My favorite species! Was inspired by you and Grindler and so many other content creators to finally start a Mb commmunal myself. 25 1-1.5 inch slings arrived Wednesday! So far so good. They are all sharing the meals and have burrowed and begun their webbing. It’s so fascinating to watch them. So glad I dove in! Thanks!!
I have M. balfouri Tarantula it was given to me from my uncle. Thank you for sharing your knowledge about this. I learn a lot about this kind of tarantula. :)
Thanks for the tips and inspiration! Just had a surprise clutch hatch out in my female's enclosure 8 months after pairing her, I will definitely be raising them in a communal setup
As a child back in the late 70s/early 80s a movie called "The Kingdom of the Spiders". About tarantulas taking over a whole town out west.. This movie scared the €hit out of me... I didn't sleep for 2 weeks.. However over the last 2yrs I've watched several channels about Trantuals. And the more I've become educated about these amazing spiders,the more I've fallen in love with old and new world spiders... But for some reason I keep coming back to the balfori..the webbing reminds me of that movie. It's on this platform, it has Capitan Kirk Star Wars actor.. Thank you for sharing..
This is exactly what i was looking for! Thank you. I have had a phobia forever and have worked on this for 10 years now. Love learning about spiders. Thank you again for making this.
Great video, and amazing enclosure. My only concern is to keep this species in a communal setup is how do you clean the tank?(leftover food, molt etc..)
Just a simple spot clean for food is all they need. They tend to have a clearout of old moults every now and then and chick them all out of their burrows
Just got four slings in a trade for my mature male GBB,they’ve already made their burrows and I’ve just fed them a pre killed roach of course as soon as I open the enclosure they all run and hide,they’re so cute.
Nice vid! I am thinking about to buy a group of 8. Which size of terrarium would you recommend and do you know, if they also start mating, if they are siblings?
Thanks 🙂 It all depends on the size of the spiders. I will be doing a live video on a friend's channel tomorrow evening where we will be talking enclosure size. If you are on Facebook, joing the Balfouri Communal Club group and the video will be on there Wednesday evening 😀
GREAT NEWS! I have partnered with The Spider Shop UK! So, if you use my affiliate link below for all your purchases on the website, I receive a percentage of that sale in commission. What's more is that you can now save 5% off your order by using IANT5 So copy my affiliate link, save it as your bookmark, and spend spend spend. I know how much you guys love to spend your hard earned spondoolies with these guys. www.thespidershop.co.uk/?ref=iant
Very nice enclosure👍🏼I‘m think about keeping a big colony in a huge show terrarium (2,50x0,60x0,60m) in my private practice. How do you clean the terrarium? Do you only remove the food remains? Thx in advance for answering my question!
These are awesome Ts, question can I start a communal if one was raised on its own? Looking to get 3 that have been together and another i saw on a local Craigslist listing. Thanks
Sorry for the delay in responding. Hopefully it is going well. If you need any help then please DM me on Facebook or Instagram and I will be happy to help 🙂
Do they keep the colony size down due to size of enclosure or just breed anyway? I’d love to have a colony but would need to speak to local exotic shops about adoption before I buy as don’t want hundreds on my hands!
I started one, I originally had a p metallic communal with 4, one died during molting sadly but they get along very well. I started a balfouri communal, started with two who seemed to get along apart from having an end on each side of the enclosure, I recently added 3 more that have been communal together their entire lives, one being a molt behind the other two, they seemed to be getting along.. although, the two originals I had are one molt ahead of the other 2, and 2 molts ahead of the smallest, but they are all still slings.. have you had any issues with introducing any new ones? I asked on arachnoboards once and many people there are against it, so I just want to make sure they are all okay 😅 Ps I must applaud your rehousing all those T’s, one of the three of mine I just introduced actually escaped into my recliner chair, and I had to cut it open to find it 😂
Thanks for watching. Glad to hear your communal is coming along well. Of no! I couldn't imagine having to do that! Glad you found it safe and sound though abiet at the expense of a chair. I have another video from a different communal where I introduced 3 separate communals of different sizes all into one big enclosure. I done this about 6 months ago roughly. I have done an update video yet but they are all doing very well. I think if you add them together it is best to introduce them all into a brand new enclosure and not an established enclosure. This way seemed to have worked for me anyway. If you fancy checking that video out then you can find it here 🙂 ruclips.net/video/g9HWabksIbI/видео.html
I have the opportunity to get some balfouri slings and would love to keep them communally. They are currently 1.5-2cm. What size enclosure would you recommend if I got 8? I prefer to go as big as possible to avoid rehousing too soon but get conflicting info online on whether they need limited space so territories aren't established
2cm is still quite small so I wouldn't put them into anything too large just yet personally. Just a small container around 12cm x 10cm with a few inches of substrate. Or even something like the tub in this video for a while. It is personal preference if you want them in a visible container or not.
