Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens Open Thread

[Smotzer]

@Colorado Ts My GBB molted and got rid of the tan legs and grew at least .25in just in the legs. It’s got some long blue legs now!! Hit the 2in mark. It’s about to be rehoused in a few days once it’s fully hardened up!

 

[Colorado Ts]

@Colorado Ts My GBB molted and got rid of the tan legs and grew at least .25in just in the legs. It’s got some long blue legs now!! Hit the 2in mark. It’s about to be rehoused in a few days once it’s fully hardened up! View attachment 349583 View attachment 349584 View attachment 349585 View attachment 349586

Mine are about one moult ahead of you...

 

[Smotzer]

Mine are about one moult ahead of you...

I think you may be right. I just got a measurement without the front legs fully extended and it’s 2in, pretty decent growth rate was about 1/2in( never got a true measurement on it) , when I got it a think in end of January or maybe feb. so that makes 1.5in of growth in around 5 -6 months. With I believe 4 molts in that time which. So that’s something like .3in average growth per molt. Obviously not that exact measurement but an average.

 

[Androxian]

Guys I just picked up my first one in a trade for a young male G. pulchripes (about 3.5 inches or so) and it's a confirmed female sitting at around 2.5 inches. It's also a confirmed nightmare. I can't open the enclosure at all without getting hairs kicked at me or her bolting straight out of the enclosure. Luckily the way my shelves are set up she can't get past the edge of the shelf, and I'm fortunate because if she gets behind my computer, I will never find this female GBB, it will be gone.

I do have to take into consideration that I as the keeper have been extremely stressed lately and so when Calypso decides it's time to run and I have to stop everything I'm doing and get the catch cup, it becomes quite frustrating.

Is this just how they are as juveniles? Does the skittishness go away as an adult? Right now she's the crown jewel of my collection and I'm keeping her to the end no matter what, but man I need a break..

Calypso -

 

[Smotzer]

Guys I just picked up my first one in a trade for a male G. pulchripes and it's a confirmed female. It's also a confirmed nightmare. I can't open the enclosure at all without getting hairs kicked at me or her bolting straight out of the enclosure. Luckily the way my shelves are set up she can't get past the edge of the shelf, and I'm fortunate because if she gets behind my computer, I will never find this female GBB, it will be gone.

I do have to take into consideration that I as the keeper have been extremely stressed lately and so when Calypso decides it's time to run and I have to stop everything I'm doing and get the catch cup, it becoming quite frustrating.

Is this just how they are as juveniles? Does the skittishness go away as an adult? Right now she's the crown jewel of my collection and I'm keeping her to the end no matter what, but man I need a break..

What is the enclosure like? Mine has not shown any of those behaviors, when I open the lid it may move a bit but other than that it stays right out in the open on top of the webbing. It’s never even attempted to bolt or flick hairs at me.

 

[Colorado Ts]

I think you may be right. I just got a measurement without the front legs fully extended and it’s 2in, pretty decent growth rate was about 1/2in( never got a true measurement on it) , when I got it a think in end of January or maybe feb. so that makes 1.5in of growth in around 5 -6 months. With I believe 4 molts in that time which. So that’s something like .3in average growth per molt. Obviously not that exact measurement but an average.

So based on what I'm documenting, there is the moult where the slings lose their tan lag markings and gain their blue legs. Then the moult immediately following that moult is when they trim out, and their abdomens get noticeably smaller.

This is what I'm seeing with my slings right now...and they have really lost that boxy body shape, and developed a long gangly body shape.

Guys I just picked up my first one in a trade for a young male G. pulchripes (about 3.5 inches or so) and it's a confirmed female sitting at around 2.5 inches. It's also a confirmed nightmare. I can't open the enclosure at all without getting hairs kicked at me or her bolting straight out of the enclosure. Luckily the way my shelves are set up she can't get past the edge of the shelf, and I'm fortunate because if she gets behind my computer, I will never find this female GBB, it will be gone.

I do have to take into consideration that I as the keeper have been extremely stressed lately and so when Calypso decides it's time to run and I have to stop everything I'm doing and get the catch cup, it becomes quite frustrating.

Is this just how they are as juveniles? Does the skittishness go away as an adult? Right now she's the crown jewel of my collection and I'm keeping her to the end no matter what, but man I need a break..

