I do not envy breeders...

[Wenzer]

... but I have to commend those of you with the patience to sort and separate every single baby of an egg sac!!

I'm helping another local keeper, who had a surprise egg sac from a T. albo she got just a few months ago (I assume it was originally wild caught, unfortunately), to separate these slings into deli cups. 42 down, I assume at least 60-80 more to go I'll be able to keep a couple of slings, too, so I'm hoping for a female since my own T. albo is looking male, and I'd like to have a curly or two to keep around even longer than him they're still one of my favorite species even if they're super common!

 

[TechnoGeek]

Another major chore is feeding and watering hundreds or even thousands of spiders until they sell. Which is why I personally don't breed or plan to breed any species unless it satisfies 2 conditions:

1. It's hard to find or expensive.
2. It's on my top 10 list.

But then again I'm not in the business of breeding or selling pets, like that's not what I do for a living. My goal is making sure that the species that I love will always be available for a reasonable price, not to sustain or grow a business. Plus, if it's hard to find, it's much easier to distribute the hundreds of slings that you'll end up with.

So I have nothing but mad respect for the people who are making sure that even inexpensive and readily available Ts (like T albo and L parahybana) remain inexpensive and readily available.

 

[Liquifin]

As much as I love the T. albo. They are extremely saturated in the tarantula market.

 

[The Spider House]

... but I have to commend those of you with the patience to sort and separate every single baby of an egg sac!!

I'm helping another local keeper, who had a surprise egg sac from a T. albo she got just a few months ago (I assume it was originally wild caught, unfortunately), to separate these slings into deli cups. 42 down, I assume at least 60-80 more to go I'll be able to keep a couple of slings, too, so I'm hoping for a female since my own T. albo is looking male, and I'd like to have a curly or two to keep around even longer than him they're still one of my favorite species even if they're super common!

View attachment 449396
View attachment 449397

My last T albo sac was 404
Recently had 2 x versi sacs about 300 when added together

 

[cold blood]

... but I have to commend those of you with the patience to sort and separate every single baby of an egg sac!!

I'm helping another local keeper, who had a surprise egg sac from a T. albo she got just a few months ago (I assume it was originally wild caught, unfortunately), to separate these slings into deli cups. 42 down, I assume at least 60-80 more to go I'll be able to keep a couple of slings, too, so I'm hoping for a female since my own T. albo is looking male, and I'd like to have a curly or two to keep around even longer than him they're still one of my favorite species even if they're super common!

View attachment 449396
View attachment 449397

.Those are first ijnstar, they should not be separated yet, at this point they should still all be in an incubator until they next molt.

 

[SpookySpooder]

Looks like they already did it. Is development slowed or mortality higher if you separate them before 2i?

 

[NMTs]

Looks like they already did it. Is development slowed or mortality higher if you separate them before 2i?

Just doubles the work. Why separate them twice? Plus, they'll benefit from higher humidity in the incubator.

 

[Wenzer]

.Those are first ijnstar, they should not be separated yet, at this point they should still all be in an incubator until they next molt.

Thank you for this info, it is a bit saddening now realizing it is too early for them to be separated I'll let the owner know about this though, seemed like there was a lot of confidence with the instructions I was given, like they knew what to do/what they wanted to do... I hope those babies will be okay

Edit: I informed the owner and also linked them here to the forums.

At this point, I'm assuming it's just a "wait and see" type of situation?
I was told the egg sac itself was pulled from mom in late May/early June, but I don't know much else as far as how "old" the egg sac was itself, or when the babies changed from EWL to 1i. Is it wishful thinking to hope these babies are near molting into 2i anyways?

 

[cold blood]

Looks like they already did it. Is development slowed or mortality higher if you separate them before 2i?

absolutely

I was told the egg sac itself was pulled from mom in late May/early June

I pulled a sac of the same species in early april, maybe late march...mine are alll still in an incubator.

Is it wishful thinking to hope these babies are near molting into 2i anyways

it is...theyre not close...a solid month away at least, by my estimation.

 

[Wenzer]

I pulled a sac of the same species in early april, maybe late march...mine are alll still in an incubator.

it is...theyre not close...a solid month away at least, by my estimation.

Do you think it would make any difference to the chances of healthy/surviving slings to put them all back into an incubator, or is it likely too late? They are all indeed separated individually now.

 

[TechnoGeek]

I pulled a sac of the same species in early april, maybe late march...mine are alll still in an incubator.

Unrelated but, is pulling the egg sac necessary? What if you leave it with the mom and remove the slings when they're 2nd instar?

 

[SpookySpooder]

Unrelated but, is pulling the egg sac necessary? What if you leave it with the mom and remove the slings when they're 2nd instar?

I believe people pull them to lessen the risk the female might eat them, as well as make it easier to deal with hundreds of slings before they pop into mom's enclosure.

 

[l4nsky]

Thank you for this info, it is a bit saddening now realizing it is too early for them to be separated I'll let the owner know about this though, seemed like there was a lot of confidence with the instructions I was given, like they knew what to do/what they wanted to do... I hope those babies will be okay

Edit: I informed the owner and also linked them here to the forums.

