Why pull eggsacs?

[Matttoadman]

My ultimate goal in tarantulas is to breed them. I am an individual who loves to observe ceatures in all aspects of behavior. I have noticed in the breeding reports that most people pull the sac from the mother and place in an incubator. Why not leave it with the mother? Is it harder to maintain the proper temp and humidity in her enclosure? Is it easier to remove one egg sac rather than hundreds of babies? (This would make sense). Other than creating a communal set up, are there any species that leaving the sac is recommended?

 

[Trenor]

My ultimate goal in tarantulas is to breed them. I am an individual who loves to observe ceatures in all aspects of behavior. I have noticed in the breeding reports that most people pull the sac from the mother and place in an incubator. Why not leave it with the mother? Is it harder to maintain the proper temp and humidity in her enclosure? Is it easier to remove one egg sac rather than hundreds of babies? (This would make sense). Other than creating a communal set up, are there any species that leaving the sac is recommended?

It makes it a lot harder to get the slings out once they are out to the sack. Also when they are that small they can slip out of air holes and vents in an adult enclosure. Most people I have watched leave them with the mother until they are about come out. Then they remove them and place them in the incubator to allow them to finish developing. Even with more of the communal setups I've seen most of them pull the sacks as well. The ones that haven't usually didn't know they had sacks.

 

[darkness975]

Is it easier to remove one egg sac rather than hundreds of babies? (This would make sense).

This basically answers most aspects of the question already. You might come home late on a Sunday and find that you have 300 baby spiders running all around your room.

 

[Bugmom]

What they said, and also because sometimes the mother will eat the sac.

Unless it's M. balfouri, then for dog's sake, don't remove the sac.

 

[beaker41]

I find myself wondering about this as well, I just got my first t. Stirmi sac to drop and am not looking forward to tug of war with her big scary ass. I've heard people pull them from "aggressive" species out of fear that they will eat the sac. Does this mean they should be fed while the sac is there or do they eat it out of some defensive reaction?

 

[louise f]

Does this mean they should be fed while the sac is there or do they eat it out of some defensive reaction?

You can feed the Darlingi when she is with kiddos. Because they make an hammock. But the ones that carry the sac, you can`t feed while carrying along on the sac.
I`m not sure though why some eat the sacs.
Maybe because of stress, hunger, thirst. Maybe

 

[beaker41]

I have always waited to feed until the mother ventures out of the hide to look for food but I would hate to wait too long and have my female eat the egg sac out of hunger

 

[Teal]

I find myself wondering about this as well, I just got my first t. Stirmi sac to drop and am not looking forward to tug of war with her big scary ass. I've heard people pull them from "aggressive" species out of fear that they will eat the sac. Does this mean they should be fed while the sac is there or do they eat it out of some defensive reaction?

LOL!

I fed my P. murinus while she had a sac. She would move a few inches from it towards the opening of her web tunnel, so I took that as her being hungry.

I didn't pull her sac until the slings were 1st instar in the sac, and then I put them all into a deli cup. Once they molted to 2i, I put them in their own 2oz cups.

My first P. chordatus breeding resulted in 200 or so slings loose with their mama... capturing them all was an all night, NOT FUN journey.

 

[beaker41]

I left 1286 b. Albos to hatch with their mother, quite an affair seperating.

 

[Jeff23]

If you do leave the egg sac do certain genus/species let the baby T's stay longer before eating them? It seems like I saw where a few people left Avicularia sacs because there are a lot less babies and the mother lets them be while they are young.

 

[cold blood]

Certain species certainly develop faster than others...some like a P. cam will actually be hatched at 30 days, others like avic avic, take a little longer, I pulled at 45 days, and while they were 1i, they had not hatched (left the egg sac).

@Teal, in the future, its best to put 1i in an incubator and then separate them at 2i. I learned this the hard way. Survival rates are not only much better, but they take a lot less time to molt into 2i in the incubator...like 2 to 3 times as long IME...which is at least part of what will bring down survival rates.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

You can feed the Darlingi

C.darlingi, darling

 

[louise f]

C.darlingi, darling

Hehe, i know my dear friend

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Hehe, i know my dear friend

Yup I know, just an excuse for send to you a emoticon

 

[louise f]

Yup I know, just an excuse for send to you a emoticon

Hahaa silly and cute

 

[Teal]

Certain species certainly develop faster than others...some like a P. cam will actually be hatched at 30 days, others like avic avic, take a little @Teal, in the future, its best to put 1i in an incubator and then separate them at 2i. I learned this the hard way. Survival rates are not only much better, but they take a lot less time to molt into 2i in the incubator...like 2 to 3 times as long IME...which is at least part of what will bring down survival rates.

I didn't lose a single sling. I put 86 1i into a deli cup (with their opened egg sac), and a few weeks later I put 86 2i into their own 2oz deli cups.

 

[cold blood]

I didn't lose a single sling. I put 86 1i into a deli cup (with their opened egg sac), and a few weeks later I put 86 2i into their own 2oz deli cups.

That was P. murinus, they're bulletproof....the advice was a future consideration.

 

[Teal]

That was P. murinus, they're bulletproof....the advice was a future consideration.

I am curious why people use an incubator... just to make the slings grow faster? If they stayed with the female, they would not be receiving any additional heat.

 

[cold blood]

I am curious why people use an incubator... just to make the slings grow faster? If they stayed with the female, they would not be receiving any additional heat.

To increase survival rates. It keeps them well hydrated.

1i would be out of the sac. By the time you feed them and they start growing, they are out of the incubator