Took almost 4 months after the hook-up. Good luck. If both you and Tom have mated females, surely one or the other will finally succeed with this species. Last time around, I had rotted eggs in the lower part of the sac and dried up emerged 2nd instars in the upper half. How screwed up is that? Oh, well...if at first you don't succeed .....
Corey: She actually had six inches of substrate and a rock tower on the side she preferred. She had a web tunnel between the rocks and a piece of cork curl that I had placed to form a natural tunnel for her. But she was more often in the open than not. Guess I'm just lucky to have one that lets me see her. DianeGreat looking T Di, Atleast with the minimal substrate you can see her beauty on a daily basis if you so desire. My girl is a pet whole 95% of the time...
Wishing you luck on this upcoming breeding
Corey
Thanks for the info Diane!That is kinda weird how half was dry and half rotted eh?Was your tank kept dry or moist?
There was never anything even remotely wet on the far, rocky side where she made the hammock. At about 3 weeks after she laid the sac, she carried substrate and piled it on the bottom of the hammock. I talked it over with Anastasia and we both wondered if the mother thought conditions were too dry and she was trying to keep the moisture in. When I finally gave up and accepted that there wouldn't be any spiderlings emerging, I pulled the webbing and found the bad eggs and about 3 -1st instar molts and 1 spiderling that had actually molted into 2nd instar and then cured up and died. I think there were only about 10 eggs total. and I tried using some hygroton in the new set-up and I may try using a dedicated humidifier on a timer to simulate morning dew. I've been drafting a few ideas and Corey is sending me some info he has that may alter my line of thinking.
Excellant question. I have always kept mine that way, but apparently there is a monsoon season and simulating it, coupled with extreme temperature change is what triggered sac production in both my Encyocratella olivacea and Monocentropus balfouri. I think perhaps substrate that drains more thoroughly than what is normally used may be necessary. If you think about the coloring on these tarantulas, I can see them hiding in sandy, shale-type rock conditions. Don't know that for fact, just makes sense to me. I don't even know for sure where they are found on the island and the conditions are very diverse from area to area. I 'll just keep trying different things until I find the answer. It's how I do things-always willing to try a new and diverse angle.
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