# Billopelma picture thread



## billopelma (Nov 24, 2006)

B smithi 1.0.0















G. aureostriata 1.0.0





















B. bohemei 1.0.0





















M. mesomelas 1.0.0



























Haplopelma sp. "bach ma" 0.1.0





















H. schmidti 0.0.1















C. sanderi 0.0.1









X. immanis 0.1.0





















P. nigricolor 0.0.1









A. versicolor 0.0.1

































C. elegans 1.0.0















'sold as' Euathlus sp. "gold lowland" 0.1.0,  probably Paraphysa sp.















P. murinus RCF 0.1.0



























Thrigmopoeus sp. 0.1.0, probably truculentus









Haploclastus "nilgirinus" 0.1.0









B. cyaneifemur 0.0.1









Poecilotheria metallica 0.1.0



























H villosella 0.0.1









Avicularia sp. 0.1.0, possibly huriana





















Bill


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## becca81 (Nov 24, 2006)

Fantastic pictures! 

The _B. boehmei_ and _Haplopelma sp._ "Bach Ma" are especially stunning!


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## Halgeir (Nov 24, 2006)

Wow - excellent pictures.


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## syndicate (Nov 24, 2006)

man amazing photos!that bach ma female is beautiful!also i like that metallica setup.is it plexiglass?


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## james41777 (Nov 24, 2006)

perfect collection;
really nice photos too!
i love ur brachypelmas


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## ShadowBlade (Nov 24, 2006)

Very good pics!! Those are excellent. What camera do you use?


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## Kriegan (Nov 24, 2006)

:clap: Excellent!! The colors on those pics came out perfect!! Your P. metallica is breathtakingly gorgeous!:worship: See this is why I'm still working on my pics to start my thread, I'm still not satisfied with the results I know i can do much better before posting them.


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## billopelma (Nov 27, 2006)

Thanks for the compliments, sorry I havn't been around to answer the ?'s.

 Camera's used are just $150 to $200 compact digitals. I really want a digital slr, I have a bunch of manual nikkor lenes that would work with one. My financial priorities simply don't justify it, knowing I'll end up using a compact for most things anyway. 
 The 'older' pic's were taken with either a Fuji 4700 (nice camera but lousy macro) or a Nikon coolpix 4600 (many of these pics have date stamps) and over the last 6-8 months, a Pentax optio wpi.  Lighting is mostly flash, sometimes in the dark, sometimes augmented with ambient natural light or full spectrum fluorescent. Most have been cropped/reduced/compressed for photobucketing, many are exposure compensated, very few have any color balance alterations beyond the camera settings. I'm way to lazy to make nice borders, integrated titles and such. Most were shot in the actual enclosure they're residing in, a few obvious ones are on houseplants, hands, or outside. 

Just for the record I rarely handle or bring T's outside except in the course of rehousing, and couldn't care less if anyone else does or doesn't. I do however, experience an inexplicable perverse pleasure at seeing a particularly large, toxic critter on someone's face. 

 The encolsures are indeed plexi, I make 'em in a couple dozen different sizes.
At one point in size the cost of acrylic and hassle of fixturing exceeds the price of an equivalent pre made glass tank, so most of them are under a foot in the longest dimension.

Bill


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## RottweilExpress (Nov 27, 2006)

What the hell, did you handpaint your spiders? Amazing shots!


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## PoPpiLLs (Nov 27, 2006)

Amazing pics Billopelma can you post some pics of your enclosures they look amazing also


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## billopelma (Nov 27, 2006)

C. cyaneopubescens 1.0.0





































This was one of the more vibrant colored ones I've seen until he recently hooked out, much more subdued looking now...















E. cyanognathus 0.0.1



























E. cyanognathus 1.0.0





















Avicularia sp. purchased as bicegoi 0.1.0









H. schmidti exuvium, why I still can't sex it...









C. schioedtei 0.0.1















A. brocklehursti 0.1.0





















N. chromatus 0.1.0





















S. calceatum 1.0.0















M. robustum 1.0.0



















Curlytoe morph (actually, got caught molting in mid shipment)









C. darlingi 0.0.1















Lampropelma sp. "borneo" (niggerimum?) 0.0.1















A. seemani 0.1.0





















P. regalis 0.1.0













































G. pulchra 1.0.0















G. pulchra 0.1.0





















P. pulcher 1.0.0





















P. pulcher 0.1.0





















H. vonwirthi 0.0.1 (sp. "vietnam")









H. incei 0.0.1















C. fimbriatus 0.1.0









P. formosa 0.0.2









L. parahybana 0.1.0

a month ago...






after molt...















P. fortis 1.0.0





















B. ruhnaui 0.1.0





















B. ruhnaui 0.0.1









B. jacksoni 0.0.1





















Hottentotta sp. 0.0.2



























C. vittatus 0.0.1















Bill


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## froggyman (Nov 27, 2006)

gorgeous b.smithi and b.bohemi

they are so bright red!


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## instar (Nov 27, 2006)

Wow, total tarantula eye candy! :clap:


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## Sof (Nov 27, 2006)

Awesome collection, wow :worship:


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## Lorgakor (Nov 28, 2006)

You have amazingly beautiful tarantulas! A very impressive collection, and your photos are wonderful. Thanks for sharing those!


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## Ms. Peaches (Nov 28, 2006)

Gorgeous collection and very nice pics. I haven't mastered the art of photographing T's. I have to work on it.


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## TheNatural (Nov 28, 2006)

*wow*

what a nice collection you got there man!
Amazing really, when I grow up I wana be like you.  

I guess your A. huriana may be an Avicularia jurensis. :?


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## billopelma (Dec 5, 2006)

> I guess your A. huriana may be an Avicularia jurensis.


I don't believe so, but I called it that for a month just so I felt like I had owned one. I also called it a biceuriasistiaca... It's most likely huriana or 'hobby' bicegoi, though without at least locality info the closest anyone can get for sure is urticans complex something or other.


Bill


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## billopelma (Dec 5, 2006)

P. rufilata 1.0.0







































H. minax 0.0.1









T. gigas 0.0.1















B. emilia 0.1.0















B. auratum 1.0.0







































G. actaeon 0.1.0





















T. apophysis 0.0.1














Avicularia sp. 1.0.0    bought as bicegoi















Avicularia sp. 0.1.0   bought as bicegoi






















P. striata 0.1.0




















Bill


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## Doezsha (Dec 5, 2006)

Very nice collection and pix as well


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## syndicate (Dec 5, 2006)

great shots man!whats the ls of your "bach ma" female?


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## Doezsha (Dec 5, 2006)

Very nice pics i must say


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## Kriegan (Dec 5, 2006)

Very nice collection! I love your p. rufilata:drool: 

Regards,
Ulrich


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## Arachnophilist (Dec 5, 2006)

man I am seriously impressed with your thread.. you have everything I have and everything I want.. I love the subaculear tooth on the B.jacksoni. my C.vittatus just isnt the same haha.. very very nice. best picture thread I have seen yet bravo. :clap: :clap: :clap:  well deserved applause

Christopher


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## becca81 (Dec 6, 2006)

As usual - amazing photos! :clap: 

I'm a bit confused by the _T. gigas_, though.  What instar?  I've never seen one without the pale legs / black tarsus as a sling.


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## Apophis (Dec 6, 2006)

billopelma said:


>



I love this enclosure, it is insane(ly nice)!!
Awesome pix and animals too!! :worship: :clap: 

Cheerz, Sietse


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## Mr_Baker4420 (Dec 6, 2006)

you're going to have to post an instructional thread on how to make enclosures like that. simply awesome display cases. really good job man.


