Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens Open Thread

[EpicEpic]

Post #9 details the enclosure parameters & how I keep my slings. Bone dry substrate, water dish, hide, and anchor points for webbing.

Wonderful. Thank you.

 

[KaroKoenig]

Just for shits and giggles, and as a note to anyone who still believes that arid species don't need a water source. Here's my subadult girl taking a nice long sip from her dish. She does that regularly, at least every two weeks or so. Most likely more often than that, since the webbing tells me she's all over the place at night.

Down the hatch!

 

[CommanderBacon]

I picked up two spiders from Joe Rossi on November 9th at a show and chatted with him a while. During the course of the conversation, he showed me how he received his shipments and pulled out a baggie with several vials containing GBB slings in them. I casually mentioned that despite having around 45 Ts, that was the most popular species that I didn't own, and he handed me one and said, "Well, you do now!"
(I buy from Joe a lot.)

What are/were your 1st impressions?

It was a beautiful sling! I was expecting it to be skittish, and it was to some degree, but housing it was easy at that size. I've rehoused it since and that was also no problem. It's fast but predictable so far.

What do you like/dislike about the species?

It's absolutely gorgeous. I love watching the color changes and seeing it grow. There's really nothing I dislike about it! Part of me wishes I picked one up sooner, but they are frequently unavailable due to demand and/or way too expensive for me to want to pull the trigger. I always considered them a species that was overrepresented and felt like they were over-hyped. I felt there was no reason for me to shell $50~ for a hobby staple when I could get so many other interesting species that aren't as common for roughly the same price. Honestly, I feel like I was missing out!

How does the GBB compare to other species that you’ve kept?

Since I usually collect slow growing dwarfs, this is a very different experience. I find the activity level, beauty, and behavior of the spider to be very worthwhile. It's always visible and has an amazing feeding response! I honestly would heartily recommend it as a second tarantula, or a first for someone who has done a significant amount of research and/or has a mentor to help them through ownership.

How many have you kept? Or even how do you keep the various age groups of GBBs?

I've just gotten the one.

 

[Smotzer]

Hey @Colorado Ts i posted on her beginning of the month and my little guy has just molted about a week and a half a go and put on give or take what seems like .25 inches in a single molt. Really awesome to watch it grow so fast!!
It’s new favorite thing is to wait up on the top of its web with its leg touching this twig and wait for me to come along and drop in a cricket or worm.

I observed it post molt hiding for about 5 days under a leaf and then it came out and was ready to eat!

I saw some people wondering about substrate moisture and I keep 80% of the soil bone dry and over fill the water dish occasionally. I’m not sure if matters too much as there’s not an inch of ground that isn’t webbed up and it hangs out on its web 99% of the time. But I do know that when I first got it I had it on damp substrate and it abhorred it!! When it was damp it refused to web or even walk on the damp substrate.

 

[Colorado Ts]

I picked up two spiders from Joe Rossi on November 9th at a show and chatted with him a while. During the course of the conversation, he showed me how he received his shipments and pulled out a baggie with several vials containing GBB slings in them. I casually mentioned that despite having around 45 Ts, that was the most popular species that I didn't own, and he handed me one and said, "Well, you do now!"
(I buy from Joe a lot.)
View attachment 344262

It was a beautiful sling! I was expecting it to be skittish, and it was to some degree, but housing it was easy at that size. I've rehoused it since and that was also no problem. It's fast but predictable so far.
View attachment 344263 View attachment 344264

It's absolutely gorgeous. I love watching the color changes and seeing it grow. There's really nothing I dislike about it! Part of me wishes I picked one up sooner, but they are frequently unavailable due to demand and/or way too expensive for me to want to pull the trigger. I always considered them a species that was overrepresented and felt like they were over-hyped. I felt there was no reason for me to shell $50~ for a hobby staple when I could get so many other interesting species that aren't as common for roughly the same price. Honestly, I feel like I was missing out!
View attachment 344265

Since I usually collect slow growing dwarfs, this is a very different experience. I find the activity level, beauty, and behavior of the spider to be very worthwhile. It's always visible and has an amazing feeding response! I honestly would heartily recommend it as a second tarantula, or a first for someone who has done a significant amount of research and/or has a mentor to help them through ownership.

I've just gotten the one.
View attachment 344266

You are so fortunate to live near to Joe Rossi. The man is amazing, and I consider him to be a friend. His depth of knowledge on invertebrates, Tarantulas especially, is impressive.

He's dangerous to my pocketbook...if you want something he's probably got it, and if he doesn't have it...he'll try to find it.

If you are spending time around Joe, you are in grand company.

