Cobalt Blue weird transformation? need advice

[tarantulaholic]

Ive had this (2) Cobalt blue for over 4 months now. Same size. The one that turn brown was very, very blue. More bluer than other Cobalt Blue I purchased from same store. Ive decided to dig them up for some pics, but the Bigger, bluest cobalt had turn brown / black? WTF??? While other stayed same color or had improved a little to more blue.
Heres some pics of the 2 cobalts? Does cobalt blues turn brown before molt? Also Ive noticed the now brown cobalt is very skinny, but grew considerablty bigger but skinny.
Close up pic of now brown cobalt blue. (used to be intense blue 4 months ago)

same T, compared to quarter.

This is other T. I purcased same time, at same size. But this one stayed blue.

close up pic :

 

[the nature boy]

Perhaps the brown one is a male. The blue is certainly a female.

--the nature boy

 

[Comatose]

The brown one is definatly a male, they molt out looking like that when they mature (and I can see a glove in pic#2). If nature boy is dead on (I can't tell from the pics 3/4) then you should mate them!

 

[Paulie B]

Introduce him to your female soon !

 

[Moltar]

Perhaps the brown one is a male. The blue is certainly a female.

--the nature boy

Huh? I would say the opposite; that the brown one is certainly a male and perhaps the blue one is female. You can see the palpal emboli (boxing gloves) in the 2nd pic of the brown one. The blue is either a female or a sub-adult male who will get dark at the next molt.

To the OP, H lividum sub-adults are all blue (to varying degrees of intensity) but while females stay blue until they die, males become dark in color when they mature.

 

[tarantulaholic]

How hard is Cobalts to breed? How many eggs do i expect to have? I was really dissapointed, I dont have time or effort to breed really. Just want to bright blues cobalts. :wall:

 

[the nature boy]

To the OP, H lividum sub-adults are all blue (to varying degrees of intensity) but while females stay blue until they die, males become dark in color when they mature.

I stand corrected. I was under the impression that only females are that dramatic a blue.

--the nature boy

 

[Alex080]

The brown one is positively a male

 

[texascowboy1979]

To the OP, H lividum sub-adults are all blue (to varying degrees of intensity) but while females stay blue until they die, males become dark in color when they mature.

This is very good to know...

 

[Comatose]

How hard is Cobalts to breed? How many eggs do i expect to have? I was really dissapointed, I dont have time or effort to breed really. Just want to bright blues cobalts. :wall:

Cobalts are not terribly hard to breed; in my experience getting the female to drop, and then care for rather than eat the sac is the difficult part. Read around, I'm sure there are more than a few breeding reports on lividum...worst that will happen is the male gets munched and he's going to die relatively soon anyway.

Oh and you might want to get a definative answer on the sex of the other one before you try this.


-Oops- the one good lividum sac I hatched produced 67 slings.

 

[Lopez]

I can't believe that despite having the whole internet to research from, people STILL get this wrong.

etown_411 is correct, all H.lividum are blue as sub adults, males turn brown but ONLY on the maturing moult.

tarantulaholic - your brown spider is a mature male H.lividum and will probably live a few more months, possibly longer.

The blue spider is either an immature male or a female, you would need some good ventral pictures to have a better idea.

 

[Comatose]

Just also want to point out that if the blue one is substantially larger it's *LIKELY* a female...males tend to max out at a spindley 5 inches.

Edit: I'm an idiot, didn't notice pic #3 with the quarter...female or not that spider probably not ready to breed at that size.

 

[SteelSpider]

I found out the same way. My H. Lividum molted saturday night and turned grey with black legs. When purchased it was blue and you can see in my gallery. Definitely looks like the first two pics now.

 

[Alex080]

I found out the same way. My H. Lividum molted saturday night and turned grey with black legs. When purchased it was blue and you can see in my gallery. Definitely looks like the first two pics now.

all H lividums are blue AT first and then they change color depending on sex and level of maturity if i am incorrect someone correct me