For My Birthday

Anansi had breakfast today! I sat down to feed her... since the other two small crickets have gone missing. I hate the thought that they're in the dirt, decomposing. But if Anansi is anything like Mallory was, she'll bury them with web. Anyway, she snatched this one in less than 2 minutes, max. I swear the cricket burst when she got it. There was this big droplet on it. heh

Anansi and her Breakfast

Anansi and her Breakfast

Temp is fine, too. Thermometer read 72° this morning.

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I can see no remains of Anansi's breakfast. So I wonder if she really did eat the other two crickets these last couple of days. Now I'm tempted to give her another.

I'm not quite so hard-set on Anansi being a girl now, though I think I'll continue to refer to her for convenience. If she is actually a boy, then I'll take her back to OKC for breeding and get a new spiderling. I can't imagine wanting half the spiderlings produced by him... Eric was mating a male B. smithi with two different females. Now consider they'll each (if the mating "took") lay hundreds of eggs. Yikes! No, I don't need THAT many spiders! However, I bet I could get one... perhaps a Brazilian Black. Or... something else. I chose Anansi because she's a good starter species... I may be ready to try something else after a few years (if she's a he) lol

Anansi

I've decided to name her Anansi. I need to update the bio page!

By the way... I've watched her temperature and it's been good so far. I got a new thermometer strip and stuck it to the inside of her bowl, per Eric's suggestion. I gave her a cricket, but then I lost it. I don't know if she ate it (and buried the remains) or if it dug in and hid. So I gave her another... and while I did keep track of it for longer, this one did the same thing. But if she doesn't feel like eating, I don't want to keep adding food. I'll try again in a couple of days.

I held her again today. She was really good, then she ran! lol I am (again) proud of myself for not freaking out. She ran all over my hand! Then I put her back into her bowl! lol Before that, though, she just sat there a lot. She seems perfectly happy & comfortable with me. I did learn that she'll come out of the bowl more easily if I use a paint brush. When I tried to coax her out by hand she buried her head in the dirt. Yes, just her head. It was very funny.

OK, that should be enough for now... Thanks for reading & sharing my excitement!

New Baby!!

Here is a photo of my new baby that I went to OKC for today...

Brachypelma smithi spiderling

That's a quarter this time. I even got to hold her before leaving there! I also held a full grown B. smithi. I had Eric show me as much of his collection as he wanted to show off and I took photos! I'll be getting those edited, sent, and posted... but for now, this was the most important shot.

Now I'm debating a name for her. Here is the poll (updated with results):

Tara (as in TARAntula)
3 (27.3%)

Taren Tula (I don't think so)
0 (0.0%)

LeeLou (5th Element)
2 (18.2%)

Anansi
3 (27.3%)

Agent Smith (she's a B. smithi)
0 (0.0%)

Mallory (again)
0 (0.0%)

Millicent
1 (9.1%)

Morticia
2 (18.2%)

Next Trip!

My best friend is going to take me to OKC next weekend to get another spider! I owe her a birthday lunch so we're going to find somewhere to eat while we're there. I also heard back from the breeder this morning. His email was so kind that I was in tears of relief.

Jorje,
I am really sorry to hear she passed.
Some people just don't understand how losing a spider hurts, but it does.
My girlfriend lost her A. versicolor to a bad molt last weekend, and we are still mourning.
I truly am sorry.
I hope that you don't hold yourself responsible, it's an all to normal occurence with slings that small. They are just very fragile at that size.
I know it might not come as any consolation at this point, but let me know when you are ready, and we'll work something out with a larger specimen.
Sincerely,
Eric

A part of me was afraid he wouldn't trust me with another spider. His email, as well as the support of my family and friends, has meant an awful lot to me. Thank you all.

Brachypelma smithi spiderling record

Ironically, I found the section in my book about caring for spiderlings. Now that I've lost mine. It didn't tell me anything I did not already know or wasn't already doing anyway. It seemed to be mostly directed at people caring for up to 300 spiderlings at a time. What a huge undertaking that would be!

I'm feeling all tarantula-ish this afternoon, so I looked in my folder of links. Someone made a record of their Brachypelma smithi spiderling from when they got it. I had read a little bit of it, but never finished it. I'm reading through it now. The spiderling turned white (not black) just before molting, shortly after they got it. Then it molted again almost exactly one month later! They don't say what instar the spiderling was when they got it. A little over a month later, it shed again. I love gaining the knowledge, but this site makes me a little sad, too.

Earlier today I was reading about nematodes on Giant Spiders.com. It was disturbing and nearly set me off soil as substrate. The person with this record uses vermiculite. I'm just not sure I like vermiculite. It might be good to keep the spiderling in for a while, though, since it is what it was in when I got to the breeder.

I want to do something in the direction of getting another spider. Now. So... I think I might call around to pet shops to see who has pinhead crickets. I'd sure like to be able to feed a spiderling live food. If I get a spiderling, that is. I can't imagine getting one too large, I don't have a fortune to spend on a spider. The spiderling I got was .5" and the next size they have is 1.25" for $15 more.

Anyway, in case you want to read about the spiderling I mentioned, it is Spidermans Blog.

Oh, and Mallory is getting what I can only guess is white mold around her abdomen now. Do I just dump her in the garbage? Ugh? Do I bury her... under the snow?! <sigh>