# Some question about breeding Theraphosa stirmi



## mingu (Dec 9, 2013)

I would love to breed this species. I know it's difficult to get a viable eggsac + this would be my first breeding attempt. So, any feedback/ thoughts will be greatly appreciated. 
I have 1.3 Theraphosa stirmi adult and 1.0 subadult (will probably mature next month).

Temperature is between 20-25 degrees celsius.

This is what I plan to do.

Step 1
1.0 Theraphosa sp. => Spermweb
0.1 Theraphosa sp. => Freshly/recently molted + well fed

Step 2
Introduce the male with the female => insertion (till the female  is gravid)
Female gravid => Rainy/dry season simulation? 


Step 3
Simulation
Rainy season       => Pour ''warm'' water on the side of the cage ( half flooded)
Dry season         => Let the cage dry out a little + fresh waterdish at all time (Let top layer dry out)

Step 4
Eggsac

My questions:
1) Is there no changes needed in temperature?
2) When do I best apply the rainy/dry season simulation?
3) Do you leave the male with the female or do you take the male out after each insertion?
4) Do you take the eggsac or do you leave it with the mother to hatch?
5) Do I need more males?

Setup Theraphosa species.

Big adult female in premolt.

Mature male Theraphosa stirmi.

Reactions: Like 2


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## Poec54 (Dec 9, 2013)

If you're lucky the mating can be fast.  My first stirmi pairing was 3 minutes, from the time he entered her cage until he left.  However, I tried him with several other females, and he wasn't nearly as enthusiastic, and no insertions took place.  I wouldn't leave him in with her unsupervised.  Females can be hostile once they're done mating, or if they're not in the mood.  These are 8-legged food processors and anything that moves is a possible meal to them.    

Stirmi seem to need moist conditions all the time, so I don't think there's a pronounced dry season/wet season.  And because of that, they also may breed and lay sacs year round.  With almost all, the biggest determination for timing with any species is when both are recently-molted.

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 1


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## mingu (Dec 9, 2013)

Poec54 said:


> Stirmi seem to need moist conditions all the time, so I don't think there's a pronounced dry season/wet season.  And because of that, they also may breed and lay sacs year round.  With almost all, the biggest determination for timing with any species is when both are recently-molted.


I tought the season simulation was needed to get them to drop a sac?


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## Poec54 (Dec 9, 2013)

mingu said:


> I tought the season simulation was needed to get them to drop a sac?


I don't know about wet, tropical rain forest species.  When there's rain most, or all of year, I don't know that that's nearly the trigger it is with species that have a pronounced dry season.  Anything near the equator is used to relatively consistent day lengths, so that may not have much effect on them either.  In a more-or-less consistent climate, is there a benefit to follow small variations in seasons?  Or do slings have a good chance of survival no matter when they're born?

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## mingu (Dec 11, 2013)

I gathering more info about breeding Theraphosa sp. for now and Poec54, thanks for your comments. Btw, how is you're breeding with T. stirmi going?  
I'll keep you all updated, when my male produced his spermweb.


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## LordWaffle (Dec 11, 2013)

Pretty interesting to read about the methodology for this.  Keep us posted on how it goes and what you do if it works out!


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## xhexdx (Dec 11, 2013)

The Europeans have had great success working with Theraphosa sp.  I'd see if you can touch base with some of them.


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## AphonopelmaTX (Dec 11, 2013)

The BTS would be a good place to start.  Also, seek out these articles and the ones in their bibliography for additional information. Yes, I realize they are about T. blondi and T. apophysis, but they may prove to be useful for T. stirmi.

Striffler, B. (2005). Life history of Goliath Birdeaters – Theraphosa apophysis and Theraphosa blondi (Araneae, Theraphosidae, Theraphosinae). Journal of the British Tarantula Society, 21 (1): 26-33.

Gabriel, R. (2003). Notes on the Husbandry and Captive Breeding of Theraphosa blondi. Journal of the British Tarantula Society, 18 (2): 54–57.

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## herpguy (Dec 12, 2013)

The best way to simulate "flooding" is with a false bottom tank.  That way the substrate never really stays soggy and water slowly retreats back to the reservoir as it dries.  False bottoms are actually the best way to provide humidity for Theraphosa sp. IMO.  
Theraphosa don't really treat the males too badly, but problems can happen.  You can also give the female something to hold in her chelicerae while the male is doing his work, it makes her much less likely to want to chomp down.

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## Tgrip77 (Dec 13, 2013)

play this song in the background during the pairing(S)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NV6Rdv1a3I

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## Poec54 (Dec 13, 2013)

herpguy said:


> The best way to simulate "flooding" is with a false bottom tank.  That way the substrate never really stays soggy and water slowly retreats back to the reservoir as it dries.  False bottoms are actually the best way to provide humidity for Theraphosa sp. IMO.
> Theraphosa don't really treat the males too badly, but problems can happen.  You can also give the female something to hold in her chelicerae while the male is doing his work, it makes her much less likely to want to chomp down.


Have you been able to hatch out any Theraphosa?

Reactions: Agree 1


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## herpguy (Dec 13, 2013)

No unfortunately not.  By the time I was really getting serious into breeding them I had to leave the hobby for a few years.  Like most people, many successful matings, but no viable sac...
For that reason my recommendation needs to be taken with a grain of salt.  
I am hopefully going to be starting it up again very very soon.  From what I've heard the Europeans follow the local range weather patterns to a T (no pun intended).  However, this is difficult since The area where Theraphosa stirmi is found has a relatively consistent weather pattern all year, with only about 2 2 month periods of "drier" weather.


