Pterinochilus murinus mating underway!

[rknralf]

Well, I decided to introduce the male into my females tanks this evening. I got home from work about 5:30 P.M. and removed the uneaten crickets from her tank and placed him inside. He is presently sitting on the screen top facing away from the female's retreat. Time now is 6:30 P.M.
I will keep you all posted through the night as things occur. I will also post pictures if possible.
Here are some pics:
Picture of the Pterinochilus male on the screen top:
http://members.cox.net/rknralf/tarantula/mating/MatingPic001.jpg
Picture of the female in her retreat
http://members.cox.net/rknralf/tarantula/mating/MatingPic002.jpg
Picture of the male before transfer:
http://members.cox.net/rknralf/tarantula/mating/MatingPic005.jpg
Remenants of the sperm web the male made last night:
http://members.cox.net/rknralf/tarantula/mating/MatingPic006.jpg
Picture of the male in the females enclosure:
http://members.cox.net/rknralf/tarantula/mating/MatingPic009.jpg

More to come as available!
Ralph

 

[rknralf]

They've finally found each other! They started at about 8:30 P.M. and have been embracing and moving for about a half hour. The room is pretty dimly lit, so I am unable to get additional pictures, but they seem to be mating! I haven't seen any insertions, but am hoping he knows what to do.
I'll post additional information as available.
Ralph

 

[rknralf]

Thats all for tonight.
She finally tired of his advances and retreated back into her hide. Surprising, she didn't make a meal of him.
He also was ready to go. I opened the lid and was amazed at how fast he made his exit. It took everything I had to keep him from escaping before getting him into the other tank. I'm taking this as a good sign, that he did his work and was ready to split. I'll give him another few days, see if he creates a sperm web again, and re-introduce him to the female again.
As always, I'll keep you all posted!
Ralph

 

[Garrick]

Try playing some Barry White and lighting a few candles. . . .

Seriously, if you don't want to hassle with scooping the male out every time, just let him stay. Unlike some other species, P. murinus couples actually get along for some time (about the length of a Hollywood marriage, anyway). Other species I've seen act like that are A. avicularia, C. brachycephalus, and P. regalis.

-Garrick

 

[Immortal_sin]

Ralph,
how very brave of you to take him out again LOL! I'd also leave him in there...he should be fine for at least a week or two, if not longer...
It seems they are quite shy about mating, and do better when left on their own....
Holley

 

[rknralf]

Garrick/Holley;
I took your advice and placed the male back in her tank this morning. They didn't waste any time. He immediately starting tapping on her web and she came out within minutes, not hours like before.
I think I will leave them together for the entire day and possibly from now on depending on whether he is still around later.
If she doen't eat him, she may kill him from the mating as she actively pursues him around the tank and won't give him a minute rest. She continually goes up to him and raises up in front, not making any aggressive advances, but seems wanting to mate.
I'll keep you posted. Hopefully he'll get a few good inserts.
Ralph

 

[rknralf]

Done again!
I meant to post this yesterday, but got caught up in all that was going on.
The male successfully mated with my female. The whole thing lasted about 20 minutes before she tired on him and gave him a stiff sendoff. I found him in the corner missing another leg and bleeding from a couple joints. I moved him into another enclosure and gave him some water to drink. He drank a bunch off the glass and when I checked on him last night and this morning, he appears to be recovering.
I don't think I will place him back with the female as he no longer has either front leg (the ones with the tibial spurs). I don't think he would be up to it as well as he hasn't been out of his hide since going in yesterday. I could tell he was ready before because he had started wandering the tank.
Anyway, the mating was really cool! I placed a video camera in front of the enclosure and caught almost the whole thing. I didn't want to stay there for fear of disturbing them and having her munch him. They danced around for the first 15 or so minutes and he wouldn't insert his palps. He would drum on her underside then back off. I was beginning to think he wasn't going to, but right after that he reached on leg around her back and embraced her close, inserting the palps for almost 3 minutes. I was very impressed and felt like I was watching National Geographic. After that, he started to back off and she snapped at him, but he appeared to ger away. They touched legs again for a couple minutes before she turned away and returned to her web retreat. I was shortly after that I came in and found him in the corner.
All in all, This was an excellent experience and I am hoping she will resond by laying an eggsac. I know you can't count your tarantulas before they hatch, but it would be really cool to have it be successful.
Thanks for listening and sorry for the long post!
Ralph
P.S. Just for reference, the female's name is "Oscar" and the male's adopted name is "Sparky"

 

[Botar]

The birth of Tarantula porn

Awesome! That is a great idea. Were you able to tell on the video when he lost the leg? Is he now retired to live out his golden years telling stories to little T's about when he had both his front legs?

 

[Immortal_sin]

that's great Ralph!
I consider any mating that actually takes place, with the male leaving with his life, a successful one
2 nights ago, I tried again with my G rosea couple. The male has been shark caged with Verde, and they have mated once. She wasn't too enthusiastic, but she allowed him. Well, 2 nights ago, she didn't even pretend to be interested. She tolerated him in with her for a couple minutes, then went for him. I held her back with the trusty spoon!
We decided since he was ready to go, that we'd try with my other female, Morax. They had a sucessful mating! I was operating the video cam, and Shelby was using the digi cam. I'm so glad she was, cuz in the excitement, I never took the vid cam off 'standby' mode, and missed the whole thing
He made a clean getaway, she sat there all reared up, gnashing her fangs and looking pissed

 

[rknralf]

Botar,
I didn't get to see in the video when he lost his leg. I am assuming she may have damaged it when she snapped at him. I think he pulled it himself after he crawled away. In any case, I am going to retire him. I have a smaller bachelor tank and will have him live out the remainder of his life there.

 

[rknralf]

Holley,
Bummer about you not getting the video. The one I have is fantastic! The part that is so amazing is the size difference between Oscar and Sparky. She looks to be almost double his size. Kinda reminds me of the pic of Garth's horned baboon mating with John Hoke's big female, although not as extreme a difference.
How many different tarantulas have you bred? I know you've had success with B. albopilosum, and P. murinus, and are trying with G. rosea from your posts. You should publish your notes for all to share. I'd love to see them as I would like to try in the future to breed other tarantulas.
Also, when will your baby B. albopilosum's be ready? Are you planning on selling them?
Definately let me know.

 

[Immortal_sin]

Ralph, so far, you've listed all the ones I've bred. I believe my P murinus 'Usambara' has an eggsac, but it's hard to tell!
I'd be happy to give you (or anyone else) my experience with them, but I'm VERY new at it...I'm sure there are others here with tons more know how and experience.
My B albo slings have emerged, but are still hanging around on the eggsac, with mom protectively guarding them. She ate a thawed pinky the other day, first food for her in over 70 days.
I will probably start separating them this coming weekend. Yikes, it looks like a HUGE job
I am happy to send any out as long as you pay for shipping!
Holley

 

[SkyeSpider]

Originally posted by Immortal_sin
My B albo slings have emerged, but are still hanging around on the eggsac, with mom protectively guarding them. She ate a thawed pinky the other day, first food for her in over 70 days.
I will probably start separating them this coming weekend. Yikes, it looks like a HUGE job
I am happy to send any out as long as you pay for shipping!
Holley

Holley, can I take you up on that offer? I *LOVE* curlies

-Bryan