More tarantulas. A LOT more

So, went to my monthly local today expecting to come home with one or two more Ts. I ended up with 5 because 3 of them were freebies. :oops:

A young adult female Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens, a larger than 1" Caribena versicolor sling, an 1" Pseudoclamoris gigas sling, a tiny Tliltocatl albopilosum sling and an equally tiny Holothele sp. blue sling.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...507&height=676
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The transfers went from okay to nerve wracking. The terrestrials went okay (the GBB took a little bit to get her to clamber out), but the arboreals... The versicolor was easily the worst. Climbed all over the place, jumped to the floor twice (thankfully I think it's okay), and overall took forever to get in the new container.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...507&height=676
The gigas meanwhile I got it out of the vile just fine, but it moved a bit, and I looked away to start screwing the lid back on. I look again and in that microsecond it teleported almost to the top of the container. I knew they were fast but, what. :omg: It's pretty though, and had an old molt in the vial.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...507&height=676
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Finally, a better pic of the GBB post-transfer and all the setups overall. She's a beauty.
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v nice selections - C. versicolors are absolute sweethearts (minus the poop cannon lol)!

Sounds like you needed more of these- for the practice! hahaha! :D

I love the tiny threat pose, lol

Just offered all the new Ts their first meal. 99% sure the GBB took the superworm offered. She panicked a bit due to her web roof getting torn off (because of course one of the very first things she webbed up was the lid) but I saw she turned back around towards where I put the superworm and it was gone next time I checked. As for all the slings I just put prekilled mealworms near them and hope they'll take them. The terrestrial sling were easy and the C. versicolor already made a little web platform to put it on, but the Amazonius germani (i.e. Pseudoclamoris gigas, I've learned that A. germani is the current name and its taxonomy was changed 3 times already) hadn't webbed up at all yet and has spent all its time on the underside of the lid. Luckily though I was able to very carefully able to lift it out while on the lid and keep it in a box with tissues while I changed the water and balanced a mealworm on the top of a branch. Just hope it notices it eventually.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...507&height=676

I have mixed news. My Holothele sp. blue sling is for sure eating. Saw it actively feeding on the mealworm. I think the C. versicolor ate. It was out of its leaf tent and the mealworm was noticeably moved. Don't think the T. albo ate, still just sitting next to the mealworm, and I'm certain the A. germani never even saw the mealworm. Definitely going to glue some kind of bottle cap feeding platform near the top when I have some time because it never leaves the lid. Glad at least a couple of them are eating already though.
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Gave all the Ts fresh water and food. Decided to give the slings multi-choice and put in a pre-killed mealworm and P. pruinosus isopod to see if that'd encourage the ones that haven't eaten yet (T. albopilosus and A. germani) to do so. Speaking of the latter I unfortunately wasn't able to make the feeding platform as it wasn't hanging on the lid and I'm not confidence enough to try and get it to move myself and I certainly wasn't going to try and spend the time to glue the bottle cap to the side in case it tried to escape, or worse bolted right into the fresh glue so I left the prey items on the ground (I saw it near the floor yesterday presumably to drink so I'm hoping they'll be noticed this time). At least I've had good luck with it not bolting free so far with my techniques, as this time I put a piece of paper over the top of where it was in case it moved up while I put in the water and food.

For some good news, I got visual confirmation of my GBB eating.
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I'm getting incredibly frustrated with my A. germani... All the other slings have either eaten or, in the case of my curly hair, are in premolt as I've come to find out. But the germani is definitely not in premolt (it came to me with a molt in its vial) but has still not eaten for over a week. I've tried balancing prekilled prey on a stick halfway up the side, I've offered it at ground level, and neither has worked. I've just made a feeding platform at the top after several attempts (tried super glue and silicone and neither worked, only to find just driving a nail through the whole thing shish kabob style worked instantly), so I'm going to see if that will finally make a difference.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...901&height=676
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After a lot of struggling, I finally just went and got some live crickets for the A. germani and put in a couple last night, and it finally ate!!! Checked this morning and couldn't find one of the two crickets, and then I noticed the sling had a nice plump rump, and I have a pic from a week ago that showed how much thinner it was. Now all my slings have eaten at least once except for the T. albopilosum who's still in premolt (apparently it can take quite a long time).
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...507&height=676
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I swear all my Ts are spoiled princesses. The GBB (who now has a name, Mora) didn't eat her prekilled superworm and instead just kicked it out of the way despite taking prekilled just fine before, but she of course took a live one instantly.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...507&height=676
My Holothele sp blue, by the same token, also refused a prekilled mealworm despite taking one before, but quickly took to a prekilled cricket. Then there's my A. germani (who also has a name now, Phaser, just three Ts left to name) who's only eaten live crickets. Everyone goes on about snakes being a pain to feed sometimes but these guys have been far more egregious with their feeding preferences than my snakes ever have been. :rolleyes:

The T. albo is excused for now because it's in premolt, but still, they're all so picky.

Oh yeah, they can have weirdly specific preferences. I try not to do prekilled for anything but very small babies, but I have a few that just will not eat roaches, or will only eat roaches if I tong-feed them and literally hold the roach down for them. Some Ts are just not quite smart enough to actually hunt them down if they get away and flatten against something. I hate crickets but I've found pretty much any T will eat them because they're very noisy and clumsy and barge around the tank in a way that I guess is enticing. Once they do some webbing you can also try dropping worms into the actual web so they get stuck and can't burrow, but some Ts will be frightened of how violently mealworms thrash around - it can be annoying figuring out who wants to eat what.

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Originally Posted by plateOfFlan

Oh yeah, they can have weirdly specific preferences. I try not to do prekilled for anything but very small babies, but I have a few that just will not eat roaches, or will only eat roaches if I tong-feed them and literally hold the roach down for them. Some Ts are just not quite smart enough to actually hunt them down if they get away and flatten against something. I hate crickets but I've found pretty much any T will eat them because they're very noisy and clumsy and barge around the tank in a way that I guess is enticing. Once they do some webbing you can also try dropping worms into the actual web so they get stuck and can't burrow, but some Ts will be frightened of how violently mealworms thrash around - it can be annoying figuring out who wants to eat what.

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I've heard back and forth over if prekilled is the way to go for the same reasons snakes are recommended to eat prekilled (no risk of prey fighting back). That and with the likes of meal/superworms there's no worry they'll escape and bury into the substrate if they're already dead, for example one time I dropped a live superworm for my A. seemanni and it nearly disappeared before she managed to dig it out. But on the other hand the better feeding responses I've had with live speak for themselves so. :confuzd:

In regards to putting prey on webbing, that's worked fine for my C. versicolor who made a web "platform" not long after coming home, but as I've come to find out, A. germani just, don't web, at all. They're behaviorally more like an arboreal wolf spider than what you'd expect of a tarantula from what I can tell.

My T. albopilosus molted! The first time I've had a T molt in my care. Look at all those little hairs. :wuv:
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...507&height=676
Will wait a week or so for it to harden up, then I'll offer a meal.

Years ago, when my one & only very large female native tarantula molted, it looked as if she'd cloned herself. :cool: I did a double-take.

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Originally Posted by Snagrio

I've heard back and forth over if prekilled is the way to go for the same reasons snakes are recommended to eat prekilled (no risk of prey fighting back).

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I've only kept a handful of easy Ts for less than two years, but my observation is that Ts are 100x more capable predators than snakes are (venom is kind of cheating, but still). My Ts really hold out for crickets, so that's what I feed them. Shame, since dubias would be easier (and I don't keep any other roach species out of escape concerns).

