Growth diary and photo thread for Ornithoctoninae sp. "Vietnam silver"

[klawfran3]

ORNI01 molted the other day! I haven't had a chance to sex the molt since I've been moving into a new place, but it seems to be at a nice 2". It's a little hard to see the spider since it's burrowed, but it appears to finally start showing a little adult color. The yellow setae are now a bit orangey, and it appears to be turning shinier/silver. I hope that's not just wishful thinking! Here's a photo of the molt (unopened and unsexed) and the best photos it's letting me get. I just got a new phone too so hopefully photos from here on out will be better.

 

[SpookySpooder]

Rehoused my sling and got a few pics during the process

 

[klawfran3]

Rehoused my sling and got a few pics during the process

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Holy crap! What a spider! I wish I could change the name to an appreciation post because the photos being posted are boosting my serotonin tenfold. These guys are seriously underrated.

 

[SpookySpooder]

Tell me about it... I just got the chance to purchase 3 of these around 2" DLS for $110 each and I almost bought them all on the spot.

I'm very happy with the one I have, but it's solo and I do want to try to breed it in a couple of years... which means I have to buy more slings sooner than later right?

It's a real mental struggle. Been wrestling with it for days now.

 

[TastesLikePanda]

Holy crap! What a spider! I wish I could change the name to an appreciation post because the photos being posted are boosting my serotonin tenfold. These guys are seriously underrated.

Its not that they're underrated, they were just really expensive until recently.

I picked my sling up for £40, but a year ago I still saw them for over a hundred.
I expect people to start picking them up a lot now that the prices dropped and soon will probably be as popular as a pulchripes or vietnam blue

 

[klawfran3]

New update!

ORNI02 molted this morning and hucked the exuvia out of the burrow, but then went back in before I could get a photo. No matter! I can finally do a side by side comparison to show what I mean when I say they look drastically different. In this photo, on the left is the molt of 01 and on the right is 02. You can see how much brighter yellow 01 is than the other even though they're the exact same size, which is why I've been so curious as to what their sexes are.
Males as adults are a brown while females are the bright silver and orange. My hope is that they might potentially show sexual dimorphism even as juveniles, which is super uncommon if not almost unheard of in tarantulas. But also I know how unlikely that is, so I'm hesitant to say it and I know 2 individuals don't make an actual sample size. Either way though, evenif it's just individual variation, they're both still stunning.



I'll attempt to sex the exuvia when I can, I just don't have a great setup and can't get good enough photos for ID. But I'll try my best!

 

[SpookySpooder]

Nice! I'm anxiously awaiting my next molt, my juvie is definitely sexable at this size, just haven't had a single intact molt. They love chewing it up in the burrow.

Hopefully this new set up allows me to retrieve the next one.

 

[klawfran3]

Nice! I'm anxiously awaiting my next molt, my juvie is definitely sexable at this size, just haven't had a single intact molt. They love chewing it up in the burrow.

Hopefully this new set up allows me to retrieve the next one.

Good luck! Post photos and let us know how it looks!

 

[SpookySpooder]

Thanks, I'm hoping it's a female, but I'm waiting for that moment it molts and turns completely brown.

I find what you noted about the evuia interesting, I haven't noticed any brown or red tones in the setae of mine but again I haven't had any intact molts.

 

[klawfran3]

Thanks, I'm hoping it's a female, but I'm waiting for that moment it molts and turns completely brown.

I find what you noted about the evuia interesting, I haven't noticed any brown or red tones in the setae of mine but again I haven't had any intact molts.

Yeah, when I got 02 I thought for a second it was the wrong species, it looked that different. But also the photos people have posted here are all similar in colors so maybe I got an aberrant individual? Only time will tell I guess

 

[MariaLewisia]

My sling just moulted today to around 2 inches, and the previous moult looked like it could possibly be female judging from the microscope pics. I'll be looking at this new one in an hour or so so let's see if I can't get a good pic of some spermathecae this time.
Last moult:

Ornithoctoninae sp. Vietnam Silver (1.5")

• MariaLewisia
• Jul 4, 2023
• 2
• ornithoctoninae spermatheca

This moult has me a bit stumped. Are those spermathecae?

