walkingmoth

[walkingmoth]

Breeding Plans

I finally caught and sexed the Cyriocosmus and so far we are at four females of of the seven tarantulas in my collection. Time to start making breeding plans. On the line up are: Cyriocosmus sp tambopata, "Goose." I'm aware of several other breeding projects for this species, but my specimen (probably like most) is from the first sac of this species produced in the States and I really want to contribute to the continuation of this species in the hobby. Breeding her is my primary goal, and I've been grilling her breeder for tips. Hapalopus formosus, "Trundle." My first tarantula was a MM H. formosus named Pudge. Feels like a good place to dip my toes in. I'm not sure if she's completely mature but I feel pretty confident that she's big enough to breed. She molted last month and if I can get a male ASAP, I'll be happy. The pumpkin patches are also pretty common so I won't feel so bad if I screw up on this or if she eats him straight out the gate. Cyriocosmus elegans, "Duck." I don't have strong feelings for breeding her at the moment, tbh. I've got a sling of this species that I hope is male so I can do all my pairing in-house. I figure I'll get around to her eventually -- possibly even before Goose just as a means of familiarizing myself with the breeding habits of the genus (knowing there are differences between species). The other female is Twinkleberry, Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens, but she's still a sub-adult and not close to even consider breeding. Further, I hear that species is pretty tricky to breed at all. The first steps are research, which I feel modestly comfortable with. The second, and concurrent step, is getting my house deep-cleaned (per my husband's ruling, which is fair) and finding more shelving (which is sorely needed). I've been mulling on possibly vending at a local expo once I've got slings into the second or third instar. As it is, I've been selling cultures of peanut beetles, and am working on my propbox to sell some cuttings from my vivariums. Other possibilities are handmade waterdishes, and prints of my artwork.

[walkingmoth]

The Cyriocosmus spp enclosures are looking lovely. Everything is in need of a trim, and the right-hand one is looking a little bare since I removed the fern on the left side (desperately needed but I miss how it looked before). The left-hand one is currently empty as its occupant, Goose the C. sp tambopata, is now in the middle enclosure to facilitate breeding efforts. The lid on the middle one completely comes off and there is no hardscape preventing me from accessing the spider now. The right side holds Duck, a Cyriocosmus elegans. Both spiders are female and once I get some things in order, will be looking for husbands for them both.

[walkingmoth]

when i tell you i had an aneurysm

[walkingmoth]

i really like tarantulas! sometimes i go off on a tear about how pretty they are, and then that ends up with me doing this. i only have three of these species (p. sp colombia, p. aurelius, b. horrida) in my collection, but they are the best

original photos are (sadly) not mine. most are from fear not tarantulas, plus one from tarantula collective down at the bottom there.

[walkingmoth]

i hate to vagueblog but ummm one of you is a spiders

[walkingmoth]

This is Duck, a Cyriocosmus elegans. The last time I saw Duck was June 12, 2024, walking away into his new enclosure. This is the last picture I had of him, and the terrarium looked like this at the time.

I fed roaches; saw some webbing, and then.... nothing. For months, no roach I placed in there was eaten. No more webbing was made. The terrarium filled in. I checked throughout the day and night, dug things up as best I could, and... no Duck. I thought he'd died in there and the springtails ate him. I was super bummed, both for the project (I made these stained glass vivariums and biotopes for this spider in particular!) and for the spider. He was my second tarantula, and the first I'd raised from a tiny sling! So I got a new Duck a few months a go, a little sling that's doing well, with the intention of putting him in here when he was big enough... Last week, Goose, my Cyriocosmus sp tambopata, was put in his own glass enclosure with some fear and trepidation until I found his den a few days later (pics soon!). And then today, after dinner, I turned and saw him. The first Duck, in the terrarium, alive and starved, but unbelievably alive.

I got the smallest roach I had on hand, killed it, and set it up by Duck where I'd hoped he would scavenge it... Instead he pounced on it! So hungry and with such a great appetite. He ended up dragging it behind the fern so I think that's where he's nesting now, but I am SO THRILLED to know he's still here. I don't know where he's been this whole time, if he's been wandering and we never crossed paths or he's just been burrowed for eight months. I've seen little roaches in the enclosure but it sure doesn't look like Duck ever hunted them. It is a mystery! And a very happy reunion.

The terrarium from a couple weeks ago, all filled in.

[walkingmoth]

Twinkleberry, juvenile Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens.

[walkingmoth]

Bark spiders (Caerostris spp.) by Chien C Lee on Flickr, originals at flic.kr/p/2kHkm3J & flic.kr/p/2qqA9zG & flic.kr/p/2kJQyGW. (Posting images directly here so I can add alt text.)

This week I was distraught - genuinely fkn mortified - to discover that my lovely other half, my beloved Kitty the cat-human, doesn't... I mean truly *does not*... Think that bark spiders are friggin adorable.

