# L. malayanus SLINGS!!!



## 8+) (Jun 22, 2008)

Remember this? 

Well I looked in on that enclosure tonight and-9 months later!-there must be 100+ babies!  Some are running loose, but there are many tiny sets of trip lines.

I'll post some shots and details soon, but they are tiny so don't expect much. Fortunately I have some springtails. I hope they do OK, I'm leaving town for a week...

I'm not sure mom's still kicking. If see is, she's way in the back of her hole.


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## josh_r (Jun 22, 2008)

congrats! that is awesome!


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## UrbanJungles (Jun 22, 2008)

Way to go!!!!!!!!


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## syndicate (Jun 22, 2008)

nice job!spiderlings of this species are micro!!might be a good idea to see if the mother will feed them.


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## dragontears (Jun 22, 2008)

That's great news!  Congrats!  :clap:

Is this one of the girls that my boy got to meet?


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## lhystrix (Jun 22, 2008)

Great job, 8+!

Syndicate, based on 'spiderlings of this species are micro', have Liphistius been captive bred in the US before?


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## syndicate (Jun 22, 2008)

not to my knowledge but ive seen them before


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## dtknow (Jun 22, 2008)

Photos please!!! Do they have segmentation already?


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## 8+) (Jun 22, 2008)

syndicate said:


> nice job!spiderlings of this species are micro!!might be a good idea to see if the mother will feed them.


I wondered if mom would take care of them for a while, but as you can see in the pics they have already dispersed. Perhaps they are already 2nd or 3rd instar?



dragontears said:


> That's great news!  Congrats!  :clap:
> 
> Is this one of the girls that my boy got to meet?


I can't quite remember. I had a total of five males over several months and I tried to move them around between my two enclosures. I seem to remember that your male never made it into this enclosure, but I'll send you a couple anyway when/if I get some over the hump. I still have a female in the other enclosure, so I'll be checking in on her frequently now! She was definitely in with your boy.

Here are some pics. I really had to crop in on these, so they're not the greatest. I need to get my USB microscope back so I can try getting some more close shots.

This gives you an idea of the concentration of them in a 50l tub! You can see them both out and evidently in burrows.












Here's a door with the lines:






Here you can see some "feet" sticking out:






It's killing me that I'm away for a week! When I get back, I'm gonna set up a separate enclosure for the ones that haven't burrowed.


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## lhystrix (Jun 23, 2008)

More great shots.
They are absolutely 2nd or 3rd instars.

My guess is as they grow they will start to look more and more like what is labeled as L. murphyorum. I'm thinking the so called murphyorum's in the trade are merely juvenile malayanus.


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## P. Novak (Jun 23, 2008)

Great job, Congrats!! They look so tiny and cute.


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## josh_r (Jun 23, 2008)

sweet...... so its gonna be 9 months before i see anything from mine  that kinda sucks. lol. i am almost positive i have several knocked up females.


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## El Johano (Jun 23, 2008)

Congratulations!
Thay take pinhead crickets without problems. They grow fairly slow so you've got some work ahead of you


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## John Apple (Jun 23, 2008)

That is too cool....very nice


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## 8+) (Jun 23, 2008)

josh_r said:


> sweet...... so its gonna be 9 months before i see anything from mine  that kinda sucks. lol. i am almost positive i have several knocked up females.


Hopefully we'll be trading to get some genetic diversity.  Although, these are so ancient and live in such close knit and isolated groups, that it might not be much of an issue?



El Johano said:


> Congratulations!
> Thay take pinhead crickets without problems. They grow fairly slow so you've got some work ahead of you


Yeah, I had some hatch out a little over a week ago and they're already too big. I'll probably have to buy pinheads every other week for a while!


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## HaploFool (Jun 23, 2008)

That's just adorable! AWESOME - CONGRATS!

I have a communal setup of those so I'm hoping to have the luck you have had!

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:


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## tarcan (Jun 23, 2008)

Amazing! Congrats on the babies, first time I see some, they are quite cute!

Take care

Martin


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## dovii88 (Jun 23, 2008)

i wont some


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## 8+) (Jul 5, 2008)

I checked in on my other enclosure today and... MORE BABIES!!!


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## dragontears (Jul 5, 2008)

woohoo!  Congrats!  That is so exciting!  Good job!  :clap:


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## proper_tea (Jul 5, 2008)

do you plan on selling any of the slings?  I'd really like to try raising them communally as well... but I can't afford to buy them as adults...


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## 8+) (Jul 6, 2008)

dragontears said:


> woohoo!  Congrats!  That is so exciting!  Good job!  :clap:


I definitely put your male in with this female, so there's a chance he was the dad. Just don't know for sure, as there were other males in there before him.

I'll definitely be selling some of these and sending dragontears some for free. I just need to figure out what to charge and make sure that they are well started.