At this point, I'm assuming it's just a "wait and see" type of situation?
I was told the egg sac itself was pulled from mom in late May/early June, but I don't know much else as far as how "old" the egg sac was itself, or when the babies changed from EWL to 1i. Is it wishful thinking to hope these babies are near molting into 2i anyways?

Some people have successfully incubated 1i slings to 2i on medium like coco coir in the past with mixed results. It's not ideal, but what's done is done. IMHO, if you want to give them a better chance you can place their smaller enclosures in a larger, sealed enclosure (or enclosures) with an open water source for evaporation to help prevent them from drying out until they hit 2i. I wouldn't stack them though if they only have top ventilation.

Unrelated but, is pulling the egg sac necessary? What if you leave it with the mom and remove the slings when they're 2nd instar?

Lol honestly I never understood why anyone would consider it except in the most extreme situations or for some very specific species.

I mean you have to ask yourself, are you fine with never knowing how many were in the eggsack and are cool with never knowing the answers to:

• Did some escape?
• Was there cannibalism?
• Was there ever a large loss that could've been prevented?

Or are you looking forward to separating out mom from hundreds of slings instead of just sneakily grabbing one eggsack and you're cool with any potential losses during this process.

Or is your idea of fun collecting all of those slings, potentially from a burrow you need to carefully excavate as mom partially collapsed it during her capture.

Or can you resist disturbing the female for another month plus while you wait for the 2i slings or are cool with the female potentially not eating and losing strength for an additional month past when it's necessary in captivity.

If you like the sound of any of the above, just let mom open the eggsack by herself lol. To me, that ALL sounds like a nightmare scenario in my collection lol

 

[SpookySpooder]

Thank you for the explanation.

Was a bit confused at the tone at first, but then the sarcasm came through and hit.

 

[Wenzer]

Some people have successfully incubated 1i slings to 2i on medium like coco coir in the past with mixed results. It's not ideal, but what's done is done. IMHO, if you want to give them a better chance you can place their smaller enclosures in a larger, sealed enclosure (or enclosures) with an open water source for evaporation to help prevent them from drying out until they hit 2i. I wouldn't stack them though if they only have top ventilation.

They only have top ventilation, yes. Do you think it would be better to take them all back out and make an incubator for them? Or would you say it might just be better to set them up the way you described and not try to move them all again?

 

[l4nsky]

They only have top ventilation, yes. Do you think it would be better to take them all back out and make an incubator for them? Or would you say it might just be better to set them up the way you described and not try to move them all again?

Dealer's choice really, there's risks either way. I told you what I would do in their shoes, but I'd also be observant and willing to adapt at the first signs of trouble.

 

[Wenzer]

Dealer's choice really, there's risks either way. I told you what I would do in their shoes, but I'd also be observant and willing to adapt at the first signs of trouble.

That's understandable. Thank you for the advice, though! The slings are still temporarily in my care so I'll check in with her about what she'd prefer. They left for vacation this afternoon so I will have them for the next week, but it looks like I won't be following the instructions she left for me... I hope I can improve the slings situation/chances for survival at least.

 

[cold blood]

Do you think it would make any difference to the chances of healthy/surviving slings to put them all back into an incubator, or is it likely too late? They are all indeed separated individually now.

of course it would be best to put them back in the incubator....I thought i was pretty clear on that.

Unrelated but, is pulling the egg sac necessary? What if you leave it with the mom and remove the slings when they're 2nd instar?

necessary, no, but doing so negates all kinds of potential bad things from happening. Pull a sac and;

1. Mom cant eat it.

2. It cant dry out.

3. It cant go bad...often there is a bad egg or two...which we cannot see inside a sac....one single egg goes bad and you leave it and it will lead to many more, potentially destroying the entire sac.

4. It makes containing the slings simple, instead of trying to round up an entire sac once they have spread out in the enclosure.

I'm sure if I thought about it I could find more benefits to pulling a sac.

 

[Wenzer]

of course it would be best to put them back in the incubator....I thought i was pretty clear on that.

I see, thank you. When you said "at this point they should still all be in an incubator" I interpreted it as a generalized statement, so I wasn't sure if the recommendation was different since they've been moved around/out of the incubator

I'm preparing to set one up now. She had them in a kritter keeper with some kind of folded cloth when she first brought them over, but from what I'm reading that is not a good set up for incubating, so I'm making sure I set something proper up instead.

 

[TechnoGeek]

of course it would be best to put them back in the incubator....I thought i was pretty clear on that.

necessary, no, but doing so negates all kinds of potential bad things from happening. Pull a sac and;

1. Mom cant eat it.

2. It cant dry out.

3. It cant go bad...often there is a bad egg or two...which we cannot see inside a sac....one single egg goes bad and you leave it and it will lead to many more, potentially destroying the entire sac.

4. It makes containing the slings simple, instead of trying to round up an entire sac once they have spread out in the enclosure.

I'm sure if I thought about it I could find more benefits to pulling a sac.

About number 3, how do you see it even after pulling the egg sac? Do you like open it right away in the incubator?