Rachnera and Mora having some dinner, and bonus versicolor butt. :P Still don't have names for half of them.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...507&height=676
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And in even better news, my T. albo took a prekilled cricket, meaning all my Ts have now eaten! :D
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So it was my monthly local again. Really tried to find a red knee but I think the Mexican CITES ban messed up the availability because I couldn't find any for the life of me and the breeder vendor never seems to have any Brachypelma, at least since the last couple times I checked. So I got this instead, a Megaphobema robustum, for which I already had a name ready. Squitter.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...507&height=676
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Tried to get some ventral pics if anyone wants to try sexing.
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Very pretty! Is this one or or less "challenging" than the red-knee you were looking for? At least it has red legs- but these get bigger, don't they? You might need a leash- :D

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Very pretty! Is this one or or less "challenging" than the red-knee you were looking for? At least it has red legs- but these get bigger, don't they? You might need a leash- :D

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From what I've read, they have a bizarre defensive behavior where instead of showcasing fangs in the typical threat posture they kick around their barbed back legs and spin around to confuse predators. Mine did neither, though for some reason it kicked hairs well after it safely transferred to the setup (didn't see it kick but it suddenly had a bald spot). I think I accidentally spooked it putting the cork weight back on the lid?

Otherwise they're said to be very shy and will burrow out of site indefinitely (gave it extra sub accordingly). Though, the exact same thing is said of A. seemanni and my girl is out like this nearly at all times so idk what to expect. :P
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Squitter took the superworm I offered her (mostly sure it's a female) on the first try. :)
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She's already begun to burrow. I think the meal yesterday put her at ease that this is a good place to set up house. :giggle:
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Bit of an update. All the Ts are alive, eating and doing well. The versicolor molted, but I didn't have any luck sexing it as the whole thing fell apart. Oh well. Here's all the slings.
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Adults.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...503&height=671
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Squitter made a fence/gate out of sub and webbing for the entrance of her hide, it's adorable.
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In other news, due to the slings being picky and mostly wanting crickets, nearly all my mealworms have become beetles, so many that I gave them a bigger bin soon after this shot. Guess I'll just keep them around for a random colony.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...503&height=671

Need to start labeling all of these. :rofl:
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So, through the amazing generosity of some admins of an invert server I'm in (all I had to pay for was shipping), I have acquired another T. A very tiny Lasiodora parahybana sling.
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But that's not all. They also sent me three isopod species.

Porcellio laevis "Orange"
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Armadillidium klugii "Dubrovnik"
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And finally, the greatly coveted and beloved Cubaris sp. "Rubber Ducky"
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Also finally did what I mentioned earlier and labeled all the inverts so it's nice and organized.
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That was nice of them- :)

Kind of a hodgepodge update. Been having some, frustrations with Mora. Decided to rearrange her setup to try and encourage her to web up more towards the ground and away from the lid and even made a leaning cork bark piece to make a "cave" to give her a starting point.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...895&height=671
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...And she decided to web up ABOVE the cork anyway and is once again right next to the lid. :crazy:
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Think I'm going to have to try and cut the lid in half and make a hinge on one side so I can get access without breaking her webs every time.

In other news, I jumped through several hoops trying to get a dubia colony going. Got them (adults and babies) and buffalo beetles at a show last weekend, and for some reason nobody at the show had egg cartons so I had to order some and used some cork bark flats as a temporary measure. Fast forward to now and they had arrived, but I spent two hours knocking small dubias and beetles out of the crevices of the cork and then had to cut the cartons two separate times because first they didn't fit, and then again because they were touching the lid which allowed the buffalo beetles to escape through the vent holes on the lid. Also got a heat pad attached (with a 'stat of course) so hopefully they'll start breeding.
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Really I don't need that many dubias now, but I'm getting the numbers going well ahead of time for something in the future. Top secret. ;)

Mora sounds rather opinionated? :D When it comes to growing our own feeders, it's either famine (not enough & hard to get going) or "feast" (way too many)- I've never messed with dubia, but I used to grow mealworms (& have always raised rodents)- mealworms are much easier to contain, at least. I've never had any rodents escape either- that would be a nightmare- but I always have too many.

Really mixed bag of news. Things have not gone well for my P. parahybana... Checked on it one day and it looked dead, all curled up and not moving. And I made the massive mistake of picking it up to deal with the body, only for its legs to move. So either it was trying to molt, or was already declining for whatever reason. As of typing this it is still alive, but it's barely moving (occasionally changing position and reacting to light with leg movements) and no molt has happened for almost a full week since the initial incident so, it's not looking good... :( I'm guilt-ridden that I might have accidentally killed it by touching it when it was just trying to molt... The pics are from 5 days ago, to just now.
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For some good news however, I was at my monthly local today and got some new isopods, and there were Mexican red knees in abundance unlike the last couple months, so I was able to get a well-started juvenile.
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Well, mistakes can happen to anyone, & it might have nothing to do with your touching it anyway. Congrats on the new red-knee.