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## billopelma (Dec 6, 2006)

@ becca 
Ya, my bad, that's an Oligoxystre sp., not T. gigas. For whatever reason I am no longer able to edit the post to correct it. Is this a new 'feature'?

@ syndicate
The "Bach Ma" is roughly 3.5" dls.

@ Mr_baker4420
Sorry, I'm not feeling that ambitious. The basics are fairly easy, it's just table sawed acrylic sheet bonded with methylene chloride based solvent. There are however a number of easy-to-show-but-difficult/long-to-explain little nuances. I'll be glad to answer specific questions though.


@ apophis
I think I have more fun with the 'micro' terrariums than the 'macro'. The big problem I find with either is keeping the occupant from destroying it.
The easiest way to keep things in order is to find a particular T that has not been showing much destructive behavior. I've built for this only to have them go into trashing mode just before move time. I end up with setups that I want to look at for a bit before the inevitable deforestation and it ends up staying with plants only. 
 I'm assuming the most successful method would be to have very large sturdy plants and enough excess space so the T just doesn't use most of it. If I had more heated space or fewer T's, I'd try it. Another possibly I've yet to try is to use plants that grow quicker than the T can bury 'em.:wall: 
 For long term sustainability though it's beneficial to find slow growing plants that don't take over to quickly. All of the ones I use are common stuff from the woods behind my house and, thankfully, are readily replaceable when the resident decides to go into lawnmower/bulldozer/webbover mode. Pretty soon I'll set up a ten gallon with donor plants to get me through the winter.

 This one (macro) was for an N. chromatus that suddenly decided to become a juvenile delinquent. It's been vacant since spring, though some escaped Dolomedes slings were sneaking in and out now and then. I'm still waiting to find an appropriate occupant. 








another 'micro'








The 'real' T. gigas 0.0.1









Bill


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## Natemass (Dec 6, 2006)

amazing ts and enclosures how did you make those? id love to make my enclosures like that. 

Nate


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## syndicate (Dec 7, 2006)

yeah your enclosures are tight man.any shots of your whole room?i love seeing peoples setups.nothing better than a room full of t's :]


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## Teratris (Dec 9, 2006)

nice photos, great spiders and very big collection :worship:  I want like this collection!! :wall:


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## billopelma (Dec 10, 2006)

My versi #1 just went ultimate on me this morning, they grow up so fast... 

A. versicolor 1.0.0



























P. metallica also molted this morning as well as a T. apophysis, a P.fortis, and a P. ngricolor. A P. antinous looks like it's going to flip any minute. I have to wonder what triggers such a multiplicity of molts.

P. metallica 0.1.0     fresh off the press




















Bill


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## cheetah13mo (Dec 10, 2006)

Your photo thread KICKS. I've never seen such colors. Fantastic collection and pictures. Thanx. :clap:  :worship:


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## james41777 (Dec 10, 2006)

wow that's the most beautiful avicularia sp i've ever seen!!!!


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## P. Novak (Dec 10, 2006)

Again you have amazing pictures and Ts!!! May I ask what kind of substrate your using for your M. mesomelas?


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## billopelma (Dec 10, 2006)

All of my T's that are maintained with a moderate to high rh, get the black-dirt from-out-by-the-swamp, straight up. The drier ones mostly get coco coir mixed in with slightly sandier dirt. Some of the less recent photo's have mixes of various dirt, coir and peat. Au natural, nothing gets sterilized.

Bill


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## james41777 (Dec 10, 2006)

does your avic.versicolour really look like how it's in the pictures??


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## Dumaw (Dec 11, 2006)

that metallica is awesome


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## billopelma (Dec 11, 2006)

@ james41777,
The versi actually looks better 'in the flesh', had a hard time with the ambient lighting on that one. Of course I don't know how your photo program and monitor render it, on a friend of mines lcd they tend to look a bit more bright and saturated. The metallica, on the other hand, looks way toned down when not subject to camera flash, certainly far from neon.

Anyway, some more fresh molts...

P. nigricolor 1.0.0



























P. fortis 0.0.1














Bill


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## billopelma (Dec 18, 2006)

A few new molts...


T. apophysis 1.0.0





















Pamphobeteus sp. "platyomma" 0.1.0  before and after molt















bought as Euathlus sp. "gold" "montaine" 1.0.0, probably Paraphysa sp.









Bill


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## billopelma (Dec 27, 2006)

P. antinous 0.1.0





















H. schmidti 0.0.1















X. immanis 0.1.0





















G. portentosa 1.0.0 interesting color/pattern









M. rhinocerous 0.1.0









B. dubia     10" deep of 'em just before an overdue rehousing









B. latteralis (S. tartara)









E. distante   This girl had just molted and was already courting (and doing) a bunch of guys...








Bill


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## regalis (Dec 27, 2006)

wow wow wow    How many spiders do you have ? any shots of your whole room ?   This is amazing


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## billopelma (Jan 2, 2007)

B. smithi 2.0.0






















C. cyaneopubescens 2.0.0
















P. regalis 0.2.0




























B.bohemei 1.0.0

















Avicularia sp. 0.1.0   possibly huriana






















Haplopelma schmidti 0.0.1






















Thrigmopoeus sp. 1.0.0 ultimate






















Haplopelma sp. "Bach Ma" 0.1.0















Bill


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## eman (Jan 2, 2007)

Great pictures! 

Cheers,

Eman


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## CedrikG (Jan 2, 2007)

Awesome photos my friend

but im still waiting on the african sp.


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## Natemass (Jan 2, 2007)

def amazing pic,enclosures and ts you live in massachusetts?


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## cheetah13mo (Jan 2, 2007)

I'm in awe every time I see these pics. :clap: Awsome


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## billopelma (Jan 8, 2007)

@ Regalis, My T count is somewhere in the low 80's, plus a handful of scorps and true spiders.

@ Natemass, Yup, I'm also in Massachusetts, up along the NH border.

@ To everyone who wants room/collection shots, I burned out my 500w photoflood and my little camera's flash just doesn't cut it for any distance so I'm not at all happy with the results of these shots, very grainy with not much detail. Doesn't look too bad at this size though, and I'm doing requests today, so...









Just did a bunch of rehousing and also had some new molts, both good excuses for more pic's. Took a couple hundred shots and I'm a little slow at picking through 'em and photobucketing but here's the start of a new batch.

@ Cedrik, most of my africans are small and/or tough to get to for pics. I don't like rousting them from there homes just for photo's so most pic's are either during rehousing or opportunistic. Got a single good shot of the darlingi and almost but not quite got a shot of my elusive Hysterocrates. The pterror is my one exception, always out, usually friendly and really easy to get nice shots. 

P.murinus RCF 0.1.0














She looks rather sad about leaving her old home...

































C. darlingi 0.0.1








Bill


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## eman (Jan 8, 2007)

I really like your roach setups!  I know there was a thread on how to make those a while back, do you have any specifics? 

Edit: Never mind, I found the thread... cool stuff!

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=463

Cheers, 

Eman


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## Bothrops (Jan 8, 2007)

She really looks sad!! LOL!  

Nice T's, nice room and nice pics! :clap:


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## CedrikG (Jan 8, 2007)

Beautifull spider and what a nice spider room man ...

You're high in my estime, thats rare. Continu the good work


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## billopelma (Jan 10, 2007)

a few fresh molts...

P. fortis 1.0.0   
Nice purple on the femurs with this molt, don't know why the abdomen is all matted down though. I laugh when he tries to kick hairs, nothing comes off.





















bought as Euathlus sp. "gold" "lowland"  0.2.0   Probably paraphysa sp.

































