• While we have report items for many species, there are many more that we do not, currently, have report items for.

    If you would like to leave a breeding/bite/sting report for a species that does not currently have a report item in the appropriate category, please request that one be created in this thread.

    Once the item has been created, you will be provided with a link to post your report.

Tarantula Phormingochilus sp. "sabah blue"

Overview Reviews (1) Gallery

Reviews summary

Excellent 1
 
 100%
Good 0
 
 0%
Average 0
 
 0%
Poor 0
 
 0%
Terrible 0
 
 0%
Overall rating
5.00 star(s) 1 ratings
l4nsky
1.KFP9UVBD x 1.A7WNG69V
Initial Breeding Date
7/28/2022
Successful
Yes
Special Notes
Penultimate male was acquired from The Spider Shoppe on March 31, 2022.
Proven female was acquired as a sling from Fear Not Tarantulas on April 29, 2020.
Male matured earlier than expected, so female was paired several months into her molt cycle.
Pairing
My standard pairing protocol was followed:
Day One: Heavy feed for both sexes
Day Two: Web swap, placing a piece of the females webbing at the entrance to the males hide and vice versa. Tarantulas are believed to have chemoreceptors on their tarsi (Foelix, Rast, Peattie 2012), so in theory, placement of the webbing at the hide entrance ensures the specimens can identify a member of the opposite sex in the vicinity in a safe manner. Males typically produce a sperm web that night.
Day Three: Shark Tank the male in with the female. I use a remotely monitored pairing arena for introductions via shark tank and for pairing attempts. In this instance, I was able to shark tank the male in his enclosure and placing it near the females hide in her enclosure.
Day Four: Feed again and pair. Offer both male and female pre-killed food in their hide in the AM. Remove any uneaten prey in the PM (males typically won't eat). Place the male's enclosure on the opposite side of the pairing arena, remove the lid, cover the arena, and wait. The wifi camera I use has motion tracking and will send me a notification when they start moving and I need to tune in.
Observations
Female was recorded drumming to the MM once he hit maturity, weeks before pairing was attempted.
Female was recorded responding to and climbing the MM's enclosure during the time period the MM was sharktanked.
Pairing was quick, MM had ample enough space in the pairing arena to escape and did so immediately after insertion.
Post Mating Care
I operate prototype breeding enclosures that can measure and maintain the temperature and humidity in the female's burrow. These calibrated "brood chambers" allow me to place the sensors within centimeters of a paired female, ensuring the accuracy of this breeding report.

Burrow temps were kept between roughly 79.8 and 84.4 degrees Fahrenheit.
Burrow RH was maintained at 75% and above, usually hovering between 76% and 82%.
There was no deliberate seasonal manipulation. Temps/RH were held in the above ranges all the way through.
Food intake was enormous throughout. She's hovering around 7.5" DLS and will take one large female dubia or two dubia males once per week when conditioning during post-pairing.
Her enclosure was never moved once she was paired. Any disturbances were from opening the lid for husbandry.
The room she's in receives indirect lighting via a North facing window. No artificial lighting was used.
Time & Care
7/26: Male and female web swapped
7/27: Male shark-tanked
7/28: Pairing observed at 2145, male was able to successfully retreat and survive. Based upon the body language of both sexes upon splitting up, a second pairing was deemed not necessary.
7/29 – 9/1: Female was heavily fed once per week, but on no set schedule. Dubia were used and feeding sessions were either one adult female dubia, two adult male dubia, or one adult male dubia. Heads were crushed prior to being dropped in or near the hide.
9/2: Female was observed starting to expand her hide, depositing a large pile of substrate in front of her cork round.
9/4: Female was observed laying a small amount of uncharacteristic webbing around the inside of her burrow chamber, very little at the mouth of the hide.
9/5: Female was observed holding an eggsack. Burrow was yet to be fully webbed up and sealed which seems to be characteristic for Phormingochilus spp.
9/6 – 10/6: Female was left alone, uncovered. Water bowl was kept in her enclosure. No temp or RH modifications were made during this time. The brood chamber held the female between 79.8 and 84.4 degrees Fahrenheit and 76% - 82% RH. Enclosure was opened once, two weeks into this period to add a small amount of water to the substrate to take the strain off the brood chamber system. By this time the female had finished webbing herself into the hide and was unfazed.
10/7 (Day 32): Eggsack was pulled and placed into an incubator. All but 3 had completed the transformation to EWL. Female was fed heavily to recuperate and her enclosure was wetted down.
10/19 (Day 44) to 10/22 (Day 47): EWL to 1i molting period.
11/5 (Day 61) to 11/11 (Day 68): 1i to 2i molting period.
11/12 (Day 68): Slings were separated
11/17 (Day 73): Slings were offered lateralis nymphs which were prekilled for any with observed molting issues.
11/20 (Day 76) – 11/21 (Day 77): Slings were again offered lateralis nymphs. Approximately 95% of the sling enclosures had no lateralis nymphs from the previous feeding.
11/29 (Day 85): No lateralis or pre-killed remains were discovered in any sling enclosure.
12/26 (Day 111): 2i to 3i molts begin.
Final Details
132 2i slings, 3 infertile eggs
This breeding report is a summary of a project log thread. That thread, along with the relevant pictures, videos, Q&A's, and updates can be found here:

Interesting behaviour

Thanks,
--Matt
8 members found this helpful.
Top