Grammostola sp. maule egg sac

bugguy1

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
May 26, 2003
Messages
118
When I went to feed everyone yesterday I found that my female Grammostola sp. maule had made an egg sac. I have never had a tarantula make an egg sac and am unsure of what to do. Any suggestions?
 

Sana

Arachnoprince
Joined
Oct 26, 2014
Messages
1,139
I'm going to guess that you didn't pair your tarantula since the egg sac sounds unexpected. Is it a WC by chance? If it isn't then you have a phantom sac. I don't remember the explanation as to why tarantulas do this occasionally but it does happen. Phantom sacs are unfertilized so the eggs won't develop. They won't do anything honestly. I think generally tarantulas that lay phantom sacs end up eating them. This isn't something that I have experienced yet but I would just leave it be if it were me. If you have a WC female that's another can of worms.
 

Sana

Arachnoprince
Joined
Oct 26, 2014
Messages
1,139
Well that's exciting! When did she lay the sac? There still isn't a guarantee that it is a good sac but I would approach it from the assumption that it is in your position. I'm pretty new to breeding so I haven't perfected my methods yet. I would think that this species would be pretty similar to other Grammostolas. You can check the breeding reports here to get a better idea of timing and expected number of eggs. I'm working with another Grammostola species at the moment and I'm intending to pull the sac around 30 days from when it was laid. That seems to be about the average for most folks. Care for mom while she has the sac is pretty simple. She isn't likely to eat so don't worry about feeding her. Most folks remove the water dish while there is a sac so that mom can't decide the sac needs to go swimming. I have removed the water dish from mine and I'm keeping one corner of the substrate lightly damp in case moisture is needed. Right at the moment all mom needs is to be left alone with some peace and quiet to do her thing.

The next step is the one that is a little more involved for me. You'll want to build an incubator. Generally when a sac is pulled around 30 days you will have eggs at the EWL (eggs with legs) stage. Once you have the sac you will want to put it into the incubator to continue development. Some rare folks will let a sac hatch with mom. The downsides to that approach are that mom might eat the slings and that you will suddenly have lots of very tiny spiders that are most likely about to escape through the ventilation on mom's enclosure. I'm avoiding having that ever happen. For information on building an incubator, search this site. There are a lot of different methods used. My personal favorite is @louise f's incubator setup. She has videos on how she builds hers. I'll scrounge up a couple links for you.

Once you have your eggs in the incubator you keep an eye on the incubator so it doesn't dry out and just let them develop. Your EWLs will molt to 1st instar (1i) and then again to 2nd instar (2i). At 2i it will be time to separate them and start feeding. I'll scoot off and find those links for you. BRB.
 

bugguy1

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
May 26, 2003
Messages
118
Thanks so much Sana! The sac was made just within the last few days. So I will plan on removing it at the beginning of September.
 

Sana

Arachnoprince
Joined
Oct 26, 2014
Messages
1,139
This is a thread that I have going from a little while back. @louise f has links to her videos several pages in.
http://arachnoboards.com/threads/first-breeding-loan.282631/

This one is a thread of different styles and methods for incubators.
http://arachnoboards.com/threads/learning-to-build-an-incubator.282036/

I wasn't able to locate a breeding report for sp. "maule". I'm pretty sure there are a couple folks around here that have worked with them. Hopefully one of them will be summoned to the thread soon.
 

Sana

Arachnoprince
Joined
Oct 26, 2014
Messages
1,139
Thanks so much Sana! The sac was made just within the last few days. So I will plan on removing it at the beginning of September.
I do my best. There are a bunch of breeders here with a ton more experience then me. I'll try to keep checking back in with you and see how things are going. Feel free to summon me back or PM me if you need something and I miss it.
 

Sana

Arachnoprince
Joined
Oct 26, 2014
Messages
1,139
I really have to ask, is that you feeding a giraffe in your picture?
 

Kymura

Arachnoknight
Joined
Oct 1, 2015
Messages
182
Please keep us updated as things progress :) kind of exciting as I plan on never breeding, so I'm sort of enjoying it vicariously ;)
 

Sana

Arachnoprince
Joined
Oct 26, 2014
Messages
1,139
It is! I work at a zoo!
Are the animals in the zoo tame enough that you can pet them? I would guess from the picture that at least some of them are pretty adjusted to the humans working with them.

How's the egg sac homework going?
 
Top