I weep, OMFGs.

Like. I know I should just be happy that they've come to a point where they evict spiders with a cup & card, instead of squishing them.

But bark spiders.

I mean.

Bark spiders are so cool! They look like bark, FFS.

Look at these bark spiders. Behold them! These fancy spood ladies. The twiggy lookin butts. Their smol faces. Glorious weirdos, how could you be mean to a tiny mush like that? The females only get to a couple of centimetres apparently, males are much smaller. They're soo smol, it's not like they're gonna hurt you Kitty? I mean... Look how anxious they look hugging their twigs?? (Gestures at the world) I feel you, little buddies.

I know they're not the most elegant spoods in webs or wombling around, but they are good cryptic critters, pls be nice to them.

[walkingmoth]

me trying to not obsess over tarantula species I don't need and have no immediate funds for

[walkingmoth]

Cyriocosmus elegans taking prey.

[walkingmoth]

Information: https://pubs.sciepub.com/aees/8/6/29/index.html

middle pic by Gururaj Gouda

Missing India desperately so what if I got a tarantula that was native to as close to my home as I could get (no tarantulas where I lived exactly), and then did my best to replicate the native habitat and hillside-burrowing habits in an arboreal set up (12"x12"x18") and--

(Photos by jithesh and bhuvanrajk on iNaturalist, respectively)

[walkingmoth]

Missing India desperately so what if I got a tarantula that was native to as close to my home as I could get (no tarantulas where I lived exactly), and then did my best to replicate the native habitat and hillside-burrowing habits in an arboreal set up (12"x12"x18") and--

(Photos by jithesh and bhuvanrajk on iNaturalist, respectively)

[walkingmoth]

Current Collection: Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens, 0.1.0, Twinkleberry Citharacanthus cyaneus, 0.0.1, Knees Cyriocosmus elegans, 0.0.1, Baby Duck Cyriocosmus sp tambopata, 0.0.1, Goose Hapalopus formosus, 0.1.0, Trundle Thrixopelma cyaneolum, 0.0.1, Banjo Want List: Caribena versicolor Hapalopus sp columbia 'klein' (not sure if it got put under formosus) Cyriocosmus leetzi, perezmilesi, bicolor Hapalopus guerreroi Monocentropus balfouri Harpactira pulchripes Chilobrachys natanicharum Thrigmopoeus truculentus

Goals: I'd love to breed the C. sp tambopata. My sling is from Michael Wells, who bred the first US captive bred specimens -- mine is from that very first sac. He's out of the hobby now but I'd like to continue the line and get more of these in the hobby.

The C. natanicharum makes me want to set up a mangrove biotope and that is really the only draw but it's tickling that itch right now. This and the H. pulchripes would wait until the kids are older. Don't want to make any potentially costly mistakes with them around. (But what if I got a T. truculentus, a little slice of home even though there are no tarantulas in my end of India but this species is the closest... and they're not too expensive and I could make a really cool set up in an arboreal enclosure to mimic the hillsides they burrow in and--) Mentally, I'm saving one "slot" for a C. versicolor. I'm about out of room but will always try to make space for the other Hapalopus (klein is high on my list) and a couple more Cyriocosmus, but the versi is right at the top of what I'd like to get.

Next big step is figuring out a better shelving, lighting, and heating system for my spiders. A lot of them got moved to my art shelves, darker and more out of the way, and I've really seen Trundle and Goose out and about a ton. I'd like to replicate that but the shelves are very low and I'd need some very slim lights to keep them there. But heating is the big goal. Before that, I'll be building Trundle a new terrarium, moving to glass with a sloped front, as the acrylic case I've got her in is all scratched up. Goose will probably go into the stained glass terrarium soon, but really feeling I need to up my temperatures before then. Everyone else is itty bitty and, in Twinkleberry's case, good where they're at for a long while.

[walkingmoth]

So, the picture is shit but this is Trundle, my Hapalopus formosus, giving me some real good evidence that she would benefit from a heat source. That black beside her? That's the stove that we were just cooking lunch on. The air temp near her viv is warm but far from hot, and she has herself pressed against the acrylic nearest the stove. In the couple days she's emerged from her burrow, this is the second time I've caught her doing just this; it is not a behavior she displays when the stove is off. She's got plenty of room to go to the cooler side of her viv, too.

[walkingmoth]

Small update on both terrariums after some plant mail arrived yesterday.

[walkingmoth]

Planted!

Psygmorchis pusila, Peperomia serpens, P. rotundifolia, P. emarginella, Selaginella diffusa, S. kraussiana, and a NOID Gesneriad from the general region. Next step is to be very patient and wait to see that everything is rooting and surviving. I'll be adding my springtails shortly (Neanura growae, non-native but cute) and later will put my Trinidad dwarf tarantula (Cyriocosmus elegans) in it.

[walkingmoth]

Twinkleberry, Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens.