User emartinm28's tarantula pictures

[emartinm28]

Tliltocatl albopilosus freshly molted

 

[emartinm28]

Caribena versicolor freshly molted

 

[Ungoliant]

View attachment 358481
Caribena versicolor freshly molted

This board is for tarantula pictures, not blueberries (no matter how fuzzy and adorable).

 

[emartinm28]

Dolicothele diamantinensis ~2” juvenile. Not the best picture but those colors are really coming through now! Got these as 1/4” slings and they have grown like WEEDS!

 

[emartinm28]

H. pulchripes taking a drink, the behavior i witness from this specimen is absolutely fascinating, using the pedipalps to break the surface tension of the water and then diving in to drink. PRAYING it’s a girl, very quickly becoming a favorite in my collection! Due for a rehouse soon and can’t wait to get it into a bigger clearer enclosure where i can observe it more

 

[emartinm28]

minuscule Aphonopelma sp Diamonback sling molted today! Can finally see it with the naked eye lol! Will update in 2037 when it molts again

 

[emartinm28]

Couldn’t pass up an opportunity to photograph the Caribena laeta, this is such a beautiful little spider and plus I’m Puerto Rican so I love it even more! I wish I had a better camera to capture just how blue it is

 

[emartinm28]

Aphonopelma gabeli freshly molted. It’s times like these when I wish I had a better camera, this doesn’t do justice to just how red those setae on the abdomen are. This one more than doubled in size upon molting, went from being quite comfortable in a vial to not even being able to stretch its legs out, hence why i chose to rehouse quite soon after. I have 8 Aphonopelma as of now and this one has had by far the fastest growth rate. I would question if this was truly an A. gabeli but the chelicerae are huge so I don’t think it was mislabled. Still, it arrived just as tiny as most of my other slings but now dwarfs them all, having molted three times in my care. For anyone whose kept this species, have you noticed anything similar?

 

[emartinm28]

was able to snag a half-decent photo of my D. diamantinensis freshly molted while feeding today, so gorgeous there’s really no words for it. I just recently rehoused my pair into amac boxes but from how much she grew this molt another rehouse appears to be in my future ughh. At least at this age they start to calm down a bit...

and also another pic of the A. gabeli before it burrows down never to be seen or heard from again. My E. campestratus also molted this morning so I can’t wait to rehouse it and actually be able to see it for once (it’s currently in an opaque container, only have been able to see the silhouette)

 

[emartinm28]

Busy day in the spider corner, first I’m just amazed at the burrow that my Harpactira pulchripes juvenile has made for itself. I’m really hoping that it’s a female because it’s become one of my favorites. Next time I get some new additions I’ll have to get some more from this genus. This spider also rewards me by staying just outside its burrow every day (of course the moment i try to photograph it it runs away)

I also had the privilege of watching one of my Monocentropus balfouri juveniles drinking from the front glass. Watching the spider spread its chelicerae and suck the water from the glass was just so fascinating to me. I opt not to keep a water dish with this species and instead I drip water on the webbing. If not they’ll turn over their water dish and web it over without fail. I legitimately have not been able to keep a water dish in these enclosures for even one day, perhaps they abhor sitting water since I know this species is kept entirely dry. Though both of my balfouris are large enough to sex neither have removed even a single molt from their burrows (ugh!). Hopefully I’ll be able to find some when I rehouse.

and finally today I rehoused my Pterinopelma sazimai which is on the cusp between sling and juvenile. The rehousing went smoothly, no bolting no kicking and no threat poses which surprised me. My E. campestratus of the same size did all three . It did give me a mini heart attack when molting though because it sat there on its back motionless for a whole 6 hours before even popping the carapace, which unless I’m mistaken is highly unusual for T’s at this size.

 

[emartinm28]

my Brachypelma hamorii has been buried for over a month now, of course I knew it was going to be ok but without even a little “window” to look through of course I get worried. Last night I looked over and it was just sitting there, twice as big as it was before! Today it got a rehouse and I can already see some beautiful red on the knees! Looking ventrally I’m hopeful that this is a female, though it’ll still be a few molts before I can know for sure

 

[emartinm28]

Finally managed to get some really good pics of my Dolicothele diamantinensis . I believe this individual is female based on the vent and my other one I believe is male. Unfortunatelt they love to destroy their molts. I’m truly astounded by how fast these little guys are growing. I got these in May 2020 at 1/4” and they are now about 2.5”. I imagine if either are male they will mature next molt.
Aphonopelma moderatum

Brachypelma smithi (ex. annitha)

Brachypelma boehmi

 

[emartinm28]

Figured I would start keeping a log on my Ts’ yearly progress, for my record and for anyone looking around.
First up, Aphonopelma hentzi 0.0.1
April 4, 2020

April 1, 2020
This sling has molted twice in my care in a year and grown from 1/4” to 1/2”. Safe to say, the growth rate of this species is glacial. The life cycle of this T is probably better measured in geologic time . In terms of behavior, not much to say yet since it’s still very small and is just skittish like most slings this size. Decent eater, nothing special, usually eats 4-5 times and then buries itself for months at a time. Molted the first time in late April 2020, went into premolt in June and stayed buried until molting again January 2021, even at this size. One thing I noticed is that it refuses to come up to eat after molting. I waited about a month after it molted last year before carefully opening the burrow and leaving a cricket leg in there. It pounced immediately. Same thing happened the second time. It was clearly very hungry because those two instances are the only time that it has actually attacked its food and eaten during the daytime. I know some people wouldn’t have opened the burrow but at this size I used my judgement and decided that a month was more than long enough.

next 0.0.2 Tliltocatl albopilosus

April 4, 2020

April 1, 2021

These two suspect males are blowing the hentzi out of the water in terms of growth rate. When I got them they were 2/3” and are now about 3”. I do not know precisely how many times they have molted because I just started keeping a record this year, but it’s at least 5 times. They both burrowed extensively as slings but never refused a meal unless in premolt. They would actually grab crickets through the ceiling of their burrows, collapsing them almost every time but quickly remaking them after. Now they usually sit outside their burrows all day but are still skittish and will bolt into their burrow when disturbed. I know most people who have this species say that they have never kicked hair or threat posed them but one of mine did kick hair at me during a rehouse, but I have never gotten a threat pose. I’m still getting the hang of sexing molts but I suspect that both are male but I will probably (hopefully) know for sure the next time they molt.