N. chromatus 1.0.0 ultimate




















And a couple rehousing's...

C. fimbriatus 0.1.0

































P. pulcher 0.1.0




















Bill


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## Austin S. (Jan 10, 2007)

Very nice specimens! And nice detailed photos. What kind of camera are you using?


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## billopelma (Jan 10, 2007)

> What kind of camera are you using?


The more recent ones were taken with a pentax optio wpi.
See page one, post #8 on this thread for more info.

Bill


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## gunslinger (Jan 10, 2007)

Your pics are simply awesome, your T room is beautiful.  Your P. fortis looks like a you just gave it a bubbe bath, the way its hair is all matted down!

Your collection is a wonder in an of it itself, it should be like the 8th wonder of world, or at least of Massachussetts.


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## Ando55 (Jan 10, 2007)

Amazing pictures! That OBT looking sad pic made me feel sad, it really looks sad...


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## Natemass (Jan 11, 2007)

still taking awesome pics man where you getting all your ts from?


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## billopelma (Jan 12, 2007)

When SCR was around, I got most of 'em there. I could go down there and hand pick from a bunch and Scott was pretty good for deals. It kind of spoiled me that I never had to rely much on mail order. I was lucky enough to attend the Kornwestheim expo last october, got a nice batch there. 
My current dealer of choice is WadeW, where I got probably my last dozen or so. He's got the cool stuff and takes care of them like he's keeping them all. His plethora of bugs makes my collection look small and trivial.

Bill


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## Arachnophilist (Jan 12, 2007)

wow.. I need more room... and more money... and a better knowledge of how to use my Coolpix S6, my pics suck! haha  great thread man! really enjoying it!


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## billopelma (Jan 12, 2007)

P. regalis 0.2.0




























A. brocklehursti 0.1.0  Beachballbutt, and she's still begging for food...



























M. mesomelas 1.0.0














Bill


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## Arachnophilist (Jan 12, 2007)

wow that really is a beachball butt!!


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## Natemass (Jan 12, 2007)

M. mesomelas is awesome whered you find that?


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## billopelma (Jan 15, 2007)

@ natemass, the mesomelas was purchased in '05 from SCR, I also picked up another sling in Germany last october.

Still more new molts and rehousings...

H. incei 0.2.0













Making a run for freedom, the gecko was no help though...









Hysterocrates sp. 0.0.1   
I finally got a shot of this very elusive and skittish T.









P. striata 1.0.0
Looks like he's thinking 'Go ahead, try putting that finger in my face one more time...'



























And some field shots, '06 was a very prolific year for frogs in my area.




















Aphids being tended to by ants, the bigger green larval things seemed to have some role in this too but I couldn't figure out what. If they were eating aphids the ants didn't seen to mind...









Aphids on some unfamiliar sort of podded plant. Interestingly there was a 
monarch butterfly caterpillar eating it also, peviously I'd never seen them eating anything but milkweeds









Myrmeleontidae (ant lion) I get lots of these along the foundation of my house. These are what is at the bottom of those little funnel traps you'll see in dry, sheltered, sandy dirt. Very fun to tease, throw in a 'stink beetle' and they go crazy trying to flick them from the funnel.













Bill


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## Natemass (Jan 15, 2007)

hey Bill for me 06 was a big frog year as well i got over a dozen grey tree frogs in my yard and tons of toads in the area. ive never seen so many frogs.


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## billopelma (Jan 23, 2007)

C. elegans 0.1.0





















P. rufilata 0.0.3









P. metallica 0.1.0




















































Collembola, floating in a just filled water dish. The group was 'pulsing' every few seconds, all springing away from each other then converging again in the center.








Bill


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## Arachnophilist (Jan 23, 2007)

Amazing pics.. all of them! thanks for sharing.


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## syndicate (Jan 23, 2007)

nice rufi communal setup!metallica shots are awesome aswell 
what size were the rufialata when u put them together?


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## billopelma (Jan 27, 2007)

@syndicate, the rufilatas are from the same sac and have always been together.



Dolomedes tenebrosus       

Found the mom with sac locally last fall and got a bunch of slings, some of which I still have.  She is about 3" dls, the larger slings are pushing an inch.



















































A couple true spiders from the back yard...

Argiope sp.









Don't know what this one is...









Bill


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## billopelma (Feb 5, 2007)

New pics, same old spiders...

D. tenebrosus 0.0.4 sling









A. versicolor 2.0.0 
My littler one, getting big. Almost time to get more.









H. villosella 0.0.1









Oligoxystre sp. 0.0.1









C. sanderi 0.0.3









P. striata 1.0.0









L. parahybana 0.1.0



























Avicularia sp. 1.0.0, bought as bicegoi





















Avicularia sp. 0.1.0, bought as bicegoi




















Bill


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## cheetah13mo (Feb 5, 2007)

Pretty avic. How big is it?


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## Natemass (Feb 5, 2007)

awesome pics as usual glad to see you addin pics still


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## billopelma (Feb 9, 2007)

@ Cheetah13mo, the Avic's are both about 4"



G. actaeon 0.1.0 
Munching a latteralis...



























Haploclastus sp. "nilgirinus" 0.1.0





















Bill


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## syndicate (Feb 9, 2007)

wow that Haplocalstus is very nice.whats the ls?


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## tony77tony77 (Feb 9, 2007)

very nice!!!! :clap:


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## billopelma (Feb 16, 2007)

@ syndicate, the Haploclastus is a little over 3" dls.

M. robustum 2.0.0 
This is the one with the curly legs in an earlier pic, just molted but dropped one leg that got stuck part way out. Still a big improvement over the candy cane toes though...



























Nemesidae sp. "Trinidad" 0.0.1 very fresh from a molt









Avicularia sp. 0.1.0









Some misc other pets...

Mom









Dad









kids









Bantams, Old English/Dutch cross









Eastern Rosella's









Hahns Macaw









My past reef tank, scanned in from film. I've since scaled back to a lower maintanence 45 gal with just fish and live rock, no inverts.









Bill


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## Lorgakor (Feb 16, 2007)

Fantastic pics as always, the Eastern Rosella's are really pretty!
Nice to see that the _M. robustum _is doing better.


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## Arachnophilist (Feb 16, 2007)

wow.. those are some incredible tanks. and I am impressed at the recovery of candy cane toes, thats great! when I saw first the pic I thought it was dead


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## syndicate (Feb 16, 2007)

omg those geckos are so cute hehe!ive had my leopard gecko for over 10 years now.there great pets!i love the patterns youve got there.congrats on the breeding!


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## Natemass (Feb 19, 2007)

more pictures please


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## billopelma (Feb 20, 2007)

Fresh molts, same 'ol spiders...

P. fortis 2.0.0





















H. sp. "Norte de Santander" 0.0.1









T. gigas 0.0.1



























Haplopelma sp. "Bach Ma" 0.1.0
Didn't plan on doing a shoot with this girl. I was trying to fish the exuvium out of her hole, she was attacking the wire, then ran up it and flew out of the little slot I had open in the enclosure so fast she must have gotten a foot of air, thought I was gonna get her in my face. She landed on my chest, balled up and rolled almost to my knees, did a spread eagle leap to the floor then, thankfully, just froze. Every time I'd pick her up and place her for a pic, she'd roll off onto the table and bolt for cover. Persistence pays off though, each time she got a bit calmer and after a half dozen times she actually became almost cooperative...


















































Bill


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## Apophis (Feb 20, 2007)

Great pics once again! :worship: 
I love the Haplopelma sp. "Bach Ma"! :drool:


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## Natemass (Feb 20, 2007)

awesome pictures, the T.gigas is cool lookin its still got its baby colors and some adult colors coming in


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## syndicate (Feb 20, 2007)

bach ma is awesome man!once i sex mine ill let u know if i have any males.should have at least one of the 3 i got.would really like to see this species more established in the hobby.def one of the most stunning haps!!


