I really tiny part of my
Blaptica dubia colony eating baby food (mashed fruit without any food additives):
Actually the colony has gotten so big that I have to reduce some of the individuals by giving about half of my culture away. Right now all my tarantulas except from Lumina (
Brachypelma schroederi, juvenile) and Chiisai (
Cyriocosmus elegans) are fasting; so the main roach-eater here right not is the emperor Swoon (
Pandinus imperator). But when the culture is as big as it is, it doesn’t make any difference when your feeding with 4 nymphs and 6 adults every week, it just grows anyway...
Nom Nom nom Nom nom nom...
I really tiny part of my
Blaptica dubia colony eating baby food (mashed fruit without any food additives):
Actually the colony has gotten so big that I have to reduce some of the individuals by giving about half of my culture away. Right now all my tarantulas except from Lumina (
Brachypelma schroederi, juvenile) and Chiisai (
Cyriocosmus elegans) are fasting; so the main roach-eater here right not is the emperor Swoon (
Pandinus imperator). But when the culture is as big as it is, it doesn’t make any difference when your feeding with 4 nymphs and 6 adults every week, it just grows anyway...
Today I found Rosa (Grammostola rosea RCF) together with a shed skin, and this time the cast exoskelleton was whole and undamaged. I checked it and found out that my little (which actually isn't that small any more) juvenile is a girl :)
Rosa is related to Powerpuff (older sister) and Kleopatra. And she and Kleopatra is from the same eggsac and since they are about the same since and always have molted with just some days or hours between I cross my fingers and hope that Kleopatra is a girl too.
It's a girl!
Today I found Rosa (
Grammostola rosea RCF) together with a shed skin, and this time the cast exoskelleton was whole and undamaged. I checked it and found out that my little (which actually isn't that small any more) juvenile is a girl :)
Rosa is related to Powerpuff (older sister) and Kleopatra. And she and Kleopatra is from the same eggsac and since they are about the same since and always have molted with just some days or hours between I cross my fingers and hope that Kleopatra is a girl too.
I found her like this when I woke up:
Laying on her back wiggling her legs to get out of her old exoskeleton:
And after a couple of hour I could spot her coming out of her old clothes:
And little by little I could see more and more:
Until she just had some of her joints in the old exoskeleton:
Just a little more...
And there! Finally!
And little by little she became darker and darker as the new exoskeleton hardened (look at the reed on her new teeth)
Her old clothes were you can easily see that she's a female
The thing you see here is the sucking stomach and oesophagus:
Unfortunately she turned over on her legs after again after sunset, so it was to dark for photographing.
And then a little video of Aristoteles, who was really displeased with the positioning of the camera:
Powerpuff (G. rosea) molted today ^^
I found her like this when I woke up:
Laying on her back wiggling her legs to get out of her old exoskeleton:
And after a couple of hour I could spot her coming out of her old clothes:
And little by little I could see more and more:
Until she just had some of her joints in the old exoskeleton:
Just a little more...
And there! Finally!
And little by little she became darker and darker as the new exoskeleton hardened (look at the reed on her new teeth)
Her old clothes were you can easily see that she's a female
The thing you see here is the sucking stomach and oesophagus:
Unfortunately she turned over on her legs after again after sunset, so it was to dark for photographing.
And then a little video of Aristoteles, who was really displeased with the positioning of the camera:
Both Kleopatra and Rosa (Both are Grammostola rosea RCF) has molted the night to today :)
Their cast skins was damaged so I was unable to sex them properly but it seems like they both are males but I wouldn't know for sure until their next molt.
The fun part of this is that they are siblings from the same egg sack so it was really fun that the couse to molt on the same night. This is actually not the first time they have molted almost the same, but regularly Rosa molts 2-3 days after Kleopatra. And regularly Powerpuff who is their older sister (same mum) seems to molt at the same time as those two in the spring. So it shall be exiting to hear (she lives with HugeSpider) if she has molted or is molting in some days from now ^^
Molt x2
Both Kleopatra and Rosa (Both are
Grammostola rosea RCF) has molted the night to today :)
Their cast skins was damaged so I was unable to sex them properly but it seems like they both are males but I wouldn't know for sure until their next molt.
The fun part of this is that they are siblings from the same egg sack so it was really fun that the couse to molt on the same night. This is actually not the first time they have molted almost the same, but regularly Rosa molts 2-3 days after Kleopatra. And regularly Powerpuff who is their older sister (same mum) seems to molt at the same time as those two in the spring. So it shall be exiting to hear (she lives with HugeSpider) if she has molted or is molting in some days from now ^^
I have now dug up Chiisai (
Cyriocosmus elegans) from it's terrarium for the second time in a about half a year. Since I have not seen it in a long time, and since I was afraid that it maybe had got it's borrow in the head like last time when I dug it up. And like last time that was the case. I dug it up, and thought it was dead, and then it started to move so it's still alive.
It seemed very sluggish, but had a big abdomen (seems like it's going to molt soon ^^) so it seems like Chiisai is still fine even if it's haven't eaten in about two months or more. After placing it back in the terrarium it used it's time but dug a new burrow in about 5 minutes. I'm wondering how it's able to get it's borrow in it's head, since the substrate always is very moist.
Since I feel that I have stressed my little baby enough today I think I will feed it after a couple of days, and see if it's wants a little meal then.
Unfortunately I didn't have batteries in none of my cameras, so the only picture I got of Chiisai this time is a crappy mobile photo:
By the way I fed all the other tarantulas today. Rosa (
Grammostola rosea RCF) was the only one to throw itself over it's meal as usual. And it seems like little Strawberry (
Brachypelma sp.) is going to molt soon to ^^
Chiisai
I have now dug up Chiisai (
Cyriocosmus elegans) from it's terrarium for the second time in a about half a year. Since I have not seen it in a long time, and since I was afraid that it maybe had got it's borrow in the head like last time when I dug it up. And like last time that was the case. I dug it up, and thought it was dead, and then it started to move so it's still alive.
It seemed very sluggish, but had a big abdomen (seems like it's going to molt soon ^^) so it seems like Chiisai is still fine even if it's haven't eaten in about two months or more. After placing it back in the terrarium it used it's time but dug a new burrow in about 5 minutes. I'm wondering how it's able to get it's borrow in it's head, since the substrate always is very moist.
Since I feel that I have stressed my little baby enough today I think I will feed it after a couple of days, and see if it's wants a little meal then.
Unfortunately I didn't have batteries in none of my cameras, so the only picture I got of Chiisai this time is a crappy mobile photo:
By the way I fed all the other tarantulas today. Rosa (
Grammostola rosea RCF) was the only one to throw itself over it's meal as usual. And it seems like little Strawberry (
Brachypelma sp.) is going to molt soon to ^^
Gender: Male
Gender: Female
Gender: Female