Mine have never been overly skittish, they will kick hairs on occasion, but that is so infrequent that it is surprising when it happens.

My Dolichothele diamantinensis slings...now there is a story. When I first got them, I kept them in 3.25 oz soufflé cups. And every time that I opened the enclosures they bolted...and they are Uber Fast...When I was opening the enclosure, I was disturbing their webbing, almost destroying it, so it was a fricken nightmare.

Once I rehoused the slings into larger enclosures, that did not disturb their webbing...all the skittishness ended. So proper housing makes a huge difference in sling behavior.

So look at the enclosure that you are using, does it bother the spider when you open it? It could just be a matter of rehousing the sling into a different home.

 

[Smotzer]

So based on what I'm documenting, there is the moult where the slings lose their tan lag markings and gain their blue legs. Then the moult immediately following that moult is when they trim out, and their abdomens get noticeably smaller.

This is what I'm seeing with my slings right now...and they have really lost that boxy body shape, and developed a long gangly body shape.

I noticed that with this molt that it got much more leggy and lost some of the more compact structure that its previously had. The abdomen is smaller than it was, I regret to say it ate slightly more than I like to normally feed. It happens though.

 

[Colorado Ts]

I noticed that with this molt that it got much more leggy and lost some of the more compact structure that its previously had. The abdomen is smaller than it was, I regret to say it ate slightly more than I like to normally feed. It happens though.

Just wait till they moult again, it is striking the change in their physical structure...they really get longer, more gangly legs, and their abdomens shrink away...and their feeding response becomes even more pronounced. That is what I've noticed from this latest moult.

3 of the 5 slings have moulted, 1 will be moulting soon, and then there’s my problem child...GBB#3 should be getting its blue legs on this next moult.

 

[Smotzer]

Just wait till they moult again, it is striking the change in their physical structure...they really get longer, more gangly legs, and their abdomens shrink away...and their feeding response becomes even more pronounced. That is what I've noticed from this latest moult.

3 of the 5 slings have moulted, 1 will be moulting soon, and then there’s my problem child...GBB#3 should be getting its blue legs on this next moult.

Okay I will definitely keep an eye of for that in a couple months!!

are you rehousing with this new molt?
I’m rehousing this week. Mine Is in 3.75x3.75x4.25 box and I’m going to give it a little bigger more rectangular enclosure. Right now the water dish is unusable and unremovable because it webbed over a plant on top of it. it’s part of the reason I want to rehouse so I can be able to for at least a while,remove and clean the water dish.I could go a size bigger but this GBB in the small enclosure is very relaxed and secure so I’m not upsizing tremendously, tohopefully keep it acting the same.

 

[Colorado Ts]

Okay I will definitely keep an eye of for that in a couple months!!

are you rehousing with this new molt?
I’m rehousing this week. Mine Is in 3.75x3.75x4.25 box and I’m going to give it a little bigger more rectangular enclosure. Right now the water dish is unusable and unremovable because it webbed over a plant on top of it. it’s part of the reason I want to rehouse so I can be able to for at least a while,remove and clean the water dish.I could go a size bigger but this GBB in the small enclosure is very relaxed and secure so I’m not upsizing tremendously, tohopefully keep it acting the same.

I'm getting closer and closer to needing a rehouse for these guys. The GBB slings are all 2.5” to 3” in length...so yeah the 4X4X4 AMAC boxes are getting cramped.

Right at the moment, I'm setting up 8 enclosures for my Phormictopus sp southern hispaniola slings. They have grown so fast they shot right past the GBBs, so they get new homes first.

 

[Smotzer]

I'm getting closer and closer to needing a rehouse for these guys. The GBB slings are all 2.5” to 3” in length...so yeah the 4X4X4 AMAC boxes are getting cramped.

Right at the moment, I'm setting up 8 enclosures for my Phormictopus sp southern hispaniola slings. They have grown so fast they shot right past the GBBs, so they get new homes first.

Gotcha!! Yeah mine could probably stay for one more molt it’s so webbed up there’s hardly any room for him, and I need to have access to the water again.

wow really they leaped up in size that quickly!?? I feel like it wasnt that long ago that you got them!!