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## billopelma (Mar 15, 2007)

Enclosure shots. Some not real good quality due to substandard lighting, flash reflection.
I really don't like these kind of pics because of how the dimensional quality is lost. Things that twist and turn end up looking like flat objects stuck to the back, holes and crevices disapear. I need to experiment with some multiple angle light sources, try to create some shadows, depth.































Must be spring, i have plants popping up on their own...












































































Bill


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## Lorgakor (Mar 15, 2007)

Those are awesome enclosures, do you make them yourself?


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## Doezsha (Mar 15, 2007)

yes yes I have to agree those are awesome enclosures and you have a nice collestion as well, Keep the good pics comming. nice work:clap:


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## Natemass (Mar 15, 2007)

awesome enclosures, you really need to do a DIY photo sequence so maybe some of us can do what you do. you going to the manchester show? id like to meet you, and maybe check out your spiders some day


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## cheetah13mo (Mar 15, 2007)

You've done a fantastic job with all of your setups. Love the natural look of them. How long did putting all of those together take?


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## Arachnophilist (Mar 15, 2007)

:clap: :clap: :clap:  man... I just love how clean and natural it all looks.. definately how I would like to have my collection look! Very good enclosures and pictures.


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## Lorgakor (Mar 17, 2007)

Hi Bill,
I was thinking about trying my hand at making some custom enclosures like this, I was just wondering if you could tell me what kind of glue/silicone you used to hold them together? Also how long they took to dry before you could start using them? Thanks in advance! 
Cheers,
Laura


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## billopelma (Mar 19, 2007)

Hey everyone, 
As usual, thanks for the interest and compliments. 
A lot of nice new photos are up on the board lately, it's cool to see some noticable improvements as people figure out their cameras and methods. Should start a Photo Tips and Hardware thread, see if it flies...

I will likely be at the Manchester show, I usually go, it's only 20 minutes from my house.

 Yeah, i make the enclosures myself, a couple hundred or so at this point. No idea how much time I've got into it, a lot of time is spent on fixtures and playing around with sizes, sliding panels and lid designs and such. I get a lot of inquiries about 'em and have answered many questions through email and pm's, to the point where I know I need to do a DYI post. It's a very simple process and pretty simple to describe the basics but unfortunatly not so easy to explain the funky little details.
I've started to compile info but I hate doing things half assed so it is taking some time. Time I'd rather spend making more enclosures. I'll try to put some more effort into it.

This is the *very* short version;

 The parts are bonded (as opposed to glued) together using a methylene chloride based solvent called Weld-on. The acrylic (Plexiglass/Perspex) sheet is just cut on a table saw with an 80 tooth carbide blade.  I usually fixture using blocks of wood in the interior with elastic holding everything together from the outside. Small ones can be held together with your fingers. The solvent is applied with a syringe to the edge of a seam and it wicks in and along, evaporating in seconds and leaving the parts usable in a few minutes, though I usually give 'em a half hour or so to make sure.


Might as well throw in a few pics while I'm here...

P. pulcher, trying to get these two together but I keep forgeting they're out and about, so I come back a couple hours later and don't know if anything happened :wall:. 









Hottentotta sp., looks promising, havn't found a spermatophore though....









I've had a plague of males maturing on me, including this one :8o ...

G. aureostriata




















And obviously this one...
































Bill


----------



## Natemass (Mar 20, 2007)

sweet pics bill hope to see you at the manchester show, you going early?would i be able to find all those materials at a lowes/home depot?


----------



## Doezsha (Mar 20, 2007)

very nice pics


----------



## billopelma (Mar 22, 2007)

M. mesomelas 0.0.1





















C. schioedtei 0.0.1

































E. cyanognathus 1.0.0





















Bill


----------



## Natemass (Mar 22, 2007)

im really liking the C. schioedtei are those arboreal?


----------



## P. Novak (Mar 22, 2007)

Amazing pics. You have a very diverse collection which is awesome, how long have you been in the hobby?


----------



## LukaszWarsaw (Mar 22, 2007)

Fantastic collection :clap: :worship:  Bill You have very nice Tarantulas and You make great photos


----------



## billopelma (Mar 27, 2007)

@ Natemass, yes schioedtei are arboreal, but as is typical they burrow in the sling stage.
I should be to the manchester show early but I'm heading to maryland striper fishing for a few days and won't be back 'till the day before the show, so who knows...

@ Novak, I've been into the arachnids for 2 years, seems longer though.



P. nigricolor 1.0.0

































T. apophysis 0.1.0

































M. mesomelas 1.0.0





















Bill


----------



## Natemass (Mar 27, 2007)

nice pics man, ya i should be up at the show early as well, i wish i was striper fishing, i went out today on my boat looking for some large mouth but nothing even with it being 65 out water still real cold.

Nate


----------



## P. Novak (Mar 27, 2007)

Hey Bill once again outstanding pics. How do you keep your wood from molding?


----------



## billopelma (Apr 9, 2007)

@ Novak, I'm not really sure why I have no mold problems but would guess it's because everything is unsterilized, straight up from outside. Most but not all enclosures have ventilation low on the sides as well as the top. Once in a while I'll get a fuzzballed bollus or two in the humid summer months though rarely in the winter. There are lots of fauna, like collembola and woodlice in some enclosures but very few in others. Some setups I don't even remove food remains because they disapear before they mold, others get occaisonal janitorial service. I've never had mold on the wood or plants.


C. darlingi  1.0.0

premolt



















postmolt



























Pamphobeteus sp. "s. equador" 0.0.1
One of a few T's in just got in, didn't buy anything all winter, way past due for some new ones...






















Bill


----------



## TRON (Apr 9, 2007)

Fantastic thread. Great collection, enclosures and pic. Really amazing!!!
Congratulations!!!


----------



## billopelma (Apr 13, 2007)

A few more new T's...


M. mesomelas 0.1.0 
Really a guess on the sex but ventrally it looks quite different from my two males.





















Haplopelma sp. 0.1.0
More 'guessing' on sex and species, possibly vonwithi.
















P. murinus 0.0.1 
















Ms. Beachballbutt went on the molt weightloss plan but she must be 'big boned' 'cause she's still pretty hefty for post molt.

A. brocklehursti 0.1.0


































G. pulchra 0.2.0





















Some hisser action. It was suprising how many kids this little 2" girl spit out...





















Bill


----------



## billopelma (Apr 19, 2007)

The rufilata group is still getting along nicely, one is maturing much faster than the others.

P. rufilata 0.0.3















X. immanis 0.1.0
Looks like she'll be molting soon..









Pamphobeteus sp. "platyomma"
Growin' like a weed...









Bill


----------



## Lorgakor (Apr 19, 2007)

Awesome pictures as usual Bill!  You have some beautiful spiders.


----------



## billopelma (May 2, 2007)

The usual. New additions, fresh molts.

B. jacksoni 0.0.2
Hoping they can get along together at 2"








P. sp. "platyomma" 1.0.0
New guy









C. cyaneopubescens 1.0.0 MM
Recently sent this little guy off to his death, hopfully he did his job.















B. emilia 0.1.0
Starting to show adult colors









P. fortis 1.0.0
These things grow way too fast...









X. immanis 0.1.0
Molted right on schedule















P. striata 0.0.1
Would have sworn this was a male, now I'm not sure. Got really leggy but looks sort of female ventrally, has a very confusing internal epigastric area... I might start a ? thread on this one.















Bill


----------



## syndicate (May 2, 2007)

wow that immanis really looks awesome after a molt!great shots.


----------



## Doezsha (May 2, 2007)

Very nice pics awesome setups and gorgeous Ts :worship:


----------



## billopelma (May 7, 2007)

Looks like 2" was too soon... 









B. dubia population control, Tokay's 1.1.0







Male















Female













Bill


----------



## Natemass (May 7, 2007)

awesome tokays, o ya nice icon pic i might be a petco employee but dont mean im a supporter


----------



## billopelma (May 28, 2007)

Been having some lovely weather. Doing some outdoor rehousing, it's so much easier to just dump 'em out in the middle of the yard and fun chasing 'em around with the camera.

Some old world's...


Lampropelma sp. "orange fringed" 0.0.1





























Cyriopagopus sp. "blue" 0.0.1






















C. schioedtei 0.0.1



























S. calceatum 1.0.0 Mature







































Some inside shots...

Haplopema sp. 0.1.0 
Bought as vonwirthi...








Haplopema sp. 0.1.0 
Bought as minax...















Haplopelma sp. "?" 0.1.0









New worlds...

X. immanis 0.1.0 
darkened up a bit from the postmolt pics















T. gigas





















G. pulchra 1.0.0









Pamphobeteus sp. "s equador"









Some males sent off to fulfill their purpose....


N. chromatus 1.0.0 Mature








G. aureostriata 1.0.0 Mature









A. versicolor 1.0.0 Mature









Chinese mantids









my poor gnarly P. metallica, still hangin' in...







Bill


----------



## syndicate (May 28, 2007)

great set of pics man.is that a little jumper on that mature male calceatum?haha.also very nice lampropelma!
i feel bad for that metallica aswell.is she suffering like that?i mean could she even have a normal molt in that condition?


----------



## billopelma (May 28, 2007)

Hey Chris. Not a jumper, Pisaurid may be? Don't know true spiders that well, there had to have been dozens of different ones to see when you're looking that close.
Ya, I'm anticipating a troublsome molt next time for the Pmet, she still has plenty of attitude though. The robustum was probably worse than that and he made it back to normal.

Bill


----------



## syndicate (May 28, 2007)

well if one can make it thru that than i wish u the best for your metallica!would suck to lose such a beautiful spider


----------



## billopelma (Jun 26, 2007)

C. sanderi 1.0.0















A. versicolor 0.0.1





















H. sp. 'norte de santander' 0.0.1








B. albiceps (ruhnaui) 0.1.0









P. antinous 0.1.0









pamphobeteus sp. 'platyomma' 0.1.0









P. nigricolor 1.0.0















P. murinus








Bill


----------



## Matt K (Jun 28, 2007)

Holy Pete Saint James!  What a group!  Pardon me while I wipe the drool from my keyboard..................


----------



## fartkowski (Jun 28, 2007)

Wow nice pictures.
I love the color on the A versicolor


----------



## regalis (Sep 2, 2007)

Wow Bill which spider is in this terrarium ?   maybe stromatopelma ?


----------



## billopelma (Sep 2, 2007)

Hello Regalis,

That would be a Holothele incei, she's sitting on a sac in there pesently. They can be quite prolific webbers, similar in complexity to C. fimbriatus, though they don't incorporate much dirt into the structure like Stromatopelma.

Bill


----------



## chris 71 (Sep 2, 2007)

awesome mantids pic


----------



## billopelma (Sep 4, 2007)

B. cyaneifemur 0.1.0
















Euathlus sp. "yellow" 0.1.0
















Haploclastus "nilgirinus" 1.0.0 mature




























X. immanis 0.1.0




























H. incei 1.1.0 mature






















T. apophysis 0.1.0




























H. villosella 0.1.0
















C. sanderi 1.0.0
















Moth















Bill


----------



## chanivan21 (Sep 4, 2007)

waw bro ganda ng mga bark scorps mo kakainggit magkakaron din ako niyan hopefully i will hav more Ts and bark scorp in the future


----------



## Doezsha (Sep 4, 2007)

Simply amazing, your pics and your Ts congrats :clap: :worship: :worship:


----------



## billopelma (Sep 18, 2007)

B. auratum 2.0.0













The other male, same size and age, different batch...











C. elegans 1.0.0 mature

















E. cyanognathus 1.0.0 mature










H. incei 0.1.0 with kids










P. murinus 0.0.1










G. actaeon 1.0.0
















G. pulchra 1.2.0 

female #1 in need of a molt







Female #2 didn't molt (or eat) for 5 months when she was an inch, alternates between brown and black every other molt. Was half the size of #1 who is 6 months older and who molts on a typical schedule. Presently shes half again larger than #1 and in 'black phase'.







Male










B. albiceps 0.1.0










M. robustum 1.0.0

Curlytoes, now fully functional










A. versicolor 0.1.0
















A. versicolor 1.0.0










P. rufilata 0.1.2

Communal group of three, started out all the same size. The larger one is female, the one on the upper right I suspect is also female, the lower right I think is male. They have been together for almost a year.


































P. nigricolor 1.0.0










Bill


----------



## P. Novak (Sep 18, 2007)

Great pics like usual Bill! Good luck on the future future breeding of the _G.pulchra_.. we all know how slow these grow..


----------



## davidmmx (Sep 25, 2007)

I love the pic. of those pokies together. I just wonder how do you clean that cage with the three bugs there :worship: Don't they have a nest??? I ask because they are out in the open... Do the share a single nest or have three different?? Do anyone get in the nest of other???

BTW, I love your versicolor too!!:drool:

Nice pics


----------



## Sharpy808 (Sep 26, 2007)

Stunning collection :clap: 

I have a request.. can we get a few more pics of the Bonnetina C. please?  O and if you have any sling shots from that one, that would be great as well.


----------



## billopelma (Sep 29, 2007)

> I just wonder how do you clean that cage with the three bugs there Don't they have a nest??? I ask because they are out in the open... Do the share a single nest or have three different?? Do anyone get in the nest of other???


They are actually easy to work with and don't give me any problems. The group photo was taken in a new enclosure so it looks clean compared to what it will be in a couple months. They mostly stay together like that sometimes piled on top of each other, it's hard to get pictures though because they web all over the acrylic and everything else. Right now the bigger female is out all the time and the other two are in premolt, stuffed into the same hide. 


Sharpy808, as requested a sling pic and a couple very recent post molt, there is also a juvie pic in the first post of this thread.





















Bill


----------



## Sharpy808 (Sep 30, 2007)

Thank you very much for the pics Bill.  Looking forward to seeing those adult colors in person.  Heck Id be happy to just see the T again, lol.  Both slings dug in the first day I transfered them and havnt seen em since, typical from the what ive heard.

Once again TY for taking the time for the request :worship:


----------



## ZooRex (Sep 30, 2007)

Wow billopelma, I'm sure you already know this, but your inverts and their setups ROCK! :worship: Keep up the nice work, and were all anticipating the DYI article ~ Rex


----------



## Doezsha (Oct 1, 2007)

Im lovin your pics and lovin your collection, I so have to get my hands on a couple of B. auratum's theyre hot


----------



## billopelma (Oct 4, 2007)

M. mesomelas 1.0.0 mature 










H. sp. "Norte de Santander" 1.0.0 mature










 Catumiri argentinensis (?) formerly thought to be Oligoxystre sp. "auratum" 1.0.0 mature

















P.striata 1.0.0 mature
















P. regalis 0.1.0









Nemesidae sp. "gold" "trinidad" 0.0.1










Pamphobeteus sp. "s. equador" 1.0.0










Pamphobeteus sp. "platyomma" 0.1.0
















C. sanderi 0.2.0
















C. sanderi 0.2.0, the smaller female









Mantid, ~4",  possibly from the batch I hatched out and released around my yard earlier in the summer


----------



## pinkzebra (Oct 5, 2007)

Well I am just speechless. Your pics are gorgeous! Love that mantid chowin' down!

Super nice job with the pics and the beautiful Ts...

Jen


----------



## fartkowski (Oct 8, 2007)

Yeh, very nice pictures.
That mantid is awsome.


----------



## billopelma (Oct 16, 2007)

Some more fresh molts....

B. boehmei 1.0.0 
 Previous molt was march of '06



























T. gigas 0.1.0
















P. murinus 0.1.0















B. emilia 0.1.0















P. spinulopalpus 0.0.1









T. apophysis 0.1.0











Haplopelma sp. 0.1.0



























A different but similar one... 0.1.0
















and another... 0.1.0















H. incei  
kids are growing...









P. rufilata 1.2.0
The two smaller ones just molted and I was able to confirm gender on both. 









New gecko addition 1.0.0










Bill


----------



## Apophis (Oct 16, 2007)

Great pictures once again Bill!
I'm nog a big fan of B. boehmei, but yours is breathtaking! :worship: 
And VERY nice Haplopelma sp. too!


----------



## syndicate (Oct 17, 2007)

nice shots bill!whats up with that last haplopelma pictured?did u buy that as schmidti?


----------



## billopelma (Oct 17, 2007)

Hey Chris,

No, was purchased as sp. "vietnam" (with a comment that it's probably vonworthi) from a fairly reliable source. The leg I-IV ratio is around 95 (on all three of the spiders pictured actually) which would not rule out that ID. Definatly not anything from the schmidti group. There's a pic of it as a sling here on one of the earlier posts. Remember, 'color means nothing'... 

 I picked up the (first one pictured) in Germany as minax, got to see the mother, was black as coal. But according to Soren, minax does not have any orange on the spinerettes and this one does, though it is getting less with each molt.  
 The second was picked up at a show here as 'vietnam birdeater' and seems to conform pretty well to what I've seen as H. vonwirthi.

My 'schmidti' as seen earlier in this thread was quite gold, but is getting darker as he molts, probably hainanum then (color means something sometimes  )

Looks like you've been getting some really interesting asian's, will be intersting to see how those develop. Keep the pics coming and the info flowing...


Bill


----------



## syndicate (Oct 17, 2007)

ah cool man.i need to get some of the vonwirthi.nice looking spiders.how is your bach ma female doing?i should have a mature male soon


----------



## fartkowski (Oct 17, 2007)

The pic of the H incei and kids is awsome.
I love how they are all lined up.


----------



## billopelma (Oct 18, 2007)

The 'bach ma' is doing very well presently. She was very skittish and picky about eating for a while but she's been out all the time and eating anything lately. I stacked a bit more height to her enclosure and she appears to like it.

H. sp. "Bach Ma" 0.1.0














H. sp. 'minaxvonwirthiwhatever' 

In situ










G. pulchra 0.1.0

#1 pulchra all fresh and shiny from recent molt















P. formosa 0.2.0

The male died recently, he stayed really small and was a very reluctant eater. Had him for almost a year in with the females and he was still under 2". Shortly before his demise, he got dyskinetic like symptoms, jerky movements and such.




























Bill


----------



## syndicate (Oct 18, 2007)

oooh bach ma is lookin nice!!


----------



## billopelma (Nov 7, 2007)

A. versicolor 1.0.0 mature


































Avicularia sp. "hobby huriana" 0.1.0


































M. mesomelas 3.0.0
One of my juveniles just molted to adult colors














Mature male






















M. robustum 2.0.0










Nemesidae sp. "gold" "Trinidad" 1.0.0 mature
















Euathlus sp. "gold" "montaine" 0.2.0






















P. formosa 0.2.0














B. auratum 2.0.0










C. darlingi 1.0.0 mature
















A. brocklehursti 0.1.0
Back to the beachball butt...
















T. apophysis 0.1.0











Bill


----------



## Pulk (Nov 7, 2007)

Wow, you have some beautiful tarantulas.


----------



## syndicate (Nov 7, 2007)

man awesome pics!thanks for sharing


----------



## Sharpy808 (Nov 9, 2007)

Nice Ceratogyrus, and nice pics once again.


----------



## billopelma (Jan 1, 2008)

P. fortis 1.0.0 mature













































P. antinous 0.1.0 
premolt







postmolt
















G. aureostriata 0.1.0
















G. actaeon 0.1.0










B auratum 1.0.0










X. immanis 0.1.0




























P. regalis 0.1.0










M. mesomelas 1.0.0 mature










Beetle









Bill


----------



## billopelma (Mar 8, 2008)

H. incei communal setup.
 Last summer I had two sacs made within days of each other, one produced 37 slings, the other most went bad and only ended up with 11. I gave half of them, all from the first sac, to the owner of the male (he's also keeping them together). I've kept the remaining two groups of 11 and 12 communal. 
 This is one group of a dozen including the mom, it's been going in this particular setup for a couple months or so. 



























Bill


----------



## PoPpiLLs (Mar 8, 2008)

Billopelma your H. incei communal setup is amazing and so are the pics. :clap:


----------



## syndicate (Mar 9, 2008)

wow Bill!that is an excellent tank you've built there.very natural looking!it must be fun watching them all together 
have any males in the group matured yet?
once again impressive set-up!:clap:


----------



## pedro041484 (Mar 10, 2008)

sexiest A. brocklehursti ever! NICE BIG BUTT!:worship:  nice collection :clap:


----------



## billopelma (Apr 1, 2008)

Some different equipment used on some of these, still just point and shoot stuff though. Played around with a Canon A650is for a couple months then decided to return it and got a Canon G9. I still find the little Pentax optio wp to be better in many situations, even though it's a couple years old and cost half as much. 

P. murinus 0.2.0
rehousing...

















P. fortis 2.0.0 
my #2, looks a bit different than my #1 did at this size.










"purchased as" Euathlus sp. "gold, lowland" 0.2.0










L. parahybana 0.1.0










A. brocklehursti 0.1.0 
fresh postmolt, still fat anyway, as usual...
















P. spinulopalpus 0.1.0 
This unassuming looking little girl is the most likely of any t' I keep to strike a threat pose at the slightest disturbance, she'll go right over on her back with the third drop of water.




























X. immanis 0.1.0










A. versicolor 0.1.0 










P. sp. "south equador" 1.0.0
Fresh post molt...







then darkened up.











P. sp. "platyomma" 0.1.0
Fresh postmolt.











P. antinous 0.1.0
















C. schioedtei 0.1.0














































M. mesomelas 2.0.0
Darkened up a bit from the postmolt pics, the other one just molted also but doesn't want to come out and play yet.



























M. mesomelas 1.0.0 mature
This guy just got sent out to to do his thing.










P. rufilata 0.2.0
One of the girls in my communal group.















A. sp. "bicegoi" 0.1.0



























B. boehmei 1.0.0
Has been just begging to get his picture taken. You can see the two different white balance settings, can't seem to get it quite right, too blue, too yellow...





























