Molt

And the other two GBB's molted only one day later. They're on a pretty tight schedule.

Molt

First GBB molt - 7/24/11.

Hmmm... just realizing that now that we finally have a group of more than two of a species, may be a good idea to ID them with additional methods (as opposed to just male/female or bigger one/smaller one).

Latest Molts:

Grammostola pulchra (our new little male) - sometime last week. (We were out of town.)
Avicularia amazonica - 7/14/11.

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

Molts

Both Nhandu chromatus and Acanthoscurria geniculata molted over the weekend! N. Chromatus molted on 5/28/11 and A. geniculata molted on 5/30/11.

It's really neat seeing the comparisons in size after each molt. They're certainly growing.


~ B. Percha

Nhandu Is Getting Ready To Molt....

Still her typical defensive self, though this is the first time she's thrown me a threat display...


...and I will take that threat as a promise, and leave her alone! :)

~ B. Percha

L. parahybana Finally Molts!

Not that I've had her that long, but I've been anxious for her to molt. For the past few weeks (pretty much since I got her), my Lasiodora parahybana has been hiding under her cork bark and refusing meals. I guess I didn't think her pre-molt phase would take so long. My A. geniculata may refuse a meal and molts maybe a day or two later. And I know LP's are supposed to be rapid growers as well. I was starting to get worried.

But then, I walked in one morning and saw this!

My dirt-brown spider is a beautiful bluish black with fine chocolatey hairs. (Although it took me a few weeks to getting around to getting picture of her, so she's already faded a little in the photo below - added 5/20/11.) AND, she's been out a lot more since molting. :)



~ B. Percha

Grammostola pulchra Before And After A Molt

After close to a month without eating, our female Grammostola pulchra finally molted (3/18/11). She is beginning to show her adult coloration and the difference is night and day.

~ C Percha

Geni Culata

Lol... we don't name our T's, but this is the clever name my husband came up with for my A. geniculata - Geni Culata. Ha - tarantula joke. Anyhow....

My genic molted AGAIN 3-21-11. That's exactly one month past her last molt. She's growing quickly!

~ B. Percha

N. chromatus Reemerges!

Well, I rehoused my Nhandu in a small tank to give her a little more room since she apparently wanted to burrow but didn't have the space to do it. I put her in the new tank, and she dug, and dug, and dug....

I would occasionally see her toes poking out from under the cork bark where the entrance to her tunnel was. Then, nothing. For two and a half weeks I waited and wondered if she was still alright. Finally I took up the corkbark and poked around the entrance of her hole-to-china tunnel. After finding nothing I had to leave for an appointment, and on my return - BAM! There was this BIG beautiful Nhandu chromatus against the glass of the tank! Okay, still only around 3", but HUGE compared to what she had been when she "went missing".

At this new larger size I figured she was large enough to be sexed and took her to the show this past weekend. Happy to say I have a confirmed female. :)


~ B. Percha

Acanthoscurria geniculata

I couldn't wait more than a month to get my little A. geniculata. I think it may end up being one of my favorites. "She" (I'm hoping) kicks just a little, but typically just crouches down when she's disturbed. I've given her a little hide in her container, but I've only seen her use it once or twice.

These T's grow to about 8" in legspan and are very striking with a velvet black body, red hairs on their abdomen and bold white markings on their legs. They have insatiable appetites. They are nervous/skittish, so not great for handling, but are more defensive than aggresive.

Here's my little one the day after a molt (2/20/11):

She may be small now, but A. geniculata grows quickly, and she'll be a big impressive spider in no time.

~ B. Percha