If they have been left solitary then I personally wouldn't recommend it. The risk of them cannibalising is higher. I have seen it done, bit also seen more fail.
Do they mate within the same sack? or do you need to introduce an outsider? I bought 3 mbalf from separate sellers, 2 are from the same sack and the other one is not. The 2 are about half inch and the other one is 1".. I'm new with Mbalf..Thank in advance for the answer.
Don’t quote me because I’ve never even had a T as a pet before but I’ve watched a lot of videos. I believe they don’t mate if there from the same sac. You gotta introduce an outside and I’ve also heard it’s a lot easier with this species
They can do and we have witnessed this. I wish I recorded it. From articles I have read invert siblings can reproduce with little to no complications as their genetics are completely different to vertebrate animals. But I think alot more research needs to be done. But I would at least try to breed from separate sacs. The thing we have to remember especially with the likes of balfouri. Very little specimens were taken from the wild due to how rarely they are found and how difficult it is to even get to Socotra Island. So I would say the majority of them in the hobby will be related anyway.
But to confirm yes introduce them in a whole new enclosure. Try and feed them within 24 hours of settling in. But you do have to remember there is always that risk no matter what. But the vast majority do really well together.
I'm curious with the breeding part. When you have a large group living together, I'm sure eventually they will end up inbreeding? Your thoughts on that?
Inbreeding can happen. It doesn't affect inverts like it does mammals. Although we have since removed all of the males, trimmed the number of females down and have introduced a fresh unrelated male to the colony.
QUESTION: I have 2 M.Balfouri females here and I would love to keep them together. I got them apart from each other, and my question is if it would be a problem to rehouse them together in 1 terrarium???
Hi. If they have been kept separate for a while then the risk is much higher. I personally wouldn't do it. Some people have had success but I have also seen these situations fail more often.
@@IanTarrantula thank you for this advice! I'll just trying to get a male to mate with my females so I'll be able to make a communal with the offspring, vingers crossed. I've got little to no experience in mating the spiders, although I've kept over more than 500 tarantula's haha
How is the smell? I keep hearing there's no smell but I find that hard to believe if there's tarantula poo and uneaten parts, especially should it be under all that webbing and substrate. I get headaches when it comes to bad smells. This might be so with one tarantula but a bunch of them living in one enclosure?
To be honest, we don't really have any issues. They tend to throw out any uneaten bits out which allows us to spot clean. Plus with them being a arid species we don't have to worry about damp substrate moulding ect.
Hi, my balfouri recently had slings they are between 3rd and 4th instar right now and still with the mother. At this stage, how often did you feed the mother/babies and what quantity? I currently feed the mom adult dubias 1/2 every few days.
New world is any Tarantula from America or South America. Old world is Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe. Old world T's tend to have more potent venom compared to most new world Tarantulas. The majority of New world T's have urticating hairs which they use as their first line of defense. I am currently working on a new video which will go through alot of beginner questions which I hope will help alot of people who are looking to enter the hobby 🙂
There is always a risk of cannibalism. But we have learnt that balfouri have the lowest risk. I have 3 different balfouri communals and have seen no cannibalism in any of them 🙂
If the male is mature I would say best not to keep him in there with her because he will have just one thing on his mind and chances are he will keep trying to pair with the female and she will eventually eat him. I would just add him when you want to pair them and remove him when he has done his business.
Hi Rodney, My social media links: Instagram: instagram.com/ian_tarrantula Facebook: facebook.com/IanTarrantula You can send me a private message on either of these. If you don't use either I will give you my email address.
My favorite species! Was inspired by you and Grindler and so many other content creators to finally start a Mb commmunal myself. 25 1-1.5 inch slings arrived Wednesday! So far so good. They are all sharing the meals and have burrowed and begun their webbing. It’s so fascinating to watch them. So glad I dove in! Thanks!!
Fantastic! I hope they do well for you 😊
This is the most epic Tarantula review I've ever watched. 10/10!
Thanks! 😁😁😁
That 3 month difference in their new enclosure was unreal! Absolutely beaut! Thanks for a really informative vid 🙂
Thank you for watching 🙂
They are so cute how they peacefully share food and space. This is my second favorite species of Tarantula, next to Brachypelma smithi.
