Blue Fang Care Sheet

Randomhero148

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I have been searching google and other places to find the care sheet on the blue fang. I am not sure if there is one so anyone who has kept this tarantula let me know how you keep it. Also if there is any other information you have of this species please let me know. I heard they flick hair from somewhere around their mouth? Is this a new world species or old world? How potent is their venom? Are they defensive? Those are some of the questions I have.
 

Zoltan

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Deep and moist substrate. If you want to mimic natural habitat, put leaf litter on top of substrate. So far they are recorded from French Guiana and Brazil (New World). They have the urticating hairs on the femora of the pedipalps. They are skittish and fast. No idea about venom.
 

Zoltan

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No, all species of the genus Ephebopus bear urticating hairs on the pedipals: E. cyanognathus, E. foliatus (not present in the hobby), E. murinus, E. rufescens and E. uatuman. No other genus with this feature is known currently.
 

Randomhero148

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No, all species of the genus Ephebopus bear urticating hairs on the pedipals: E. cyanognathus, E. foliatus (not present in the hobby), E. murinus, E. rufescens and E. uatuman. No other genus with this feature is known currently.
Thank you for the information. Do you have one yourself?
 

Zoltan

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You're welcome. :) No, I only have E. murinus and E. uatuman, the latter is found in the same habitat as E. cyanognathus (upland rainforest). Practically you can keep all the species of the genus that are in the hobby under the same conditions.
 
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xhexdx

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Are we considering Ephebopus sp. to be obligate burrowers, similar to Haplopelma sp? Relatively similar setups to Haps as well?

Also, on a moisture scale of 1 to 10, 1 being "rosea" moist, 10 being "blondi" moist, what would you classify Ephebopus as, Zoltan? Haplopelma?
 

Zoltan

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Hey Joe,

E. foliatus is thought to be arboreal based on the fact that the all 6 type specimens were collected 1-4 m* above ground (see West et al., 2008). E. murinus juvenile specimens were found to lead an arboreal lifestyle, living on the leafs of mostly bromeliads in silk retreats then change to fossorial/burrower lifestyle when reach subadult/adult stage. E. cyanognathus and E. uatuman were only found burrows in the ground, while E. rufescens was mainly found in exploited natural cavities, also several meters up the ground - I don't know how this last species does in captivity actually, so my previous statement may prove to be incorrect.

Joe, when I got my E. murinus juveniles the vials were like a swamp. I let this dry up a bit, but I still keep it moist and when I look at the vials from the side, I can see that the substrate is moist (the vial is half-transparent). The E. uatuman juveniles are on straight peat which I really should change since it doesn't hold moisture very well. Sometimes it dries out then I moisten it again, it hasn't been a problem so far but I aim to keep the substrate moist. As for how would I classify them, I guess you could say Haplopelma-like.

Two articles that are very good reads to Ephebopus enthusiasts like me:
  • West, R. C., Marshall, S. D., Fukushima, C. S. & Bertani, R. 2008. Review and cladistic analysis of the Neotropical tarantula genus Ephebopus Simon 1892 (Araneae: Theraphosidae) with notes on the Aviculariinae Zootaxa 1849: 35–58
  • Marshall, S. D. & West, R. C. 2008. An ontogenetic shift in habitat use by the Neotropical tarantula Ephebopus murinus (Araneae, Theraphosidae, Aviculariinae) Bull. Br. arachnol. Soc. 14(6), 280-284

*note that there's an error with this data as in the West et al. article they state 1-4 m while in the Marshall & West article they state 1-2 m. :confused:
 

tarcan

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E. cyanognathus can be found in the same places as T. blondi, so similar humidity is acceptable. Not swamp like of course, but decent humid substrate will do.

Although not published data, E. cyanognathus babies and young juveniles are also arborals, just like E. murinus. I have seen multiple specimens behaving as such in the wild.

Not as commonly, I also found some E. rufescens at man's hight, but mostly under loose bark or crevices on tree trunks, while E. cyanognathus will roll leaves and web up, or will use a dead leaf that fell on another leaf to construct a hiding place.

Martin
 

Exo

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Some of the caresheets on that site are way off, like B.smithi needing moist substrate and 70% humidity.
 

gumby

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Wow thank you for the great info Zoltan :clap: . It really is nice to see answers with documented research attached :worship: . I always thought they were a little on the semi arboreal side because of the way their feet are shapped.
 

Merfolk

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These are really the platypuses of theraphosids.

I too though of them as the American Haplopelmas, yet the arboreal infancy prevents such categorisation. Well, save for the oddly located urticating hair, what we have here is an OW type spider like the Psalmos! Perhaps it's the missing link and the genus was the first to develop that defensive mechanism.
It would be interesting to compare the chemical composition of their venom to that of different other species.
 

Zoltan

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what we have here is an OW type spider like the Psalmos! Perhaps it's the missing link and the genus was the first to develop that defensive mechanism.
What exactly makes them "OW type like Psalmos"?
 

TheTsupreme

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I think he means that Psalmopeus and the Ephebopus genuses lacks the urticating hairs on the abdomen.
 

Kathy

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Zoltan, I have a blue fang - when you say "leaf litter" do you mean I should just go in my backyard and get dried leaves off the ground or do you use a special store bought product. I'm just thinking bugs, pesticides, etc.
 

Zoltan

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Kathy, I don't use it for any of my Ephebopus yet, the enclosures are too small for it. It's not a necessity, just an idea. Example of how it looks like. I don't think there are many bugs/parasites in dried leaves, but I could be wrong. I would probably get them from the woods, maybe wash them. And if I wanted to be really careful I'd put them in a fully functioning "test enclosure" without a spider to see how they "operate".
 
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