Tarantula Questions...

[Jace]

Thanks Will and Jennie! Kamani is amazing no matter what she is. She has definitely grown since her molt, and I think she is beautiful no matter what. As long as her needs are being met (which I know they are) and she allows me to learn and observe her (which she does), all is good.

Chili is now on a bed of coco husk, which I merely broke apart dry and gave him about an 1" or so. The first night, there was webbing in the enclosure, which I am taking to be a good sign, because there was nothing before with the Reptile Bark. I will try again with the ventral pics, but I am really not all that worried. I know females have longer life spans than males, so, ideally, it would be great if he was a she. My main thing is just to get him to eat. Kamani is like clock work unless she is getting ready to molt, so this could be frustrating!! Is there any significance to his webbing?? Like he's getting ready to molt...or do they just naturally do this all over everything?

Thanks again! I really appreciate all this advice and insight. And Will, you were right--how could I have possible thought I would just have one??!!??

[flamesbane]

No problem and glad to help, I am really surprised more people don't keep tarantulas they really are great pets.

As far as your substrate, you will probably want to add a little more. Terrestrial tarantulas, such as Chili, can actually get hurt if they fall too far. I don't know what sort of enclosure you have Chili in, but you would ideally want 1.5x the tarantulas legspan from the top of the substrate to the lid. So if she has a 4.5" to 5" legspan (as she appears to) around 7-8" is ideal.

Don't worry too much about getting Chili to eat. As long as the opisthosomsa is bigger than the promosa you should be fine. G. rosea can go a year without food, and 2-3 month fasts are pretty common. G. rosea are pretty much pet rocks just make sure Chili has access to water.

The great thing about G. rosea is that they are very slow growing, so even if Chili is a he he could eaisly live 2-4 years after their ultimate molt. I just had a MM G. rosea make a post-ultimate molt...

Good luck with Chili!

[Jace]

I have Chili in a different container now-one that is longer than it is higher. He can stretch upwards and touch the top with his front legs, but still have his back legs on the ground. I didn't want him to do any climbing and falling in his first container, so I thought short and long was better!!

How do you know when a male tarantula has had his post-ultimate molt? I just had a Chilean Rose surrendered to my petstore, and he is about twice the size of Chili and has very obvious tibial hooks and clubbed pedipalps. It is estimated he is almost 2 years old. I doubt if we will be able to resell him, so I have offered to take him home but it would be nice to know how much time I might still have to observe him. I have already named him Frapp.

I included a couple of pics of Chilis' new home. He has made significant webbing in the corner by the plant and has silken strands all along that one side. He's been very busy in his new setup!! Oh, and his water dish gets cleaned and refreshed every other day.

[Animalnstinct]

Most MM tarantula's never survive their post-ultimate molt, and even more don't even get there to find out. They're not built to molt with the tibial hooks and if they're lucky enough to live long enough to try, this is where they get stuck and fail. There are some very rare cases where MMs have survived their post-ultimate but it's so rare that you can pretty much bet the farm in the other direction.

There have been recorded cases where a MM has lived nearly 5 years after their ultimate molt. Most will pass away peacefully within 6-12 months. Given that the one you have is only 2 years old, there is a higher risk that he may try to molt again despite reaching maturity already. The best thing you could do for him right now is find him a date! Any breeders or avid hobbyists locally that have a MF of their own and want to pair them up, or you can always try posting on a few of the invert/tarantula forums and sell him to a breeder. A lot of people will do 50/50's where you ship the MM to them, they pair it with their MF, and when the babies arrive send back half the brood. This is only beneficial to you though if you'd like to have your hands on 100-250 tiny G rosea's.

If we discover you have a female yourself, there's a date right there! Will's right though, the shots are great but sadly the area we need to see (the forward book lungs, where we see mostly the rear ones in those pictures) is somewhat obscured. What you're looking for there is an enlarged group of setae generally accompanied by a darker triangular or half moon patch. The way to be 100% though is to save your next molt and look for the presence of spermathecae. between the forward book lungs.

[John911]

Look into picking up The Tarantula Keepers Guide. Pretty good read. I enjoy forums, but sometimes paper is nice. They have a pretty good section just on rosies, and how being mostly WC and from the southern hemisphere confuses them.

[Jace]

Thanks, Jennie. I am hoping that Frapp will stick around for at least a couple of months. I got him free, so regardless, I can't complain overly much. He wasn't as aggressive as I thought he would be, and tolerated the gentle prodding from container to container until he made it to his final home. I noticed some damage to one of his front legs, but it does not seem to be inhibiting him at all.

I also got a really great deal on the Antilles Pink Toe, though I am not sure if she was labelled correctly. She was at the petstore for a very long time, and looks to be adult size (she had a molt just before Christmas). She does not have A. versicolor colouring, and appears almost black compared to Kamani. Maybe the camera will pick up what I can't see when I take photos of her. Oh, and I named her Katara!

John, that is an excellent suggestion and I have to admit, that I actually have that book. I have yet to read it cover to cover, though, but with these new additions, I am finding the knowledge in the book and on this Forum to be incredible. Considering that in less than a month, I tripled my tarantula collection!! I blame Will and Jennie....