Nailed it! That is another viral video... I've been looking at getting a small cummunal for a while
Northern exotics! love your vids :D
I love web castles, something about them screams fantasy and mystery, truly a marvel to see them
this is a amazing video man. when i saw 4 feeding on 1 cricket that gave me shivers
Underrated channel man
Awesome Ian. You must know by now how much I love them M. Balfouri.
Thanks so much for sharing 😊
This channel deserves more attention
I have M. balfouri Tarantula it was given to me from my uncle. Thank you for sharing your knowledge about this. I learn a lot about this kind of tarantula. :)
Thanks for the tips and inspiration! Just had a surprise clutch hatch out in my female's enclosure 8 months after pairing her, I will definitely be raising them in a communal setup
Increble wow you are amazing you actually take the time to show animals and tell facts.
This is absolutely amazing, I loved every second of watching this and look forward to seeing more. Thank you so much for sharing
Thank you
Loved the video.. just getting back into keeping tarantulas after many years I think this will be my next camunal tank ... Thank you very much.
As a child back in the late 70s/early 80s a movie called "The Kingdom of the Spiders".
About tarantulas taking over a whole town out west..
This movie scared the €hit out of me...
I didn't sleep for 2 weeks..
However over the last 2yrs I've watched several channels about Trantuals. And the more I've become educated about these amazing spiders,the more I've fallen in love with old and new world spiders...
But for some reason I keep coming back to the balfori..the webbing reminds me of that movie. It's on this platform, it has Capitan Kirk Star Wars actor..
Thank you for sharing..
Wow! Such an amazing video. I would love to have a community of these but I bet that would mean constant babies!!! So much work!
Awesome information mate and I've got are little communal set up as well of 7 M Balfouri :)
Very impressive video. I just bought one and maybe in time I will have more but need to find out more
This is exactly what i was looking for! Thank you. I have had a phobia forever and have worked on this for 10 years now. Love learning about spiders. Thank you again for making this.
You're so welcome!
Thank you for this video, the best one I found so far. First old worlds for me , love them.
100% recommend them as a first old world
A nice balfouri communal is one of my big tarantula keeping dreams. One day it will happen!
Nice. Video. Liked the begining.
Wow this was so good!!!
Brilliant bunch of clips and narrative Ian. They certainly are a marvel in the hobby
It's a great vid, plenty information and well presented. Top notch dude
Thanks mate. I thought I would try something a bit different 🙂
Absolutely amazing video. You take such good care of them and you're so knowledgeable! Thank you for this video! Subscribed
Thank you for subscribing 🙂
i never knew about that island wow. stunning tarantuala
Great video, and amazing enclosure. My only concern is to keep this species in a communal setup is how do you clean the tank?(leftover food, molt etc..)
Just a simple spot clean for food is all they need. They tend to have a clearout of old moults every now and then and chick them all out of their burrows
Thanks for sharing. Nice voice narration. I have 2 adults as communal and hoping to see expand their kingdom😁.
Thanks 😁 Good luck with that 😊
one of my dream tarantula , good job !
Great video!
Love your channel mate yes I do have a small communal
Hi Chris. Thanks for watching
Awesome video man, just found your channel and will be going through videos tonight☺️ Had my first communal today and im absolutely loving mine aswell
Thats awesome. Thanks for watching 🙂
Just got four slings in a trade for my mature male GBB,they’ve already made their burrows and I’ve just fed them a pre killed roach of course as soon as I open the enclosure they all run and hide,they’re so cute.
What a thing of beauty.
An awesome Video over an awesome Tarantula 👍
Nice vid! I am thinking about to buy a group of 8. Which size of terrarium would you recommend and do you know, if they also start mating, if they are siblings?
Thanks 🙂
It all depends on the size of the spiders. I will be doing a live video on a friend's channel tomorrow evening where we will be talking enclosure size. If you are on Facebook, joing the Balfouri Communal Club group and the video will be on there Wednesday evening 😀
Very nice mate! My little communal of 5 is doing well and will need a rehouse soon.
GREAT NEWS! I have partnered with The Spider Shop UK!
So, if you use my affiliate link below for all your purchases on the website, I receive a percentage of that sale in commission.
What's more is that you can now save 5% off your order by using IANT5
So copy my affiliate link, save it as your bookmark, and spend spend spend. I know how much you guys love to spend your hard earned spondoolies with these guys.
www.thespidershop.co.uk/?ref=iant
Amazing video Ian, more and more I want to get a communal, these T’s are just wonderful ☺️ love the group hug feeding 🤣
Great video Ian!!