 

[Transrights]

I heard they're tasty grilled with hot sauce. I can't verify that.

Dried and salted crickets are pretty tasty.... and crunchy. I can confirm as much.

 

[Androxian]

@Colorado Ts @Smotzer Here's her enclosure. It's 8.5in L x 6.5in W x 6 in H with a hide and a piece of cork bark to be used as an anchorpoint for her web. Is this not adequate? If not I would greatly appreciate any input to make her home better. I'm approximating that she'll last probably 3ish molts until I'll have to rehouse her?

 

[Colorado Ts]

@Colorado Ts @Smotzer Here's her enclosure. It's 8.5in L x 6.5in W x 6 in H with a hide and a piece of cork bark to be used as an anchorpoint for her web. Is this not adequate? If not I would greatly appreciate any input to make her home better. I'm approximating that she'll last probably 3ish molts until I'll have to rehouse her?

It looks a bit large, but it looks fine. You could easily keep the spider in that enclosure until it’s 5”+, then move it to something just a tad bigger, or not your choice. But everything looks fine to me.

 

[Androxian]

It looks a bit large, but it looks fine. You could easily keep the spider in that enclosure until it’s 5”+, then move it to something just a tad bigger, or not your choice. But everything looks fine to me.

Cool, good to know that everything is good for her. I want her to live life to the fullest as much as she can and it's my job as the keeper to simulate nature as best I can while she's in the enclosure. I have other bits of cork bark and some fake plant leaves, do you think if I put them in the middle of the enclosure, she'll anchor to more points? Like she doesn't seem to ever walk on the substrate, she tends to keep to the web so if I add more cork bark pieces in the middle of that picture, it would be better for her in terms of webbing her home up?

 

[Colorado Ts]

Cool, good to know that everything is good for her. I want her to live life to the fullest as much as she can and it's my job as the keeper to simulate nature as best I can while she's in the enclosure. I have other bits of cork bark and some fake plant leaves, do you think if I put them in the middle of the enclosure, she'll anchor to more points? Like she doesn't seem to ever walk on the substrate, she tends to keep to the web so if I add more cork bark pieces in the middle of that picture, it would be better for her in terms of webbing her home up?

You are currently setup very much as a sling enclosure, perfect to grow out the spider towards its juvenile and adult sizes. It wouldn’t hurt at all to add some more anchor points to the enclosure. Its pretty spartan, but that is very close to how I set up a basic sling grow out enclosure.

If you add more anchor points, you will see more webbing...without a doubt. And the enclosure is large enough that you could use it as an adult enclosure.

I’ll be moving my 5 slings into larger enclosures...after my Phormictopus are rehoused. I ordered the enclosures a couple hours ago. These new accommodations won’t be grow out enclosures, or an intermediate juvenile enclosure...they’ll be their final adult housing. And I’ll be adding much more in the way of anchor points and places to make web tunnels and hides.

 

[Androxian]

@Colorado Ts Yeah, I tend to keep my enclosures pretty spartan as well because I know the tarantula doesn't mind as long as the food keeps coming lol. Here is an updated enclosure, I added two more pieces of cork bark, one in the back corner where she seemed to be hanging out a lot and then one near the water dish but hopefully far enough away that it doesn't end up blanketed as well (I know it will). There is still a burrow in the enclosure from the G. pulchripes in the enclosure so what she chooses to do with it is up to her, but I really think the enclosure looks much better overall than it did last you saw it, which I appreciate.

 

[Colorado Ts]

Thinking about Rehousing my GBBs



The slings lost their tan legs and gained their blue legs 2 moults ago. They still had what I would call a stocky build.



But with this last moult they have gotten gangly and they have grown in size. They need to be rehoused. I’m going to rehouse the Phormictopus first, then I’ll rehouse my GBBs

 

[Stevecooperwa]

I have a GBB that I raised from a sling. Grew really fast and hit mature male in about 2 years. My male would constantly web almost his entire enclosure. From a sling up until his last molt, he was a good eater, but has now slowed down on his feeding.

 

[Cyriocosmus]

My GBB has molted, really put on a good amount of size! It was very clearly showing signs of premolt - dark and big abdomen, hiding. Now its legs are a good tad darker and I can't wait for it to get those stunning all-blue legs!