Today in the Spider Room?

[Rigor Mortis]

N. chromatus (or I guess V. chromatus now! I'll get used to it ) scared the hell out of me today. She was in her hide with at least half of her legs curled in. Since that's the spider that underwent the bad molt in November I thought "Welp today must be the day" and I moved her enclosure to get a better look. She scrambled away from the movement and started climbing the walls. Went out and got her a cricket and she ate immediately. So I guess she's fine for now.

 

[SpookySpooder]

Fornax, Ephebopus cyanognathus, atop the old turret, protesting the new enclosure. It makes me so sad to rehouse turret builders
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I know how you feel.

I rehoused my very first T (Viet Silver) a few months ago into a juvie enclosure and it decided "this cork bark is fine, so I will not return to being fossorial anymore" and literally sits under the cork bark 24/7 like a P. irminia... Won't dig deep or build another turret and I just don't know why. I used to be able to view the chambers underground but I can't see it at all now hiding under the cork until it decides to stick feet out when hungry.

 

[zsiciarz]

Today was a molt sexing day. My Nhandu tripepii and Cyriocosmus perezmilesi are girls \o/ Unfortunately, a few others, including my only remaining Cyriocosmus ritae are most likely male. But they'll be handsome dudes.

C. perezmilesi spermatheca for reference.

Cyriocosmus perezmilesi

• zsiciarz
• Jan 10, 2024
• 2
• cyriocosmus perezmilesi perezmilesi sexing spermatheca spermatheca sexing

Female, yay! 2cm body length.

 

[Mike Withrow]

I know how you feel.

I rehoused my very first T (Viet Silver) a few months ago into a juvie enclosure and it decided "this cork bark is fine, so I will not return to being fossorial anymore" and literally sits under the cork bark 24/7 like a P. irminia... Won't dig deep or build another turret and I just don't know why. I used to be able to view the chambers underground but I can't see it at all now hiding under the cork until it decides to stick feet out when hungry.

My Cyriopagopus took two years to do what I've seen everyone else's do in weeks. You can look at my pics of her and look at the time and difference in her enclosure.

I once had a handful of ornithoctonis aureotibialis and all but one built tubes up the side of the tank.
The other stayed burrowed for months before it finally built a tube. I've actually got one left from that bunch just haven't got her and the rest moved down here.

 

[fcat]

Zoso, Brachypelma auratum, winding down for his maturing molt I assume. That's his emotional support water dish, don't worry he has another


Winslow, my granny GBB, still happy dancing with 3 crickets in her mouth, still got it going on





I don't know how old she is. She is a comfortable 6". The person I bought the enclosures from (Ts were free??) said he got her with a B hamorii who were the same size, when they were "babies" and motioned around 2". The B hamorii hooked out a few months ago.

 

[Spinnenfritzi]

Today i found my A. mesomelas dead in her burrow... i was eager awaiting her molt after a pretty long premolt phase.

Temps, moisture and ventilation were good...and i have found no indication of mites.
My guess is stuck molt or impaction.

oh Well...

 

[l4nsky]

Today i found my A. mesomelas dead in her burrow... i was eager awaiting her molt after a pretty long premolt phase.

Temps, moisture and ventilation were good...and i have found no indication of mites.
My guess is stuck molt or impaction.

oh Well...

That's a notoriously delicate species in captivity, so I wouldn't beat yourself up too bad. I remember looking for one for a buddy about 4 years ago and reaching out to a fairly well known importer to see about availability. I was told that they no longer import and stock A. mesomelas (M. mesomelas back then) because they always suffered heavy losses in shipping and most that survived would fail to thrive.

 

[fcat]

Today i found my A. mesomelas dead in her burrow... i was eager awaiting her molt after a pretty long premolt phase.

Temps, moisture and ventilation were good...and i have found no indication of mites.
My guess is stuck molt or impaction.

oh Well...

That's a notoriously delicate species in captivity, so I wouldn't beat yourself up too bad. I remember looking for one for a buddy about 4 years ago and reaching out to a fairly well known importer to see about availability. I was told that they no longer import and stock A. mesomelas (M. mesomelas back then) because they always suffered heavy losses in shipping and most that survived would fail to thrive.

I am so sorry to hear this, you should be proud it thrived as long as it did.

After seeing the BirdSpidersCH video I decided I never had the cajones to keep one. I have personally only heard of one making it to adulthood. It was someone selling her Facebook (and may also be someone here I didn't ask). He lives on the beach in California. Kept her pragmatically. Blew my mind. I told him I was only reaching out to make sure he charged an ungodly amount of money for her to hopefully get her into the hands of a serious keeper.

 

[Spinnenfritzi]

I am so sorry to hear this, you should be proud it thrived as long as it did.

to be honest i feel guilty buying it in the first place. Should have listen to the people who said it should not be kept..

 

[fcat]

to be honest i feel guilty buying it in the first place. Should have listen to the people who said it should not be kept..

