SFB - No More

Señor Fuzzy Britches proved himself to be male when he built a sperm web. I tried to find someone that needed a male Curly Hair (Brachypelma albopilosum) for mating, but it is such a common species that I couldn't find any takers. They do make for good starter pets.

And so... he passed. I totally understand the majorly short life span of male tarantulas in comparison to females now. Males will stop eating once they are ready to mate. They just kind of whither away. Here is my photo dedication to Señor Fuzzy Britches:

Sperm Web!

I had read about how male tarantulas use sperm webs, but I've never witnessed any of my specimens build or use one... until today!

Señor Fuzzy Britches using his Sperm Web
First Stage

You can see the white dot above his abdomen ~ that is the sperm. He also seemed to be preparing his pedipalps for it. I even have video for you!

SFB Exuvium

For a couple of weeks I couldn't seem to get to Señor Fuzzy Britches's old skin to remove it from his enclosure.

Señor Fuzzy Britches
with his old skin

I finally got it out and and added water while the molt webbing was still there. I thought it was cool to see the water collect in the web for a while.

spider web with water

SFB Molt - as Predicted!

Last month, in my General Update, I mentioned that Señor Fuzzy Britches had finally begun digging in his new space. I also noted that his coloration had changed a bit and predicted he might soon molt.

Elmo spotted SFB in the beginnings of molting yesterday morning! I was so pleased and (once things really got started) spent hours photographing and taking video of the process!

Click on any image to see a larger version. Enjoy!

9:09 AM

Bonnie catchin' Clyde

Remember that Clyde molted recently? Well as I was headed to bed last night, I grabbed the flashlight and checked on all our kids. (I usually do this right before bed, partially in hopes of seeing Tears since she hides all the time.) Well I found Bonnie in the middle of molting! I was thrilled and considered doing a photo shoot, but I already had the lights out and was headed to bed. She is looking great today!

King & Clyde

Elmo found King (Goliath Birdeater) stuck by one foot to the top of his aquarium again. We keep waffling about a different cage, but I think we're just going to have to get one, perhaps this weekend. We were trying to figure out how to help him, but I couldn't even tell which way he was holding on to the screen. And then I realized... I could hear him hiss! OMG, it was so cool! I had Elmo lean in to hear it, too. I thought his entire fangs would move for that, but I guess just his mouth was moving? It sounded like one of those old wind up walking toys. Anyway, King let go on his own. He has moved all the dirt out of that corner, too. He seems alright, though. He walks around on the mesh every night.

Clyde's molt and burrow

Then I started checking on all the babies and found that Clyde (Curly Hair) had molted! However, the molt was stuck to his rump. I think I would have freaked if this hadn't happened with King already. I took the dish, backdrop, camera, and a Q-tip in to the kitchen and loosened the lid to the dish. Clyde managed to run off the old skin and into the hole, though! While I didn't get any cool shots of the mess, it is better that the separation happened without assistance. Now I'm watching Bonnie because surely that one will molt very soon. I'm sure they're from the same egg sac.

Moving / Feeding Day - Curly Hair Tarantula

After that last molt, I noticed that Señor Fuzzy Britches really outgrew his cage. I mean he FIT of course, but he needed more "leg room" (hahaha, I crack myself up!). This weekend I finally picked up the next size cage. I specifically went for All Living Things® Critter Totes. The lids are much easier to remove and replace. The other brand we got are very stiff. The new one is a Medium.

I packed in plenty of dirt. Then I carefully spooned out some of his old dirt, moving the top layer off first. I topped the new habitat with it. All the while, I was keeping him from coming completely out of his cage. SFB is a very calm specimen. I was easily able to pick it up and move it to the new cage. I left him in it for about an hour before feeding him. He has much more room now! And he had no trouble with the crickets I gave him.

This photo doesn't show how much space he has, but at least it is a new photo, right?!

Señor Fuzzy Britches
in New Home
Brachypelma albopilosum
Curly Hair

SFB Molting Again?!

I got Señor Fuzzy Britches, a Brachypelma albopilosum (Curly Hair) at the Oklahoma Reptile Expo in October of last year. Then at the end of November, he had built an awesome burrow and molted in it. His burrow has since collapsed. He tends to web the lid to his enclosure. Yesterday he built / laid a sort of web hammock. And then today, a short 3½ months since his last molt,... (drum roll please) he molted again! He is so big!

SFB - Freshly Molted
cozied up to old skin

I fed everyone last weekend and failed to notice there was still 1 of 2 crickets loose in his cage until later in the day! I noticed he was pressing himself up against his old skin. Then I noticed the cricket and just about had a heart attack! Tarantulas are very vulnerable during and after their molt (for about a week). I immediately caught and removed the cricket! All appears to be well. This was wonderful news after losing a pet yesterday. I would have been a wreck if I'd lost SFB over something so simple as a cricket so soon after losing S.B.