That was awesome dude!! You got a sub from me 🙏👍
Would this be a good transition from keeping new worlds to old worlds? Such an amazing species!
edit: nvm my question was answered in the vid lol
🤣 no problem. But yes definitely 100% recommend as a first old world 👍
Very nice enclosure👍🏼I‘m think about keeping a big colony in a huge show terrarium (2,50x0,60x0,60m) in my private practice. How do you clean the terrarium? Do you only remove the food remains? Thx in advance for answering my question!
Thanks! Just a spot clean every couple of weeks is all that is needed. They tend to be very clean.
Wonderful video!
I do love Balfouris 😍❤️
Beautiful! Do they raise young in the communal tank?
Thank you. That is something I have yet to see. But hopefully one day 🤞
Cool
Great info,,thank,, 👍👍
Nice vid.. thumbs up bro!!!
Thanks for watching
These are awesome Ts, question can I start a communal if one was raised on its own? Looking to get 3 that have been together and another i saw on a local Craigslist listing. Thanks
Thanks. Personally I wouldn't risk adding one that has been kept solo.
I see growth like this in 6 months as a B Smithi owner, and I just wait....and wait...and wait...
Tell me about it. I own a few of those too 🤣
So I just got my very first. If you have any guidance that will help me keep this creature happy and comfortable I would be very greatful.
Sorry for the delay in responding. Hopefully it is going well. If you need any help then please DM me on Facebook or Instagram and I will be happy to help 🙂
Woooow
I love balfouri 😊
Very nice collection 😉
great video i just subscribed
Do they keep the colony size down due to size of enclosure or just breed anyway? I’d love to have a colony but would need to speak to local exotic shops about adoption before I buy as don’t want hundreds on my hands!
We have witnessed some pairings but it is very difficult to get them to reproduce in q colony. But that is what we are trying to achieve 🤞🤞🤞
I started one, I originally had a p metallic communal with 4, one died during molting sadly but they get along very well.
I started a balfouri communal, started with two who seemed to get along apart from having an end on each side of the enclosure, I recently added 3 more that have been communal together their entire lives, one being a molt behind the other two, they seemed to be getting along.. although, the two originals I had are one molt ahead of the other 2, and 2 molts ahead of the smallest, but they are all still slings.. have you had any issues with introducing any new ones? I asked on arachnoboards once and many people there are against it, so I just want to make sure they are all okay 😅
Ps I must applaud your rehousing all those T’s, one of the three of mine I just introduced actually escaped into my recliner chair, and I had to cut it open to find it 😂
Thanks for watching. Glad to hear your communal is coming along well. Of no! I couldn't imagine having to do that! Glad you found it safe and sound though abiet at the expense of a chair.
I have another video from a different communal where I introduced 3 separate communals of different sizes all into one big enclosure. I done this about 6 months ago roughly. I have done an update video yet but they are all doing very well. I think if you add them together it is best to introduce them all into a brand new enclosure and not an established enclosure. This way seemed to have worked for me anyway.
If you fancy checking that video out then you can find it here 🙂
ruclips.net/video/g9HWabksIbI/видео.html
@@IanTarrantula thanks!
I have the opportunity to get some balfouri slings and would love to keep them communally. They are currently 1.5-2cm. What size enclosure would you recommend if I got 8? I prefer to go as big as possible to avoid rehousing too soon but get conflicting info online on whether they need limited space so territories aren't established
2cm is still quite small so I wouldn't put them into anything too large just yet personally. Just a small container around 12cm x 10cm with a few inches of substrate. Or even something like the tub in this video for a while. It is personal preference if you want them in a visible container or not.
really good videos, you may need to be a more click bait with the titles of the videos if you want those sweet views but that's up to you good channel
Thanks for watching. I get where you are coming from. Maybe I will try it one time and see what happens 😁
Why are you encouraging click bait? I hate it.
Is it possible to house unrelated balfouris that grew separately? They have half an inch size difference.
If they have been left solitary then I personally wouldn't recommend it. The risk of them cannibalising is higher. I have seen it done, bit also seen more fail.
Do they mate within the same sack? or do you need to introduce an outsider? I bought 3 mbalf from separate sellers, 2 are from the same sack and the other one is not. The 2 are about half inch and the other one is 1".. I'm new with Mbalf..Thank in advance for the answer.
Don’t quote me because I’ve never even had a T as a pet before but I’ve watched a lot of videos. I believe they don’t mate if there from the same sac. You gotta introduce an outside and I’ve also heard it’s a lot easier with this species
They can do and we have witnessed this. I wish I recorded it. From articles I have read invert siblings can reproduce with little to no complications as their genetics are completely different to vertebrate animals. But I think alot more research needs to be done. But I would at least try to breed from separate sacs. The thing we have to remember especially with the likes of balfouri. Very little specimens were taken from the wild due to how rarely they are found and how difficult it is to even get to Socotra Island. So I would say the majority of them in the hobby will be related anyway.