What Bogertophis said. Poor little guy might have been already having issues for whatever reason. All you can really do is make sure hydration is on point and hope he/she pulls through. Wishing you luck. Congrats on your new red knee :) That was one of the few I really wanted and never managed to get back when I was keeping T's. Side note, you have no idea how much this thread makes me miss keeping T's. Maybe some day my nerve damage will completely heal and I can again.

It finally passed away overnight...
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Didn't think there was any saving it anyway but it's still unfortunate... :(

Aw, too bad. R.I.P. little T. :tears:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Aw, too bad. R.I.P. little T. :tears:

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It was ironically (as it would've been the biggest of my Ts eventually) my smallest sling by a decent margin. I had a feeling I was going to have trouble with one of them at some point since they're harder to keep alive but, it still hurts...

For sure. Too bad your little "inner voice" was right. I really doubt it was anything you did- especially since this one was so small. That predisposes to survival issues.

I'm sorry he didn't make it :'(

Mega update post:

First of which, all the Ts finally have proper names, based on fictional spiders across media (apologies in advance if most of this isn't familiar :rofl:).

Rachnera (Monster Musume), A. seemanni
Mora (Ori) C. cyaneopubescens
Squitter (Donkey Kong Country) M. robustum
Phaser (Enter the Gungeon) A. germani
Dweevil (Pikmin) Holothele sp. blue
Muffet (Undertale) C. versicolor
Airachnid "Aira" (Transformers Prime) T. albopilosus
Kumonga (Godzilla) B. smithi/hamorii

To start, Squitter had her first molt with me, and her reds are utterly stunning now. :wuv:
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...503&height=671
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Rachnera completely buried and plugged herself herself away recently (first pic is from about a month ago) and is undoubtedly due for her first molt with me as well.
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STILL waiting for Mora to molt. I'm debating back and forth if I should just rehouse her entirely or if I should keep waiting. She keeps herself holed up in one spot, has refused to eat for months and I have to mist her webbing to ensure she gets water to drink.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...503&height=671

All the babies are growing, very quickly. Only exception is Kumonga who still has yet to eat for me after almost two months. Came home with only 7 legs (didn't notice till after the fact) so it might be waiting until the next molt.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...895&height=671
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Muffet and Phaser need to be rehoused very soon. They are big, beautiful and ravenous.
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This is the first time I've actually seen Phaser out in the open in a long time too. Already has adult coleration coming in and is as fast as ever. There's a reason why these pics are blurry. :bolt:
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Aira has molted several times and also needs a rehouse soon. Has got those charactiristic curly hairs in spades.
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And then there's Dweevil. It molted quite literally overnight and at last has its full titular blue now (really glad I only give prekilled, had offered a meal just yesterday that I had removed after this pic).
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...503&height=671

Comparison to the last molt. What a glowup. :O
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...503&height=671

On the isopod front, I have expanded the living space for my P. laevis "orange" colony.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...503&height=671
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The Cubaris sp. "rubber duckies" have had more babies which is good because one of the adults had passed away. Itty bitty.
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My A. vulgare "Japanese magic potions", despite being my newest species, have also been reproducing prolifically already. I've heard a number of people saying they've had issues getting their colonies to thrive, so I must be doing something right.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...503&height=671

Finally, I've had success with the dubias as well. Babies everywhere.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...503&height=671
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"Airachnid"? :rofl: I'm not the arachnophile that you are, so no, your character names elude me, but I give you points anyway for style. Looks like most of them are doing well & all of them are in good hands. :gj: Excellent update- you've got quite a collection.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

"Airachnid"? :rofl: I'm not the arachnophile that you are, so no, your character names elude me, but I give you points anyway for style. Looks like most of them are doing well & all of them are in good hands. :gj: Excellent update- you've got quite a collection.

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It's a show about transforming robots to sell toys to kids, the names aren't always the greatest. :fim: