B. hamorii just laid eggsac!

ErinM31

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I really, really, REALLY need to get that book one way or another. I keep hearing good things about it. Looking forward to the surprise in that sac. Crossing fingers and toes for lots and lots of EWLs or 2i hamorii. Best of luck !
Thank you so much! I pulled the sac today and was delighted to find hundreds of EWLs! :happy:
F4F03823-4E06-4235-8E2E-4F8626F034B4.jpeg
I’m so happy!!!

I definitely recommend Tarantulas — Breeding and Wildlife Experience for the species-specific information and all the photos of their natural habitat. As far as I can see, the only major omission is Aphonopelma species, but we have other sources of information for most of those, especially the Hamilton et al. 2016 ZooKeys paper. The book was available from Amazon a couple years ago but alas is not anymore, nor have I been able to find it on other sites. Maybe contact the publisher?
 

LucN

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Oh wow !!! Congratulations on the successful sac :D One day I hope to have the opportunity to live this experience, even if only once in my life. Doesn't matter what species, though I am considering T. albopilosus as they are one of the easier Ts to breed in captivity.

Looking forward to see how many there were, and hopefully most if not all molt to 2i. Once again, congrats !
 

ErinM31

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Over half the little ones are already darkening for their first molt! Today I carefully sorted through them, separating those less developed to hopefully minimize cannibalism.
26B25AEA-8128-4082-B1E9-3D4385BA3E60.jpeg

The mother is doing well, no longer looking so thin after eating several roaches and crickets. To me she looks a bit worn, but she is due for a molt.
359D2DDB-7240-4FF1-A908-7FB19588389C.jpeg
 

ErinM31

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Oh wow !!! Congratulations on the successful sac :D One day I hope to have the opportunity to live this experience, even if only once in my life. Doesn't matter what species, though I am considering T. albopilosus as they are one of the easier Ts to breed in captivity.

Looking forward to see how many there were, and hopefully most if not all molt to 2i. Once again, congrats !
Thank you! I hope that you will! It is a real joy to see and even play a small part in bringing new life into the world. :happy:
 

LucN

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Over half the little ones are already darkening for their first molt! Today I carefully sorted through them, separating those less developed to hopefully minimize cannibalism.
View attachment 387067

The mother is doing well, no longer looking so thin after eating several roaches and crickets. To me she looks a bit worn, but she is due for a molt.
View attachment 387069
So awesome ! Things seems to go very well for you. The mother still looks great :)

Yes, the more I think about it, the more I'm considering T. albopilosus. They may be readily available and often given as freebies, but who doesn't like a Floofy spider ? ;)

Keep us updated and congratulations once again.
 

ErinM31

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My babies are already molting into first instar today! They are sooo adorable! :happy:
A4EED4D1-9876-4D04-8B10-84BE1E1DC230.jpeg
 

LucN

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Soon, we can hope all of these will end up in the hands of responsible people who make research before acquiring them and are in for the long run. I'm sure there are still people out there who aren't aware of their incredible longevity. I've been enjoying mine for almost 10 years. She is definitely my favourite out of my foursome.
 

ErinM31

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Hello little angels 😍
Ahhh, congrats on their growth so far! :bigtears:
Thank you!!! :happy:

Soon, we can hope all of these will end up in the hands of responsible people who make research before acquiring them and are in for the long run. I'm sure there are still people out there who aren't aware of their incredible longevity. I've been enjoying mine for almost 10 years. She is definitely my favourite out of my foursome.
I hope so!!! I will keep as many as I can manage for a few more molts, to get them past the most fragile stage, so they are newbie-proof at least. I got their mother as a sling, about 2 cm DLS, as my first tarantula. Such a joy to raise and I’m looking forward for having my feisty Diva for decades to come! ;)


Here she is more than five years ago…

:happy:
 

ErinM31

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Over the past few days the little ones have finally begun darkening for their next molt!
Here one of the six containers, kept in boxes on damp paper towels:
51A5FAA9-D371-4461-A85E-80DB80936113.jpeg

As you can see, they’ve tended to group together, even though I placed them spaced out, and then some have elected to climb up the coffee filter. I’ve not seen any evidence of cannibalism during this first instar stage. I twice offered them mealworm pieces although I know they don’t need to eat during this stage but I believe my A. chalcodes first instars ate when food was offered and I hoped to encourage growth. But these B. hamorii first instars showed no interest in eating and they do seem healthy and climb around more than I recall my A. chalcodes first instars doing. They’ve been kept at room temperature, mostly mid-70’s, getting up to 80+F on many afternoons.
 

