The Lava Life -- a G. pulchra diary

[ladyratri]

Her setae look like a heart on her butt.

Hah they do! She also always has perfect butt fuzz. I swear this girl has never kicked hairs she gets the nice shiny pre-molt abdomen but I haven't seen a bald spot on her yet. She has that textbook gorgeous mirror patch.

Definitely a moment of great luck when I picked her out of the row of G. pulchra sling vials in the store.

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

Hah they do! She also always has perfect butt fuzz. I swear this girl has never kicked hairs she gets the nice shiny pre-molt abdomen but I haven't seen a bald spot on her yet. She has that textbook gorgeous mirror patch.

Definitely a moment of great luck when I picked her out of the row of G. pulchra sling vials in the store.

I noticed her perfect hair, too..how does she do it? ;-)
Give yourself some credit, you know how to pick a T. Model pulchra, 2 great irminias (that you see) and let’s not forget blue!

 

[ladyratri]

I noticed her perfect hair, too..how does she do it? ;-)
Give yourself some credit, you know how to pick a T. Model pulchra, 2 great irminias (that you see) and let’s not forget blue!

Thanks. And yeah, this girl never has a bad hair day. It's mind boggling. So photogenic too.



Not a hair out of place. I'd be here all day if I tried to post all the good ones. I guess we'll see when she grows up more if that part of her personality "sticks".

 

[ladyratri]

How to be Lava.

Step 1: hide.


Step 2: Grab.

Step 3: Show human your smart end. (Alternative: run over to check the water dish.)


Step 4: investigate the corner Stupid Human just watered. Bring lunch with you.


Step 5: investigate Stupid Human. Bring lunch with you.

Step 6: pose for the macro lens. Bring lunch with you.


Step 7: Eat lunch.

 

[ladyratri]

Her setae look like a heart on her butt.

Step 8: Judgement. With a heart on your butt.

 

[Cmac2111]

How to be Lava.

Step 1: hide.
View attachment 445653

Step 2: Grab.

Step 3: Show human your smart end. (Alternative: run over to check the water dish.)
View attachment 445654

Step 4: investigate the corner Stupid Human just watered. Bring lunch with you.
View attachment 445656

Step 5: investigate Stupid Human. Bring lunch with you. View attachment 445657

Step 6: pose for the macro lens. Bring lunch with you.
View attachment 445658

Step 7: Eat lunch.
View attachment 445660

Pic 1... actually me on a Monday morning, I feel ya Lava

 

[ladyratri]

Pic 1... actually me on a Monday morning, I feel ya Lava

Right?!

Now she's checking for cricket activity on the other side of her hide. Just in case.


Not as stealthy as you think hon.


That booty is getting sizeable, and she's likely due to start the pre-molt fasting phase soon. Her last molt cycle was 79 days, and it's 77 since that molt... So I figure if I'm lucky, maybe June or July for her next molt. Still definitely slowing down the feeding, but I'm not too worried at this point about a six-month fast.

 

[ladyratri]

Anyone else have a T who seems to need a remedial course in how to make a bolus? She almost never even does the happy dance, she just takes her cricket and runs over to make sure I'm not messing with the water dish. (Or the corner, or whatever else...)

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

Anyone else have a T who seems to need a remedial course in how to make a bolus? She almost never even does the happy dance, she just takes her cricket and runs over to make sure I'm not messing with the water dish. (Or the corner, or whatever else...)

Thats because she knows that you’re feeding her is a ploy to steal her water dish…such a nefarious plot.

 

[Remicks]

I’m so close to getting a g. Pulchra as my first T. All jumpers right now. Have you held her at all?

 

[ladyratri]

I’m so close to getting a g. Pulchra as my first T. All jumpers right now. Have you held her at all?

No, I don't handle my T's. It's purely stressful for them, and if something happened and she got hurt because of me holding her, I would never forgive myself. As tempted as I am sometimes, it's just not worth the risks.

So far, she's has been great during rehousing, she's relatively active, and despite being a slow-growing species, she he's been fun to keep and molted twice in 6 months. She'll definitely slow down though, so if you would get bored, consider something that grows a little faster. If your jumpers will keep you entertained through your pulchra's long pre-molt fast, it's a great first T.

Bonus photo of her checking if I gave Blue TWO crickets again when she only got one:

 

[IvanOoze]

Lava is adorable! they are the best species IMO! i have 3 now and they are what i consider to be very close to perfection do you have any others?

 

[ladyratri]

Lava is adorable! they are the best species IMO! i have 3 now and they are what i consider to be very close to perfection do you have any others?

