The 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 ...

January 21st 2012

New spiders!

Well having swapped a few surplus spiders for my lovel new M. robustum "Troll" last week, I felt the need to add to the collection again this week (especially since a few more surplus specimens are moving out next week).

So I went in search of new specimens and settled upon a juvenile
Ephebopus cyanognathus "Blue Fang". Now, I originally aquired one of these two years ago, but unfrtunately my specimen died in its moult just two weeks after I aquired it, so I was dubious about having another one. However they are such beautiful spiders I really feel I should have one in my collection, so splashed out on a 5cm juvenile. (Picture above in the gallery). Fingers crossed this new addition will thrive along side my other Ephebopus spiders - E. murinus and E. uatuman. They are all stunning and certainly some of my favourites. Lets hope the little one grows nicely. Lets also hope for the added surprise that s/he might be female. Fingers crossed.

However I could not stop at a single addition so also added a grown on P. striata spiderling - very cute, love baby pokies, and also a juvenile Pterinochilus chordatus "Kilimanjaro baboon". Both are species I have owned in the past that trned into mature males, so it will be nice to have these spiders in my collection once again.

So that's it for now. Lots of nice new spiders - next the mission of ensuring Troll my M. robustum female gets a nice new home where she can make a good deep burrow. After that it will be time for her to meet the male I have lined up for her.

Watch this space for further updates.

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January 14th 2012

Little update on previous post. The pre arranged spider swap took place and I now have a lovely adult female M. robustum. She is stunning, I love her already. She even treated me to the threat display these spiders are famous for when I popped her in her box. (These spiders raise up tall, bop up and down and then spin around lashing our their legs when they feel threatened). I will have to get her a bigger box with additional substrate so she can build a good burrow, I guess I wont see her much after that.

The boxing up of the P. irminia and two P. formosa I swapped for her was thankfully none eventful with all spiders behaving relatively well. I will miss them, but I know they are going to a good home.

So, a good swap accomplished, and a great new addition. See above for a picture of the new girl (adult female M. robustum).

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January 14th 2012

Well, a new year and some changes within the collection. Firstly today will see the fair well of three spiders I raised from spiderlings, a P. irminia female (beautiful sub adult) and two unsexed P. formosa. They are going to be collected for their new home today and I'm sure boxing them up is going to be oodles of hair raising fun. In exchange for them I am receiving a spider I have wanted ever since I first saw it pictured in books. I am going to be getting an adult female M. robustum (Columbian Giant). I must admit I'm quite excited about this new addition as I have been trying to aquire one for over a year now. Hopefully all going well I'll be able to add pictures of her soon.

As for the resident spiders here they continue to thrive. Yesterday "Claudia" my adult female Acanthoscurria geniculata was on her back and this morning she was shiny and new with a trouble free moult successfully accomplished. Always a relief.

One spider not so lucky with its moult was "Feet" my sub adult/large juvenile T. apophysis. I'm not sure what caused the trouble, but he/she had a very difficult moult and was unfortunate enough to lose two legs - the front two. However s/he has since shown a good recovery and seems to be managing. This is by no means the end for "Feet". With spiders being the remarkable creatures that they are, "Feet" could easily thrive until his/her next moult and with luck will regenerate the legs and return to his/her former glory. My fingers are crossed.

Otherwise "Raven" my adult female P. antinous has been bulldozing her home again. She lives in a huge plastic box which is very deep and half full of substrate. I have made her an artificial burrow (I find that many spiders appreciate this) but she keeps escavating to the extent that the substrate is everywhere she keeps burying her water bowl. Very frustrating. It is for this reason she has no other decor as she would only destroy it. It seems P. antinous are quit active as tarantulas go and they are very happy to completely destroy any environment you create for them. Still she seems happy enough.

Well, let's leave it there for now, hopefully soon I will be able to add pictures of my new M. robustum female ...

Watch out for updates.

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December 4th 2011

Another few months gone by since my last update. This update begins with some sadness as I have to report that the T. stirmi eggs did not make it. It looked good for a while, especially when some became EWLs (eggs with legs) but then all took a turn for the worst and none made it past this stage. Very upsetting, but lesson well learned - let mum do it. I believe had I waited longer and left the eggs with Charlotte the result would have been much better. Am I giving up. No. I plan to bring in more T. stirmis next year and try again after Charlotte has another moult. I came close this time, next time I believe will come with success.

Otherwise all the spiders are doing really well. Many are growing like weeds whilst others are continuing their slow plodding existence (brachypelmas are experts at life in the slow lane).

Three spiders doing particularly well are my three A. versicolors - Beans, Peas and Sprouts. Beans is an adult female I grew from sling and Peas and Sprouts are both 1 inch slings that have come quite a way from the tiny 1cm creatures they were six months ago. I am hoping one of Peas or Sprouts will be male so I can have a go at breeding these wonderful colourful spiders.

No new spiders to report at the moment - in fact going to turn the collection over a little in the new year by moving on a few animals where I have many multiples of the same species so I can bring in a few spiders I still would like to add.

Despite them being slow and in some ways a typical pet rock, I have a liking for brachypelma species and would like to add a few I haven't yet got to the collection.

Also since my P. formosa all grew up and I split them up into separate tanks I have been missing having a spider community to watch. Who knows maybe next year I will get some pokie slings and start again - I only ever keep pokie communities together until they are large juvies, but it is always rewarding to see them living and cohabiting together. I have been a little tempted to try a P. murinus sling colony, however te thought of maintaining and eventually splitting them up is a scary one - one OBT is often enough to deal with to be honest.

Well as always, watch this space for further updates ...

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August 29th 2011

A while since I last blogged on here, but yesterday was an exciting day because about 6 weeks ago my female T. stirmi "Charlotte" dropped a sac and yesterday I pulled it. I did not really want to pull it yet as the sac is best left in the care of the mother spider in my opinion, however I was stuck between a rock and a hard place as some mould had started to form in her tank and I did not want to risk its further development. Mould can kill both adult spiders and destroy egg sacs.

So I pulled the sac and was really pleased to find 91 fertile healthy eggs (photos in the pop up gallery above).

I have placed the eggs into an artificial incubator - I'm aware my chances of success are slim, but I have my fingers crossed, and even if this doesn't work out I have gained invaluable experience. In the meantime its a nervous waiting time for me.

Watch this space ...

Also while I'm at it lets have an update on how the other spiders in my collection are doing.

Firstly, I am over run with mature males, I have two P. cambridgei MMs here at the moment (waiting for Sharron my lady P. cambridgei to moult) and I also have a Nhandu chromatus MM out on loan (plus a really old almost 2 year matured specimen lurking about), I also have a MM Eupalaestrus campestratus, pretty fresh, MM P. pulcher (pretty old), MM C. pentalore (matured last week) and an old L. klugi male that is on its last legs. Plus my H. maculata matured a while ago, he went away on loan and sadly died on while on loan, however he may have got the job done first so waiting on some news on that. Oh and of course Wilber my MM T. stirmi is still with us, he is on loan at the minute with a friend. Hoping he will come back soon.

So lots of males here, many too old to do anything with any more, so they are enjoying retirement. Others I have plans for.

All the old favourites are doing great. Bones my female E. murinus is coming up for a moult, as is Chocolate Orange my adult female P. formosa. Lady Chocolate reccently moulted out - a pain because she was mated. Sunger my adult female P. irminia eventually ate her infertile egg sac, as did Beans, my adult female A. versicolor.

Meanwhile Myrtle my adult female Euathlus truculentus that came to me in very poor condition, has put on weight and looks said to moult soon. I hope she will look better afterwards as at the minute her colours are very dull.

Otherwise I have sexed a few more sub adults and the new known girlies in my collection are Smarties (sub adult female P. regalis), Mars (sub adult female P. rufilata), Gumball (sub adult female Cyriopagopus schioedtei) and Sharron and Leanne (sub adult females P. cambridgei).

And yes, the little ones are doing well, some growing like weeds others reinventing the stone age. The fast growers include my six P. irminia juvies, waiting for some males to mature as Sunger has recently moulted. My P. formosa are now sub adults and huge - got three of them left after breaking up the colony and selling a couple.

Mini Bones the sling E. murinus is now a juvie as yet unsexed, is nothing like the calm and lovely Bones and instead is a lightning fast kill anything that moves seldom seen blur. Esmerelda the E. uatuman sling is much the same - hardly ever seen, growing well though.

Fair few juvie B. vagans here at the moment and lots of L. parahybana juvies - might have to sell a few of these at some point as they will not fit here when they are bigger. Want to sex a few first so i can make sure I keep some females.

And lastly a little update on Peas and Sprouts my two A. versicolor slings. Both are growing like weeds and have an appetite that is ravenous. they are sparkley blue little speedy jumpy demons at the moment. Both, happily, doing very well.

Further updates soon ...

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May 28th 2011

New spiders!

Well, this mont I have been lucky enough to add several new spiders to my collection - most of them spiderlings, but a couple of adults as well.

Let's start with the spiderlings - I received 2 x A. versicolor, a B. smithi, a B. auratum, G. pulchra, C. cyaneopubescens and a P. fortis. The two really tiny ones are the B. smithi and the B. auratum which are only about 5mm in leg span. They are really speedy at tis size and feeding on pin head crickets.

The 2 A. versicolor (which I have named "Peas" and "Sprouts") are about 1cm and two adorable tiny cute blue sparkly things. They have been doing nicely in their tiny (and quite adorable miniature Custom Aquaria tanks). (These are very small glass vented aboreal tanks that are exact versions of the larger tanks, but they only stand 10 high. I find that delicate aboreal slings such as Avics do really well in them as you can keep humidy high - one spray daily is enough - and ensure good ventilation.) Bot little spiders have made a nice little web and are feeding on size two crickets, growing rather fat in the process.

The little G. pulchra (who is called "Ted") is really cute. It is still pale coloured and has a legspan of 2cm. It eats like there's no tomorrow and is a really nice little spider.

The C. cyaneopubescens is also about 2cm in legspan and has a healthy appettite to boot. I love the colours of these when they are spiderlings, and thankfully as they grow although the colours change they become even more stunning.

The little P. fortis is about 3cm, and like all Pamphobeteus tarantulas it loves its food - these things have great feeding responses. At this size it has a nice little red and black abdomen and sweet little pink carapace. If it is female these colours will become brown as she grows which may not sound that exciting, but the spiders themselves are truly impressive to see.

Right, let's talk about the two adult specimens I added. I bought myself a breeding pair of Euathlus truculentus - should have received an adult female and mature male. However unfortunately the supplier had run out of mature males so I agreed to take an immature male instead - he is really cute. The female I received was a little disappointing as she is really thin, and I am worried she may have been dehydrated at some point. For this reason I am glad the supplier had run out of mature males as this girl is most certainly not in breeding condition. I am hoping a few good meals and a stable environment will help her. Both spiders can be seen in the pictures of the week section above.

So that's the new spiders - what of the rest of my collection. Well my attempt at breeding my pair of T. stirmi continues with their third pairing having been completed a week ago. If you care to take a look, you can see a short video of this pairing on u tube - simply click here to view.

As you can see the pairing went pretty well, so I have everything crossed for a good result on this.

Meanwhile my adult female A. versicolor decided she didn't need a male and has been holding a nice egg sac for the past few weeks and is looking very proud of herself. Sadly te egg sac is infertile, but she hasn't worked tat out yet.

And my adult female P. irminia has done exactly the same, though she worked it out much quicker than the little A. versicolor and has eaten her egg sac already. Thankfully I have 6 juvenile P. irminia so in the not so distant future I will have a mature male for her and maybe the next sac will have a better result.

So that's it for tis update. More soon ...

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May 1st 2011

Today I put my breeding pair of T. stirmi (Burgundy Goliath) together for the first time and I think everything went well. I put the male in at the far end of the female's tub and he was pretty quick to head off in the direction of destination female. When he got to the entrance of her den there was a bit of a scuffle, but she came out receptive and they got down to business - I'm pretty sure he got at least one good insertion. Things got a little hairy towards the end when the female decided she might like to eat him rather than let him leave, but after a brief tiff he managed to back away and freely wandered from her enclosure. Good stuff. I plan to put them back together once he creates a new sperm web.

Otherwise, I have ordered some new spiderlings - next week seven new little ones will be delivered. I'm getting 2 x A. versicolor (love those adorable little blue slings) in the hope of growing a male for my adult female "Beans", a new B. smithi, B. auratum, G. pulchra, C. cyaneopubescens, and a P. fortis.

Can't wait.

Further updates soon ...

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April 27th 2011

Well another month and what has happened - well firstly I have a few new spiders - I have added 3 A. geniculata slings (Giant White Knees) very tiny things less than 5mm, but boy do they already show a preference for food, a nice juvenile C. marshalli (Horned Baboon) it's about 4cm and has yet to start to show any signs of developing a horn, nice little thing, and a lovely little E. pachypus (Stout Legged baboon) it is only about 3cm and does not have the classic 'I'm wearing baggy trousers' look yet, but it already gives me the treat pose so it's got a little attitude on it. Lovely new spiders - with hopefully more to come, hoping to treat myself again soon.

Otherwise I suppose the big news is my male T. stirmi (Burgundy Goliath) has matured and is now drumming away to my female who has been drumming right back - going to put him in her tank this weekend - fingers crossed all will go well. She is currently eating a huge locust to try and ensure she is not hungry on the day.

Aside from this it has been rehousing rehousing rehousing. First up was "Slugs" my juvie H. maculata (called Slugs because my other one who sadly died was called Snails - so named to try and convince them they are slow - sadly they are not). For those who don't know, Togo Starburst baboons are one of the fastest, bite happy spiders in the business. They are very easily put into the threat pose and they don't run, they teleport. So anyway, Slugs needed to be moved from his/her tub into a nice adult cage - s/he did not want to do one bit and the help of a pillow case was enlisted - this resulted in a very angry Slugs reared up inside the pillow case refusing to budge - the movement of Slugs from one tub to a new tank took approximately an hour (can't be too careful with H. maculata as far as I'm concerned). One very angry spider - however now happily in the new home we a new web and no further protests.

So onto my female T. stirmi 'Wilber' (yes I admit I accidentally mixed them up on arrival and dubbed the male Charlotte and the female Wilber) - giant of the spider world, huge 8 inch female, piece of cake compared to Slugs. Tub over top of spider, lid slides underneath, job jobbed, just like moving a huge house spider - job completed in approximately 1 minute. New home is much bigger than last - hopefully a suitable place for her to breed.

Next up 'Raven' my female P. antinous - no truoble at all - she's a wuss. When disturbed she runs into a corner and sticks her bum in the air and that is the extent of her protest. A new home was needed for her as she's the most destructive spider I have ever had - she rips up plants, over turns water bowls and even digs up her hides and flips them upside down - bigger home definitely required. She is now settled in a huge tub - where she is working on creating an even bigger mess. The muck pup.

The last rehouse was for 'Dexter' my juvie X. immanis (Columbian Lesser Back) - nice bright little thing, since Raven had to be moved, I decided to upgarde Dexter to my display shelf. He seems to like it.

So that's my spider update for now. More soon ...

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March 8th 2011

Quite a while since my last update. Things have been moving on the breeding side and although I had no luck putting my two L. klugi together, I am delighted because I sent the male out on loan and have received news that the female has produced an egg sac. This is very exciting news as this species is very rarely successfully bred. I have high hopes for spiderlings which I think will be very well received within the tarantula community.

Otherwise my T. ockerti pairing was a rather tedious affair with the courting pair ending up in a precarious position at the top of the tank. The male could not reach to lift the female as she was up so high however he did manage one good insertion. It has been some weeks since this took place and the female is looking very fat, she has produced a sac for me before, so I have high hopes she will do again.

As for the other spiders in my collection they are all doing very well. All the spiderlings have been growing and even my smallest specimen has been going great guns. It is very good to see them all thriving. The P. cancerides spiderlings have all shed and now have about a 3cm leg span, the little things are already quite fiesty.

The G. rosea slings from my last year's breeding are doing what all G. roseas do and growing exceptionally slowly. Even though they have all recently shed they still only have a 1cm leg span. G. rosea are a great pet rock, and waiting for them to grow is a long tedious wait, will be worth it in five years when they are great red hairy beasts.

Finally rehoused the P. irminia slings which are growing about a hundred times faster than the G. rosea slings. They are about 5cm now and all sporting their adult colours. They have all recently shed and are looking quite leggy, reminding me of house spiders.

Otherwise I am looking to add to my collection again, not sure what species yet, time will tell.

More updates soon ...

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December 27th 2010

Christmas has come and gone, but with it new spider arrivals have been added to my collection. For Christmas I have received a total of nine new spiders, including five spiderling P. cancerides (Haitian Brown), two E. uatuman (Emerald Skeleton) slings, a B. verdezi (Mexican Rose grey) sling, and the one I'm most pleased with a juvenile E. cyanognathus (Blue Fang). A picture of the Blue fang and a Haitian Brown sling (which are actually bluish when slings) are in the pictures of the week gallery. As you can see the little blue fang is stunning, some real nice blue on tose little fangs. I am taking extra special care of te little guy as they are notoriously difficult to raise int hardy adults. I have to make sure the conditions are just right. I enjoy the challenge and can't wait to see how this little one will progress colours wise.

So the new spiders are well settled in and have been chomping on crickets. What of the old crew? Well the two large females in premoult, my A. brocklehursti and my P. antinous have both had successful sheds and now look stunning in their new skins. I wanted to take some photos but both spiders were reluctant to pose and I did not want to risk tem hair flicking and creating bald spots so early on into their new clothes, so I left both in peace. Good to have them moulted and safe, always a worrying time with the larger spiders.

Otherwise I have arranged for a MM T. ockerti to arrive here new year to put with my adult female "Red". She has made me an egg sac before so I am hopeful to be lucky with her again this time around.

All the younger spiders in my collection have been growing and out growing their pots and containers. i am looking at having to rehouse my avicularia sp. slings and also a rowdy group of P. irminia slings. I'm not worried about the avics, they can be fast and jumpy, but they are nothing compared to the speed demons that are P. irminia. I love P. irminia but along with P. cambridgei they are my least favourite spider to rehouse. The things practically teleport and are a nightmare to keep track of and they hardly ever co operate and run in the direction you need them to. I usually conduct such rehouses in the bath tub and even then it's a tub within a tub job. Sometimes the best thing to do is let the spider run round a container tub until it literally tires itself out. they can only run so far before they are pooped, then they are easier to direct into their new house (well, sometimes anyway). Not a fun job, but one that needs doing. And how many P. irminia do i have to rehouse this time? Six. Yep, six of the little speed demons. Fun fun fun. On the other hand I am very much looking forward to the day when they are adults. I need a nice MM for "Sunger" my adult female.

So all are well and thriving here, further updates soon ...

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December 4th 2010

Christmas is coming!

I must admit I love this time of year, and am looking forward to the festivities. I'm sure my tarantulas don't really care, and would care even less for the snow and ice out there. Thankfully for them, they are all snug and warm and know nothing of the harsh weather breathing down upon us.

Now what's the most exciting thing about Christmas - let's see, oh that's right, presents. My lovely other (and probably better) half has bought me a fantastic arachnid gift, on order from the spider shop, awaiting delivery once the weather warms up. The waiting is going to kill me, because this particular tarantula is a much anticipated gem for my collection and it will receive royal welcome when it arrives. What is this spider? Well, coming to my collection is a little juvenile Ephebopus cyanognathus (Blue Fang Skeleton tarantula). In case you have never seen one of these do a web search now, they are amazing. The fangs on them really are the most incredible blue. The rest of the spider is olive green with an emerald sheen, much like Ephebopus uatuman (also on order for my collection). The fangs on the Ephebopus cyanognathus are something else though. I can't wait to add some photos of this wonderful species to my site.

This means I will now have three species of the skeleton tarantulas under my belt - E. murinus, E, uatuman and E. cyanognathus, which of course pushes Ephebopus rufescens (the Red Skeleton) to the top of my wish list. I am definitely looking to add this to my collection.

On saying this, my wishlist is rather a long one, some species I am looking forward to adding here are: Megaphobema robustum (Columbian Giant tarantula), Aphonopelma seemani (Costa Rican Zebra tarantula) and Euathlus sp. "Blue" (Pichidangui Blue Beauty) and many more as well.

Well, enough dreaming of new spiders, let's have an update on exisiting spiders here. Two of my big girls are in serious pre moult and could flip any day now - which both worries and excites me. Raven, my adult female Pamphobeteus antinous (one of my most prized specimens) is looking very dark on her bald spot and is sluggish and hiding away a lot, a sure sign she wants out of the old skin and is ready to sport the new one. I hope when she is all shiny and new I will be able to get some pics of her looking her best. The oter big girl due to moult is Claudia, my adult female Acanthoscurria geniculata (Giant White Knee). She is a huge tank like thing already, so I can't wait to see what she looks like post moult. Mind you these big girls do take their time building up to the big day, so could be months yet. Have to wait and see.

