Today in the Spider Room?

[fcat]

Phormingochilus sp Rufus, the googly eyes are a bonus feature of this species. The new girl, Kilat (lower) is out a few times a day.


Little Aphonopelma sp queretaro... Was not hungry. Seems to want to interact with its food instead of eat it, so I killed it harder and came back to this. Strung the poor cricket to the ceiling. Not hungry.

Missed a molt on this little Haploclastus devamatha it seems, much bigger, such shiny. It's fun watching it hunt and know the access points. It's exiting it's burrow here which it inadvertently cut off the access to the corner behind it when it constructed it. The T knows and is patiently waiting for the cricket to come out. Good for me, I only get a millisecond view about once every 2 months

Looking for excuses to drive 40 miles into "town" so it's not just for feeders, looking like it will be just for feeders

 

[Charliemum]

After a few repositions to make sure she was aiming at me, she's daring me to put the lid back on
View attachment 464567
Aphonopelma vorhiesi - Orion Pax

What are these like to keep? my SO is getting my birthday spood today and has been offered a female, I have a few Aphonopelma and had seen pics of the females so of course I said yes but am having problems with temperament n max size some say sweet out all the time some say pet holes and with max size some say dwarf some say 5 inches n your the first person I have seen still active that has one so i ask you what's your experience been like with yours? N are they medium size or tiny lol?

 

[fcat]

What are these like to keep? my SO is getting my birthday spood today and has been offered a female, I have a few Aphonopelma and had seen pics of the females so of course I said yes but am having problems with temperament n max size some say sweet out all the time some say pet holes and with max size some say dwarf some say 5 inches n your the first person I have seen still active that has one so i ask you what's your experience been like with yours? N are they medium size or tiny lol?

They should be small, I will be surprised if she exceeds 4". My mature male was all legs and about 2.5". Where they are found in the wild is where you will find other the other Aphonopelma dwarves, not like they were described as dwarves in the Hamilton paper though.

Mood? Don't tell her I said this but she's an absolute gem. Okay she barely moves but she's sweet. If she is disturbed by my presence, cleaning, popping the lid, watering, she will lift the abdomen to aim at me but has never kicked a hair. And as of late, she's ravenous and getting fatter by the second.

Megatron as a mature male (RIP) He was even sweeter than her.

 

[Charliemum]

They should be small, I will be surprised if she exceeds 4". My mature male was all legs and about 2.5". Where they are found in the wild is where you will find other the other Aphonopelma dwarves, not like they were described as dwarves in the Hamilton paper though.

Mood? Don't tell her I said this but she's an absolute gem. Okay she barely moves but she's sweet. If she is disturbed by my presence, cleaning, popping the lid, watering, she will lift the abdomen to aim at me but has never kicked a hair. And as of late, she's ravenous and getting fatter by the second. View attachment 469779

Megatron as a mature male (RIP) He was even sweeter than her.
View attachment 469780

How gorgeous is he ! And that booty on her will she eventually be black like him or is it because he was a mature male? I am sorry for your loss too such a handsome boy .
Looking forward to getting her much more now hopefully she will be as sweet as your 2 thank you very much for answering

 

[fcat]

How gorgeous is he ! And that booty on her will she eventually be black like him or is it because he was a mature male? I am sorry for your loss too such a handsome boy .
Looking forward to getting her much more now hopefully she will be as sweet as your 2 thank you very much for answering

That black was due to maturity, but you never know how they will look their next molt. I'll be sure to tag you when she does

 

[Charliemum]

That black was due to maturity, but you never know how they will look their next molt. I'll be sure to tag you when she does

Thank you! I look forward to seeing when you tag me mine comes tomorrow the seller says shes a sub adult, I am very excited

 

[zsiciarz]

Have I just made an enclosure for a few Trombididae sp. (velvet mites)? Maybe, just maybe.