Hey @Colorado Ts i posted on her beginning of the month and my little guy has just molted about a week and a half a go and put on give or take what seems like .25 inches in a single molt. Really awesome to watch it grow so fast!!
It’s new favorite thing is to wait up on the top of its web with its leg touching this twig and wait for me to come along and drop in a cricket or worm.

I observed it post molt hiding for about 5 days under a leaf and then it came out and was ready to eat!

I saw some people wondering about substrate moisture and I keep 80% of the soil bone dry and over fill the water dish occasionally. I’m not sure if matters too much as there’s not an inch of ground that isn’t webbed up and it hangs out on its web 99% of the time. But I do know that when I first got it I had it on damp substrate and it abhorred it!! When it was damp it refused to web or even walk on the damp substrate. View attachment 344267 View attachment 344268

I do recall that post...OMG!!! That sling is growing. I didn’t think it was that long ago...

By the amount of webbing, I'd say that that is one happy happy dude. That pose is very familiar, mine does that on occasion as well.

 

[Smotzer]

I do recall that post...OMG!!! That sling is growing.

By the amount of webbing, I'd say that that is one happy happy dude. That pose is very familiar, mine does that on occasion as well.

yeah youve seen him since i first got him! he was only about .75in when i got him and hes about more than 1.5dls in 2 molts! maybe 3 but i have one molt and hes got one and thats all i can remeber. seems crazy!
He is very happy! and has a huge appetite! I think hed eat until he popped haha! That pose hes doing he does most hours of the day! its his happy spot!

 

[Colorado Ts]

yeah youve seen him since i first got him! he was only about .75in when i got him and hes about more than 1.5dls in 2 molts! maybe 3 but i have one molt and hes got one and thats all i can remeber. seems crazy!
He is very happy! and has a huge appetite! I think hed eat until he popped haha! That pose hes doing he does most hours of the day! its his happy spot!

I’m guessing that with the next moult, you'll see those blue & orange legs go away to be replaced with blue legs...and the coloration will be more of the adult coloration with each successive moult.



So tell me, have you given any thought to breeding attempts with the Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens?

I have....

 

[Smotzer]

I’m guessing that with the next moult, you'll see those blue & orange legs go away to be replaced with blue legs...and the coloration will be more of the adult coloration with each successive moult.

yeah i think I will get to that point next molt as well! Im not sure if this super fast growth in size will say anything about sex, at least maybe i will be able to get a tentative sex id in a molt or two if it continues its typical size increases so far

 

[davegrimm1]

I just finished rehousing around 60 GBBs into 8 oz containers and then found this thread. Very cool , I must say, they deserve thier own thread.
I have had a bunch of them and bred and had I think 5 sacks and Im breeding them now. I think they are awesome and really like bringing joy to people that recieve them from me. This sack had 220 in october. I still have not sexed any , do to time restraints and old tired eyes. I never do get tired of watching them eat. They will take some big prey...

 

[CommanderBacon]

You are so fortunate to live near to Joe Rossi. The man is amazing, and I consider him to be a friend. His depth of knowledge on invertebrates, Tarantulas especially, is impressive.

He's dangerous to my pocketbook...if you want something he's probably got it, and if he doesn't have it...he'll try to find it.

If you are spending time around Joe, you are in grand company.

He's a great guy and super nice! He was the second vendor I ever bought spiders from. I always appreciated that he was never impatient or condescending with me, even when I was very new to the hobby. Unfortunately for my pocketbook, he now knows what I like, so when he gets any cool dwarfs in, he lets me know XD

 

[Jonathan Delgado]

I lost my GBB during a molt today.

I don't know where else to turn. My family doesn't understand how I can be sick to my stomach over losing my little Blue. I wish I would have reacted faster. She got stuck in her molt in a corner of the tank. She picked kind shoves herself in a corner, but I left her alone. I actually went for a long drive to pick up a Brazilian Blue, and was gone for a few hours. She was moving when I left, but still when I returned. After a long while of no movement I touched her to see if I could help, but she was already gone. I am so sick right now. I know you guys understand. I don't breed them, I have them as valued pets. I fought hard to get my wife to agree to the ten I have. She was about 3.5 inches. Thanks for letting me vent.

 

[CommanderBacon]

I lost my GBB during a molt today.

I'm so sorry. That really sucks

 

[Colorado Ts]

I lost my GBB during a molt today.

I don't know where else to turn. My family doesn't understand how I can be sick to my stomach over losing my little Blue. I wish I would have reacted faster. She got stuck in her molt in a corner of the tank. She picked kind shoves herself in a corner, but I left her alone. I actually went for a long drive to pick up a Brazilian Blue, and was gone for a few hours. She was moving when I left, but still when I returned. After a long while of no movement I touched her to see if I could help, but she was already gone. I am so sick right now. I know you guys understand. I don't breed them, I have them as valued pets. I fought hard to get my wife to agree to the ten I have. She was about 3.5 inches. Thanks for letting me vent.

