Today in the Spider Room?

[Colorado Ts]

One of my Aphonopelma hentzi females came out of torpor over the weekend. We had a storm front pass through the area with a significant pressure drop associated with it. I had a suspicion that she didn't feel comfortable and needed an enclosure with a deeper substrate. I rehoused her yesterday into a smaller enclosure with about 4 inches deeper substrate. Today she has burrowed down to the bottom of the enclosure and seems much more relaxed.

Much more settled down and relaxed, tarantulas should not be this active...in general.

 

[Harry Haller]

This morning my G. rosea was out and about...
Zenyatta Mondatta?

Well, since there's no ghost in the machine here, I guess she was just reaching for an illusion.

Oh! Wait! You said your G. rosea actually move? Well, that's nothing short of a miracle!

If she does it again and it annoys you, just make a cross by drawing a line from every corner of the enclosure, then, where the lines align, put a rock for her to rest on and everything will be back in perfect synchronicity.

 

[Eukio]

After much excitement, I received my three inch female Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens in the mail this morning. However, I imagined three inches being...bigger. Either way, she is perfect and already settling in. I am also questioning whether or not the G. pulchra I said is one inch is truly "one inch." These two tarantulas are comparable in size.

 

[Rigor Mortis]

Well, since there's no ghost in the machine here, I guess she was just reaching for an illusion.

Oh! Wait! You said your G. rosea actually move? Well, that's nothing short of a miracle!

If she does it again and it annoys you, just make a cross by drawing a line from every corner of the enclosure, then, where the lines align, put a rock for her to rest on and everything will be back in perfect synchronicity.

Man, that was good!

 

[Brachyfan]

Today I did my first unboxings. Things went ok but I had my first taste of stubborn tarantulas. An Aphonopelma calchodes who took 7 hours to come off it's paper towel! And an Acanthoscurria geniculata sling that I had to rip the paper towel between it's legs and coax it off with a paintbrush. The genic then went into it's hide. In the end the genic was pretty good.

The other Ts were good though. T albopilosum, T epicureanum, B albiceps and G pulchripes. As a result I am happy to say that I completed my Brachypelma collection

 

[Arachnophoric]

Zenyatta? Zenyatta Mondatta?

What more perfect a name for a benevolent creature with 8 golden arms?

 

[Vulksgren]

One of my Aphonopelma hentzi females came out of torpor over the weekend. We had a storm front pass through the area with a significant pressure drop associated with it. I had a suspicion that she didn't feel comfortable and needed an enclosure with a deeper substrate. I rehoused her yesterday into a smaller enclosure with about 4 inches deeper substrate. Today she has burrowed down to the bottom of the enclosure and seems much more relaxed.

Much more settled down and relaxed, tarantulas should not be this active...in general.

I'm a bit jealous you have a hentzi lol, I've been looking out to get one.

 

[Colorado Ts]

I'm a bit jealous you have a hentzi lol, I've been looking out to get one.

Hopefully I'll have slings in the spring

 

[Rigor Mortis]

Fed my GBB for the first time today and she's a stone cold killer! The cricket was under one of her leaves and she went digging for it (unsuccessfully but her efforts were adorable) and when she finally got it you could have blinked and missed it. My T. albo gets to try out a first feeding tomorrow, she's scared of everything so that one should go reaaal well.

 

[KingAvi]

Did a rehouse with my bumba cabocla today.

 

[Thekla]

My H. chilensis has a new roommate.



He was actually grooming while his new roomie explored the flat.
Well, I guess that means he's in premoult again... I'm afraid it might be the last. I just hope I'll be able to find a girlfriend for him when the time comes.

 

[Colorado Ts]

Added two news spiders to my collection. I have a soft spot for Aphonopelma seemanni, and I saw one for sale on a Craigslist add. The guy was getting rid of about 8 to 10 tarantulas.

He had a Poecilotheria that he kept wanting me to take, it was his favorite, and he wanted it to go to someone who knew and appreciated spiders. Unfortunately, I have two kiddos in the house, a 5 year old and a 1.5 year old that love my spider collection...the risk is just too great.

I came home with a 5” Aphonopelma seemanni and a 2” Grammostola pulchripes.

 

[Arthroverts]

Added two news spiders to my collection. I have a soft spot for Aphonopelma seemanni, and I saw one for sale on a Craigslist add. The guy was getting rid of about 8 to 10 tarantulas.