She's my only terrestrial. The rest of my small crew at the moment is:
1 adult versicolor, hilariously still unsexed
1 adult female P. irminia
1 juvi P. irminia
1 juvi A. purpurea, very likely male
For the rest, see: https://arachnoboards.com/threads/ladyratris-picture-thread.357738/

Definitely picked a winner when I chose Lava out of the row of slings in the store

 

[ladyratri]

In other Lava Life news: the enclosure that I think will be her next home has arrived. As usual, it looks bigger in person:


This would be the upgrade from "the whole bin is your burrow" to more of a sub-adult setup with a starter burrow and a real hide and enough sub to actually redecorate, not just make a tiny little pile in one front corner.

Definitely plan to let her molt in the current enclosure and see how much size she gains. If she stays on track with the last two molts, she may be ready to move then... Otherwise maybe one more after that.

She still looks like a baby, but her previous molt measured 1.5" and she's close to 2" now. New enclosure is 8x6x6, so room for like 2.5-3" of sub.

Next project, find some appropriate bark to make her a big-girl hide.

 

[Remicks]

That's a very nice container. Where did you get it?

 

[ladyratri]

That's a very nice container. Where did you get it?

Amazon. There are a lot of acrylic boxes with magnetic lids sold as reptile breeding boxes that also make good T enclosures, just a matter of going through all the sizes to find what you want.

 

[Pedipalpable]

Step 8: Judgement. With a heart on your butt.
View attachment 445687

The tarantula equivalent to wearing one's heart on one's sleeve.
Speaking of heart patterns on tarantulas, there is actually a genus of dwarf tarantulas called Cyriocosmus in which several species have a prominent heart-shaped pattern of brightly coloured setae on their abdomens. I think they look very cute because of it, though I will not be keeping any for the time being because I don't feel ready for dwarf species yet.

Not as stealthy as you think hon.

Who can blame her? With a booty that big, it's hard to be stealthy.

Anyone else have a T who seems to need a remedial course in how to make a bolus? She almost never even does the happy dance, she just takes her cricket and runs over to make sure I'm not messing with the water dish. (Or the corner, or whatever else...)

View attachment 445895

My A. geniculata Squeaky never makes boluses either, but still does the happy dance. I think the lack of boluses is due to the fact that I have been feeding mealworm pupae, which have a very soft exoskeleton and are entirely liquid on the inside, meaning there is nothing leftover for a bolus. They made boluses when I fed them actual mealworms.

Bonus photo of her checking if I gave Blue TWO crickets again when she only got one:

Guess she hasn't looked in the mirror recently.

In other Lava Life news: the enclosure that I think will be her next home has arrived. As usual, it looks bigger in person:
View attachment 446109

This would be the upgrade from "the whole bin is your burrow" to more of a sub-adult setup with a starter burrow and a real hide and enough sub to actually redecorate, not just make a tiny little pile in one front corner.

Definitely plan to let her molt in the current enclosure and see how much size she gains. If she stays on track with the last two molts, she may be ready to move then... Otherwise maybe one more after that.

She still looks like a baby, but her previous molt measured 1.5" and she's close to 2" now. New enclosure is 8x6x6, so room for like 2.5-3" of sub.

Next project, find some appropriate bark to make her a big-girl hide.

That is a very nice enclosure! Definitely a good growout home for Lava. Reminds me that I need to start thinking about a new enclosure for my genic, since I suspect a molt will be coming sometime in the next month or so.

 

[ladyratri]

there is actually a genus of dwarf tarantulas called Cyriocosmus in which several species have a prominent heart-shaped pattern

Very cool. May need to image search this with my big kid...

Who can blame her? With a booty that big, it's hard to be stealthy.

I mean, sometimes she does pretty well at telling me she's ready for a real hide. I didn't give her much in this "toddler enclosure" but she does what she can with it. Today's stealth pose:

Definitely a good growout home for Lava.

Good to hear. First terrestrial and all that, still finding my way . Figured she has enough of a following that if I set it up early and post here I'll get good feedback . Definitely going to need to upsize her water dish though!!

 

[TechnoGeek]

View attachment Movie003.mp4
I decided to make one of my female G pulchra's progress.

 

[ladyratri]

Long weekend, Lava style...

Saturday: stuffing face, keeping tabs on water dish.


Sunday: staring down human, keeping tabs on water dish.


Sunday night: hide looked at me funny, situation required my full attention for several hours.


Monday night: human dispensed 2ml of pure sadness, even though the water dish only holds about 1.5ml.