Today in the Spider Room?

[Dovey]

My A. geroldi molted which is a big deal for me. I lost the other one I had to a bad molt so every successful molt with the species is great for me. Plus I get to rehouse "her" and examine the exuvia this weekend, obviously I'm hoping for a female.

How big is your giroldi? I lost one at a fairly small size to a bad molt. I will cross fingers and toes and chant the secret female chant tonight for it to be a girl!

Y'all want to know the secret girly chant?

It works every time. Until recently I was 8 for 10 male. Recently, I've been 5 for 5 female. It's all about Betty White. But you've got to believe! You've got to go to the window. You've got to go to the wall. You've got to let sweat...well, let it go where it will. That's mysticism for you.

 

[Mirandarachnid]

How big is your giroldi? I lost one at a fairly small size to a bad molt. I will cross fingers and toes and chant the secret female chant tonight for it to be a girl!

Y'all want to know the secret girly chant?

It works every time. Until recently I was 8 for 10 male. Recently, I've been 5 for 5 female. It's all about Betty White. But you've got to believe! You've got to go to the window. You've got to go to the wall. You've got to let sweat...well, let it go where it will. That's mysticism for you.

This reminds me of the first day in acting class

I like you.

 

[CWilson1351]

How big is your giroldi? I lost one at a fairly small size to a bad molt. I will cross fingers and toes and chant the secret female chant tonight for it to be a girl!

Y'all want to know the secret girly chant?

It works every time. Until recently I was 8 for 10 male. Recently, I've been 5 for 5 female. It's all about Betty White. But you've got to believe! You've got to go to the window. You've got to go to the wall. You've got to let sweat...well, let it go where it will. That's mysticism for you.

This makes 5i for "her" I lost the other from 2-3i

 

[Dovey]

This reminds me of the first day in acting class

I like you.

I teach theater, including professional audition prep all the way down to acting for non-majors and further down to actors new and pre-professional aged as young as 5. Of course it feels like acting class!

And I'm glad to hear it, because I like you too! A lot.

Woo hoo! The day started so early here in "the Hide," my spider room with a bed in it. So exhausted after yesterday's conference and taking care of animals that I fell into only a semi-sleep state with lots of waking and falling back asleep. At some point, I felt a tiny little spider tippy-toeing across my cheeks nose and eyelid.

I was suddenly wide awake but had the good sense to keep my eye closed so the little thing didn't go flying up into my hairline. I reached over in the dark and found my cell phone, turned on the screen light, and the little devil jumped right over onto the screen where it was warm. I took one look and screamed in my head "holy shite, Neoholothele incei!" I had purchased a tiny little incei sling for $15 at the Predators conference, and there it was, tapdancing on the loose, right on my phone screen in a dark room at 3 a.m.!

Of course, by the time I managed to gently slide out of bed, step on a piece of sharp sea glass with bare feet, curse a little while, get the light on, find my glasses, realize they were my reading glasses, and find my other glasses, the little spider was long gone. I was none-too-pleased, count on it.

Then I thought, "come on Gloria, you've gotten OCD about securing spiders since the OBT incident with the closet. You didn't let that spider out. And it certainly didn't let itself out." Then I couldn't find the right vial. Then I found the vial, and the little thing looked up at me like "what in the world are you doing? What kind of time do you call this! Go back to bed, you lunatic."

So I did. Sheesh, what a night.

 

[Greasylake]

Got a good look at my Fimbriatus sling for the first time after its molt. Looking incredibly leggy compared to my female so I think I've got a male on my hands to go with my female. Did someone say future breeding project? Why yes they did it, and it was I.

 

[Dovey]

Got a good look at my Fimbriatus sling for the first time after its molt. Looking incredibly leggy compared to my female so I think I've got a male on my hands to go with my female. Did someone say future breeding project? Why yes they did it, and it was I.
View attachment 272604

I've been looking at threat poses so when I flipped over to this photo, I was like is that a little threat pose? Well, it could be!

 

[Greasylake]

I've been looking at threat poses so when I flipped over to this photo, I was like is that a little threat pose? Well, it could be!

Nah he was just holding on to his webbing as he stared at the cricket waiting for something to move.

 

[Wolfspidurguy]

some crickets escaped a while ago and now im finding crickets EVERYWHERE like in my room (my spider room), my bathroom, my moms room, and my moms bathroom. my mom makes me pick them up so i have to drop everything im doing to pick one up. we have a feeling there nesting somewhere but we dont know where. part of me wants to feed my spiders some then take the carcasses and put them on toothpicks and stick them in the carpet with a sign that says "crickets are not welcome"

 

[draconisj4]

So much spider yoga going on today, lol.Tiny the Lp is draped gracefully over his hide and Mr. Bitey the P. cancerides is kind of on his side leaning up against his hide. Both are in the "Pretending to be a Pokie" stance. Iris the I. hirsutum who should be in a pokie stance is sprawled out on her web like an umbrella. Blue the GBB is bent at close to a right angle with it's abdomen and back 2 legs straight up on the side of the enclosure. So cute, makes me smile

 

[Dovey]

So much spider yoga going on today, lol.Tiny the Lp is draped gracefully over his hide and Mr. Bitey the P. cancerides is kind of on his side leaning up against his hide. Both are in the "Pretending to be a Pokie" stance. Iris the I. hirsutum who should be in a pokie stance is sprawled out on her web like an umbrella. Blue the GBB is bent at close to a right angle with it's abdomen and back 2 legs straight up on the side of the enclosure. So cute, makes me smile

Downward-facing dog is a favorite around here today...I've been working with thrixopelma! (Ye olde butt-waggle, don't 'cha know.)