But to confirm yes introduce them in a whole new enclosure. Try and feed them within 24 hours of settling in. But you do have to remember there is always that risk no matter what. But the vast majority do really well together.
Ian Tarrantula wow that’s incredible. Btw, awesome videos man
I'm curious with the breeding part. When you have a large group living together, I'm sure eventually they will end up inbreeding? Your thoughts on that?
Inbreeding can happen. It doesn't affect inverts like it does mammals. Although we have since removed all of the males, trimmed the number of females down and have introduced a fresh unrelated male to the colony.
QUESTION: I have 2 M.Balfouri females here and I would love to keep them together. I got them apart from each other, and my question is if it would be a problem to rehouse them together in 1 terrarium???
Hi. If they have been kept separate for a while then the risk is much higher. I personally wouldn't do it. Some people have had success but I have also seen these situations fail more often.
@@IanTarrantula thank you for this advice! I'll just trying to get a male to mate with my females so I'll be able to make a communal with the offspring, vingers crossed. I've got little to no experience in mating the spiders, although I've kept over more than 500 tarantula's haha
Hey!! I’m in the middle of building a balfouri communal enclosure, what substrate did you use for this?
Sorry for the delay. It is a mix of beardie life and coco fibre with some shingle.
Thank you 😊
How is the smell? I keep hearing there's no smell but I find that hard to believe if there's tarantula poo and uneaten parts, especially should it be under all that webbing and substrate. I get headaches when it comes to bad smells. This might be so with one tarantula but a bunch of them living in one enclosure?
To be honest, we don't really have any issues. They tend to throw out any uneaten bits out which allows us to spot clean. Plus with them being a arid species we don't have to worry about damp substrate moulding ect.
Very Nice Video 👍
I also have 2 Groups of these great Spiders, a group of 4 and an 8 Group 😍
Awesome. They are really cool to watch. I can sit there for hours watching them do literally nothing haha
Hi, my balfouri recently had slings they are between 3rd and 4th instar right now and still with the mother. At this stage, how often did you feed the mother/babies and what quantity? I currently feed the mom adult dubias 1/2 every few days.
did ya do good
What is difference between old world and new. I am a newbie to all this and curious. Thanks
New world is any Tarantula from America or South America. Old world is Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe. Old world T's tend to have more potent venom compared to most new world Tarantulas. The majority of New world T's have urticating hairs which they use as their first line of defense. I am currently working on a new video which will go through alot of beginner questions which I hope will help alot of people who are looking to enter the hobby 🙂
@@IanTarrantula Thanks Ian
Whats the substrate used in this communal??
It is a mix of beardie life, coc fibre and sand.
How many were started in this comunal?
65 originally
some said they can cannibalism? i started my own colony of community tank of balfouris
There is always a risk of cannibalism. But we have learnt that balfouri have the lowest risk. I have 3 different balfouri communals and have seen no cannibalism in any of them 🙂
I have one female can i put a male and let them live together?
If the male is mature I would say best not to keep him in there with her because he will have just one thing on his mind and chances are he will keep trying to pair with the female and she will eventually eat him. I would just add him when you want to pair them and remove him when he has done his business.
Do they eat each other?
There is a small possibility they might. But generally these will live together without any issues.
I had a question so how do you have them grow so big an that many together did u like pair them at birth
These are all from the same egg sac so they have been together since birth
@@IanTarrantula oh okay so any of them mate or no because they know there from same egg sack
I have a 2 count communal of balfouri, man they are so fast
How many tarantulas in that colony
There were 65 when this was taken.
how can i message you privately? i have some questions regarding mbalf. thanks.
Hi Rodney, My social media links:
Instagram: instagram.com/ian_tarrantula
Facebook: facebook.com/IanTarrantula
You can send me a private message on either of these. If you don't use either I will give you my email address.
I sent you a DM on Instagram Ian.
What happens when you end up with 15 egg sacs in there? I’d personally just panic
We will celebrate 🍾 🤣😂🤣
wtf 5:10 :D amazing
I knw im late to the party but that enclosure is throwed
Eating one what🤔🤔
Messaged ya on FB. Can ya help me with some extra info Ian? Thanks. Nathan on FB.
Eight legged puppies
I keep telling my coworkers that! They aren’t entirely convinced!🤣🤣
They look scary
Great video!