This one is going to be a handfull

[Code Monkey]

I freely confess that I've never been one to follow the prey size limits with Ts. If it can kill it and eat it, it's not too big is the way I view it. Still, this was a bit surprising.

My new P. cancerides sling has been giving me a nasty look every time I threw it some tiny cricket. So, on a whim I tossed it a small but adult male cricket just to see if it would attack it, figuring if it didn't I'd take it out.

Wham! The cricket is longer than its body length, and certainly more massive, but that didn't stop this little blue David one bit:

 

[conipto]

Wow, P. cancerides sure are nice looking as slings. Between that, and the way mature males look, It's surprising they are so drab the rest of their lives.. I bet you have hind legs and wings leftover

Bill

 

[MrT]

Now thats funny,
Did that cric. give the T a ride around the tank like a bucking horse. LOL
It will still be eating tomorrow.

 

[blackacidevil]

Cooool.....

I'va had some slings that made me have to go fishing for the smallest cricket out of the pinhead container. Anything slightly too big and it was all scaredy cat.

 

[Buspirone]

I liked to see a pic after he eats that.

 

[The_Phantom]

HOLY! Thats cool. Hes a brave spider eh? Cool pic. Beautiful colors.

 

[genious_gr]

WOW!!
I see you've cut the crick's (3 little things on its back). How did u do that? Do u catch the cric with your hand and use the other to cut them?? cause I guess i might have to do that as i swear the cric i had last night in my T's tank must have been laying eggs all night long......."Hey, stupid human... you may kill me, but my youngs will hatch to cause yout T' and you a great deal of stress........HAHAHA!!!"

 

[vulpina]

P. cancerides are a very aggressive spider. A female I had about 10 years ago bit her way out of a plastic salad container and escaped!! Their feeding response is just as aggressive as their temperament.

Andy

 

[Code Monkey]

Originally posted by genious_gr
I see you've cut the crick's (3 little things on its back). How did u do that?

Not quite. I stated it was a male cricket, so it only had the two little sensor butt appendages to start with, and any damage to them occurred as this little sling wrestled this cricket into a position where it could keep it pinned and inject venom.

I personally don't worry about females laying eggs. I don't keep any T consistently moist enough for them to hatch so it's a non issue.

 

[genious_gr]

Originally posted by Code Monkey
I stated it was a male cricket,

Oops!! I missed that... Could someone who does that help??

 

[Steve Nunn]

Originally posted by Code Monkey
I freely confess that I've never been one to follow the prey size limits with Ts. If it can kill it and eat it, it's not too big is the way I view it. Still, this was a bit surprising.

Hi Code,
Yeah, I agree, size limits don't need to be followed hardcore. I think the restrictions are good for people just getting ino the hobby, but once people learn the true capabilities of their keep, it can be nothing short of amazing. I spend a lot of time in native T habitat (numerous species) and have seen things that would blow peoples minds. On several occassions I have seen full grown rat remains in T burrows, either just outside the burrow, or inside it. I'll concede that some may result from carrion finds, but certainly not all. In most situations, the carcass would have been at least five times the weight of the spider, I'm not kidding. One particular specimen I found (the rat) had a skull longer then the carapace of the T that consumed it. Finds like this are not uncommon in native T habitat.

Oh and P.cancerides, another underrated T in the hobby, those things are beautiful, big too. I never really had a full appreciation for this T because I'd only seen photos from various books and pics on the web. Then Joy sent me a bunch of exuvia, among them a nice sized P.cancerides molt. WOW. If I lived in an area where I could purchase T's from overseas, these would be in my top five wihout doubt(among X.immanis, P.antinous,P.ultramarinus and T.apophysis).

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Tarantula Lover]

wow! Cant wait to watch it moult in your care and i want MORE PICS! beautiful T! remind me of the avicularia laeta sling:blue adult:brown same with the cancerides right? whats their common name? Great pics again CM!

James

 

[Steve Nunn]

Originally posted by Tarantula Lover
whats their common name?
James

Hi James,
Haitian Brown.

Steve

 

[Code Monkey]

I've been wanting to get a sling of this species for a while. The very first T I had was a Haitian brown (ON SALE FOR $11 AT DOKTOR PET CENTER! <checks wallet to see how much money I have> -> "Mom, mom, can I get a tarantula?" "OK"). It only lived a couple of years in my care and now that I know more about the species I suspect it was because I didn't meet its care requirements at all. It's an obligate burrower and I kept it on aquarium gravel

Although they look drab in a lot of photos, even without the brilliant purple highlights you see on mature males, they're no ugly T. They've got a lot of semi irridescent highlight markings on the legs and the carapace. They look a lot like a giant red phase G. rosea with a little less hair and a lot more attitude.

As for the update: it's now been about 20 hours and it's still working on the cricket. It's eaten a surprising amount of it, it's little abdomen is quite round and happy looking now.

 

[Code Monkey]

"Thanks dad, my bum is happy now"

It's been about 24 hours and it's still eating. I'm not quite sure how it's fit so much cricket inside its bum, but that's the wonder of nature for you.

 

[genious_gr]

Hehe, I think you should replace the water in her bowl (if she has one) with soda...=D

 

[Tarantula Lover]

Thanks Steve and CM! BTW-you have one fat sling there!
Good Luck! i am interested in seeing it grow in your care

James

 

[Longbord1]

my dad being so newbish threw in an adult cricket with my usumbara while i was in FLA and my dad said it was immediatly killed but not eaten. at that time it was 1 inch. now i tried that because it is about 2 inches and it jumped on the cricket and the cricket was kicking like crazy but that little monster held on tight.Now thats all i feed the little booger he eats about 10 a week.hahahahahhahaha
mike;P ;P ;P

 

[Lopez]

Re: Re: This one is going to be a handfull

Originally posted by Steve Nunn
Hi Code,
Yeah, I agree, size limits don't need to be followed hardcore. I think the restrictions are good for people just getting ino the hobby, but once people learn the true capabilities of their keep, it can be nothing short of amazing. I spend a lot of time in native T habitat (numerous species) and have seen things that would blow peoples minds. On several occassions I have seen full grown rat remains in T burrows, either just outside the burrow, or inside it. I'll concede that some may result from carrion finds, but certainly not all. In most situations, the carcass would have been at least five times the weight of the spider, I'm not kidding. One particular specimen I found (the rat) had a skull longer then the carapace of the T that consumed it. Finds like this are not uncommon in native T habitat.

Oh and P.cancerides, another underrated T in the hobby, those things are beautiful, big too. I never really had a full appreciation for this T because I'd only seen photos from various books and pics on the web. Then Joy sent me a bunch of exuvia, among them a nice sized P.cancerides molt. WOW. If I lived in an area where I could purchase T's from overseas, these would be in my top five wihout doubt(among X.immanis, P.antinous,P.ultramarinus and T.apophysis).

Cheers,
Steve

G'day Stevo.

Good point there. I think these "restrictions" are certainly good for those getting into tarantulas. Otherwise you'd get people feeding whopping crickets to poor feeders (some of the Avicularia, G rosea etc) and getting bad results.
The most voracious eating machines I've found so far have been B.albopilosum, A.avicularia, E.cyanognathus and to top it off, Ceratogyrus marshalli. Mine will nail crickets three times their size - awesome stuff.

Steve, I always forget you can't keep these species we take for granted. It's a real shame, and I suppose even the riskier technique of smuggling would not look good if somebody in your position were to be caught doing so.

 

[Crotalus]

Re: Re: This one is going to be a handfull

Originally posted by Steve Nunn
Oh and P.cancerides, another underrated T in the hobby, those things are beautiful, big too. I never really had a full appreciation for this T because I'd only seen photos from various books and pics on the web. Then Joy sent me a bunch of exuvia, among them a nice sized P.cancerides molt. WOW. If I lived in an area where I could purchase T's from overseas, these would be in my top five wihout doubt(among X.immanis, P.antinous,P.ultramarinus and T.apophysis).

Cheers,
Steve

Agreed that Phormictopus ssp. are very underrated. They are among the boldest and very beautiful in their simplicity. Very nice ts indeed.

/Lelle