A question....

[Unregistered]

Hey guys. I was hoping someone here could give me some insight on something, so bare with me here.

I have a Rosehair T that is about 4-5 months old. It hasn't molted yet, and for awhile she has had a bald spot on her back and it has gotten bigger over time. Since I had her I have fed her the regular brown crickets and occasionally those huge "cave" crickets. She usually eats fine, but about a week and a half ago she quit eating. She got under a piece of bark in her cage and spun a web totally surrounding herself, you couldn't even see through it. A day later I check on her and she has taken most of the web down, left a thin wall up still, and she has balled up all the web into a 1 1/2" diameter. Thing is, there is no old exoskeleton. Could she have wrapped up the old one into the web ball? Or is there something else here? She is still in the same place, hovering over the ball of web, holding it with those little legs up by her fangs. Any ideas?
Thanks for reading.

ROB

 

[Unregistered]

By the way, before this all happened she was pretty big, about 4" long or maybe slightly more, and really fat. From what I can see through the web of her, she appears that she went on weight watchers. Her hair also seems brighter.

Thanks again.

 

[MrDeranged]

Ummm, you might want to make sure that the tank she's in is very secure. What you have is a female rosehair with an eggsac. She is not 4-5 months old as it takes a long time for them to get to the size you mentioned. Keep the humidity up and don't disturb her and you should have a couple hundred more rosehairs in a couple of months.

Scott

 

[King_Looey]

She has probably moulted. Many spiders destroy the moult after they are done, so thats probably what she is holding. Dont feed her for a week, or the crickets may attack her.

 

[Botar]

No offense to KL, but I'm with MrD... sounds like you've got an eggsac. In addition to what MrD suggested, move her to an area where she will not be disturbed. Away from where poeple or other pets will walk to avoid any unnecessary vibrations. Good luck and keep us posted.

Botar

 

[Unregistered]

Let's assume she has an eggsac. How long after conception does it take for the sac to appear? I've had her for several months now and never had a male around. Also, what about the black bald spot on her back that continually got bigger? I can't tell if it's still there or not, she hasn't budged from that same spot for over a day now. Thanks again for the help.

ROB

 

[rknralf]

I definately agree with Scott and Botar.
Sounds very much like an eggsac! It appears as though you have hit the tarantula lottery. Every so often, depending on collection time, a number of females will be brought in from the wild that have already been mated with. In some of these cases, because the absence of predators and the abundance of food (I'm sure we all over feed our tarantulas - certainly more than they get in the wild) they grace us with an eggsac.
Good luck with it and keep us posted.
Ralph

 

[ArachnoJoost]

Hey Rob,
I'm assuming here your rose hair was wild-caught. Rosies have long times in between molts, so your rose could have been mated in the wild. (don't know how much experience you have, but when a female molts when she has mated she loses the sperm with her exuvia). It could also be that it is a non-fertilized eggsack, if that were the case I guess you'll find out soon enough.
Now about that bald spot: A black bald spot would indicate an upcoming molt. I also know some species will put urticating hairs on their eggsacks as an added defence, if this is the case with rosies (I don't know this) that would explain the enlarged bald spot. I don't know of spiders molting when they care for an eggsack, maybe the more experienced on this boards do?
anyway, this was my 00.02 eurocents,
greetz,
Joost

 

[hillie16]

Looks like I was wrong Rob! Good luck with the babies!

 

[MrDeranged]

Originally posted by Unregistered
Let's assume she has an eggsac. How long after conception does it take for the sac to appear? I've had her for several months now and never had a male around. Also, what about the black bald spot on her back that continually got bigger? I can't tell if it's still there or not, she hasn't budged from that same spot for over a day now. Thanks again for the help.

ROB

Rob,

T's can put off production of the sac until whenever they want or if they molt at which point they lose the sperm. As long as she has never molted in your care, there is every possibility that she was mated before being caught in the wild. Can you still see the web sac? Her not budging from the same spot is not a big deal. They're normally like that with or without an eggsac. I believe the gestation time for the eggs is 2 to 3 months although I'm not really sure about that. Anyone out there know how long it is definitely?

Scott

 

[Immortal_sin]

I'm showing 54 incubation days, taken out of Schultzes T bible.
This is back when they were still listed as Phrixotrichus cala....same thing..right? Or close enough maybe.

 

[MrT]

Rob,
Want a lucky guy, or maybe unlucky, depending on how much work you want to do. You better start collecting pill bottles now.
Just kidding, wait till they hatch. How many babys do Rosea,s have 500 or so?

Ernie