Hibernation in Tarantulas

Hey ya'll

I've been noticing some weird behavior with our spiders lately and that is a sudden increase in lethargic behavior. Normally this wouldn't be so alarming with tarantulas but it has gone on for several months now. They appear to exhibit all signs of pre-molting behavior (not eating, curling up in the corner etc.) but nothing, not even a quick misting of the cage seems to prompt any molt whatsoever. What's even more alarming is that this behavior seems to be afflicting only two out of my three spiders, the Honduran Curly Hair and the Mexican Red-Knee. My first spider, Keric (Grammastolosa rosea) appears to be in extremely good condition, is eating on a regular basis and has molted once in the same time it has been since the other two exhibited such behavior. Indeed, though it started off as one of the smaller in size, it has quickly grown to surpass even the Honduran Curly Hair (which is often touted by enthusiasts as a "fast-growing" species). Needless to say, this has gotten my quite worried although, a "talk" with some online friends of mine allayed my fears somewhat by offering the possibility that they may

1. Be going through a period of fasting, a behavior that is typical to most tarantula species
2. In a state of torpor (temporary hibernation) due to the low temperature of my room. 

I have since moved the spiders out and into a warmer location so I suppose only time will tell how they are really doing. In the meantime, a more recent measurement of Keric's body length has revealed her/him to be almost an inch long! Although, quite regrettably, she/he seems to be loosing much of that brilliant red coloration she/she had as a baby. This, however, I'm taking as a sign that Keric is in fact a female. (females tend to be duller in color compared to males). 

In the meantime, I'm still looking for possibly explanations regarding my other two babies' strange behavior. Just some information on each, the Mexican Red-Knee is about 1cm in length, while the Honduran Curly Hair is just a little above half an inch. Once again, I put my faith in the intellectual capabilities of the online community. Hope to hear from you soon!

Cheers,
Cyren

The Web pt. 2 ~ Molts, molts, and more molts!

Hey ya'll

As I have said before, it has been quite a week! But just as this has been quite a momentous period for me, I'm sure it was even more exciting for many of my little critters who seemed to engage all at once in an "explosion" of mass-molting!!! Several of the Madagascar Hissing Roaches, one of the millipedes and even our Leopard gecko, Archimedes, molted within days of each other (I got to watch the last of these, and it was quite a process!!! I will be sure to record it again when it happens in the future!). But perhaps the momentous of all these momentous occasions, was the molting of two of my spiders, the very bashful and shy Honduran curly hair (Brachypelma albopilosum), and the much anticipated Mexican flame knee (Brachypelma smithi) ps. we're just on tenterhooks, waiting for its wonderful colors to start showing.

Honduran curly hair (Brachypelma albopilosum). It was really hard to get such a photograph of this spider as it is quite shy and reclusive, retreating to its burrow at the slightest sense of danger

Recently molted Mexican flame knee (Brachypelma smithi). You can see its old exoskeleton still trailing off behind it. Quite skittish, but such a cutie! We're eagerly anticipating her colors to start showing! 

To top it all off! I am expecting Keric to molt too, within the next few days or so which makes that THREE moltings the span of just over one week!!! Totally amazing! I feel like a father of a hundred children right now, though, instead of collecting photographs and things like that for memorabilia, I'm collecting their shed skins instead. One more shed skin for the molt-box~

Cheers,
Cyren

The Web pt. 1 ~ Losses, Gains and New Friends

Hey ya'll 

It has been quite awhile since my last update, hasn't it? And while the Fraser's Hills' butterflies continue to spread and dry on their styrofoam boards (I really can't wait to take them out to show you) I must say that a lot has been happening here regarding our eight legged arachnid friends as well!!! The orb spiders that I brought back from Fraser's Hill, for instance, seemed to coexist rather peaceably within the same enclosure for the better part of the week. That is, until I noticed the smaller spider tying up the larger one with swathes, and pulling it up into it's magnificent orb web. Whether it was the sudden change of temperature or the nauseating drive down (I'm sorry dad, your car IS very difficult to sit in), the larger of the pair did not seem to adapt well to her new home and stayed only on the lower levels of the enclosure. The smaller spider continues to display good health, I'm happy to report, but I can't help but wonder in retrospect if better management of the living arrangements could have helped us to avoid the unfortunate loss. 

And speaking about losses, we in fact experienced the misfortune of not one but two arachnid deaths this week when the Honduran curly hair (Brachypelma albopilosum) that Michelle was kind enough to send to me as a contribution to my growing collection arrived dead in the mail. As you can imagine, it was quite a downer for all of us. 

My poor Curly Sue... rest in peace. 

Bad all this sadness aside, I do have some rather exciting new arrivals to report and they are three ALIVE and kicking beautiful tarantulas that have come into our home just today! For some reason or other, I had always imagined that I would be raising Keric to full maturity before attempting any more arachnids, but it seems as if these little creatures have sunk their fangs into my heart and given me the Spider Fever!!! As such our current role call of eight legged critters are: 

Name: Keric
Species: Chilean rose  (Grammostola rosea)

Name: Thalia
Species: Honduran curly-hair (Brachypelma albopilosum)

Name: Aurea
Species: Mexican red-knee (Brachypelma smithi)

Name: Pasithea
Species: Brazilian black and white (Nhandu coloratovillosus)

As you can see, they are really quite small individuals for the time being, but (or so I have been told by experienced breeders) the two species B. albopilosum and N. coloratovillosus are rather fast growing so I suppose it won't be too long before new accommodations are required!!! Am severely excited (I love landscaping terrariums!!!) In the meantime, though, I will admit that the one I am most looking forward to raising to adulthood is the Mexican red-knee (B. smithi) as it is probably the most "colorful" spider I've attempted to raise yet!!! In the meantime, I suppose the addition of so many new arachnids into my collections marks the end of the "Anthologies of Keric the Arachnid" series. Instead, do look out for our future eight-legged updates through The Web!!! 

Cheers,
Cyren