Species Chaetopelma olivaceum (a.k.a. Chaetopelma gracile)

[becca81]

Freshly molted - fiesty little ones. Anyone have any other pictures of these?

 

[Mr Ed]

this is a new one on me, I'll have to find an adult pic...

 

[Hedorah99]

Cute little ones becca. I have never heard of them before. Where did you get them and does anyone have info on them? :?

 

[WidowMaker]

Hmmm, Chaetopelma gracile (Ausserer, 1871). They are found in the middle east (around Cyprus and Israel). Coloration depends on what region they are found. They are terrestrial (will burrow) and are considered a communial species. Temp in the 75-85 range, water dish (always full), doesn't need 'high' humidity, around 30-40% should be good. Eats the typical diet (crickets, roaches, etc) also will eat anoles, geckos, and other small lizards. Breed rather well in captivity. All I can think of for the moment, please ask if you have any other questions.
You have some cute ones there Becca. Best of luck with them.

 

[Crotalus]

C. gracile, from Turkey

C. gracile, from Cyprus

/Lelle

 

[WidowMaker]

Thanks Crotalus. I've never seen the one from Turkey before. Always nice seeing new ones. Best wishes.

 

[Crotalus]

Another Turkey picture:

/Lelle

 

[WidowMaker]

Once again thanks, Crotalus. Great close up shot. I'm definately keeping my eye out for these little sweeties.

 

[T.Raab]

Hi,

i keep also a couple of Chaetopelma gracile from Israel (habitat near Jerusalem).

 

[pitbulllady]

Someone in Israel had taken a pic of an ultimate male of this species wandering along an alleyway and posted it on a photo-and-art-hosting site, Deviantart.com. I sent Rick West a link to the pic, and he identified it as this species. I'd not even known that there were T's in the Middle East before that.

What's the personality of these like? Are they more like the African species, very fast and highly defensive or what?

pitbulllady

 

[vulpina]

Very cool T. Nice species.

Andy

 

[Crotalus]

Someone in Israel had taken a pic of an ultimate male of this species wandering along an alleyway and posted it on a photo-and-art-hosting site, Deviantart.com. I sent Rick West a link to the pic, and he identified it as this species. I'd not even known that there were T's in the Middle East before that.

What's the personality of these like? Are they more like the African species, very fast and highly defensive or what?

pitbulllady

There are a few species of a few genus in the middle east.
The spiders I had of this genus was not defensive like typical africans, quite docile in comparison.
Theres also a tiny species in the genus, C. karlamani, which are found on Cyprus and Turkey. The size is only a few cm in bodylenght of a adult female
A bad pix of the female I had:

/Lelle

 

[pitbulllady]

There are a few species of a few genus in the middle east.
The spiders I had of this genus was not defensive like typical africans, quite docile in comparison.
Theres also a tiny species in the genus, C. karlamani, which are found on Cyprus and Turkey. The size is only a few cm in bodylenght of a adult female
A bad pix of the female I had:

/Lelle

Hmmm...wonder why this genus has not become more readily available, then, since they sound like an interesting group to keep, the only Old World genus which seems to be fairly docile, at least in comparison to most African species. I've never seen any offered in the US.

pitbulllady

 

[Ravnos]

I'm in the US, and got mine at a local pet shop. I've seen them turn up on lists every once in a while, but they're definitely not real common. Someone is breeding them though.

Rav

 

[GoTerps]

Yeah I've seen them in the US on occassion.

Actually, one of the larger dealers should have some on his list soon.

 

[WidowMaker]

I agree. The C. Gracile are not nearly as defensive as alot of them out there. I've handled several without any problem whatsoever. The C. karlamani are a bit more on the defensive side, but you can coax them into your hand. They're pretty speedy though so be careful.

T. Raab, are you planning to breed them? They breed relatively easily. So you definately could get more on the market.

Best wishes.

 

[becca81]

I hope they do breed easily - I have 8 of them now and hope to be able to sex them within a few more molts or so.

 

[Crotalus]

They are easy to mate.
My notes on my attempt (a long time ago):

"I have tried to breed the species and the first attempt ended with a palp shorter for the male.Not a good start. I put the male in a smaller plastic box inside the females cage so the get used to each other before introducing the male. The female didnt show any signs of aggression in the next attempt before or after the successful mating. After 5 months the female produced a eggsack and since it was my first I was overjoyed and took it out of the cage right away - I should have left it there for a few weeks. It resulted in the main part of the eggs went bad but a few survived, 4 spiderlings of which non later survived the molting process. This was´nt the result that I wished for but I will try again. As far as I know this was the first breeding attempt of this species in Sweden."

http://www.minaxtarantulas.net/artskotsel/chaeto_e.html

/Lelle

 

[T.Raab]

Hi,

T. Raab, are you planning to breed them? They breed relatively easily. So you definately could get more on the market.
Best wishes.

yes, i'm going to breed this species, like other african species i keep, too. I have C. gracile from Cyrpus and Israel. The Cyprus Variation is much bigger now and from a breeding of a good friend (Ingo Wendt) last year. We make breeding groups in every species if possible. (I also in touch with several other ppl who are keeping african species for breeding groups.)

 

[arachnoking1234]

eww

those are the ugliest spiders i have ever seen (no offence just personal oppinion) their abdomens look weird and crooked