Bill


----------



## syndicate (Apr 1, 2008)

Bill as always amazing pictures!some great macro shots  
-Chris


----------



## billopelma (May 17, 2008)

C. sanderi 1.1.0

postmolt 0.1.0







premolt 0.1.0







postmolt 1.0.0







premolt 1.0.0














































C. marshalli 0.1.0















T. apophysis 0.1.0



























Cyclosternum sp. "machalla"  0.0.1















G. aureostriata 0.0.1









H maculata 0.0.1









Pamphobeteus sp. "s. equador" 1.0.0









P. fortis 1.0.0 #2









P. fortis 1.0.0 mature #1





















P. platyomma 0.1.0 #2 















P. antinous 0.1.0













































Euathlus sp. "gold" "lowland" 0.1.0



























B. cyaneifemur 0.1.0
















Bill


----------



## syndicate (May 17, 2008)

wow that antinous is a beauty!!i dunno why but i have a thing for all black spiders.great pics Bill!
always nice to see you update your thread :]
hey mabey you can add some more pics of that incei communal setup next time?
hows that doing btw?


----------



## billopelma (May 19, 2008)

Hey Chris,

Yeah, that antinous really peaked on this molt, growing quick like most pamhpo's. After all the butt in the air threat posturing and hair kicking, she's a teddy bear once out of the enclosure, almost as calm as my pulchras'.

Not much to report on the incei group, it's only been going in that set for about four months, still seems pretty stable. The bugs are getting bigger but most are staying in they're original spots, haven't seen the mom in a month. I have a bunch more pics but have been saving them to start a separate thread, someday anyway.

 I also have the other group in a much smaller basic set, the mother of that batch escaped early on so I didn't need much space for just the slings. Probably about due for a rehousing though and I can get a count to see who's still there, should be a dozen...




















Bill


----------



## billopelma (Jul 21, 2008)

P. pulcher 0.1.0




























P. murinus 0.1.0









T. gigas mature male















Haplopelma sp.  mature male. hainanum, schmidti or something in between...






















C. sanderi 1.1.0















B. cyaneifemur 0.1.0









P. sp. "platyomma" mature male














































C. sp. "singapore blue" mature male













































P. nigricolor mature male

































D. tenebrosus 0.1.0



























Bill


----------



## fartkowski (Jul 21, 2008)

Great picturs 
I always like looking at them.


----------



## Singbluemymind (Jul 21, 2008)

amazing pics man you should post some of you spider room and tanks. what do the numbers next to the name mean


----------



## seanbond (Jul 21, 2008)

geeeezuzzzz!
iv got to step my game up^
Sick collect n setups!


----------



## AlainL (Jul 21, 2008)

Wow, very nice photos and collection:clap: 

You should post more often


----------



## billopelma (Jul 22, 2008)

As always, thanks for the compliments. 
Guess I should be returning a few, you guys have some of the best stuff out there. Past time for me to 'step up' also and get a DSLR, still holding out for some of the N D300 features to filter down to the cheaper models...



> you should post some of you spider room and tanks. what do the numbers next to the name mean


If you look through the thread there's an older pic of my setup (still looks about the same just more larger tanks less smaller). It's located somewhere in the middle, try post #'s in the 80's) and there's lots of tank shots scattered throughout. Don't really like doing whole enclosures, the pics never do them justice. Doesn't seem to capture the depth, they always lack an acceptable dimensional quality.

The numbers are gender designations, first is male, second female, third unsexed. For instance if it was P. sp. 2.0.1, it would mean I have 2 males, 0 females and 1 unsexed of that particular genus/species. 
Doesn't work that well for me with the photo thread though as I'm not very consistent. Sometimes 0.1.0 means there is one female in the pic and I may or may not have others but 0.2.0 could mean two are in the pic or there is only one in the pic but I have two.


Bill


----------



## Singbluemymind (Jul 22, 2008)

oh sweet thanks man i appciate it


----------



## billopelma (Jan 21, 2009)

Been a while, still same old stuff mostly...


Pamphobeteus sp. "south equador" 0.1.0









P. antinous 0.1.0

Fresh molt.  From one molt to the next went from brown to black and now back to browner than ever.









H. villosella 0.1.0









G. actaeon 0.1.0









T. apophysis 0.1.0















P. rufilata 1.0.0 MM















M. mesomelas 1.0.0















B. smithi 1.0.0










ornithoctonae sp. "malaysia" 1.0.0 MM ("singapore blue")
Having a drink 









L. parahybana 0.1.0









Euathlus sp. "yellow" 0.1.0









Haplopelma sp. "bach ma" 0.1.0
Like the antinous, browned out on this molt...








Haplopelma sp. "bach ma" 1.0.0 MM
From Syndicate, looking down undecidedly...









P. murinus 0.0.7















Euathlus sp. "gold" "montaine" 0.1.0















B. cyaneifemur 0.1.0









Picked up some cresties



















Had a guest for a while, found it in my fire place in november while cleaning. Must have climbed the ivy on the chimney and fell in. Was not a happy captive, had to wait a month for a day warm enough to release it...




















Bill


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## rejected1 (Mar 1, 2009)

Wow, very nice collection there, billopelma. And great shots! =]


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## billopelma (Apr 27, 2010)

Been awhile, guess I need to catch up...

0.1 P. sp. "platyomma" #1
Looked good...








Caught in the act Munching but too late...








Tried saving it, not much left to save...








Female #2 did one too but was apparently infertile...









Haplo sp. mm









H. sp. "gigas" mm









P. sp. "machala" mm








0.1 T. apophysis 


















How would you like to put you're face in there and blow...
















0.1 G. pulchra



























0.1 H. schmidti


















prior molt...








H. schmidti(?) mm















0.0.1 A. versicolor








0.1 A. versicolor















0.1 P. rufilata






P. rufilata mm















 M. robustom mm









0.1 H. maculata





















0.0.1 C. cyaneopubescens















0.0.1 A. sp. "amazonica"









C. sp. "machala" mm





















H. incei communal's






Eating pasta, the isopods get right in there too...










































Communal #2








Side of my house, notice the similarity to my terrariums...









B. gigas






















T. olegranjeaniei









A. tesselata















Dropped R. ciliatus tail for lunch...






X 2









0.2 R. ciliatus


















1.0 R. ciliatus















Tokay's, "the anti-crestie"



























Ambystoma maculatum









Raised a couple hundred thousand galerucela (sp?) beetles for a purple loostrife (invasive plant) control project last year.













Had a bunch of these colonizing the colony...














Some field shots...




















































Bill


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## JC (Apr 27, 2010)

W-O-W!!!



> tokay's, "the anti-crestie"
> 
> bill


lol.


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## syndicate (Apr 27, 2010)

Hey Bill nice to see ya posting!
Excellent photos!!Any chance that schmidti male is still kicking round?
Also was it displaying that goldish coloration prior to maturing?
-Chris


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## seanbond (Apr 27, 2010)

thanx for posting on this awesum thread!


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## billopelma (Apr 28, 2010)

Hey Guys, I still take plenty of pics, just don't find the time to organize/photobucket 'em. Too many things competing for my free time, guess I'd rather spend it on the actual critters rather than the pics.



> Any chance that schmidti male is still kicking round?
> Also was it displaying that goldish coloration prior to maturing?


Chris, no he's long gone, cohabited with the fem for months before she munched him. If you look way back on the first page here, you'll see him in his younger days, (had him since '05) quite a bit of gold. He darkened up a lot on the maturing molt. Supposedly was from one of those (never substantiated) sacs with a mix of light and dark forms of schmidti, back in the pre-hainanum days. I was never sure on the ID, figured if I got a sac I'd send him off to Volker for a more definite finding. The fem eventually molted anyway...

