Spider Blog
Welcome to the spider blog where things will get a little more personal and I will document my day to day experiences with the tarantula keeping hobby. Here I will post at regular intervals updating you on the current comings and goings of the spiders I have here ...
Pictures of the week - Click on the one to view ...
March 6th 2010
Well, not so many new spiders arrived this week, however some very interesting developments have taken place. Firstly next week I am expecting the arrival of 5 new little p. formosa slings which wil be put into a communal set up as they are all from the same egg sac. This will be my second pokie community and I am quite excited about receiving the little guys. This will be a new pokie species to add to my collection bringing me to a total of having 4 different pokie species in my collection.
Otherwise I have ordered myself a big adult T. Blondi burgundy and an immature male to go with her. It is my hope to attempt breeding them once she is conditioned and the male is mature. I will of course document the attempt here on this site so you'll be able to follow the process whether successful or not so successful. Still, I am very much looking forward to receiving these giants of the spider world.
Also on the breeding front, my attempt at breeding Acanthogonatus sp. "Green" has taken another step forward. Two days ago i introduced the male to the bigger of the two females. She has only just moulted a little while ago, so it was the perfect time to mate her. The mating was a success with the male doing his stuff then escaping from her clutches unharmed. This means I now have two mated females so now it's time to feed them up and wait to see how things go. I will keep you updated on their progress.
On another subject I have sold two of my juvenile spiders - my little Chestnut dwarf and Chile flame will be on their way to the their new homes very shortly. I never realy like selling spiders as I get attached to them, but with so many newcomers sometimes sending some out has to be done just to keep my house from bursting at the seams.
My Ebony Earth Tiger MM arrived safely at his new home on Friday and I will await news to see how the mating attempt goes. If there are any slings I will certainly be purchasing some.
So lots to look forward to - watch this space for further updates soon.
February 28th 2010
Wow, are things busy, very many new arrivals flooding in my doors, hard to keep track of them all.
Sling wise this week I have had Psalmopoeus irminia, Haplopelma albostriatum, Pterinochilus murinus 'OBT', Nhandu chromatus sling, Brachypelma angustum, and Aphonopelma iodius arrive this week. Sizes are varied from really tiny to almost juvie. Excellent spiders all of them.
Adult wise I have had a new AF p. regalis arrive. She is gorgeous and very bronze coloured at the minute as I suspect she will shed soon. I have also brought in my first none tarantulas and added a breeding group of Acanthogonatus sp. "Green" to my collection - two adult females and a mature male. I tried my first copulation with the male and one of the females today and was really pleased with what I feel is a successful mating. I will create a page for these wonderful spiders and keep a journal of how things progresswith them. The bigger female has just moulted so I will give her a week before introducing the male to her. he is certainly a very eager male.
Also I have added a sub adult GBB to my collection. She is very beautiful, and is busy webbing up her new enclosure. I am very pleased with this new addition.
Have also aquired a new T. Blondi burgundy sling. this was given to me as a gift and I was really surprised and pleased to recieve it, meaning I have two of these now.
All the other spiders in my colection are doing well. Just one moult since my last blog and it saw my Ebony Earth Tiger Selenocosmia sp become a mature male. He is currently waiting to be sent away to meet with a potential girlfriend. Fingers crossed for slings.
Otherwise I can see that I now have so many spiders a website overhaul is required so I will be working on some redesigns and page changes over the next few weeks.
More updates soon.
February 13th 2010
Still busy, very very busy spiderwise.
Last Friday I had a nice delivery from the spider shop with 4 new arrivals. I was slightly disappointed as I had expected 5 new spiders, however they were out of stock of one of them. The four to arrive were gorgeous and consisted of 1 juvie Nhandu vulpinus, 1 adult Stichoplastoris sp and two slings: A. sp "Amazonica" and Aphonopelma caniceps. Pictures of these spiders are in the pop up gallery above.
This week has also seen many new, but tiny arrivals - had 6 p. cambridgei arrive on Tuesday and these are little cuties. I love the little tiger stripes and socks they wear when they are mini. Then on wednesday had 2 juvie L. para arrive - one of which I gifted to our very good friends, so I have one left and she's a little beauty. Eating everything I give her. Also had 5 little G. rosea slings arrive Wednesday. They were not in the best of condition and I was really sad that one was dead. The other four seem okay, but are not taking food at the moment. We will have to wait and see how these little guys go.
Otherwise I have put some of my bigger slings up for sale, hoping mainly to swap them for other spiders, but generally just seeing howw things go. Will only let them go if I feel the offer is right.
Had a couple of moults this week - my juvie Citharischius crawshayi moulted on Wednesday and looks very orange now. I thought it would be a lot bigger after the expected moult, but the size difference is not much. I guess they really are slow growers. Also my little GBB moulted on Thursday and that really is much bigger. Love the vibrant colours and the first hint of some of the adult colours coming in. Very pretty spider indeed.
