my first home breeding project

[Lycanthrope]

well a shipment of reptiles came into petco tues., with it came a nice lil male A. avicularia. i brought him home last night (after showing all my co-workers there just what makes him a male) and as i type he is filling his palps. tonight i will stick him in with my female, and if he doesnt get munched anyone interested can look for him in the invertsonals in a week or two. what sucks is her enclosure is so webbed up and obstructed, if she does decide to munch him in the right area, i wont be able to stop it. also she stopped eating last week. im hoping its just a nothing fast, and not premolt . anyway hes here now and im not sure if he will survive the wait so im going for it. hopefully he lives to be shipped on to someone else. wish me luck.;P

 

[petitegreeneyes]

Good Luck

 

[Wade]

Do you know when she last molted? This info would help you better guess wether or not she is approaching one or not. Typically, adult females molt APPROXIMATELY once a year. Of course, sometimes they'll molt sooner, and sometimes they'll skip a year enteirely, but knowing the date will help your guess at least be an educated one. There is a slight risk of the male eating the female if she molts while he's in there.

I don't know if you already do it or not, but it's a good idea to keep records on your spiders. Alot of folks have high-tech computer databases they keep on their spiders. Me, I have a decidedly low-tech approach. I have a 3x5 index card taped on each cage on which I write imprortant events..like molts, breeding attempts, eggsacs and major cleanings. I don't bother writing down feedings or routine matienence (some people do, though).

I've bred A. avicularia a number of times. It's pretty easy. Usually, the male and female will cohabitate for quite awhile without aggression. Eventually, though, he usually ends up getting chomped. Hopfully, he's managed to plant his seed before that point. Sometimes, I just put the male into the females container and leave it at that, but you can also put both containers into a larger container and remove the lids of the individual cages, and cover the large container. This gives the male plenty of room to get away from the female if she gets cranky, increasing his odds of survival.

Good luck!

Wade

 

[Garrick]

Hi!

Good luck with it!

I've gotten 4 sacs from separate pairs of A. avics now, and I'm waiting on my 5th. I would say 5th and 6th, but I think what Wade says holds true- the last female may molt soon instead of laying eggs, so keep tabs on her molt cycle.

As far as aggression with this species, I've only witnessed it with cohabiting females (in a large enclosure at a pet store w/ about 50 of them- ugh). Male/female pairs seem to deal with being together for extended periods. I just put the male in there, double the food, and wait a month before taking him out. Honestly, I've NEVER seen them "do the deed", even though I've successfully paired quite a handful. They must do it at night when they're more active.

I've been keeping records and will publish them on my site soon
http://tarantulas.differentdawn.com
but for now suffice it to say that you may wait about a monh to 50 days after mating for a sac, then a month to 60 days for incubation.
Expect anywhere from 20 to 120 s'lings (avg. of my efforts and those of friends is about 60-80 s'lings) I know that's a big spread of numbers, but that's the way it goes. I had two females live side by side, mate, lay eggs, and one had 36 eggs (15 of which were bad) and the other, practically her roommate, had 50 perfect babies, no bad eggs. Both of those were WC from the same locale in Guyana. Early last fall, I had one CB female in the same conditions that made well over 100. Same size, same food, same temps, same type of enclosure.
Could it be season? Male genetics? Female genetics? WC vs. CB? Who knows?

-Garrick

-Garrick

 

[Lycanthrope]

I don't know if you already do it or not, but it's a good idea to keep records on your spiders.

i do keep a record, in a small notebook. each t has its own section which contains species descriptions, personal charictaristics (ie attitude and prey preferences), molt records, current size, and where i acquired them. this pinktoe was my very first t. theres no molt records there on her as i started record after her last molt sometime, but its been around a year. i got her as a 3" juvie with a missing leg. she molted twice in two months, reaching maturity and growing a new leg. so im betting shes in premolt . you think maybe i should just hold out and ship him off? i know you are supposed to wait 3 months after a molt to breed them and i doubt he'll be around by then. sucks i been looking for males for my females and now that i found one my female goes premolt. guess thats how it goes. so what are opinions here, should i ship him out and wait for another male to come along or should i go for it and keep a close watch?

 

[Cronoss]

Good luck!
i just got my first succesful Avic.avic eggsack last Dec.
got 40 healthy babies.
Bryan

Cronoss Exotic Bugs

 

[Wade]

You might want to hold on to him and wait it out, he might survive. Avics seem to do everything a little faster than most other t's, the female may not need the standard three months folowing a molt, either. If she molts soon, it might work.

Wade