If it's any consolation, it was that same video that made me rethink how I was keeping my entire collection and everyone has been reaping the benefits. I feel no shame in being humbled by such a gorgeous animal but they definitely give me reason to move there

 

[SpookySpooder]

@Charliemum It gathered some of the moss and webbed it over itself! The resulting build wicked the water dish into the sub and now everything is damp. Gonna have to let it dry out for weeks now. By then we should see a turret go up.

First day:


Second day:

 

[Charliemum]

@Charliemum It gathered some of the moss and webbed it over itself! The resulting build wicked the water dish into the sub and now everything is damp. Gonna have to let it dry out for weeks now. By then we should see a turret go up.

First day:
View attachment 464820

Second day:
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View attachment 464818

Awwww congratulations! go little spood! even if you did flood yourself out
I would take the dish out tho, I am pretty sure these are ment to be dry, mine have no dish and bone dry sub, am pretty sure @cold blood said to keep them dry even as slings so definitely let it dry out in there. I trust what cold blood says seen as he has kept and bred these for years and he has never steered me wrong before
My fault though, I should of said before to take the dish out but I didn't click little floofer would drag the moss through the dish n tbh it didn't even register the dish was there I am so used to slings with water lol , sorry totally my bad
But still super chuffed little one has started building its great seeing t's doing their thing

 

[SpookySpooder]

Lol "chuffed" got my GF and I chuffing...

I fixed it per your recommendations. I took the sling and water dish out. Stuck a straw into the burrow, then piled on bone dry sub and dry moss until the container was mostly dry sub, then stuck a toothpick in and stirred the sub and then took the straw out.

When I put the sling back in, it started pushing dirt back out. I would say it was very chuffed that I dropped dirt all over it's burrow.


No need to wait weeks!

 

[Charliemum]

Lol "chuffed" got my GF and I chuffing...

I fixed it per your recommendations. I took the sling and water dish out. Stuck a straw into the burrow, then piled on bone dry sub and dry moss until the container was mostly dry sub, then stuck a toothpick in and stirred the sub and then took the straw out.

When I put the sling back in, it started pushing dirt back out. I would say it was very chuffed that I dropped dirt all over it's burrow.
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No need to wait weeks!

That's great n yer lol I am a Geordie and chuffed is part of my everyday vocabulary , I forget sometimes that not everyone talks like me
I am really happy your baby has settled straight in and little one probably loved the extra sub these like to burrow and the sub on the moss will have filled in gaps and made it even more cosy and secure for them. Has made my day to see those little feets poking out . Here's to many more little turret constructions for both of us .

 

[NMTs]

I was productive today and got 4 rehousings done. The obligatory pics...

0.0.1 Cyriopagopus sp. Valhalla (Moss), 2.25" DLS


0.0.1 Cyriopagopus sp. Valhalla (Jade), 2.25" DLS


Both of them look like females to me (Moss a little more than Jade), so hopefully one day I'll get sexable molts from them.


1.0 Phormictopus atrichomatus (Erebus), 4.75" DLS

1.0 Phormictopus atrichomatus - 4.75" DLS

• NMTs
• Jan 12, 2024
• 1
• atrichomatus juvenile male phormictopus phormictopus atrichomatus red island birdeater

Immature male, Erebus, looking shiny. He's in premolt now, so he'll really be popping once he...

0.1 Ceratogyrus darlingi (Saturn), 5.25" DLS -
In old enclosure:


In new enclosure:

 

[MariaLewisia]

Quick and easy second pairing of my Tliltocatl albopilosus 'Nicaragua' couple today! Definitely saw a couple successful insertions (see pic 2), but I always feel like a creep staring at them mating and now I'm taking pics too?


Super fluffy male, Gunther, and black and cream coloured female, Hillevi.


Insertion! She wasn't too happy to be pushed upside down and threw a bit of a fit after this, but he lived to see another day and got a big, juicy roach as reward for a job well done. Now we just wait and see what happens.

 

[corydalis]

(...) but I always feel like a creep staring at them mating and now I'm taking pics too?

Sharing the pics with other creeps, is the only way to surpass this inconvenience. You did the right thing.

 

[l4nsky]

but I always feel like a creep staring at them mating and now I'm taking pics too?

Yeah, I take video with a night vision camera.....

 

[MariaLewisia]

Sharing the pics with other creeps, is the only way to surpass this inconvenience. You did the right thing.

Exactly!
Looking at and taking pictures of spider coitus and not sharing? Total creep behaviour.
Looking at and taking pictures of spider coitus and sharing with the whole world? Amazing contribution to science!

Yeah, I take video with a night vision camera.....

Oh don't be shy now, l4nsky. Sharing is caring.

 

[l4nsky]

Oh don't be shy now, l4nsky. Sharing is caring.

Lol I've shared some in the past, but chopping and formatting it, uploading to a host site, and then embedding it here is, well.... A lot of extra steps lol.