Maggie my new T. blondi has started to feed in my care, and though she is somewhat fickle and skittish, I'm satisfied that she is doing well. She does not seem to like the hide I made her and spends most of her time out in the open. I may try a different hide see if that suits her better.
My little T, apophysis sling is eating absolutely everything and looking quite plump and round. It is a very cute and leggy little spider and is fast becoming one of my very favourites.
On the arboreal front I have lots of spiderlings very nearly juvies that have somewhat outgrown their houses so it looks like I will have to upgrade them and have a fun time with some very fast little spiders. Can't be avoided though, these guys are huge compared to what they were a little while ago.
Otherwise, I am on the hunt for B. Klaasi sling.
Further updates soon.
January 30th 2010
Wow, what a busy spider week, filled with gladness and a little sadness as well.
I finished last week's blog on the hunt for elusive T. Blondi, and I have to admit I thought the search would be a long one. i'm happy to report this is not so. I was lucky enough to source some 8cm juveniles, and tomorrow I am going to pick up my new T. Blondi "Burgundy". A souce of much confusion on the tarantula front as this species has not yet been given a latin name. It is very similar to the "pure" T. Blondi it grows as big but is different in colour, and is essentially a different species. However I am very happy to take on a Burgundy as I personally feel they are absolutely stunning, and with it being a captive bred specimen, I feel that is always better than wild caught.
Then of course there was the spider sadness this week with the loss of my elderly Grammostola - red chile zebra. It was a very sad loss and I will miss her a lot. She had been very slow for the last six months now, so I suppose I knew it was coming.
But on a happier note, I added two new spiders to my collection yesterday, both of which are adults and very beautiful. Firstly I added a huge 15cm Lasiodora parahybana. She is an absolute stunner, and you can see pictures of her in this week's weekly photos. I also added a very nice Thrixopelma ockerti adult lady. i am really pleased with her, she is a very beautiful specimen and quite active for a spider. The red on her abdomen is lovely. Pictures in the pop up gallery for this week.
January 23rd 2010
Well, this seems like as good a time as any to start my spider blog, especially since it's been a busy week with spiders. This is the first week for a long time when the weather hasn't been cold enough to keep a polar bear happy so eager tarantula enthusiasts everywhere have been grabbing hold of the good weather and sending our eight legged friends all around the country.
I have had a batch of spiders ordered since before Christmas and this week saw some of them finally able to make their journeys. On Tuesday I received the first of the eight new spiders set to come, and was thrilled to bits with the arrival of two little T. Apophysis (Goliath pink foot). The two little spiders were packed snugly in deli cups and both were quick to settle into their new homes. one left me yesterday when I passed it on to a friend, but the other one, who I have decided to name "Feet" is staying with me as a permanent member of my collection. It is a very leggy spider and currently measures about 4cm. This is a species I have not kept before, so I'm really looking forward to seeing how it will progress. (pictured second from top).
Otherwise another new arrival on Thursday saw me unpack a delightful little avicularia bicegoi (Red Brick Pinktoe - pictured fourth from top). This adorable little spider has a stunning red abdomen and is a good size at about an inch and a half. So far it has settled well into it's home and has made mincemeat (or should I say meatballs) of two good sized crickets. It is currently laying silk for its retreat. I am certainly very happy with it, and looking to further explore the world of avics as there are so many wonderful species.
Still on the subject of Avics, I found this morning that my little Avicularia Versicolor sling (martinique pink toe) had moulted and I was astounded by the amount of growth. Where do they hide all that extra leg span? the little thing must have gained nearly a centimetre. I always love to see my spiders in their new clothes.
I suspect I have several spiders in premoult at the minute as several are now pretty fat and starting to refuse food. My little King Baboon juvie is looking ready to pop and hasn't eaten for a couple of weeks now. I'm betting it will moult soon, and this will be the first time it's moulted under my care.
Also my Brazilian Pink refused its cricket today and it is very fat. i dare say it's moult will come soon and it will be interesting to see if it will show juvenile colours and sport less of those black and red tiger stripes.
Other spiders I suspect will moult soon are the ebony earth tiger, which has closed itself into its burrow, and my Mexican Red leg that has been off its food a while now.
In spiderling matters, they are all doing very well. My small Mexican Red knee are somewhat fickle eaters so I have tried them on smaller crickets than usual to see if this encorages them to take. Same with the two Chaco Golden knee. They seem to go through stages of eating loads and then refusing food for ages.
All in all, things look very good at the minute. I have new spiders expected next week and as ever have my eyes peeled for a few select species I would love to add to my collection. At the moment I have set my sights on adding the cherry to my spider cake and obtaining a CB T. Blondi sling (Goliath Bird eater). These are rare and expensive, and sell very fast whenever they are available, but I wil get one - it's just a matter of time.
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