Further updates soon ...

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November 28th 2010

A few more weeks and lots to update you on. Firstly I should mention myself and my other half had our 15 minutes of fame this week when we appeared briefly on Channel 4 TV series "Animal Madhouse" with our spider collection.Spiders to feature included my big female L. Klugi "Millie" and my L. parahybana "Sammie", also shown were my T. blondi "burgundy" and P. regalis. If you are in the UK you can take a look at our TV appearance by clicking here. 

Otherwise the spiders here are all thriving. I finally rehoused by colony of 5 juvie P. formosa, they are looking great in their new house and thankfully getting on well together.

I also managed to source a beautiful MM P. cancerides that I have here on 50/50 loan at the moment, sadly things are not going well between him and Mrs Brown. She is super aggressive towards him and he hasn't had much of a chance to get close to her.

Also I have eight new spiderlings ordered and am waiting for better weather for their arrival. I have decided to bring in five P. cancerides s'lings (Haitian Brown) as I have a definite liking for this species. Will be interesting to grow them and see when the aggression kicks in - will also be interesting to see if they are as grumpy as Mrs Brown, or if she is just a particularly aggressive specimen (the MM I have here at the moment is far more chilled out than she is).

Also coming to the collection will be two Ephebopus uatuman (Emerald Skeletons) I am quite excited about these. I have heard they are very fast, so I'll have to me careful, mind you the E. murinus sling I have is also very fast, so maybe they will be on par wit that. E. uatuman should be very pretty as spiderlings with red legs and a greenish abdomen. Hopefully I will be able to get some nice pictures. Definitely a positive addition.

The last new spider I am getting this time around is Brachypelma verdezi. I find Brachypelma to be very beautiful spiders and of course some of them, such as B. smithi and B. vagans and B. boehmei, are very well known. Most are slow growing (almost painfully so) but I find they have good little appetites.

More soon ...

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November 4th 2010

Well more time gone by and a nice new spider added to my collection. This time I have chosen a juvenile Eupalaestrus campestratus (Pink Zebra) a real little stunner. I hope it is a female as it is a really nice specimen and I would love to see it grow into a beautiful lady I can breed from. (Picture of this spider, which I have named "Pelican" in the "Pictures of the week" section above, bottom right corner.)

All other spiders are doing nicely, lots growing quite fast. One of the slower growers my juvenile Citharischius crawshayi (King Baboon) has moulted after the longest time and now needs a tank upgrade. I have had the spider for about 10 months and now it is finally looking like less of a juvie and more of a sub adult. I was kind of hoping this would turn out to be a male specimen as male C. crawshayi are quite rare in the hobby, this creates few captive breeding opportunies. My specimen - named Bobby - is almost certainly female. Not such a bad thing, I will grow her up and continue my search for a male when the time is right.

I've had a bit of a tank rearrange this month with my T. apophysis, "Feet" just a few months ago a leggy spiderling now being the size of a G. rosea - far more leggy though and still with plenty of growth left to go. Haven't sexed it yet, really hoping it's female. Got quite an attitude problem though, it's not aggressive as such, but very very flightly and when a big leggy spider like that wants an argument over who's boss at rehousing time, it's always wise to respect the spider.

In other news the mating plans I had for my L. klugi pair Millie and Clive did not go so well. Clive did not seem interested in Millie in the slightest, and although Millie was very interested in Clive, it was mainly because she wanted to have him as a light lunch. Lucky for him I saved him in the nick of time. I suspect this incompatibility comes from te fact that L. klugi come in a number of forms which are very hard to distinguish between and only the spiders themselves seem to know whether or not they are in fact the same. I believe there are actually three froms of L. klugi (though I am not certain that figure is correct). It is however likely that Millie and Clive showed no romance towards each other because they are different strains of the same species. This is a real shame as Millie is one of my most magnificent specimens and I would dearly love to breed from her. I just need more klugis in my life. The search for a compatible male for her will continue.

Other males I am currently seeking include a MM P. cancerides (Haiti Brown) for my lovely (or not so lovely but rather aggressive) Mrs Brown. P. cancerides is one of my favourite spiders and very under rated in my opinion. Indeed they are not for beginners or the faint hearted as they are quite angry spiders. My Mrs Brown is very defensive and will attack the water whenever I pour it into her bowl - my usual tactic is to distract her with a cricket as she is a very greedy thing. But aggression aside P. cancerides are remarkably beautiful. The females are dark brown with golden highlights on the carapace and the males are a stunning purple with the most incredible markings. Plus as an added bonus the spiderlings of this species are adorable (well, as adorable as spiders can ever be) they start off a really cute blue colour and are wonderful to grow. This is a species I defintely have breeding plans for when the right male for my special girl is found.

So that's it for the update for now - lots of healthy happy spiders growing well and plans to hopefully add some additional specimens I have my eye on to the collection soon.

As always watch this space ...

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September 26 2010

Another two months since my last update and all the spiders in my collection are doing great. All are growing and eating well and and small spiderlings are rapidly needing rehousing as they out grow their pots and tubs.

Two sad losses to report - sadly I lost my stout leg and one of my togo starburst tarantulas. With the stout leg I dunno what was wrong with it, it had never really been right since I had it and didn't eat well, I think maybe it was just old. As for the Togo Starburst that was only a juvenile and was a very sad unexpected loss due to a bad moult. It is the first spider I have lost due to moulting problems so I was quite upset. I know it can happen sometimes that things go wrong, still it is always a shame when they do.

On a happier note the colony of five P. formosa slings/juveniles I have is doing very well. They are about 10cm in legspan at the minute and still continuing to live well together. Unfortunately they have out grown their current tank and I am not looking forward to the job of upgrading their housing - chasing one pokie is bad enough, never mind having to deal with five at the same time - eek. I have been putting it off, but really can't put it off for much longer as they really do need an upgrade.

My L. klugi male Clive has been on loan and I am told he has hopefully done the job so he is coming home in a week or so. I will keep my fingers crossed for some spiderlings from that pairing and look forward to trying him out with my own female, Millie. She is huge compared to him so i am not sure how it will go, but I will certainly see how he gets on.

Also on the male front, Victor the P. regalis is now living full time with my Female, Lady Chocolate. They used to have little tiffs in the beginning, but now they seem to get along fine and Lady Chocolate will even tolerate Victor on her bit of cork bark. I am thinking I will keep them together for as long as Victor is alive. Hopefully he has done the job and Lady Chocolate is gravid. Fingers crossed.

Lots of other spiders beginning to really show their adult colours. My two Grammostola pulcheripes that I have had from 1cm are now about 5cm and finally showing their stripes. Mini Bones the spiderling E. murinus is now about 3cm and also has the start of the famous leg striping showing. And my Cyriopagopus schioedtei that I hardly ever saw is going from strength to strength and growing like a weed. It has started to come out a bit more and reminds me of a juvenile Singapore Blue.

Speaking of Singapore Blue mine turned out male and has moved on now so I am eager to add another to my collection. I remain ever hopeful that I will eventually get a female as they truly are stunning.

Watch this space for more updates soon ...

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July 31 2010

Well it's been over a month since my last blog update, but that doesn't mean things have been uneventful. No new spider additions at the moment as I have lately treated myself to a new Royal Python. But with about 150 spiders here at the moment, there's plenty going on.

It's been a month of moulting. Loads of spiders, including some of the big girls have finally moulted after very long waits. The best has to be my huge L. klugi girl, Millie, who has moulted into a real beast of a spider. She may not be as leggy as the T. blondi burgundys here, but she certainly packs some weight. She's a real tank. She went a long time without eating before moulting - about 6 months, so I have been treating her to some locusts to build her up a bit (not that she needs it, she's huge). Pic in this week's gallery.

Another large moult was my L. parahybana which although not at Millie's size is still a rather large hairy monster. Sammie is loking great in her new skin and also has her appetite back.

Lots of spiderlings are outgrowing their current containers. None more so than the 4 P. cambridgei slings I have here. A hardier aboreal spider there is not. They eat like horses and grow like weeds. Unfortunately they are also lightning on legs - house spiders on speed. This fact mage my rehousing session something of a chase the spider around the bath tub episode. They are so fast and jump amazingly. Unfortunately the jars I moved them into will not hold them for long - it's only going to be a matter of a couple of months and I'll be chasing them around the bath tub again. Fun fun fun.

Also had some H. maculata fun. These spiders are also extremely fast and highly eager to bite. Not a spider you would want to risk a bite from. I normally start these off in a nice size enclosure so I have to do a minimal amount of rehouses throughout the spiders life. It keeps them happy and avoids me being on the biting end of their unhappy complaints. However a rehouse for my juvenile specimen Snails could not be avoided. So into the bath tub the enclosure went. The last time I had any out of tank dealings with Snails she ended up lost under the sofa where she built a little fort and was incredibly difficult to retrieve. Anyhow, I'm happy to report she was not so feisty as expected this time around and the rehouse went far smoother than the hair raising experience with the 4 P. cambridgei slings.

Oh and while on the subject of H. maculata, my other juvenile specimen Slugs is almost impossible to contain. Feeding always takes place in the bath from now on, since the last time I opened her large tub in the living room she decided to come out of it, and did not prove easy to convince to return to her living quarters. She is especially tricky as her web is right at the top her her tub where the lid is.

One spider which is doing very well indeed is Sunger my largest P. irminia. She is special as she was my first ever spiderling. She is not a spiderling anymore however. She is a stunning velvet black tarantula with gorgeous orange highlights. Amazing to see when she emerges from her web retreat, although such sightings are sadly rare. Always a treat to see. i hope my other 5 p. irminia which are still only 2cm slings grow up to be as amazing as Sunger.

So what do i have to look forward to? Well, mainly a whole lot of rehousing as slings left right and centre are out growing their delicups and jars. I have some L. parahybana on their way to being juveniles, and about 5 OBTs (oh joy of deep joys) that need a house upgrade. Hmmm, I'm not sure there is a worse spider to have to rehouse than OBTs. They are very very fast and very mean - in case you didn't know the OBT name stands for Orange Bitey Thing - and they seem to enjoy living up to that name - God bless them.

Otherwise, i am very much enjoying my collection, watching the adults thrive and the spiderlings and juveniles grow.

More on their progress soon ...

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June 19 2010

Well, it's been a week of P. regalis pairing. Having managed to obtain an MM P. regalis affectionately known as Victor I was eager to pair him with my big girl Lady Chocolate. They have been together for three nights so far and I have observed them drumming to each other several times. Unfortunately I have not been able to witness any mating, however I do feel quite certain a pairing has taken place. It will soon be time for Victor to return to his own tank before he goes on to meet further females.

Also my juvenile Nhandu vulpinis has moulted and is now really quite large. Time for a tank upgrade I think. Pictures will follow soon. A few others have moulted included my little GBB that now has its adult colours and my A. versicolor that has now lost the baby blue in favour of a nice plush purple.

Otherwise I have added a new Xenesthis immanis spiderling tp my collection. It's quite a skittish little thing, but if it's anything like I expect, it will be greedy and grow quickly into a stunning spider.

No other new arrivals are planned as yet, but I have got my eye on a Euathlus vulpinus spiderling, which is a species I would really like to add to my collection.

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May 30 2010

Lots going on and lots of new arrivals!

Firstly the G. rosea eggs with legs have finally moulted into N1 and the little guys are all walking around in the incubator. It's been a week now, and it won't be long until I need to start the job of preparing individual pots for them. Very pleased with the results.

Also on the egg side, I pulled the T. ockerti sac and it wasn't too good. I have taken what looked like 50 good eggs and moved them to the incubator so we will have to wait and see if anything comes of them.

New arrival wise, last weekend I went to our local petstore and picked up a real nice Eucratoscelus pachypus. Unfortunately the petstore aren't too brilliant with spiders, so I bought the little guy mainly through pity. Nothing a good long drink and a cricket couldn't correct though. The little thing is quite sweet really.

Anyway, I also put a 5 spider order in at the Spider Shop (great spider supplier) and all arrived safe and sound, the order consisted of one adult P. lugardi that arrived all fat and possibly gravid. She's a real nice spider and she has currently webbed herself into the cave I gave her, so will be interesting to see what she does.

The order also included a tiny E. murinus sling that i have dubbed Mini Bones and the little thing has just moulted and is a whooping 2cm in size now. I hope it will grow up to be a male for my big lady Bones.

Other than that I picked up a new Juvenile H. maculata - real fast, but so cute at just 4cm, and a couple of more obscure spiderlings - including a nasty Chilobrachys andersoni (I hear these guys make H. lividum look friendly) and a bit of a gamble in a Cyriopagopus schioedtei sling. These are gorgeous as adults, but I hear the slings are tricky to raise and it's my first time with this species so I'm giving the little 3cm sling A1 attention to see if I can successfully raise it.

Lastly I picked up a sub adult Cyclosternum fasciatum that almost immediately moulted into an MM. I am now in the process of tracking down a lady for him. Fingers crossed.

So that's all the news for now - more soon.

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May 16 2010

Yay, had a lovely new arrival. Claudia my new long wanted Acanthoscurria geniculata (Brazilian White Knee) is finally here, and boy is she a beauty, you can see pictures of her in the Pictures of the week gallery above. I'm very pleased with her and I think she is in premoult, so maybe she'll be even bigger and even prettier soon.

Also this week, I won a runner's up prize in an exotic pet photo competition with a picture I took of Bones, my E. murinus (Skeleton tarantula). I was really pleased about this, and the judges tel me I got bonus points for being brave and getting up close to a Skeleton, what they don't know is Bones is a pussy cat who doesn't seem to mind being photographed at all.

Otherwise, the chile rose eggs with legs have gotten a lot bigger. i'm hoping they will moult into little spiders any day now!

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May 01 2010

Eggs with legs! Shortly after they were placed in the incubator the G. rosea eggs all hatched into eggs with legs and are currently still in this state. It will be interesting to see how much longer it will take for them to moult into mobile little spiders.

Otherwise it's been a week of upgrading and redesigning tanks for those who need it as all the small little guys keep getting bigger, lots of slings beginning to colour up now, including a little B. smithi who has now got its first hint of colour. I always love the part when they change from little hairless spiders into mini proper tarantulas.

Also we have some new spiders on the way. I'm aquiring x10 L. parahybana slings. These guys are such fun to grow, even though i'll have to sell a bunch of them when they are bigger I will enjoy growing them. Also got five little P. irminia slings coming next week - cutest little slings ever, and two juveniles due in: Paraphysa parvula and Paraphysa scrofa. Best of all I have just purchased a sub adult female Acanthoscurria geniculata. Wanted one of these for so long, so a very welcome addition to the collection. Hopefully she will arrive here with me next week. So lots to look forward to.

As always, watch this space ...

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April 24th 2010

Eggs! Yes, that's right folks - G. rosea eggs. After 5 weeks of nail biting we finally pulled the sac today and cut it open to find 240 yellow eggs inside (pic above). i don't want to speak too soon, it could still swing either way, but since the photo has taken a couple of the eggs have shed the outer husk and emerged as small eggs with legs! Things are looking hopeful. Next week I hope to have news of eggs with legs or better yet slings. Fingers crossed.

As for the other egg sac belonging to the T. ockerti things all seem to be going well there, though admitedly it is hard to see the female in her well made web retreat so I wont really know much until we go in there to pull the sac in two weeks. will keep you posted on that one.

Meanwhile the arrival of a handsome MM L. klugi (whom I have dubbed Clive) has put a start to my next breeding project, just waiting now for lady L. klugi Millie to moult as she is not far off and so mating her before she moults would be a waste of time as she would probably moult out. So the wait is on for Millie to moult. Hope she doesn't take too long, Clive's clock is ticking.