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## Goliath (Aug 20, 2008)

Sorry to bring back an old thread.  I just pulled 63 babies out of my communal enclosure and there were more that I could not get at right away.  

mike


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## 8+) (Aug 20, 2008)

That's great! :clap: 

Let us know how they do. My first group is doing great with a high percentage burrowed and eating.   The second group never burrowed and I moved as many as I could catch and they still didn't burrow or appear to eat. I think they're just about all dead.


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## froggyman (Aug 20, 2008)

great job..this maybe the way to captive breed these little guys!


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## RodG (Aug 20, 2008)

Congratulations:clap:  Please keep us posted and more photos, definitely more photos


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## dtknow (Aug 21, 2008)

Anyone want to guess how long it will take these to mature?


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## Anthony Straus (Aug 21, 2008)

Congrats!

Hopefully we'll hear of even more breeding in the near future. This is such a beautiful species and everyone should have at least 1 trap door!


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## 8+) (Aug 23, 2008)

Well, I check in again on the ones I moved, and many have now made burrows! I'm so glad to have the possibility of two lines. Trades should help as well. Of course, these are so ancient, isolated, and close packed in nature, I wonder if genetic diversity is so much of an issue with them?


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## MaartenSFS (Aug 25, 2008)

8+) said:


> Of course, these are so ancient, isolated, and close packed in nature, I wonder if genetic diversity is so much of an issue with them?


Anyone have an answer on that? If I find five inverts in one large area and try to breed them, how much of a role does genetics play?


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## ErgoProxy (Aug 28, 2008)

MaartenSFS said:


> Anyone have an answer on that? If I find five inverts in one large area and try to breed them, how much of a role does genetics play?


I don't think Joachim Haupt's monograph on the group contains information like that, but it has ecological information (but someone with a copy may be able to confirm this...as I haven't gotten one yet   )


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## 8+) (Aug 29, 2008)

Well I have many more in the second enclosure that have burrowed and are feeding than I first thought! It just took a little while for them to do their thing I guess. So now I have three enclosures of these.


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## bluefrogtat2 (Aug 29, 2008)

*nice*

congrats on all.
i would love to have a few of these slings.
very nice looking.
andy


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## buthus (Aug 29, 2008)

Long read.    ... 


:worship: 



Might of missed it, but since you seem to be discovering more ...can/will you venture a guess to the sling count?
I have a feeling that they will be fairly slow growers.  ...probably not at first though.


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## ErgoProxy (Aug 30, 2008)

*Getting in line*

For some of those slings when they are old enough to ship. I have 3 "sub-adult" (well at least not adult male) Liphistius that were sold as L. murphyorum but most likely are juvie L. malayanus (have to wait for a few more molts to see if there is a size increase and color darkening, though one was fairly dark). 

Hopefully going to be breeding these some day myself. Love these pet "flaps"...


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## 8+) (Sep 10, 2008)

buthus, these _are_ growing fairly fast ATM. Not only can I see that they've gotten larger, but I've found many exuvia; which I'll post a pic of soon. I too get the feeling that they will slow way down in growth.

I just counted 77 burrows in the more successful container. Some probably don't have anybody home, but I'm sure I missed some too. Every time I feed, I see them popping out of burrows that are more inconspicuous. Some don't have visible lines for instance.

I bet I have around 25 for the other two enclosures combined, maybe more, so I can't imagine I have less than 100 slings all told.

In some spots they are really packed in tight. I've even seen two come out of the same burrow! Be interesting to see what happens as they grow.

I need to get my son over here with his HD CC before he goes back to college, and get a video of feeding time. It's great entertainment!


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## buthus (Sep 24, 2008)

8+) said:


> buthus, these _are_ growing fairly fast ATM. Not only can I see that they've gotten larger, but I've found many exuvia; which I'll post a pic of soon. I too get the feeling that they will slow way down in growth.
> 
> I just counted 77 burrows in the more successful container. Some probably don't have anybody home, but I'm sure I missed some too. Every time I feed, I see them popping out of burrows that are more inconspicuous. Some don't have visible lines for instance.
> 
> ...


Sorry, I just havnt been able to keep up with the forum thing lately.  :wall: 
Jeese this has probably been answered already ...but when do u think they will need to be separated? 
Curious... in the wild, are they finding these in vertical banks, lesser inclines, or where?


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## MaartenSFS (Sep 24, 2008)

buthus said:


> Sorry, I just havnt been able to keep up with the forum thing lately.  :wall:
> Jeese this has probably been answered already ...but when do u think they will need to be separated?
> Curious... in the wild, are they finding these in vertical banks, lesser inclines, or where?


I haven't found any on vertical surfaces so far (Or anywhere else for that matter)  )..


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## 8+) (Sep 24, 2008)

buthus, I'm pretty sure this particular variety is found on mossy inclines.

As for separating, I can only guess. I've seen these share holes, and when the second batch wasn't burrowing and I decided to move them, I found 30 of them all huddled together! So, it doesn't appear that cannibalism is much in their nature.

