did some pairing last night

[ZergFront]

I hear you on that, man. I paired more common species but since I selectively buy my favorite tarantulas, it's still a punch in the stomach when things go badly.

Had a L.violaceopes sac but she didn't open it, she ate it and instead of double-clutching (she ruined the first sac and ended up eating it), I went inside one of my P.irminia's hides to instead find an exuvia.

I got to tell you, though. You make pairing and breeding look easy. You do great work and hope this doesn't discourage you. I bet there are thousands of spiders in other people's hands because of what you do.

Well. Today is not a good day. Im pretty tore up. Not only did i have 2 wisdom teeth cut out yesterday, but this morning i find my female Idiothele mira with no sac. She has eaten it. Dealing with this ruins the hobby so badly. I would rather lose a P. metallica sac. But of course the sac that i was looking forward to more than any, is now gone. I would rather pull the sac on day 30 and have a dud sac. Atleast that way i "know". But since she ate her sac, ill never know what was inside that thing. Makes me sick. If i ever get another sac out of her, the day the sac is all done and ready to start the waiting process, the female will be pulled and seperated from the sac. Uhhhh. Just want to go punch her right now.

 

[catfishrod69]

Very sorry to hear about your problems also. It is tough sometimes. Even the cheapest of species can break your heart. Ive been trying to produce P. scrofa for a year and a half now. My female finally molted, and now wants nothing to do with them male. The other female i think is about to molt. The might be a cheap species, but they are awesome.

Lol thanks very much. (I dont post pics of females slaughtering males ). I sure hope so! I recently bought a S. calceatum sling, and after finding out where the sling originated from, i was happy. I had produced that last sac of calceatum, and half went to the loaner of the male. Then the sling i just bought had been purchased from him. So i just bought one that i had produced lol.

I hear you on that, man. I paired more common species but since I selectively buy my favorite tarantulas, it's still a punch in the stomach when things go badly.

Had a L.violaceopes sac but she didn't open it, she ate it and instead of double-clutching (she ruined the first sac and ended up eating it), I went inside one of my P.irminia's hides to instead find an exuvia.

I got to tell you, though. You make pairing and breeding look easy. You do great work and hope this doesn't discourage you. I bet there are thousands of spiders in other people's hands because of what you do.

 

[catfishrod69]

Acanthoscurria geniculata sac!

Either she dropped a sac today, or thats a baseball. Not really sure . She is a 8" female, so you can imagine the size of the sac.

 

[Poec54]

Either she dropped a sac today, or thats a baseball. Not really sure . She is a 8" female, so you can imagine the size of the sac.

Well done!

 

[catfishrod69]

Thanks man! Really wierd part about it though, and im kicking myself like crazy for not getting a pic. She made a huge hammock with herself inside of it. It was completely sealed off all the way around. Then i imagine she laid the eggs, pealed back a corner then came out of it, and continued wrapping. Ive never seen a tarantula do that. I know that Olios gigantea huntsmans make a hammock around themselves for the babies to hatch in. But just the look of her entirely closed up hammock was kinda funny. Of course i debated on a pic, and didnt.

Well done!

 

[3skulls]

Very nice!!
She has been a very busy girl

 

[catfishrod69]

Thanks! Yes she sure has!

 

[catfishrod69]

Monocentropus balfouri sac! Not at all where i expected/wanted her to lay it, but it works!





Brachypelma vagans 1st instar darkening up!

 

[3skulls]

John, you are going to make me go broke!

 

[Waxen]

At the rate people are having B. vagans sacks the slings are going to be 50 cents a piece. Lol. Grats on all the sacks though. I have to stop buying all these babies and start getting some adult females. You guys are killing my productivity with all these awesome offers!

 

[catfishrod69]

I sure hope so! . You will like my balfouri prices if i get slings too .

John, you are going to make me go broke!

---------- Post added 08-21-2013 at 10:10 PM ----------

Well ill be charging $1 each in bulk . Thanks! And i totally understand that. Best thing to do is buy alot of slings, that way later you will have more adult females .

At the rate people are having B. vagans sacks the slings are going to be 50 cents a piece. Lol. Grats on all the sacks though. I have to stop buying all these babies and start getting some adult females. You guys are killing my productivity with all these awesome offers!

 

[3skulls]

I'll be watching!

 

[Poec54]

Best thing to do is buy alot of slings, that way later you will have more adult females.

+1. The best advice you'll get. Most tropicals grow fast and you'll have mature females in 2 or 3 years if you keep them warm and feed them often. The sooner you start, the sooner you have big girls.

 

[catfishrod69]

Yep for sure! Better buy from me quickly . All proceeds donated to the "Me getting more spiders fund".

+1. The best advice you'll get. Most tropicals grow fast and you'll have mature females in 2 or 3 years if you keep them warm and feed them often. The sooner you start, the sooner you have big girls.

 

[catfishrod69]

Ceratogyrus darlingi sac!

This is her 3rd sac! Will be getting a mature male soon to pair with my other female also.

 

[Silberrücken]

Just read this entire thread from beginning to end (first time I looked at it). You've done an awesome job with all your pairings. Great thread, and keep up the good work, man!

 

[catfishrod69]

Lol i bet that took a while . Thanks very much man! .

Just read this entire thread from beginning to end (first time I looked at it). You've done an awesome job with all your pairings. Great thread, and keep up the good work, man!

 

[catfishrod69]

So something i am debating on doing. Not sure if i should, cause i have never tried this. Need your guys opinions. Im thinking about powerfeeding my M. balfouri female while she is with sac. This way i can get her closer to her next molt, sooner. I know the male is older, so not sure how much longer he will last. I have, and do, feed females with sac. But usually only once during the process. So what do you all think?

 

[Poec54]

So something i am debating on doing. Not sure if i should, cause i have never tried this. Need your guys opinions. Im thinking about powerfeeding my M. balfouri female while she is with sac. This way i can get her closer to her next molt, sooner. I know the male is older, so not sure how much longer he will last. I have, and do, feed females with sac. But usually only once during the process. So what do you all think?

I feed my females while they're on a sac, but in moderation. It's a long time to go without food, especially after laying so many eggs. The Usambara, darlingi, and ezendami females eagerly grab them up. I'd feed your girl, but not to the point where there's always crickets crawling around and pestering her. You don't want to stress her.

Sounds like you're wanting to pair her up again after the sac hatches; I wouldn't do that with any spider, as that's really hard on a female. Is it worth shortening her life to get back-to-back sacs? For me it isn't.

 

[catfishrod69]

See i usually feed mine halfway through. But only if they are pretty skinny, and only if i can get to them without destroying everything. I dont use crickets. I feed her adult male dubia. I prekill the male and leave him lay for her. So them bothering her wouldnt be a problem. And i seen her off the sac and a few inches away from it today.

Yeah im wanting to powerfeed her to her next molt, and get her paired again before the male expires. See i bought her and a male at the same time, and they were both the same size. So i kept her warm and powerfed her, and kept him cool and fed him less. I was able to get her to her size now, and the male still didnt mature. So i traded my male off for a mature male. So i have been powerfeeding her since she was 2". Really i would only be powerfeeding her until her next molt though. And then once i get her paired up, ill go back on a normal feeding schedule. I personally do powerfeed females or males to work out the molting times for pairing. Its just this time there is a sac involved. Now i dont think it will hurt being she is with sac, but i figured i would get some opinions.

I dont mind shortening her life a little bit, if i can produce more slings from her. Believe me, im not in it for the money. I hope to produce more of these just to help fellow hobbyists who havent got this species yet and look forward to it. Really im trying to help out the species/hobby by providing more of this species. I figure since i still have a mature male, might as well try it out. However, another problem is, even with powerfeeding, she may not molt for another 10 months or so. So by then more than likely the male will have passed on. So maybe the best thing to do in this case, is to pass him along to someone needing a male.