New keeper with a surprise egg sac!?

AcidbathTX

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 23, 2020
Messages
17
Quick update! Most of the ewl have moved on to n2! So far it looks like the mortality rate is pretty low as well!

This was before removing the bad eggs. How long until they hit first instar?

I have the souffle cups ready to go!

20210103_141856.jpg
 

AcidbathTX

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 23, 2020
Messages
17
Another update:

First, not related but still really cool, my GBB sling decided to molt today and I got to watch the whole thing. Got some cool shots!
20210110_115814.jpg 20210110_114417.jpg

On to the nymphs!

They are doing well, no visible mortalities so far. It looks like the eggs that still hadn't developed into nymphs have all been cannibalized, you can see the little guys digging they're fangs in!

Many of them are starting to darken up, hopefully we will see some molts in the coming weeks! 20210110_141202.jpg
Also, got some better photos of the mother for you all!
20210108_192017.jpg 20210108_190347.jpg
Here's one of her enjoying a gummy worm!
20210106_113958.jpg

I am going away on a quick trip to New Mexico next week, I will post an update sometime soon after I get back!
 

Smotzer

ArachnoGod
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Jan 17, 2020
Messages
5,276
Another update:

First, not related but still really cool, my GBB sling decided to molt today and I got to watch the whole thing. Got some cool shots!
View attachment 371689 View attachment 371690

On to the nymphs!

They are doing well, no visible mortalities so far. It looks like the eggs that still hadn't developed into nymphs have all been cannibalized, you can see the little guys digging they're fangs in!

Many of them are starting to darken up, hopefully we will see some molts in the coming weeks! View attachment 371691
Also, got some better photos of the mother for you all!
View attachment 371692 View attachment 371693
Here's one of her enjoying a gummy worm!
View attachment 371694

I am going away on a quick trip to New Mexico next week, I will post an update sometime soon after I get back!
Congrats on the little slings and the happy mother!!
 

AcidbathTX

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 23, 2020
Messages
17
Just a quick update, It's been a whirlwind past couple of weeks!

The slings have all darkened up, I think they will molt very soon! I left a few of the unhatched eggs in as it looked like they were feeding on them!

I'm going to prep all of the cups this weekend for them so I can be ready to transfer them all.

Anybody have a good way to disinfect fake plants? I ordered a few feet of artificial ivy as the most cost effective way I could find to get a bunch of foliage for the little cups, but they are some no name brand from Amazon and I don't want to introduce some weird chemical or bacteria to these little critters! I read something about soap residue being dangerous to arachnids?

Thanks for all the feedback and wellwishes! 😁 Until next time!

20210129_182220.jpg
 

AcidbathTX

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 23, 2020
Messages
17
Alright, so this will be my final update for the thread!

All of the babies have molted to 2nd or third instar! I only lost three that I found evidence of, not really sure if there was any cannibalization occuring. I do know that the dud eggs pretty much all got eaten.

20210212_120758.jpg
This was a shot taken a couple weeks ago, before this nightmare storm down here in Texas! I have been working basically nonstop since the cold weather hit, but today things finally slowed down!

20210221_225417.jpg

Today, after recieving the news that we were finally suspending emergency operations at work, my wife and I sorted the slings into individual deli cups. We ended up with 54 in total! So our success rate was around 47% up to this point (114 eggs).

There is a shop in Austin, Zookeepers, that has offered to take the ones that are not spoken for as trades/sales, so I will be getting a few new species for the collection soon!

It was incredible to go through this experience! I feel bad about the mother being a wild-caught specimen, but I am grateful that I will be able to contribute captive-raised specimens back into the trade. I feel a lot more comfortable as a keeper, but I am well aware I still have tons to learn. I definitely will not shy away from breeding in the future! In fact, I feel inspired to look for breeding projects with species that are not as well established in the hobby.

I also will not be using 5.5oz deli cups in the future. They are cheap and easy to ventilate, but I really don't like how they deform and pop when taking the lid on and off, it disturbs the slings unnecessarily. I will probably invest in some bulk dram vials next time.

I did find a neat trick for water dishes for the slings, got it from one of Tom Moran's podcasts. I used the caps from 2ml vials and hot glued them to the insides of the cups! They are great, as the size of the cup allows for a huge meniscus of water, nearly the same volume as the little cup! Many of the slings went for the water cups immediately, so I think it was worth the effort to put them in there.

Anyway, thank you all for your support, suggestions and guidance! If anyone does have questions for me, feel free to ask!
 
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