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Of course not... but I am taking an Ikea cabinet that is all glass and 5 feet tall and doing such a settup, but more of a sink hole. I can't wait.
I'm A Mother! Again... (D. diadema)
- Thread starter AbraxasComplex
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Of course not... but I am taking an Ikea cabinet that is all glass and 5 feet tall and doing such a settup, but more of a sink hole. I can't wait.
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Here's my female after living with the male for about 2 months.
Fingers crossed for eggs...she seems pretty plump.
hunting mode photo taken about 2 months ago...not so plump
Fingers crossed for eggs...she seems pretty plump.
hunting mode photo taken about 2 months ago...not so plump
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I waaaaant ooone! They are adorable, in a creepy kinda way... 
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No...D. diadema is the most common. They are hard to tell apart...but almost all of them in the hobby are D. diadema.
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They have slightly different colouring and patterns, and a slight size difference. I have yet to have anyone tell me which is which and give me evidence. Everyone else has conflicting info. I steer clear of that issue till I can actually find scientific literature on the two species.
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It is no problem to distinguish the difference between these two. The difference is pretty much clear in the tibial spins of pedipalps.
Check this: http://research.amnh.org/scicomp/pdfs/wheeler/Prendini_etal2005.pdf
And yes, the most D. variegatum in hobby indeed D. diadema.
Check this: http://research.amnh.org/scicomp/pdfs/wheeler/Prendini_etal2005.pdf
And yes, the most D. variegatum in hobby indeed D. diadema.
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I love the last pic Ollie...really shows how they put those tactile appendages to use.
Thanks for sharing...these are such under-rated animals.
Thanks for sharing...these are such under-rated animals.
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Thankyou for that link... and it mentions D. diadema are also found in rainforest habitats as well as caves. So my cages are an example of only one of their natural habitats.
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Wow, very interesting! Still don't think they are found out as shown in your setup. I'd imagine they'd be found inside of hollow dead trees, logs, or perhaps what is left after a tree is killed by a strangler fig and begins to decompose.
But your breeding success shows they like your setup and it looks a lot better than mine!(a few cork pieces, but the cool thing is that they hide on the side facing out so I can always observe them easily, unless they are out hunting in the middle of the tank...so its the opposite of what usually happens). Btw, do you think my female looks gravid at all?
But your breeding success shows they like your setup and it looks a lot better than mine!(a few cork pieces, but the cool thing is that they hide on the side facing out so I can always observe them easily, unless they are out hunting in the middle of the tank...so its the opposite of what usually happens). Btw, do you think my female looks gravid at all?
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Well my cage does have cave areas built into the background, thin cracks between and behind pieces of wood that they use, and so on. I can only find them if they are actually mobile at night, otherwise there are hiding spots I know nothing about.
And for your female, take a picture of her side, then I may be able to tell. As she matures in her pregnancy she will start to "bubble" with dark discolouration on the bottom of her abdomen.
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I want to, after reading Mikhail's like to the AMNH paper try a cave setup with these critters...LOL! Also after reading the paper where it mentions rock crevices I can see your setup mimicing a moist rock/wood outcropping? It also makes me wonder if breeding failures such as egg abortions might be due to hobbyists unknowingly breeding different species together. So it'd be preferable to get your breeders from one source, or buy them at about the same time.
What do you mean by bubble? The bottom of her abdomen is quite dark, but I'm not sure what it originally looked like. Will be tough to get a photo. Have you ever seen yours as plump as some of the ones shown in that paper?
What do you mean by bubble? The bottom of her abdomen is quite dark, but I'm not sure what it originally looked like. Will be tough to get a photo. Have you ever seen yours as plump as some of the ones shown in that paper?
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Yes I have... the females who are not gravid or are in the begining stages of pregnancy will have a smooth appearance to their abdomen, with usual colouration. As time progresses, it starts to darken, and later on begins to have expanding localized round protusions.
I had one female abort her egg sack once... I believe this was due to putting two gravid females together in one tank. It could be possible when females are gravid, they will seek out unoccupied areas, and if populations are too high they abandon their eggs as an instinctual response to population control and prey availability.
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Any photos of a non pregnant Damon's abdomen She actually looks a bit slimmer now and the underside is grey with darkish markings.
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I want one of these! They are cute
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I believe d.variegata is a bit larger, though not too much of a differece.
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I believe these are synonymous.
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There is actually a slight difference in patterning on their body. I believe someone posted a link showing a large amount of african species, all of which are nearly identical.