 

[TLSizzle]

Reorganized my leftmost shelf that has most of my slings


Caught miss thang drinking. She had a whole grooming session afterwards.


Nugget is about to explode


And the new P victori is settling in nicely

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

Happy birthday @Charliemum !!

Watched my Ephebopus murinus doing a complete remodel of his enclosure last night. Moving out of the skybox and into the tunnel. They grow up so fast. Happy to see he chose to set up his new home in the starter burrow I made him last year, after he had decided he was still arboreal when he first moved in. Took a little video of him building a wall in his new area. All of that area was clear of webbing two days prior as his home was at the top of the plant in the opposite corner.

 

[l4nsky]

On today's episode of So You Want To Breed Tarantulas Ehh?

A little under 200 new sling delis @ 49 holes melted per which is about halfway through what I'll likely need this year in 5.5oz delis. Then I need to start on the 200 2oz delis I'm hoping I'll need......

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

On today's episode of So You Want To Breed Tarantulas Ehh?
View attachment 469835
A little under 200 new sling delis @ 49 holes melted per which is about halfway through what I'll likely need this year in 5.5oz delis. Then I need to start on the 200 2oz delis I'm hoping I'll need......

My first thought was 49?! Then I counted in my head the hole pattern I adopted from you and said, oh, yep, that’s 49.
(Though I add one extra for ease of water dish filling.)

 

[Charliemum]

On today's episode of So You Want To Breed Tarantulas Ehh?
View attachment 469835
A little under 200 new sling delis @ 49 holes melted per which is about halfway through what I'll likely need this year in 5.5oz delis. Then I need to start on the 200 2oz delis I'm hoping I'll need......

You need a helper ! My SO and I live cross country from each other and every time I go he gets me to do the baby vivs he hates knocking them up n I like making little houses lol, think maybe you need an official viv maker too .
Although I get the feeling you like to do it yourself then you know it's right ah the joys of being an aspiring mad genius
they all end up with little spoods in them .

 

[Charliemum]

Happy birthday @Charliemum !!

Watched my Ephebopus murinus doing a complete remodel of his enclosure last night. Moving out of the skybox and into the tunnel. They grow up so fast. Happy to see he chose to set up his new home in the starter burrow I made him last year, after he had decided he was still arboreal when he first moved in. Took a little video of him building a wall in his new area. All of that area was clear of webbing two days prior as his home was at the top of the plant in the opposite corner.

Thank you your girls getting old haha my lovely son keeps reminding me everyday your nearly 38 you know mum gotta love your kids n for my midlife crisis I got more t's and my hairl is now emerald green yay for getting old

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

Thank you your girls getting old haha my lovely son keeps reminding me everyday your nearly 38 you know mum gotta love your kids n for my midlife crisis I got more t's and my hairl is now emerald green yay for getting old

Once you’ve gotten to half a century, we can talk about what it’s like to be old. It looks to me like you’ve got over a decade to go yet, whippersnapper.
I did green once. I just don’t have the complexion to pull it off. Red for many years though.

 

[Charliemum]

Once you’ve gotten to half a century, we can talk about what it’s like to be old. It looks to me like you’ve got over a decade to go yet, whippersnapper.
I did green once. I just don’t have the complexion to pull it off. Red for many years though.

been a long time since I was called whippersnapper

I was the opposite I did red and it didn't suit me I looked ill all the time so I grew it all out , decided I was bored with it and now it's green underneath and on half of my fringe but the top and half my fringe is still my natural brown. I like it though n think I will keep it for a bit

 

[l4nsky]

You need a helper ! My SO and I live cross country from each other and every time I go he gets me to do the baby vivs he hates knocking them up n I like making little houses lol, think maybe you need an official viv maker too .
Although I get the feeling you like to do it yourself then you know it's right ah the joys of being an aspiring mad genius
they all end up with little spoods in them .

I actually paid a buddy to do it this year as I'm over 50k holes melted myself at this point. Still though, I like to wash them after and that takes some time.