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## mingu (Jan 28, 2014)

Little update
Last molt:
Female nr 1 in august 2013
Female nr 2 in september 2013
Female nr 3 in december 2013


Male nr 1 matured in december 2013 and still no spermweb.
Male nr 2 matured in januari 2014 and it looks like he made a spermweb this morning 28-01-14.


My question is, is he ready to go and how do I best introduce the male to the female? (just put him in the female cage?).
All females are well fed, but not too fat.
Female nr 1 and 3, I rehoused recently in to bigger cages and they didn't take their big hide yet. Is this a problem for breeding?

I'm a little nervous, because this would be my first breeding with tarantulas.

Reactions: Like 1


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## mingu (Feb 3, 2014)

Update: Today, I saw my male Theraphosa stirmi tapping, wandering in his enclosure, but I never saw a spermweb in is cage. Is he ready to mate?


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## CitizenNumber9 (Feb 3, 2014)

Since you have 3 females, why not try different conditions with each one? Theoretically, you would be most likely to get a sac that way and you would know which way works best (after testing it out a few more times).


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## mingu (Mar 2, 2014)

Update: Succesfull insertion on 28-02-14 female nr 1
            Unsuccesfull insertion on 01/03/14, female nr 3
            Succesfull insertion on 02/03/14, female nr 2
All mated with the same male that produced a spermweb on 13-02-14 and 24-02-14



Video of the last two matings, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt8ZbHWYgSI



CitizenNumber9 said:


> Since you have 3 females, why not try different conditions with each one? Theoretically, you would be most likely to get a sac that way and you would know which way works best (after testing it out a few more times).


I'm going to keep it simple for now and keep this sp. moist all the time.

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## Poec54 (Mar 2, 2014)

herpguy said:


> The best way to simulate "flooding" is with a false bottom tank.  That way the substrate never really stays soggy and water slowly retreats back to the reservoir as it dries.  False bottoms are actually the best way to provide humidity for Theraphosa sp.


I'm not a proponent of flooding.  It takes a while to dry out, and you have to deal with a soggy mess in the meantime.


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## JZC (Mar 2, 2014)

I'd love to breed my girl for a challenging first project. We need more Theraphosa in the hobby.


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## Poec54 (Mar 2, 2014)

JZC said:


> I'd love to breed my girl for a challenging first project. We need more Theraphosa in the hobby.


+1.  With all the wild caught stirmi being imported, we have an obligation to reproduce them.  At some point there won't be any more coming in.


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## JZC (Mar 2, 2014)

Poec54 said:


> +1.  With all the wild caught stirmi being imported, we have an obligation to reproduce them.  At some point there won't be any more coming in.


Yup. And I agree with you saying in other threads that too many Ts are dying virgins. Plus, Theraphosas are massively underrated.


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## Poec54 (Mar 2, 2014)

JZC said:


> Yup. And I agree with you saying in other threads that too many Ts are dying virgins. Plus, Theraphosas are massively underrated.


They're not for everyone, but they are the most impressive spiders on the planet.  Like dinosaur relics that are still with us.


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## JZC (Mar 2, 2014)

Poec54 said:


> They're not for everyone, but they are the most impressive spiders on the planet.  Like dinosaur relics that are still with us.


Something about the way they come out of hiding like a bat out of hell to feed endears them to me, lol. Did you have any luck getting a viable sack out of your project?


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## cold blood (Mar 2, 2014)

Poec54 said:


> +1.  With all the wild caught stirmi being imported, we have an obligation to reproduce them.  At some point there won't be any more coming in.


I think about this all the time, as most of them I see for sale seem to be wc, and that's a downright shame.   More captive breeding is badly needed so there is no longer a need to import wc IMO

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## LordWaffle (Mar 2, 2014)

Poec54 said:


> They're not for everyone, but they are the most impressive spiders on the planet.  Like dinosaur relics that are still with us.


+1 I personally find them absolutely fascinating.  I fully intend to try breeding them in the future.  For the moment, I have zero breeding experience so it's not really something I can confidently commit to doing.  Either way, I love the genus and definitely want to see CB become much more common.


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## Poec54 (Mar 2, 2014)

JZC said:


> Something about the way they come out of hiding like a bat out of hell to feed endears them to me, lol. Did you have any luck getting a viable sack out of your project?


No, they've all molted.  But I do have 2.3 adults now, and will be trying another season of the Dating Game.  One male is 10".


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## JZC (Mar 2, 2014)

Poec54 said:


> No, they've all molted.  But I do have 2.3 adults now, and will be trying another season of the Dating Game.  One male is 10".


Wow. Nice group. When I'm ready (whenever that'll be) maybe I'll hit you up for a male lol.


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## Gpappy31 (Dec 29, 2014)

just wanted to chime in. I am also in the process of paring my mature male with my 2 mature females. T. stirmi of course and both females coming off of a fresh molt 4 months ago.

So far I have had 2 insertions that I know of, and it's possible a few more unknown inesrtions considering I housed them over night, on separate occasions.  I am keeping track of everything and will share my results on here. As a matter of fact I am switching my male over to my 2nd female starting this week who is 4 months off of a fresh molt as well and is mature. 

I will try and get the reports from my other female posted on here some time soon.day or so

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