Rearing Eggsacs

[Mojo Jojo]

I have read parts of the The Tarantula Keeper's Guide and have read a few different ways to treat the egg sac. Quite frankly, it seems to me, that leaving the eggsac with the mother seems the easiest. But Shultz and Shultz seem to feel like that it is a good way for the eggs to get eaten.

So a question to the pros and experience breeders:

What do you do with the eggsac and why?

I'm hoping for an A. genic eggsac and would like to know the best way to go about rearing it if infact, I do get it.

Thanks,

Jon

 

[tarantulakeeper]

Over the past 13 months I have had 8 eggsacs, five resulting in successful hatchings.
Aphonopelma wichitanum, wild caught. Left the eggsac with her for 60 days then pulled it and suspended it in a paper towel hammock. Approx. 400 babies

Aphonopelma "carlsbad", wild caught. Same as wichitanum. Approx 300

B. smithi, my male and female. Left sac with female. She abandoned it after 3 weeks. infertile

B. emilia, my male and female. Left sac, abandoned after three weeks. Infertile

B. pallidum, my male and female. Left sac, abandoned, infertile

E. campestratus, my male and female. Left sac with her. Pulled sac after 60 days. Approx. 500

B. vagans, my male and female. Left sac again. Pulled after 65 days. Approx. 300

Pt. m. usumbara. Can't pull this one as it is not a sac, it's a hammock. Babies are emerging today.

I've been fortunate that none that were fertile were eaten. In fact, I've had none that were eaten. When my females abandoned their sacs, they dropped them in a far corner of their habitats.

I like to leave the eggsac with the female for at least a month. Check John Hoke's breeding notes for some more insight. (at e-spiderworld.) Hope this helps. Good luck! John

 

[Bry]

TK, this is just an observation, but I noticed that all of the Brachypelmas, with the exception of B. vagans, abandoned the eggsac, and it turned out to be infertile. Is infertility a common problem with breeding Brachypelma sp., or were these just 3 separate cases of bad luck?

Bry

 

[tarantulakeeper]

Re: infertile sacs. I don't really have enough information to say that infertility is a problem with Brachys. The smithi and emilia are young and it was their first breeding. The palllidum did surprise me the most as she is older, was very receptive, and ate the male. My vagans produced a sac two years ago (one of my first attempts) and it dried out.

I should have given a little more detail last night but it was late.

After a female makes an eggsac I move the container to a shelf where it can sit for 60 days undisturbed. I add a smaller deli-cup filled with water to the container and I cover the container with a towel. I sneak a peek after two weeks, then peek weekly. I do not feed the females during this 60 days.

All fertile sacs were closely guarded by the females right up to the time I took them. The B. vagans often would perch on the side of the container holding her sac. The sacs looked round and plump like a small golf ball. The infetile sacs were misshapened, elongated, and hard.

I also forgot to mention that I had a versicolor sac successfully hatch out this spring too. The male was Darrin's and I left the sac with the female the entire time. There were approx. 70 babies.

Brandon (versicolorking) has had excellent success with his versicolors and maybe he'll share here too.

John