 

[Charliemum]

I actually paid a buddy to do it this year as I'm over 50k holes melted myself at this point. Still though, I like to wash them after and that takes some time.

I wash mine after too n you let someone else do t stuff for you well done you

 

[l4nsky]

Episode two of So You Want To Breed Tarantulas Ehh?

Keep in mind this is just for one eggsack .

 

[l4nsky]

Episode three of So You Want To Breed Tarantulas Ehh?

Ended up separating out 117 Ornithoctonus sp Ranong Blue slings in about 2 hours. Next step is to get them feeding prior to shipping so they can handle the rigors of the process. I prefer to get two meals into them to get them well started, but one will do in a pinch. They'll typically eat 7-10 days after molting to 2i. I have a lateralis colony that is setup to perpetually produce pinheads, so I always have them available for new slings. If you didn't think this far ahead, you'll have to figure out a way to source atleast 10 dozen appropriate sized feeder items like pinhead crickets. You COULD go with prekilled or chopped up mealworms, but the problem with that is you absolutely must remove anything uneaten the next day or they'll start to mold and it can be difficult to see if the sling has actually eaten. Also, in an enclosure for moisture dependent species like Ornithoctonus spp, that mold can take over and prove deadly in a week's time.

A little over half of this clutch has already been sold and will ship out after they start eating, but wait, that means more prep work to get ahead of the curve. You'll need shipping vials. Good thing I prepped 200 of them a few weeks back (took a few hours).




Actually getting the slings out of the enclosures and into the vials once the time comes is a bit of a chore as well, especially when you have to do large amounts. Expect another few hours invested there in the future.

Oh, did I mention this is still all for one eggsack? We haven't even discussed the larger Phormingochilus sp Akcaya eggsack maybe 50 days from 2i still in the incubator.....


Or the Phormingochilus pennellhewlettorum eggsack that is hopefully getting pulled next Friday that looks equally as large.......

Now that they're all separated, I have another hour of general husbandry work to do in the collection before I can call it a night.

You really have to have a passion for this.

 

[fcat]

Episode three of So You Want To Breed Tarantulas Ehh?
View attachment 469957
Ended up separating out 117 Ornithoctonus sp Ranong Blue slings in about 2 hours. Next step is to get them feeding prior to shipping so they can handle the rigors of the process. I prefer to get two meals into them to get them well started, but one will do in a pinch. They'll typically eat 7-10 days after molting to 2i. I have a lateralis colony that is setup to perpetually produce pinheads, so I always have them available for new slings. If you didn't think this far ahead, you'll have to figure out a way to source atleast 10 dozen appropriate sized feeder items like pinhead crickets. You COULD go with prekilled or chopped up mealworms, but the problem with that is you absolutely must remove anything uneaten the next day or they'll start to mold and it can be difficult to see if the sling has actually eaten. Also, in an enclosure for moisture dependent species like Ornithoctonus spp, that mold can take over and prove deadly in a week's time.

A little over half of this clutch has already been sold and will ship out after they start eating, but wait, that means more prep work to get ahead of the curve. You'll need shipping vials. Good thing I prepped 200 of them a few weeks back (took a few hours).
View attachment 469960
View attachment 469961
View attachment 469962

Actually getting the slings out of the enclosures and into the vials once the time comes is a bit of a chore as well, especially when you have to do large amounts. Expect another few hours invested there in the future.

Oh, did I mention this is still all for one eggsack? We haven't even discussed the larger Phormingochilus sp Akcaya eggsack maybe 50 days from 2i still in the incubator.....
View attachment 469959

Or the Phormingochilus pennellhewlettorum eggsack that is hopefully getting pulled next Friday that looks equally as large.......

Now that they're all separated, I have another hour of general husbandry work to do in the collection before I can call it a night.

You really have to have a passion for this.

The hero we need