Hunting For Tarantulas

[TiberiuSahly]

If I'm not mistaking they look like Ahaetula or something from the Trimeresurus complex. Just a wild guess, let's see what the owner says!

 

[micheldied]

sweet pics!
and very nice trapdoor.

 

[magicianANG]

Some of our very large tarantulas are kept here.

The top row houses many Asian Forest Scorpions ( fully matured ones ). The middle row houses
the rare Trapdoors and the bottom the Chilobrachys sp.

Extremely large tarantulas and snakes are kept here.

And finally, to answer the question about the snake. It is a Pope's Pit Viper
(Trimeresurus popeorum) You guys are so fantasic. From a photo that doesn't
show a clear image ( of the snake ) and you can name it!!!!

This is the snake we are talking about. ( photo below ) - Photo by Andrew Ang.

And here's another one.

Will be back soon. Warmest regards to all of you.

 

[lilmoonrabbit]

wow, your tarantula room is amazing!!!

 

[micheldied]

i love the snake.

 

[TiberiuSahly]

Nice species! A friend of mine had a Trimeresurus popeiorum (Popeia popeiorum) some time ago. Truly fascinating, it was a real jewl! Unfortunatelly, it died of some sort of respiratory infection or that is what we could make of it .
It kept holding its mouth open before it eventually died. Guess there were problems with cage ventilation...
Best wishes for your animals, you have a huge collection! Hope to see more!

Regards!

 

[magicianANG]

Liphistius desultor

You're right about the respiratory problems,TiberiuSahly. And it is quite difficult to treat them.
Here's another picture of a Wragler's Pit Viper. I caught it
while hunting for tarantulas in the tropical rainforest.

Now let's get back to spider hunting.
This is a typical view of the forest. We are still on the edge of the forest
and we'll be going deep into it soon.
That's Dr John taking the lead.

Dr John is checking out a Chilobrachys sp. burrow. ( Photo below )

Along the way we came across this - a trapdoor.
If you don't look very carefully, you'll miss it.
The Liphistius desultor is a master of the art of camouflage.
The 'door' blends in perfectly with the surrounding landscape

More coming soon. Warmest regards.
Tommy Ang

 

[micheldied]

You're right about the respiratory problems,TiberiuSahly. And it is quite difficult to treat them.
Here's another picture of a Wragler's Pit Viper. I caught it
while hunting for tarantulas in the tropical rainforest.

Now let's get back to spider hunting.
This is a typical view of the forest. We are still on the edge of the forest
and we'll be going deep into it soon.
That's Dr John taking the lead.

Dr John is checking out a Chilobrachys sp. burrow. ( Photo below )

Along the way we came across this - a trapdoor.
If you don't look very carefully, you'll miss it.
The Liphistius desultor is a master of the art of camouflage.
The 'door' blends in perfectly with the surrounding landscape

More coming soon. Warmest regards.
Tommy Ang

nice pics.
i see the door...i think...is the spider in the pic?

 

[magicianANG]

"i see the door...i think...is the spider in the pic?" - micheldied

The door is right in the middle of the photo. If you look carefully, you'll see trip lines radiating from the edge of "the door" outwards. These trip lines allow the spider to sense vibrations of anything that crosses them and the spider can know whether it is food or a threat. I know because I've tried putting my fingers on these lines and nothing happens. When an insect walks across it - ZAP!!!! - the insect is gone. Liphistius desultor are very fast creatures.

Here's another photo of the trapdoor. Can you see the trip lines?

Imagine you are facing a wall and you are about 6 feet away from it.
Try to see if you can spot the trapdoor.

Now we walk a little bit closer. Can you see it?

This is it.

By for now.
Tommy Ang

 

[barabootom]

I love the habitat photos. Great fun. Thanks for sharing.

 

[jbm150]

"i see the door...i think...is the spider in the pic?" - micheldied

The door is right in the middle of the photo. If you look carefully, you'll see trip lines radiating from the edge of "the door" outwards. These trip lines allow the spider to sense vibrations of anything that crosses them and the spider can know whether it is food or a threat. I know because I've tried putting my fingers on these lines and nothing happens. When an insect walks across it - ZAP!!!! - the insect is gone. Liphistius desultor are very fast creatures.

Here's another photo of the trapdoor. Can you see the trip lines?

Imagine you are facing a wall and you are about 6 feet away from it.
Try to see if you can spot the trapdoor.

Now we walk a little bit closer. Can you see it?

This is it.

By for now.
Tommy Ang

Very cool. You might try a piece of grass, I used to use that as a kid. Seemed to fool 'em well

Whats really striking is how almost perfectly circular the web lines are. Thanks for the pics!

 

[micheldied]

amazingly well hidden.

 

[magicianANG]

Liphistius desultor

Look at this "trapdoor". It was found in very harsh conditions. The area where it was found was sandy, dry and rocky.

And here's a MALE Liphistius desultor.

And here's a new addition to my collection.

 

[jreb29]

very cool pics!

 

[magicianANG]

Thanks, jreb29.

Today we are going to open a "door" of the Liphistius desultor.

Photo 1 shows the actual trapdoor in the wild.

Photo 2 shows yours truly slowly and delicately opening the flap of the door.

---and OPEN SESAME!!!!
The door is finally open. The burrow is some 20 inches deep.
It is finely lined with a layer of web and it is very smooth.

Bye.
Visit my blog:http://tarantulasandothers.blogspot.com/

 

[micheldied]

did you get the spider out?

 

[seanbond]

wheres the asian earth tigers, halpopelma's, ornithoctonus sp?

 

[magicianANG]

Cobalt Blue Tarantula

"did you get the spider out? - micheldied"

The Liphistius desultor was never taken out because it's one of the very few big ones around in the wild. It must be given a chance to propagate.

And now let's look at some of the Ts in my collection, starting with the Cobalt Blue Tarantula ( Haplopelma lividum ). This T digs a deep and almost vertical burrow and stays at the bottom most of the time. It makes its appearance during the night when all is quiet. All my 14 Cobalt Blues behave in the same way. The only way to photograph them is to relocate them to some manageable surroundings. If you like Ts which you seldom see but you know it is there, then Haplopelma lividum should be in your collection.

 

[micheldied]

"did you get the spider out? - micheldied"

The Liphistius desultor was never taken out because it's one of the very few big ones around in the wild. It must be given a chance to propagate.

And now let's look at some of the Ts in my collection, starting with the Cobalt Blue Tarantula ( Haplopelma lividum ). This T digs a deep and almost vertical burrow and stays at the bottom most of the time. It makes its appearance during the night when all is quiet. All my 14 Cobalt Blues behave in the same way. The only way to photograph them is to relocate them to some manageable surroundings. If you like Ts which you seldom see but you know it is there, then Haplopelma lividum should be in your collection.

very nice pics.
my H lividum doesnt even come out of his burrow at night...:wall:
i have stick food into the burrow and then theyre pulled down the the dirty depths...

 

[magicianANG]

Here are some photos of our Malaysian Earth Tiger.

This specimen has a leg-span of 7 inches.

Now for a closer look.

More photos coming up soon. Bye.
Visit my blog: http://tarantulasandothers.blogspot.com/