaronrefalo said:
hyi, i did search on this species but with poor results...so Raqua does it has its cephalothorax white/PALE CREAM?...i like this species...her webbig to!!
Aaron
Depends on which one are you refering to now. Becca was asking about Ephebopus rufescens and on my pic is Ephebopus murinus, which is among my most favourite species.
 

Patricia Grindley

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Nov 10, 2019
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I have had an Ephebopus rufescens for a little under a year now. Purchased as a .75" sling, she has molted 5 times in my care. I would estimate she is about 2.25" now.
She was initially kept in a terrestrial set up from FNT which did not work well. She was on the lid all the time, even though she had constructed a burrow. It made feeding and maintenance pretty dicey.
She is very bitey, will turn without warning and chomp down on the paint brush. No threat postures or warning of any kind. Because of this, it took me a while to warm up to her.
With a little trial and error, I have found that the best enclosure where she seems to feel more secure, is an arboreal type Amac box half full of substrate. She does burrow, but she makes a tall turret in the corner, at one time it extended up about 4" from the surface of the substrate. She also constructed a lateral burrow that intersects with her main burrow. She will then perch in wait in her turret, butt end up, and wait for a cricket to enter the lateral burrow where she can pounce from above. This is the first T I have had that hunts in this manner, so I find it fascinating.
She is growing into quite a beautiful spider, and now that some of the husbandry issues have been worked out, she is no more difficult than any of my other T's.
I have only encountered a handful of keepers who have this species. I consider myself a beginner, and I would definitely say this is not a beginner species. Still, I figured it out and it was a great learning experience. If you have a bit of experience and you're looking for something different, the E. rufescens would be an excellent choice.
 
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