 

[Dovey]

Today in the spider room, my pet rat Camellia butt-dialed my mother and when she answered the phone, hung up on her. Twice. She has lost her phone privileges for the foreseeable future.

Also, how many years do you have to be in this fancy before you stop panicking and your heart stops jumping into your throat every time you open a bin and find a spider in flagrante on its back? I always always always think they are dying or dead for at least a few seconds, and they are always always always lying on a molting mat. I guess it's just one of those things you get used to.

So yes, as we speak, one of the chalcodes juveniles I rescued out of my dad's shoe closet is finally shedding. This is Chalcodes juvenile A. He / she is very pretty, and I can't wait to get a sex confirmation. I think if there's any eating of molts, I will lose my dadgum mind. I have three juveniles, and the two that molted last week both ate their sheds. I may work up a tarantula on toast recipe if this one does it too. These guys shed about once a millennium, and I don't know if I have it in me to wait at least another year.

Don't know if I mentioned it, but I am, strictly speaking, between gigs right now. Working on some health issues rather than jumping back in and finding a new job. What that means is today I schlepped off all other duties and spent virtually the entire day rehousing slings and juveniles and adults. I think I must have moved 20 spiders today. And the big quickies are still in front of me. It has been a relaxing joy, except the 57 kajillion times I dropped my tongs and they landed under my bad knee, which meant a big ouch in order to reach down and get them. I can live with it. What a luxury today was!

 

[Mirandarachnid]

My other is becoming more and more interested in the spiders. If he sees me snufflin' around in the feeders he gets excited. "Is it snack time?! I wanna help with snack time!"

 

[draconisj4]

It has been a relaxing joy, except the 57 kajillion times I dropped my tongs and they landed under my bad knee, which meant a big ouch in order to reach down and get them.

What a coincidence, I took 2 weeks off work because of my knee. I have a very physical job and bits and pieces of me have broken down over the years but my knees have always been good. Not any more...evidently I'm close to a knee replacement all of a sudden. Anyway I have new T's coming Thursday and several of my others need rehoused and here I am trying to figure out how I'm going to do the transfers because I can't get down on the floor so the bathtub is out of the question.

 

[Thekla]

They are sooooo mean!

My little B. vagans juvie moulted last night for the second time in my care. (S)he is definitely big enough to sex... if only I could get to the moult. But like the last time (s)he just shoved the moult right to the little window she made (which is furthest away from the entrance as spiderly possible), as if to say: "Guess what? You'll never get it! "



I swear (s)he only burrowed that far and made that window just to mock me every time (s)he moults.

 

[draconisj4]

They are sooooo mean!

My little B. vagans juvie moulted last night for the second time in my care. (S)he is definitely big enough to sex... if only I could get to the moult. But like the last time (s)he just shoved the moult right to the little window she made (which is furthest away from the entrance as spiderly possible), as if to say: "Guess what? You'll never get it! "

View attachment 272783

I swear (s)he only burrowed that far and made that window just to mock me every time (s)he moults.

Must be related to mine, it does the exact same thing...right in the window, lol. Somewhere in that burrow are 2 other molt, I'be never been able to get one out.

Not good news in the spider room today, when I checked the spiders before work I saw that my little X. immanis had flipped. I don't know when because it's little window faces the wall and the last time I checked on it was 3 days ago. 12 hours later it's still on it's back motionless and it doesn't look right to me, I don't even know how to describe it but definitely not right. I'm going to leave it til morning because it's deep in it's burrow and if it is ok I don't want to disturb it, but I'm not holding out much hope

 

[Sinned]

Hoping here she surprises you.

 

[draconisj4]

Hoping here she surprises you.

I really don't think so, it didn't have the mouth of the burrow sealed so I gently scooped away a little substrate so I could get a look from the other side and it looks like the chelicerae are out but nothing else is and there is no movement whatsoever, and the abdomen looks wrong from the window side. For all I know it could have flipped a couple of days ago, but still there would be nothing I could do if almost the entire spider was stuck.

 

[Sinned]

For all I know it could have flipped a couple of days ago, but still there would be nothing I could do if almost the entire spider was stuck.

Sorry to read/hear that, but I agree with you. I know the "big-ones" can take ages to molt, doesn't seem that is case here.

Also doesn't seem like you could of helped in anyway, not if she/he got stuck that soon and that deep in her burrow.

 

[draconisj4]

I know the "big-ones" can take ages to molt, doesn't seem that is case here.

No, little guy is only about 4 cm, I'm almost positive the process started before this morning. I didn't like to move it's enclosure to check on it too often because it stressed it out. I guess I should have just covered the window with a piece of black paper like I do with my M. robustum so I can check on it without disturbing it, at least I'd know when it started.

Not good news in the spider room today, when I checked the spiders before work I saw that my little X. immanis had flipped. I don't know when because it's little window faces the wall and the last time I checked on it was 3 days ago. 12 hours later it's still on it's back motionless and it doesn't look right to me, I don't even know how to describe it but definitely not right. I'm going to leave it til morning because it's deep in it's burrow and if it is ok I don't want to disturb it, but I'm not holding out much hope

The little one has passed, my first loss to a bad molt. All I can do is chalk it up to nature and know that it had a good life for the time I had it, be grateful for the 4 successful molts this past week and carry on. RIP little one.

 

[RonnyT]

The little one has passed, my first loss to a bad molt. All I can do is chalk it up to nature and know that it had a good life for the time I had it, be grateful for the 4 successful molts this past week and carry on. RIP little one.

Sorry for your loss, there wasn't much you could do.