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Tarantula Avicularia avicularia
- Added by Arachnoboards
- Create date
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- Tags
- avicularia
- Common Names
- Pinktoe
- Previous Review/Report Link
- https://arachnoboards.com/threads/avicularia-avicularia.13647/
- Initial Breeding Date
- February 13, 2020
- Successful
- Yes
- Special Notes
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Both specimens molted in late December, with my male maturing at that time. The female had been successfully bred before and is of indeterminate age, having been purchased as an adult 4 years ago. I received her on loan from a friend the first weekend in January.
I received her in a top-opening food storage container, so I rehoused her into an Exo Terra Nano Tall for better access and fed her well for the next month. I also placed their enclosures right next to each other for about a week prior to pairing and did not pair them until there was evidence of a sperm web.
- Pairing
- I thoroughly cleaned my tub with a vinegar and dish soap solution prior to pairing and let it air out for a few days before putting their enclosures in there side by side and opening them up completely (lid off of the Exo Terra, door open). I sat on the side of the tub and played them sexy music while I read to them from an erotic novel for my own personal amusement. The male emerged from his enclosure and made his way over to the female's enclosure with his most impressive swagger, where they paired awkwardly and slid down the side. It was like watching a sex scene from a David Cronenberg movie.
- Observations
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The pairing was brief. I could not see insertion with my eyeballs, but I did see the male's legs stop flailing for a moment, so I hoped it happened. The female eventually broke away and retreated to the other side of the enclosure, so I returned the male to his enclosure and wrapped up the session.
I attempted pairing again a month later, which neither party had any interested in, and again a month after that, which was probably unnecessary, but I wasn't seeing any difference in behavior or changes in the female's physique that told me that the first pairing was successful and my male was starting to look ratty.
- Post Mating Care
- I continued to feed the female as much as she wanted to eat, but she often refused food and eventually stopped altogether. I did nothing else special for her care. My apartment has central air and is 74 degrees, although her enclosure was next to the warm side of the snake enclosure, so it might have been a few degrees warmer over there.
- Time & Care
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Initial pairing, prob successful: Feb 13, 2020
Second attempt, failed: March 15, 2020
Third attempt, successful: April 13, 2020
Web chamber built: April 25-29, 2020
Egg sac discovered: May 12, 2020
Male deceased: June 4, 2020 :(
Egg sac pulled: June 10, 2020
Incubated 74 eggs, 24 of which were EWL at the time of pulling the sac
- Final Details
- Out of 74 total eggs, only 24 were viable and one of those did not make it to 1i. Ended up with 23 healthy 2i spiderlings by July 9, 2020
This was my first breeding project, so I decided to start with Avicularia avicularia, as I heard they are the easiest to pair and get a sac from, and the sacs are a manageable size.
Despite doing as much research as possible before starting, I found that it was difficult to get guidance by casually asking for it here on the boards, so I felt as though I was winging it much of the time. I believe a person trying to breed tarantulas for the first time would greatly benefit from securing committed help from one or two mentors before starting this process instead of soliciting general guidance.
I had trouble deciding whether or not to pull the sac or leave it with the mother, but ultimately decided to pull and incubate at 30 days because the thought of chasing potentially 100+ spiderlings around an enclosure sounded like a nightmare. From there, everything that happened is well documented in my thread where I was asking about incubators.
Overall, I am disappointed that so many of the eggs turned out to be duds, but I found the process incredibly rewarding and would like to try again.
Despite doing as much research as possible before starting, I found that it was difficult to get guidance by casually asking for it here on the boards, so I felt as though I was winging it much of the time. I believe a person trying to breed tarantulas for the first time would greatly benefit from securing committed help from one or two mentors before starting this process instead of soliciting general guidance.
I had trouble deciding whether or not to pull the sac or leave it with the mother, but ultimately decided to pull and incubate at 30 days because the thought of chasing potentially 100+ spiderlings around an enclosure sounded like a nightmare. From there, everything that happened is well documented in my thread where I was asking about incubators.
Overall, I am disappointed that so many of the eggs turned out to be duds, but I found the process incredibly rewarding and would like to try again.
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