Neonblizzard

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Over the past few days the little ones have finally begun darkening for their next molt!
Here one of the six containers, kept in boxes on damp paper towels:
View attachment 393268

As you can see, they’ve tended to group together, even though I placed them spaced out, and then some have elected to climb up the coffee filter. I’ve not seen any evidence of cannibalism during this first instar stage. I twice offered them mealworm pieces although I know they don’t need to eat during this stage but I believe my A. chalcodes first instars ate when food was offered and I hoped to encourage growth. But these B. hamorii first instars showed no interest in eating and they do seem healthy and climb around more than I recall my A. chalcodes first instars doing. They’ve been kept at room temperature, mostly mid-70’s, getting up to 80+F on many afternoons.
Those lil black butts 😭
 

USNGunner

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Awesome! I'm looking at ordering a bunch of hamorii slings for my grandson. We're pretty sure his B. Hamorii is a male. He's grossly disappointed. Grandpa is going to try and fix that. ;)
 
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LucN

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So awesome to see that things are going so smoothly for you ! Please keep us updated on their progress :) I suspect 2nd instars faster than you'd expect ;) Hope you have a mealworm colony on hand, you'll have lots of little mouths to feed :D
 

ErinM31

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Woohoo! The little ones have started molting into 2nd instar! :happy: I’ll post photos soon. They’re so adorable and zipping about on their new spindly legs! :rofl:

Awesome! I'm looking at ordering a bunch of hamorii slings for my grandson. We're pretty sure his B. Hamorii is a male. He's grossly disappointed. Grandpa is going to try and fix that. ;)
Sounds great! :happy: <edit>

So awesome to see that things are going so smoothly for you ! Please keep us updated on their progress :) I suspect 2nd instars faster than you'd expect ;) Hope you have a mealworm colony on hand, you'll have lots of little mouths to feed :D
Thank you so much! :happy: And you’re right — they’re molting now! Fortunately, I not only have a mealworm colony, but an increasing batch of little red runners as well!

Did the mother molt?
No, she hasn’t yet, but she’s still eating. I suspect she may wait until next spring for her next molt. That’s what my A. chalcodes females did anyway.

I’ve been using the lid with these boxes as it is lose enough to allow for limited airflow but keep it humid. With how warm it gets in the afternoon despite the AC and nearly always having the fan on, it seems I have to be more careful about things drying out too quickly in the summer months!
 
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ErinM31

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Some observations, reflections, hypotheses:

I had anticipated cannibalism being a major concern in maximizing survival of otherwise healthy offspring. For this reason, I was diligent in separating out the offspring as they molted among six deli cups in the incubation boxes. A very few eggs and EWLs were eaten, but I suspect these would not otherwise have survived. Those which simply molted a bit later were not bothered by their siblings.

There was no cannibalism at all during the 1st instar phase and indeed, the slings showed no interest in eating, though I twice have them fresh pieces of mealworm. Additionally, the slings exhibited a definite preference for being in close contact with one another, gathering together and on top of one another on one side of the container. If there came to be too few slings in a container (as I was again trying to keep those a bit behind separate), they would no longer be content to hang out in the coffee filter in the deli cup and would climb out and under the paper, often into the folds of the kimwipe I had folded beneath it.

Now all but a very few slings have molted into second instar over this past week and they still are hanging out together. I have observed them drinking but not yet eating, with the single exception of one sling which captured one of the small red runner nymphs I offered them when they showed no interest in pieces of mealworm. The slings look plump and healthy and run plenty fast if disturbed.

Of course, I do not expect this state of harmony to long persist and plan to separate them into individual housing this weekend.
C5EA8466-54DF-4BF5-B034-E671D49ED81C.jpeg
 
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