 On a bummer note, my "Bach Ma" fem expired a few days ago. She had a long premolt and I hadn't seen much of her for months. When I saw a bunch of those little flies in the enclosure I dug her out, she had completed the molt but something obviously went wrong. Looked like she never even hardened up, maybe a wet molt.
I still have your mm in the freezer if you decide you want him back...


Bill


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## syndicate (Apr 28, 2010)

billopelma said:


> Hey Guys, I still take plenty of pics, just don't find the time to organize/photobucket 'em. Too many things competing for my free time, guess I'd rather spend it on the actual critters rather than the pics.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Ahh man sorry to hear about the "Bach Ma" :[
One day we will get some of these going over here!Maybe I will have to take a trip to Vietnam haha..
I'd like to get that male back at some point tho.I will send ya some cash for shipping when I get a chance man.
-Chris


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## seanbond (Apr 29, 2010)

sux to hear about your bach ma, guess chris is the only one now.


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## crawltech (Apr 29, 2010)

Excellent thread man....lovin your pics/set ups, and all the other critters aswell....keep up the GREAT work!!!!!!


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## Protectyaaaneck (Apr 29, 2010)

I love the pics of the h. incei communal, especially the one with the sling over mom's eyes.   What sp. of pokie do you have in that really tall setup?  Is that rulfiata?  Great pics.  Keep em coming. :clap:


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## syndicate (Apr 29, 2010)

seanbond said:


> sux to hear about your bach ma, guess chris is the only one now.


Nope mine are all dead now to :[



Protectyaaaneck said:


> I love the pics of the h. incei communal, especially the one with the sling over mom's eyes.


That photo is awesome agreed!I will also say that bills incei communal is one of the best lookin tanks I think I've seen!Pretty much the main reason I tried keeping them communaly myself hehe!


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## fatich (Apr 29, 2010)

Awesome thread and pictures,keep on updating.


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## billopelma (Apr 29, 2010)

> What sp. of pokie do you have in that really tall setup? Is that rulfiata?


Rufilata it is, the same communal with a male and two females you'll see interspersed though this thread, starting from when they were slings. 
The original male has since matured and passed, that's a fresh one in the recent pics. I finally split them up after being together since '06 as I'm hoping one or both are knocked up. When I first put this male in with them it was a rufilata orgy, he was going back and forth between the two females and the fems were even twiddling with each other. I got some video of it and also of some group feeding in the incei setup, never tried to post video, I'll have to figure out how to host/link it.



> I'd like to get that male back at some point tho.I will send ya some cash for shipping when I get a chance man.


I sent you a PM ages ago asking for a ship to addr, guess you missed it.
No worries on the shipping cost, that's my obligation as part of the 50/50...

Bill


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## billopelma (Apr 29, 2010)

Here y'all go, sorry the rufilata vid is poorly lit and sideways, the enclosure was so dirty and webbed up the glare made front lighting impossible. The video was an afterthought, really wasn't my primary concern at the time...





Took a series of these over a short period of time when there was a fortuitous big hole right in front where a couple big females and their broods were hanging out. Didn't last long before that changed. As you can see from the blurry zoomed out views the terrarium is in pretty beat up condition compared to the pics you see elsewhere in the thread. It's a cyclical thing where they leave things be for a while and I can replant and get things established then they get active again and web the whole or part of everything over and/or dig it all up. At the present I'd be embarrassed to show what it looks like as it's been very active and is pretty much barren of plantlife. They're getting big and it's probably due for a much dreaded rehousing anyway...




I'll post some more as I get them hosted, hope they work for everyone.

Bill


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## x Mr Awesome x (Apr 30, 2010)

Holy crap! This easy top three pic threads I've ever seen. Amazing job Bill and thank you for taking the time to post such beautiful pics! 

-ben


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## LazyRoadrunner (Apr 30, 2010)

Your T. Apophysis looks great, hope to have similar collection in the distant future. tnx for sharing.


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## jbm150 (May 1, 2010)

Awesome thread, great pics, and love the vids.  Very happy to subscribe to this one


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## seanbond (May 3, 2010)

got some nice sp n setups!


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## billopelma (Oct 23, 2010)

P. murinus 0.1.0













Out for rehousing because...








She snuck a sac in on me, seems like more than a year since I mated her and the male lasted only a minute before getting munched. Had basically forgotten about it until I started finding little obt slings all over my house, lots of 1/8" vent holes in the enclosure were nice little doorways. The house spiders have been earning their keep cleaning most of them up but it's over a week later and I just found two more. When I noticed the first few I assumed it was a new batch from one of the incei colonies but soon realized after getting a close look it was not the case. Probably shouldn't have been scooping them up by hand, lol.

Was a bit of a task separating the non escapes from the original enclosure as it was completely webbed up from top to bottom. In spite of dozens of escapes there are still over a hundred left. At the end I had a tangled mess of dirt, bark and sticks with slings hiding in every crevice. Had to go through all the layers of webbing by hand and ended up with them scampering all over me, I guess they aren't so apt to bite at that size.












The rufilata mating has now graduated to a breeding, only one bad egg and they're well into third instar with no deaths so far. I left them with mom for the whole term and didn't pull them out until second instar. The male is still healthy after over a year and has been mated with this female again, as well as the other female who had molted out since the last go around.






























Got a loaner mm P. platyomma from Cody Kerr and had some good hookups with at least one of my two girls.

[YOUTUBE]8Ho8uBAcRUY[/YOUTUBE]














She squeezed 'em out in the wee hours and I missed it.
Next morning she had lost some weight...













Still waiting on the other girl, she's fat as hell but that's pretty typical for these even when not gravid. Hopefully will go better than last time, I think I'll pull the sac in a couple weeks on this one and give that a go. With all the mating attempts going on, I managed to mix up the two girls  and now I don't know which was the sac muncher and which had the infertile sac.





Another loaner mm, C. schioedtei...

In he goes...

























Sorry, another sideways one...

[YOUTUBE]EczudHtvjo4[/YOUTUBE]


Co-habed them for a time and she eventually ate him.













She's been a bit slow lately and frequently hangs around all bunched up, I'm a little concerned...





Still more G. pulchra mating action with the smaller fem, he will just go at it when ever...







Loading up the emboli...

[YOUTUBE]YiZHhHs57WI[/YOUTUBE]





An incei escape attempt, didn't think they were small enough still to get this far. It's coxa were stuck on the corners of the hole, I had to squeeze it's leg's together with tweezers while pushing down on the cheliserae with another pair. Took a while under a magnifier but was successful.








Some incei footage...

[YOUTUBE]x88a2D4Awf4[/YOUTUBE]


[YOUTUBE]veAVyCSZwnU[/YOUTUBE]

Bill


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## SK8TERBOI (Oct 23, 2010)

Whoa Nice Pics Man and ?


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## Chelsiukas (Oct 23, 2010)

Oh wow, quite a story about those OBTs! Thanks for sharing, man. BTW, great pictures! Greetings from Denmark.


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## khil (Oct 25, 2010)

amazing what camera u use?


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## billopelma (Oct 25, 2010)

> what camera u use?


All point and shoot stuff, most of the more recent ones were done with a Canon G9, some with a Pentax W60. This thread has been around long enough though that I've been through about five camera's during that time. There's more info about the old stuff on the first or second page...


A couple more mating vid's, with the bigger of my two girls. These and some of the previous ones are shot in HD and can be viewed reasonably well in full screen 720p.

G. pulchra

[YOUTUBE]t7b_lbru38k[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]jby78xVRdCI[/YOUTUBE]

Bill


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