When you take responsibility for another living entity, you cannot help but to form attachments. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, it’s part of human nature. And if the life that you've cared for and nurtured...dies and is gone...the loss is real.

I am so sorry that this happened. It’s hard...and I understand.

 

[Jonathan Delgado]

When you take responsibility for another living entity, you cannot help but to form attachments. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, it’s part of human nature. And if the life that you've cared for and nurtured...dies and is gone...the loss is real.

I am so sorry that this happened. It’s hard...and I understand.

Thank you so much. It is true.

 

[Colorado Ts]

Trouble Child (GBB#3) came out of its web tunnel and was working on expanding its web. This sling has given me such fits since I first got it. Unlike ANY of the other Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens, this sling likes a moist substrate. I don't get it.



GBB#3 is usually holed up in its lair, deep in the webbing under its hide. I seldom catch this sling away from the safety of its webbing. So I actually haven't seen this particular spider in months, other than it’s front legs as it lays in wait, followed by a flash of movement...and the prey is gone...sucked into the webbing.

Tonight was one of those rare moments when I actually get to look at it, see it. It looks much prettier than the other slings, though a bit gangly.



The sling had just lunged at the roach and missed. Now the roach is frozen and unmoving, and the sling is trying to decide if it actually had food in its webbing...or just wishful thinking. That's the way I left them, when I put the enclosure back into the cabinet.

 

[EpicEpic]

I finally found a specimen I couldn't resist!

A 3" female! Exactly what I was looking for!

She'll be here in 2 weeks!

I'll post a pic of the set up when I get to it, and a picture of her when she arrives....

And hopefully a big beautiful web castle shortly thereafter!

 

[Turfrantula]

I bought my Gbb cuddles from some woman on craigslist. He was my first t and i was excited to find one around town. So a 15min drive and $20 later i had my first t. At first it had a hide that it webbed up then just started scaling the side of the enclosure. And now a year later HE spends most of the time up in the corner on branches surveying his domain. Hes all leggy and has a tiny abdomen and for the most part pissy. Threat posture when i fill his water dish. But what do you expect from a young man with love on the brain. Gbbs are by far one of the most beautiful ts. A guy here in Ohio asked if id be willing to trade him cuddles for a golden knee and a az blonde. He want to breed cuddles and i told him no. Cuddles is my little buddy.

 

[Smotzer]

I finally found a specimen I couldn't resist!

A 3" female! Exactly what I was looking for!

She'll be here in 2 weeks!

I'll post a pic of the set up when I get to it, and a picture of her when she arrives....

And hopefully a big beautiful web castle shortly thereafter!

Congrats man!!

 

[EpicEpic]

I picked up two spiders from Joe Rossi on November 9th at a show and chatted with him a while. During the course of the conversation, he showed me how he received his shipments and pulled out a baggie with several vials containing GBB slings in them. I casually mentioned that despite having around 45 Ts, that was the most popular species that I didn't own, and he handed me one and said, "Well, you do now!"
(I buy from Joe a lot.)
View attachment 344262

It was a beautiful sling! I was expecting it to be skittish, and it was to some degree, but housing it was easy at that size. I've rehoused it since and that was also no problem. It's fast but predictable so far.
View attachment 344263 View attachment 344264

It's absolutely gorgeous. I love watching the color changes and seeing it grow. There's really nothing I dislike about it! Part of me wishes I picked one up sooner, but they are frequently unavailable due to demand and/or way too expensive for me to want to pull the trigger. I always considered them a species that was overrepresented and felt like they were over-hyped. I felt there was no reason for me to shell $50~ for a hobby staple when I could get so many other interesting species that aren't as common for roughly the same price. Honestly, I feel like I was missing out!
View attachment 344265

Since I usually collect slow growing dwarfs, this is a very different experience. I find the activity level, beauty, and behavior of the spider to be very worthwhile. It's always visible and has an amazing feeding response! I honestly would heartily recommend it as a second tarantula, or a first for someone who has done a significant amount of research and/or has a mentor to help them through ownership.

I've just gotten the one.
View attachment 344266

So Joe IS as in person as he is in on the phone/text messages, huh?!

Recently got 3 of my spiders from him! Seems like a grade A guy!

 

[Colorado Ts]

So Joe IS as in person as he is in on the phone/text messages, huh?!

Recently got 3 of my spiders from him! Seems like a grade A guy!

He's pretty cool, very knowledgeable, and an all around good person.