Sneak preview

buthus

Arachnoprince
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Jun 8, 2006
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A voyeuristic preview of more to come in this new year! ;)
This was a test to find out if my males are adults. They are very small, but look like they have reached final molt.
I was not expecting such a behavior difference compared to other species. This male has been going through the motions now for about 18 hrs!
Unfortunately, because of the setup, I have not been able to confirm palp insertion...though there has been many times where he was/is in the right spot looking like hes doing the deed.
More for this species to come ...with a better photo setup.








 
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Sheri

Arachnoking
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Dec 29, 2003
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2,355
Awesome shots!

There's something to be said for the bravery of the male. :)
 

Selenops

Arachnoangel
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Dec 13, 2006
Messages
844
Great pics of the "Laos Hellfire" widows. Keep us updated frequently (i.e. the L. tredecimguttatus thread).
 

RodG

Arachnoknight
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Sep 21, 2006
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196
Amazing photos!!! Please keep them coming!:clap:
 

Ando55

Arachnobaron
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Sep 15, 2006
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488
WOW a lot of vivacity in those photos aside from the markings itself, very crisp and clean, big cheers to the brave male as well.
 

RVS

Arachnobaron
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Aug 11, 2005
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442
Thank you for this thread!
I was unaware if my males were mature or not as the males in this species are very tiny.
 

buthus

Arachnoprince
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A more controversial sneak preview. :unsure: :)


This is an temporary open air "enclosure", I threw together for mating and documentation of. I plan to make more permanent enclosures for this purpose.. a prototype for three matings is done and I will be showing those highlights in the near future.
Anyway...for this goofy setup, I tape a piece of thin clear plastic over the opening and let the spider get comfy. For this girl, i wanted it hot and humid. Humidity with the cover on was around 80-90% and average temp was mid eighties with the lights off and up to 100F w/the lights on. I am a big believer in making it hot for mating. Males go nutz when the temp is above 80. Humidity while open was kept at around 60% by constantly drenching the water crystals ...over flow of water..literaly. You guys in the midwest and out east have to remember that I live in a place where it stays at aroun 40% most of the year. That has been my biggest problem when it comes to the tropic and temporate species. Lets just say, that when you give them h20...they drink it almost everytime. I have been keeping the laos slings in a plastic container ...those white plastic top and clear plastic container ones ... 8"x12"x5" (give r take). I add a 4oz sterofoam dixie cup full of h2o crystal and coconut substrate mix...soaked. I attach one of those repti-whatever heat pads to the side. This keeps it always above 80...usually 5 or so degrees above my already balmy room temp. Humidity stays above 60% and you can add enough water to keep it above 80% for a few days at a time.
I have found that the pickier eaters..especially the males will respond more frequently to food when the temp is above 90...even 100.

Anyway...how i ramble..
First a couple pics of the make-shift setup.




After introducing the female to her new temporary bridal chamber and after she has layed down some webbing, I feed her. Everyone knows that a hungry spider is a dangerous one for the male. But, also when feeding, the females lay down a lot of new webbing ...this is greatly needed if she has not had enough time to decorate. The male needs webbing to move around, but also to communicate with the famale. He wont do too well trying to put her into trance with only a few threads of web. There is also the question of how much pheromones are in contact with the male when first introduced. I have found that males go nutz right away when they are placed into an enclosure that has been occupied for a good period of time.

food...


BTW...count the legs on this stud ...notice the stump for a front leg! That happened when i was trying to get him to climb into her webbing. He did a sudden freak out and tried to climb thru between the cup and lid towards me. Not sure what happened on my clumbsy end, but I slipt a little and somhow pinched his leg off! :rolleyes: :p He ran up my arm and before he got to my elbo, I put my elbo into her web and he just ran right off into exotic flavers fun land. So..he entered the party with a freshly torn of front leg and what does he do? ...he starts to dance!! :Rockon:
















Just about to get THE pic ...watching him sputter like crazy...clicking off pics fast ...F#$^! Battery goes dead!!! I swear on my mother's future grave that the next one or two shots...maybe a half second of time... would have shown him pulling out. I go out and buy a 4gb flash card so i wont run out of memory and what happens... :wacko:



Male survived and displayed the same behavior as the other one did... the next day he was still hanging around the female pulsing and trying to get some more. The laos female gave in and mated many times (or what seemed to be mating) last of which i observed over 18 hours after introduction. I did not see this girl give in ...though, i wasnt always avalable for observation. ...got to keep up with the chores around the house or i wont get any either. :)
 

Selenops

Arachnoangel
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Dec 13, 2006
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844
WOW, I love your set-up. Your writing and photography is very articulate.

Pleased to hear your male survived... twice. Best of luck.
 

buthus

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 8, 2006
Messages
1,381
WOW, I love your set-up. Your writing and photography is very articulate.

Pleased to hear your male survived... twice. Best of luck.
My rambling and image documentation posted on the boards is really my only journal documenting the event and my thinking during it. I'll save the thread for future reference. And, as long as the board is up, I know where my memories are...cause they sure aint in my head after a week or so... Short term has all gone up in smoke. :D

BTW...the male paired with the variolus above is actually a different boy than the first pairing. :)


If interested, stay tuned. More to come...probably starting tonight. :}
 
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