# Tarantulas in the Snow?



## Bill S (Dec 11, 2011)

For those who worry about keeping their tarantulas warm enough.....

Today my wife and I went for a hike in one of our local mountain ranges.  The trail was on steep rocky hillsides at about 5,500 feet elevation.  Oak/Juniper zone, with patches of snow on the ground.  Cool temperatures (high 50's F) and hazy overcast.  And we found a small male _Aphonopelma_ species walking down the path.  Brought the spider home and set him up temporarily in a small KK, and tossed in a cricket.  I checked on him a few minutes later and he was having dinner.  

I tend to worry about my tarantulas getting too cold at ten or fifteen degrees warmer than what this guy was enjoying.  Nice to know there are a few cool weather species.


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## toast4nat (Dec 12, 2011)

Awesome story, thanks for sharing! I wish I had T's crossing my path on any given day


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## Vespula (Dec 12, 2011)

Wow. Tough little guy hanging out in the snow like that.


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## Bill S (Dec 12, 2011)

There are a couple species around here that appear to be cold adapted.  In another mountain range last year my wife was out hiking and found another small _Aphonopelma_ species.  Again, December, higher elevation, patches of snow on the ground.  And the stream nearby was covered in ice.  And she found several male tarantulas out wandering.  Seems counterintuitive that the montane forms would be active in December and the desert forms in the summer, but one thought that came up in conversation with another local biologist is that maybe the montane forms are relics of the Pleistoscene.  Pleistoscene Tucson was a cool damp evergreen forest, but at the end of the Ice Age the climate shifted and the forests "retreated" up the mountains, creating "sky islands" of forest.  Maybe these montane tarantulas were once widespread and retreated along with the forests and keep to their Pleistoscene patterns?

Reactions: Like 2


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## KnightinGale (Dec 13, 2011)

That's very interesting. Thanks for sharing the experience and the discussion.


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## dactylus (Dec 13, 2011)

Thanks for the sighting report.  Do you have any idea what that Aphonopelma species might be?  I have been hooked on the Aphonopelma since the first time that I laid eyes on a chalcodes many moons ago...


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## Ludedor24 (Dec 13, 2011)

Do you have a picture of the little guy?


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## ShadowBlade (Dec 13, 2011)

High 50's is cold?

-Sean


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## jim777 (Dec 13, 2011)

Another reason to love the Aphonopelma genus


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## Bill S (Dec 13, 2011)

dactylus said:


> Do you have any idea what that Aphonopelma species might be?


The genus is being worked on, and the guy who is doing the revision is coming by tonight to pick up this specimen.  It and at least one or two more dwarf species will eventually be described and named.


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## jim777 (Dec 13, 2011)

A quick pic before it's off then maybe?


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## Bill S (Dec 13, 2011)

My wife and I just took pics of it a couple minutes ago.  Will post later.

---------- Post added 12-13-2011 at 03:39 PM ----------




ShadowBlade said:


> High 50's is cold?


For tarantulas, yes.  Actually, for us desert dwellers too.  For the tarantulas the low temps really limit their food availability.  And if it's in the 50's in the middle of the afternoon, it's quite a bit cooler the rest of the day and especially at night.


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## zonbonzovi (Dec 13, 2011)

Ah, neat!  I'd heard tale of a small, montane species potentially having a later breeding season than the valley dwellers, but they are rarely seen?  I wonder if prey in the sky islands is generally more cold resistant like their northern cousins...do you tend to see much in the way of invertebrate life in the cooler months?


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## BrettG (Dec 13, 2011)

I have seen A.behlei wandering around with temps in the mid to low 40's.


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## dactylus (Dec 14, 2011)

BrettG said:


> I have seen A.behlei wandering around with temps in the mid to low 40's.


^
Wow, that is very interesting.  Would the spiders that you mention be the "Flagstaff" area A. behlei?

---------- Post added 12-14-2011 at 03:18 AM ----------








Bill S said:


> My wife and I just took pics of it a couple minutes ago.  Will post later.
> 
> ---------- Post added 12-13-2011 at 03:39 PM ----------
> 
> For tarantulas, yes.  Actually, for us desert dwellers too.  For the tarantulas the low temps really limit their food availability.  And if it's in the 50's in the middle of the afternoon, it's quite a bit cooler the rest of the day and especially at night.


^
Thanks in advance for the pics.  

I'm looking forward to the results of the ongoing Aphonopelma studies being conducted.


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## BrettG (Dec 14, 2011)

No....On the Mogollon Rim( pronounced "mug-e-own"),about 30 minutes NE of Payson,Az


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## PrimalTaunt (Dec 14, 2011)

Neat story. Thanks for posting!


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## sjl197 (Dec 14, 2011)

I've seen pics of chilean tarantulas living happily under rocks with snow all around on the side of a freezing misty mountain, and we wonder in the hobby why the Grammostola/Euathlus spp often dont thrive or breed in captivity...

But great to know that there are some USA species that have become cold-adapted too. Life finds a way. I was just under the impression that most of the US species were what could be termed 'relatively young species', so less time to adapt to extremes.

Cool report... photos please...


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## AbraxasComplex (Dec 14, 2011)

sjl197 said:


> I've seen pics of chilian tarantulas living happily under rocks with snow all around on the side of a freezing misty mountain, and we wonder in the hobby why the Grammostola/Euathlus spp often dont thrive or breed in captivity...


I agree with this. My old Chilean supplier had a large list of species that were found in areas that had a light layer of snow on the ground for 2-3 months and suggested replicating these situations (or at the very least placing them in a much colder room for the winter months).


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## dactylus (Dec 15, 2011)

BrettG said:


> No....On the Mogollon Rim( pronounced "mug-e-own"),about 30 minutes NE of Payson,Az


Thanks for the info.  Are the behlei in this area similar in size/coloration  to the Payson area population?


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## Bill S (Dec 15, 2011)

BrettG said:


> On the Mogollon Rim( pronounced "mug-e-own"),...


Unless you speak Spanish (it's a Spanish word) and then you'd pronounce it "mo-go-yon".  That's the pronunciation I mostly hear.


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## NickC4 (Dec 20, 2011)

Are pics coming soon?


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