He had a Poecilotheria that he kept wanting me to take, it was his favorite, and he wanted it to go to someone who knew and appreciated spiders. Unfortunately, I have two kiddos in the house, a 5 year old and a 1.5 year old that love my spider collection...the risk is just too great.

I came home with a 5” Aphonopelma seemanni and a 2” Grammostola pulchripes.

I'm in the same boat my friend with young un's in the house...

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[Arachnophoric]

Sold off all of the remaining N. incei slings from my first egg sac to a gentleman who'll be vending them at an expo in December. Now I just have the 4 I kept for myself, the T closet just got a fair bit emptier.

Feels bittersweet in a way, sending them off into the world to become a part of another person's beloved collection. I hope they end up in good hands.

 

[Colorado Ts]

I took my new A.seemanni into school with me this morning. Once it’s settles in, I’ll re-house it into a nicer enclosure...one that you can actually see the spider without having to remove the lid.

I dropped a red runner into the enclosure and the A. seemanni immediately hit with a very strong feeding response. During my last hour biology class, the students started asking questions about the new tarantula. They could see the new enclosure on the shelf with the others. I took my phone and turned on the light and set it so they could see into the burrow from the side and through the burrow opening on top.

These kiddos are used to my A. hentzi, so they were a bit surprised by the size and distinct markings of the A. seemanni.

They asked about feeding, so I dropped another red runner into the burrow, the tarantula took it very quickly. So that one is good till next week.

After school, I came home and checked my little slings in their cabinet. The Grammostola pulchripes had been very busy today moving lots of substrate out of its little cork bark lair and had tunneled down to the very bottom corner of the enclosure.

I took a medium sized cricket, dropped it into the enclosure and it wandered under the bark hide. By the time I picked up my flashlight and looked under the hide, the little G. pulchripes had the cricket and was dragging it further into the burrow.

All looks great.

 

[Arachnophoric]

Was hyped to see my P. reduncas molted, only to discover a load of mites crawling all over her.




I know mites aren't a problem for a healthy T, but she keeps twitching and thumping in a way that makes it look like they're bothering her. Looks like her enclosure is the only one that has them, and I never noticed them prior to her molting. Have her enclosure sequestered away from the rest of the Ts, and she's overdue for a rehouse as it is, so I'll let her have a week to harden up and then move her into a new, dry setup long enough to kill off the mites.

 

[Colorado Ts]

The final Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens has moulted. GBB#5 moulted today. What a relief. The sling has been very sluggish and not eating for about 2 weeks. It is quite noticeably larger than it was yesterday. I’ll give it the remainder of the week to harden off and I’ll offer it food next Tuesday evening. It is good that it has finally moulted.

My little Grammostola pulchripes has begun to seal itself into its burrow, so I suspect that it will moult soon. The sling is currently about 1.5" to 2". It looks like a miniature adult at the moment...I'm looking forward to seeing its adult coloration and size...though that may be awhile.

 

[draconisj4]

Busy day in the spider room, 5 roach bins cleaned out, rehoused E. uatuman, L. parahybana, O. aureotibialis, P. cancerides, H. longipes, M. robustum, and my A. geniculata who got into an argument with the paintbrush.....the paintbrush lost, lol. Also chopped veggies for beetles, millipedes and isopods.

On the agenda for tomorrow: Rehousing C. paviei, P. reduncus and "Spazz" my P. rufilata (should be fun...NOT). Setting up enclosures to let the substrate dry out before rehousing for G. pulchripesX2, B. albiceps and P. lugardi #1, modifying an exo terra for my P. cambridgei and drilling/melting holes in new enclosures for the next batch of rehousings. Last but not least feeding the T's, assassins, harvestmen, whip spider , centipede, vinegaroon and scorpions. Whew!!!

 

[Colorado Ts]

5 roach bins...how big are your colonies?

 

[draconisj4]

5 roach bins...how big are your colonies?

Not huge, I had issues with the nymphs dying off in the red runner bin and the Dubia were aborting their ooths when I kept them in large bins for some reason. I divided them into 4 smaller colonies and now they seem to be much happier, the red runner nymphs are doing well and I have lots of new Dubia nymphs. The fifth colony is a small starter of pet Therea regularis.