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- Sep 1, 2002
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Well, I wasn't sure how they were going to react to each other when first introduced. So I introduced them to each other OUTSIDE of the cage so that I could break them up if needed. There was no way I'd be able to separate them in the female's cage--there are just way too many plants in there. Both couples got along very well upon their first get-together and they are cohabitating--a tank for each couple, of course. Both couples are mating constantly too.
I've never done this with any other species before and I don't think I'd recommend it to anyone else. It was kind of an experiment (not scientific) and kind of just me being afraid of losing the males. I doubt it would ever work with anything other than pinktoe species anyways. I do, however, let my tarantulas go where they please when they mate. If they want to come out of the cage and continue their business, I allow it. Unless a couple is living together, I will leave the cage top off during mating so the male can bolt if he needs to. If you can see in those ultra-blurry pics of my A. avicularia mating at the beginning of the thread, they were mating all over the place! In the aquarium, on the floor, on other enclosures, etc. It was pretty fun to watch!
And as far as the "spooked" issue goes, I didn't have any trouble with that. When they started mating, it was like they didn't notice anything going on around them. I had set up a few barriers to keep them near but they were unnecessary with both couples. One couple mated for SEVERAL minutes in the same place and the female practically ended up on her back--she was totally submissive. Again, I doubt this would work with most species and I'm not recommending this to be the best way to mate. I wouldn't try it with terrestrials, burrowers, or most arboreals. But it worked with these 2 couples.
-Kelly
