Welcome back Vesper (Brachypelma klaasi)

[plateOfFlan]

I think I've mentioned her before, but my rarely-seen B klaasi has deigned to be spotted on camera for once. I've had her for 2 years almost exactly, and she spends months at a time underground, occasionally opening a portal to peer at me through the glass. She sometimes opens the mouth of her burrow without venturing out, at which point I send prey insects down for her to eat until she's satisfied and closes it up again. Very very rarely she is seen on the surface. It's a real shame because she's a jawdropper when freshly molted.



That pic is the result of forcing her out so I could move her into a bigger enclosure, most of my pics of her looks more like this:



This week she reopened her burrow for the first time since last June (my last sighting through the portal was in September), so I annoyed her out into the open for some pics and to check her body condition. She is looking pretty faded and probably due to molt soon but looks great!





Like any legally-obtained B klaasi she was bred in a lab in Jalisco by a group that is releasing spiderlings into their natural habitat (this species is critically endangered) and was selling some individuals with proper paperwork into the pet trade - the hope was that this strategy would reduce illegal poaching by meeting the demand for the species. With the new CITES rules she is even more precious because this species can no longer be imported under any circumstances. It'll be probably several more years before she can have spiderlings of her own, but her life expectancy is around 20-30 years so I am being patient.

[Bogertophis]

Wow, talk about being patient! I hope you'll continue to do well with her, & especially that she'll reproduce eventually also. Good job!

[plateOfFlan]

Vesper is spending more and more time out in the open which is a real treat. She's even taking food off the tongs. I think her proportions and fuzziness give the impression, in person and in pictures, that she's much bigger than she is - I was surprised to measure her this week at only about 4cm from "snout to vent". Adult size we're looking for is at least 6cm. I'm trying to find more papers and breeding reports but 2 sources so far say female B klaasi aren't sexually mature until around 7-10 years old - she's about 3 now so she has plenty of time to put on the rest of that size.

[Bogertophis]

I'm glad your patience is paying off- & she's a good-looking critter.