H. incei gold Rehousing

/ cancerides

Well, this turned out to be a bit of an adventure!

Last year, I purchased three H. incei gold juveniles from Michael Jacobi’s Spider Shoppe. Since then, one ended up a mature male, hooking out and passing away two months later. Last week, I got a good look at the second one, and he, too, has hooked out. The third? Well, I was never able to get a good look at it.

While doing several rehousings this weekend, I decided that it was time to get this little one a new home. I hoped to also get the opportunity to possibly sex it, as this would be the first time I would be seeing it out of its den in a long time.

Once again, my daughter, Sid, handled the camera duties as I took care of the actual rehousing. As these guys can be very skittish and fast, I anticipated that this might not go as smoothly as I hoped.

I was right!

Still, I try to be prepared and to stay calm during all rehousings, and I don’t panic if the spider doesn’t go exactly where I want it to right away (as often, they don’t). I also do all rehousings inside a larger plastic container to put an extra barrier between a fleeing spider and my dinner table. In this instance, this practice served me quite well.

With four kids and three dogs in my household, things can be quite loud and lively. You’ll notice in this video that my concentration was tested, not only by the potential escape, but by barking dogs and a thirsty four-year-old. 🙂

As for my little spider, it looks to be another male. Oh, well…

8 thoughts on “H. incei gold Rehousing”

    • Hi, Roman.

      Thanks! For some of my specimens, the size upgrade of the new enclosure allows for me to drop the old enclosure, pop the top, and let the T crawl out on its own (I sometimes do this with my poecilotheria species). In this instance, the old enclosure would not fit in the one I was upgrading to, so it wouldn’t work.

      I think that explains it!

      Thanks again!

      Tom

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      • Hi, Roman.

        Congrats on your new T! Do you know what size you are getting?

        Mine liked to burrow, so you’ll want an enclosure that will allow for a few inches of substrate. I also keep mine moist, not wet. Mine have done well in temps from 70-84 degrees, depending on the season.

        Oh, and as you can see by the video, they are quite FAST. They also grow quickly, and males can mature and die in a year.

        Here is a short blog post I did on mine:
        https://tomsbigspiders.wordpress.com/2014/06/01/h-incei-gold-feeding-video/

        Hope that helps…and best of luck!

        Tom

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      • Hi Tom,

        Thanks for the reply. I bought the t. from Martin at bugzuk.com.I could not find the incei here in Holland. I think that its somewhere between 1.5 and 3 cm (legspan) Still a babie I think. Hope everything will work out. I will do the unpacking in the bath for extra security 🙂 Is it ok if I put the t. in a bigger cage at the moment? so I dont have to rehouse it when it gets bigger?

        Love your blog page! very informative for beginners like me!

        Greets,

        Roman

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      • Hi, Roman.

        That’s actually pretty good sized. They mature quickly (especially the males) so you might have a full-grown T in less than a year, depending on the temps and feeding schedule.

        They don’t get all that large as adults, so you won’t need a very large enclosure for it to grow into. Although tarantulas sometimes seem to be more secure in smaller enclosures, they can certainly thrive in larger ones. For some of my more fast-growing or defensive species, I will give them larger homes to grow into to avoid the need for extra transfers. So, yes…feel free to use a reasonably large enclosure to allow it room to grow.

        As much as you’re probably dreading the rehousing, try to be calm and remember that most Ts, if they bolt, will only run for a bit, then stop. Just make sure you have a couple catch cups nearby. The trick is to stay calm, anticipate that they may not go directly into the new home, and don’t panic. 🙂

        What size enclosure do you have?

        And thanks so much for the kind words! I love that people are actually finding this stuff useful! When I began it, it was to hopefully help those new to the hobby find good info in one spot.

        All the best!

        Tom

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  2. Hi Tom,

    Finally I got my holothele incei 2 days ago. The rehousing from the packing to the enclosure went super smooth. No problem at all! Yesterday the t. ate his first cricket. He/she was one hungry t. and the cricket was gone within a couple of hours! Average temprature is around 20/22 degrees.
    I keep the t in a small but adequate container.

    I can send you some pictures if you like!

    Greets,

    Roman

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