Zippity do daAAAHHHHHHH!!!

I finally got around to really checking out the OBT. She's been eating well and has had time to adjust. I wanted to get a good photo of her, and have been too nervous to remove the lid to her container. I closed up the door to our T room, got the camera ready and an extra deli cup in case she got loose. I cracked the lid to her container and lightly prodded her. She just crouched. So I touched her again just trying to get her to step forward and spread out a bit. Again, she seems to be a lot more mellow than I expected.

After a little prodding and moving of the lid I got her to start walking around her container. Snapped a pic here and there. It was going pretty well. Then I think I got a bit too comfortable. I opened the lid a bit wider, got some good clear shots, then she turned and zipped over the edge of the container, across the desk and flew superman-style to the floor. I grabbed the deli cup and went for her, trembling. She kept dodging me and trying to go behind the filing cabinet, at which point I continually blocked her with a large manilla envelope - but each time she would climb over, coming close to my hand and I'd drop it. Finally she scrambled up the wall a bit and I was able to get her in the deli container. Whew. But now what? Transferring her from the small deli cup to her larger deli-style contianer was the most nerve wracking part I think. Lol, in the end I got her back safe and sound, with a new respect for her speed and agility.

And, I got my photo. :)


She has since been moved into a critter-keeper. Much easier to access her enclosure for water, maintenance, etc. without her getting out.

~ B. Percha

Molts

B. emilia molted 6/19/11.

Love that after each molt her adult colors show through more and more.

- C. Percha

Well that explains it!

My Lasiodora (or Lassie, as we refer to her for short) has been hiding a lot and not eating, nearly ever since her last molt in April. I was beginning to think maybe she's just shy and I would never see her, but she surprised me this week with a second molt. I didn't think she was pre-moult as she didn't even really eat that much between the two.

And since that second molt she's out all the time. Whew, so I don't just have a pet hole! She's really turning into a beast of a spider, even at her modest 3.5 or so inches.


~ B. Percha

Pulchra numero dos.

Picked up a probable male pulchra over the weekend at the reptile show. I'll bring him back after a molt or two to confirm. He's significantly smaller than my female to allow for proper maturation times for breeding. Of all the spiders we are beginning to accumulate (12 T's now), the Grammastola pulchra is still one of my favorites.


- C. Percha

I'm down with OBT. Ya, you know me!

Finally stepped it up in the field of aggressive T's. The "meanest" thing we have at home is the Nhandu, but she's not even that bad - just likes her space. We've been toying with getting an OBT lately, but not sure if we wanted any more T's that we didn't intend to breed. At the show this weekend we saw a few for $30 and I decided to just grab one.

I was a little surprised to find that she's pretty mellow. She doesn't throw back into that threat display that sellers love to show off at the expos. She's pretty quick and active, but just crouches when disturbed. I suppose it's just as well with her being my first aggressive T.

~ B. Percha