They are burrowed so close together in places, that someone will have to move at some point. I imagine in the wild one or two out compete their close neighbors to claim that little spot. And, it's also my understanding that these guys are found in dense close populations as adults (with juveniles in-between I imagine) in the wild.

Of course I'm hoping to do a little better than "in the wild" as far as survival rate goes, so probably at some point somebody will have to move. I'm thinking that will be my chance to collect them. At that point, I want to set up a nice display terrarium, and hopefully sell/give some away.

All this speculation makes me worry about how they are collected... That's the reason I personally couldn't have justified keeping them without also attempting to breed them. Hopefully through our efforts plenty of CB specimens will be available in the future.


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## MaartenSFS (Sep 25, 2008)

I have scoured mossy inclines with no results (By the way, these are also L. trapdoors) and I have to say that you could tear up a whole forest looking for them if you didn't know exactly where they are and that's probably what the locals do, unfortunately. That's why I want to find them and breed them in captivity so that their practises become obsolete.


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## 8+) (Jul 30, 2009)

Well it's been a long while since I frequented the bug boards, but a bizarre occurrence has brought me back.

I still have many of these guys and they are growing. It seems that the growth rate is heavily dictated by the amount of food they catch, because while some still look as if they are very early instars others are about the size of a quarter!

I believe I mentioned that maybe only one of the moms was still alive, and she is still doing fine. For over a year, I never saw the other mother; no new poop sprayed on the side of the enclosure, and the radiating lines were not refreshed. Crickets I put in there for her were not eaten and after a few months I stopped offering; only putting in the tiny FFs and PHs for the slings.

Well, a couple of weeks ago I was feeding that enclosure and I noticed fresh webbing on the lines coming out of her hole. I thought one of the larger slings had taken up residence there. I dropped a 3/8" long cricket on the lines and out came a full grown spider!!!

I thought at first maybe it was just a sling that way out grew it's siblings, and that I was so startled that my mind exaggerated the size. I suppose it could be one of the slings, but I didn't exaggerate the size, if it's not the mom, it's as big as the mom. It's definitely recently molted and is gorgeous.

I don't know if it's the mom that was dormant for over a year, or one sling that grew to 4 times it's next biggest sibling. Both scenarios are strange and fascinating. Anybody else have any experiences like this with these?

I do know that older inverts need more time to go through the molting process, and these might be some of the longest living terrestrial arthropods. So, maybe she's old and was just taking her time!?


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## CodeWilster (Jul 30, 2009)

Very cool! I know there are many Mygalomorphs (not Mesothelae, I know, but I think this still applies) that will seal themselves into their burrow for many many months before molting and feeding again. We've certianly heard of many Ts also going long periods without feeding and taking over a year to molt too. It sounds like yours is probably on the larger/older side and so my guess is that it is simply taking longer to molt. Most of the mygals that do the long period 'door locking' are typically from areas with extreme environmental circumstances (I've never been to Malaysia but I think the monsoons are about as bad as things get---correct me if I'm wrong!)

I do not think it would be rapid growth, from my experience with the few I have is that they are not the fastest growers (I've ended up with all females so far, though).

Sounds like you are having a lot of fun with these guys. They're definitely one of my favorite spiders in the hobby.  Let me know if you are ever thinning out the herd  Thanks for sharing!


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## Jwwjr (Jul 30, 2009)

I also have one of these pet holes . I believe I didnt give it enough water hence why it was out and I was able to get these pics on 7/11/2009. Im guessing its about 1-2 inches.
Side shot






Top shot


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## HaploFool (Jul 30, 2009)

Hey CONGRATS - that's awesome!!  :clap:   I had my female lay an egg sac and now I have lots of tiny little Mayalanus running about so I can definitely relate to the sentiment. Just to let you know, if you haven't seen one yet, the egg sacs are disc shaped with a bulge toward the center. The surface looks like candy buttons without the colored bumps. It's really something to behold and I hope you get to see that with your female. I was changing the tank when I discovered it. But very best of luck with the babies, we need more in the hobby!


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## dragontears (Jul 30, 2009)

That's great news, Mike!  :clap:


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## 8+) (Aug 1, 2009)

HaploFool said:


> Hey CONGRATS - Just to let you know, if you haven't seen one yet, the egg sacs are disc shaped with a bulge toward the center. The surface looks like candy buttons without the colored bumps. It's really something to behold and I hope you get to see that with your female.


Did you happen to take any pics?  Would love to see that!!!  

I probably will sell some at some point, but I think first I'll look to trade with others that have had success with these. That way we can get as much genetic diversity as possible among the CB ones in the hobby. Of course it probably takes 5+ years for them to reach maturity... :wall:

I started to get some ideas about how to capture these from their communal enclosures. One is to have a helper hold the door shut when they run after prey. Another is to lift the flap and use a syringe full of water to flood them out. I'm a little nervous about the second way, but if it worked it would be a lot easier and more effective, since many don't come all the way out and then timing wouldn't be such an issue.


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