Matttoadman
Arachnoknight
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2016
- Messages
- 216
The species is a mess, I have a wild caught adult female "blue form" who is blue all year round, even when in premolt but you have others that change color as they go through the molt cycle. I don't plan on breeding mine as the variability of what is considered the species makes me uncomfortable unless I get a wc male from the same area she was collected from. Mine even "hibernates" and seals up her burrow for 6 months every year I've had her, she is rather strange.Great choice! You won't be disappointed with it. Remember, they like deep substrate! And keep it mildly humid, that's when it will be the most active.
These little guys are some of the most active spiders I've ever kept. Always doing something. My girl has claimed many water dishes - not sure when she keeps putting them, but they keep disappearing.
Concerning color: they go from a purple hue, then to a blue-gray hue, and then finally to a washed out black as adults. They never lose those knee stripes, though.
The species is a mess, I have a wild caught adult female "blue form" who is blue all year round, even when in premolt but you have others that change color as they go through the molt cycle. I don't plan on breeding mine as the variability of what is considered the species makes me uncomfortable unless I get a wc male from the same area she was collected from.
Hence why there is a lot of confusion and my own reservations about breeding mine. Many people buy them and expect a blue spider, when in reality they can get a variety of colors. Labeling them as different forms is useful to a point but what's stopping someone from selling slings as a different form, they grow slow enough to where it would take years to notice.I'm aware of at least 3 color forms of seemani: blue from lower Central America, coffee brown from Honduras/Nicaragua, and battleship grey from Guatemala. The grey Guatemalan was the most common seemani form in the pet trade in the 1970's, also the smallest, but I haven't seen it since.
All of these color forms have the same leg striping and salmon pink underside and spinnerets. They could be subspecies or separate species.
Hence why there is a lot of confusion and my own reservations about breeding mine. Many people buy them and expect a blue spider, when in reality they can get a variety of colors. Labeling them as different forms is useful to a point but what's stopping someone from selling slings as a different form, they grow slow enough to where it would take years to notice.
Thats a very nice specimen there. When I had one years ago I barely saw it. It was the browny Nicaragua colourform. This blue one is sweeeet thoughView attachment 221663 View attachment 221662 View attachment 221661 View attachment 221660
Here is my Aphonopelma seemani juvenile. It's nice to finally have a t!
When I said variety of colors I mean that someone who buys an A.seemani may be expecting a blue adult but may be getting one of the other forms as some people don't label their forms when they sell them. I've seen one male before but I was not sure where he came from so I passed on him.I think these seemani color forms are isolated geographically, and could well be different species. You're not going to get multiple colors from one sac. BTW, males tend to be scarce with seemani.
Males are scarce? I would assume that means the collectors have learned how to find a females hole? Perhaps males inhabit other places not frequented by collectors?