Not much else to report at the moment - but things are about to get busy around here.

More next week.

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April 17th 2010

Another week and another great new addition to my collection. After spending a while choosing I finally settled on a female Pamphobeteus antinous and oh boy is she a beauty! For pictures see the pictures of the week box up top, I think you'll agree she's a stunner. Best of all I have a male lined up for her later. She needs a moult then she should be ready to meet her man. Fingers crossed for slings of this wonderful species.

Also I think I have found a male L. klugi for my big female Millie. She's in premoult at the moment so will be ready for mating in a few months. I really like this species so I really hope for success.

As for the two egg sacs incubating at the moment all seems to be going well. I am planning to pull the G. rosea sac next weekend and I suspect we'll have T. ockerti a few weeks later. It's going to be very busy.

I'm still looking for a male P. regalis and P. formosa for my two lovely girls. Realy hope I find one, seems like MM pokies are like gold dust. I will keep you posted how the search goes.

The next time I update this blog I will have news on the contents of the G. rosea egg sac. Watch this space ....

April 10th 2010

Well, we have a surprise. My female T. ockerti (Red rump tree spider) has laid an egg sac. That, to say the least, was unexpected. However seeming as she is wild caught and has not moulted in my care, I suspect it is fertile. So now I have the G. rosea sac due to be pull in one week and the T. ockerti sac that should hatch in a few weeks as well. I think I'm going to be rather busy.

Otherwise the new P. formosa has arrived and she is really gorgeous. Click here to see her, I have named her April. She will be at perfect mating time in a month, so the race is on to find a male for her. Would dearly love some baby pokies.

I dare say with two sacs close to hopefully hatching there'll be lots to update you on soon. Watch this space for babies!

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April 5th 2010

So much has happened since the last time I wrote on this blog. Let's see, the biggest spider news is that two weeks ago gravid Rosie the G. rosea (original name huh?) made her egg sac and to this date she is still guarding her precious little bundle. I'm very excited as if the slings hatch (which I hope they will) this will be my first success with breeding tarantulas. A picture of the proud mum to be is in the pics of the week section.

New additions? Well as planned I picked up a lovely juvie P. ornata (pic up top) really nice little spider. Also have a new sub adult female Citharischius crawshayi, she's really nice. Have now got two juvie B. klaasi. These are unusual Ts and grow quite slowly. However both mine have the famous pink legs already and are probably about 5-6cm in leg span. Also added a adult female P. formosa - quite an unexpected addition, but she is really a gorgeous spider. And, I decided to swap my adult GBB which unexpectedly molted out male for the mother of the five little P. formosa I purchased previously. She is due to arrive sometime next week. This leaves me with the mission to obtain a nice male to introduce to my two ladies and hopefully will result in future baby pokies!

Have also added five little H. lividum slings to the collection. Blimey these are speed demons and will they stay put in their tubs? Nope. Nearly every feeding time I end up chasing at least one of them across the floor.

My favourite new addition has to be Millie - a gorgeous L. klugi. She's a really big girl and since she's in pre molt at the minute, I suspect she's about to get even bigger. I'm beginning to acquire a real taste for the Lasiodora tarantulas. I love the sheer size of them, and how they stay out in the open making great display specimens. I really love the L. parahybana. I have ten of these at the moment - eight slings, a 10cm juvie and a 16cm sub adult. I may attempt a breeding programme with these in the future.

Molt wise not much happening - my little T. ockerti sling has molted and now has the proper adult colours and a couple of my B. smithi slings are almost at the stage where their colours will start to show. Lots of P. lugardi slings molting at the moment. Otherwise expecting the sub adult B. emilia to molt any day now since her bald spot has gone very dark.

I think that's it for now, watch this space for updates and hopefully my first CB sling success soon.

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March 12th 2010

Another fantastic week with the spiders!

What's new? All sorts. I suppose the biggest and perhaps most exciting arrival has been my immature male and mature female goliath bird eating spiders - T sp. burgundy. They are enormous, real giants! I have named them Charlotte and Wilber in honour of the wonderful children's novel Charlotte's Web. Eventually it is my hope to attempt breeding with these spiders but for now I just want to enjoy them as they settle into their new home. They were both pretty calm when they emerged from their very well packed boxes, and after a brief investigation they headed for the hides I had made for them. Soon after they chowed down two crickets each. They are quite thin so I will be feeding them up to help get them into top condition. They are certainly a very welcome addition.

The other big arrival has been that of my five p. formosa spiderlings. They are adorable little things - about 2cm in legspan and they all live together with no problems whatsoever. they have been quite cute to watch exploring their new home. This is my second pokie community (the first being a three specimen set up of p. regalis) so i hope to see the same sort of progression with the spiders sharing webs and even food between each other.

Moults - um, not too many this week really. My mystery spider has moulted and although it is bigger and very nice looking I am still none the wiser as to what it actually is. Hmmm, I'm sure I'll get an idea on it sooner or later. The other spider to moult has been my juvie avic bicegoi - it is quite a bit bigger now and in need of an enclosure upgrade. Not much else in the way of moults at the moment and not many spiders currently seeming to be in premoult.

What to expect for the future? Well, I have purchased three new spiders this week that I will collect next weekend. The puchase is of a sub adult king baboon, a juvenile B. Klaasi, and a juvenile p. ornata. Should be three very nice additions to my collection.

As always, watch this space!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.