An epic battle for an egg sac.....

Blue Jaye

Arachnobaron
Joined
Sep 16, 2013
Messages
339
I've spoken before of my L.violaceopes demeanor. Seriously defensive, on mother of god levels. Angry, angry titan of a tarantula. Bringer of death to all males that cross her path. Always up to give her keeper on omg moment when just opening the lid. Rather fun really. :smug:
And it still did not detour me from trying to get a sac from her. And finally success ahhhh......

But then it came time to get the sac. I did not realize I would need a sword and a shield to bring to the event.

Try number one. ( yes there were a few tries) Did I mention she's 9 inches of really fast, strong, and angry? Ok so with tongs, paintbrush, and cup I went in as normal to get the sac.
The first problem was she immediately grabbed the sac and went to the bottom of her hide. Expected. But then I realized how deep she had made it. It's at least 14-16 inches down. My tongs are twelve sigh. Slight change in plan. Offer roach get her attention on that. That did not work she turned with a blur. Grabbed everything roach, tongs, paintbrush. Kept coming and slapped the cup out of my hand. I never got near the sac.:( Defeated I closed the lid while she sat on her spoils eating the roach.

Attempt 2. She's an eating machine even sitting on a sac so I decided to lure her out as it were with a very large roach and cup her (hopefully). It was at least 6 inches away from the entrance to her hide. After about a half hour she finally came to get the roach. She never even left the entrance. One very long leg came out and snatched it up. She sat in the entrance all spread out and literally cocked her thorax in my direction. As if to say, you will never get my sac. As she munched her food.

Got to find those 22 in tongs I have packed away.

Attempt 3, 24 inch tongs!!! Ok this time with tongs and paintbrush in hand I went to battle. She completely curled around the sac ugh!! I put the paintbrush into position to hopefully hold her back. Reached in with the tongs and grabbed a tiny bit of the sac. She whirled around and started defending the sac. Lots of slaps but this time my hand was well out of reach. She got the sac from me with a quick yank but I didn't stop. I grabbed it again and pulled a bit harder. So did she. At this point I'm worried for the sac!! And dang it, she yanked it out of the tongs again. I was as relentless as she. I grabbed it again she slapped and jerked at the tongs then I finally got her where I wanted her. Started pushing her back with the paintbrush as hard as I could with out hurting her. Tugged the sac she finally lost grip and attached the paintbrush. It tore open a bit. But I got it!!!!! I freaking got it!!!! And she has my paintbrush which I don't think she sees as a good trade.

Here's a few pics. I will post more as this just happened at 2:30 am. I have no idea how many yet but will update :smug: Thanks for reading! IMG_0507.JPG IMG_0511.JPG IMG_0520.JPG IMG_0513.JPG Here's a couple of Illyria IMG_1297.JPG IMG_0595.JPG IMG_0591.JPG Her getting a rehouse IMG_0208.JPG
 

sdsnybny

Arachnogeek
Joined
Apr 29, 2015
Messages
1,330
Great story....change of undies needed i'll bet. Glad you finally got the sac from her, definitely worth a paintbrush.
 

Blue Jaye

Arachnobaron
Joined
Sep 16, 2013
Messages
339
I got so busy in talking about what happened that I forgot to tell you all something important. L.violaceopes are very good moms. That sac was almost spotless on the outside. She rarely ever put it down. And she fought harder for it than any tarantula I've ever experienced so far. She even ate well while sitting on the sac. I do think it's a good idea to feed the female while she has a sac. I have seen many different species set the sac down and search about their enclosure. They almost always eat. There has been a few exceptions. Any hoo, just some thoughts I felt important to share.
 

cold blood

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
13,223
That last pic in the deli cup really shows her size and surprising bulkiness...dang, that's a huge spider.
 

Trenor

Arachnoprince
Joined
Jan 28, 2016
Messages
1,896
I've spoken before of my L.violaceopes demeanor. Seriously defensive, on mother of god levels. Angry, angry titan of a tarantula. Bringer of death to all males that cross her path. Always up to give her keeper on omg moment when just opening the lid. Rather fun really. :smug:
And it still did not detour me from trying to get a sac from her. And finally success ahhhh......

But then it came time to get the sac. I did not realize I would need a sword and a shield to bring to the event.

Try number one. ( yes there were a few tries) Did I mention she's 9 inches of really fast, strong, and angry? Ok so with tongs, paintbrush, and cup I went in as normal to get the sac.
The first problem was she immediately grabbed the sac and went to the bottom of her hide. Expected. But then I realized how deep she had made it. It's at least 14-16 inches down. My tongs are twelve sigh. Slight change in plan. Offer roach get her attention on that. That did not work she turned with a blur. Grabbed everything roach, tongs, paintbrush. Kept coming and slapped the cup out of my hand. I never got near the sac.:( Defeated I closed the lid while she sat on her spoils eating the roach.

Attempt 2. She's an eating machine even sitting on a sac so I decided to lure her out as it were with a very large roach and cup her (hopefully). It was at least 6 inches away from the entrance to her hide. After about a half hour she finally came to get the roach. She never even left the entrance. One very long leg came out and snatched it up. She sat in the entrance all spread out and literally cocked her thorax in my direction. As if to say, you will never get my sac. As she munched her food.

Got to find those 22 in tongs I have packed away.

Attempt 3, 24 inch tongs!!! Ok this time with tongs and paintbrush in hand I went to battle. She completely curled around the sac ugh!! I put the paintbrush into position to hopefully hold her back. Reached in with the tongs and grabbed a tiny bit of the sac. She whirled around and started defending the sac. Lots of slaps but this time my hand was well out of reach. She got the sac from me with a quick yank but I didn't stop. I grabbed it again and pulled a bit harder. So did she. At this point I'm worried for the sac!! And dang it, she yanked it out of the tongs again. I was as relentless as she. I grabbed it again she slapped and jerked at the tongs then I finally got her where I wanted her. Started pushing her back with the paintbrush as hard as I could with out hurting her. Tugged the sac she finally lost grip and attached the paintbrush. It tore open a bit. But I got it!!!!! I freaking got it!!!! And she has my paintbrush which I don't think she sees as a good trade.

Here's a few pics. I will post more as this just happened at 2:30 am. I have no idea how many yet but will update :smug: Thanks for reading! View attachment 238392 View attachment 238393 View attachment 238394 View attachment 238395 Here's a couple of Illyria View attachment 238397 View attachment 238398 View attachment 238399 Her getting a rehouse View attachment 238401
I feel like the telling should be slightly altered to make it an Epic Poem like Gilgamesh or Beowulf. This was truly an epic struggle and a entertaining read.

Congratulations on the healthy sack. I'm wanting some of these from you when they are ready. :D
 

Blue Jaye

Arachnobaron
Joined
Sep 16, 2013
Messages
339
That last pic in the deli cup really shows her size and surprising bulkiness...dang, that's a huge spider.
That's why I posted it. It so hard to show her size from an enclosure pic. She so big she could literally hold that cup off her. It took some doing to get her in there. Holy moly she's strong!!!
 

Blue Jaye

Arachnobaron
Joined
Sep 16, 2013
Messages
339
Hello again everyone. Last night I got a few more sling pics. Decided to keep the little guys in the sac a bit longer. The timing of my sacs were rather consecutive between the albos and Violaceopes. So the rest of my Ts are like what the duce lady come feed us already.

Took some pics of the molts and egg casings. Unlike other Ts that go from egg to ewls in one transformation apparently violaceopes molt and hatch from a tiny leathery egg. Feels kinda like a reptile egg but a bit softer. I counted the molts that are out of the sac 129 of them and there's more in the sac. Instars look good and healthy. IMG_0614.JPG IMG_0611.JPG IMG_0608.JPG IMG_0612.JPG IMG_0616.JPG Egg casing and molt inside IMG_0618.JPG IMG_0617.JPG
 

beaker41

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
May 23, 2012
Messages
220
Gorgeous animal ! I had one about half that size and it would try to murder me on a regular basis.
 

Blue Jaye

Arachnobaron
Joined
Sep 16, 2013
Messages
339
Gorgeous animal ! I had one about half that size and it would try to murder me on a regular basis.
That's a violaceopes for ya! Angry purple beasties. Even with their attitude. They are still one of my favorites. In the top 5 really.:D
 

Kendricks

Arachnoknight
Joined
Jan 18, 2017
Messages
153
I recommend listening to "O Fortuna" while reading this story. Suits the level of epicness for sure! :anxious:
 
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