1.5"/3.8 cm
x250 magnification

 

[MariaLewisia]

0.1 Ornithoctoninae sp. Vietnam Silver (2")

• MariaLewisia
• Aug 19, 2023
• ornithoctoninae sp. vietnam silver spermatheca

Sorry for the picture quality. The uterus externus was giving me a hard time so I had to pull it...

Well well well! I am over the moon! She's a little lady! Though the uterus externus was rolled up super tight so I had to simultaneously hold the spermathecae visible with a tiny sewing needle with one hand and try to take a pic with my phone with the other. Very fiddly. Here's another pic. Not much better but you can clearly see the spermathecae.

 

[TastesLikePanda]

Rehoused my sling and got a few pics during the process

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Damn, I kinda wish they didnt turn fully silver as adults cos it really pops with the golden legs

 

[SpookySpooder]

Damn, I kinda wish they didnt turn fully silver as adults cos it really pops with the golden legs

Ditto! If they kept the golden setae I bet they would be much more popular, at least as popular as Harpactira pulchripes!

I have been purposely feeding mine smaller feeders so it will exhibit hunting behavior instead of just sitting inside all the time.


I managed to lure it out by gently tapping the enclosure with a paint brush.



It really wanted to locate the source of the tapping.


And it did, but it was not pleased that I had nothing for it.


Does anyone know if you can vent sex this species? I'm checking every day like a hawk waiting for the next molt.

 

[MariaLewisia]

Ditto! If they kept the golden setae I bet they would be much more popular, at least as popular as Harpactira pulchripes!

I can't wait for my girl to grow up and become full on silver. At the same time, I can't deny the contrast between the steel blue silver and golden orange is spectacular. I do believe the colours of O. sp. 'Hon-Sej' however stays quite close to the sling/juvenile 'Vietnam Silver' colours, even as adults. I don't have any for myself though so I can neither confirm nor deny.

 

[SpookySpooder]

I can't wait for my girl to grow up and become full on silver. At the same time, I can't deny the contrast between the steel blue silver and golden orange is spectacular. I do believe the colours of O. sp. 'Hon-Sej' however stays quite close to the sling/juvenile 'Vietnam Silver' colours, even as adults. I don't have any for myself though so I can neither confirm nor deny.

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Yeah the contrast between the silvery blue sheen on the carapace and the golden tint in the setae really does it for me. This photo is exactly what I like to see when I look at this species!

Because of what you mentioned, sp. 'Ho Chi Minh' and 'Hon-Sej' are on my very shortlist. Expect to see slings as soon as I find a deal that my poor impulse control can't resist.

 

[TastesLikePanda]

I can't wait for my girl to grow up and become full on silver. At the same time, I can't deny the contrast between the steel blue silver and golden orange is spectacular. I do believe the colours of O. sp. 'Hon-Sej' however stays quite close to the sling/juvenile 'Vietnam Silver' colours, even as adults. I don't have any for myself though so I can neither confirm nor deny.

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Seen those on sale once or twice but neither time was in my budget or mind unfortunately, but i am hoping to pick one up sooner or later maybe at an invert show next year

Also my sling also turned mostly silver though with the molt it also got more shy and now I cant breathe towards the enclosure without it retreating into the hole so here it is through the lid.

 

[MariaLewisia]

Yeah the contrast between the silvery blue sheen on the carapace and the golden tint in the setae really does it for me. This photo is exactly what I like to see when I look at this species!

Because of what you mentioned, sp. 'Ho Chi Minh' and 'Hon-Sej' are on my very shortlist. Expect to see slings as soon as I find a deal that my poor impulse control can't resist.

Lol oh no. I believe I owe your poor wallet an apology. As much as I want one, the 'Hon-Sej' in particular, they are crazy expensive even over here in the EU. I can't even imagine what you'd have to pay to get one in the US.

 

[SpookySpooder]

3" AF Hon-Sej are often 800+

I go for slings. I've seen them for 100+ so if I see a few at 60-80 you can bet I'm gonna get them.

The trio of Vietnam Silver's I found last month is still calling my name...

 

[SpookySpooder]

It's a real mental struggle. Been wrestling with it for days now.

Just so you know, I lost the battle.

I now have 4 Ornithoctoninae sp. Vietnam Silver, all around 2-3", all unsexed.

Expect some major updates to come as they molt, I identify their sex, and rehouse them.