My experimental colony of Socotra Island Baboons seems to be doing well so far. I haven’t actually seen the spiders in the past few weeks, but they’ve created lots of webbing, shown in the picture below, and dug a couple of deep burrows all the way to the bottom of the substrate. The crickets I put in are disappearing, so it all looks good. I’m hoping that I’ll catch sight of them sooner or later, probably late in the day when it’s dark.
Pumpkin, my tiny Pumpkin Patch tarantula, moulted this week and although it’s still only about half an inch in diameter, you can see its markings now. It’s feeding on parts of pre-killed crickets, so my other half was delighted to be left with the unenviable task of feeding it for a week recently when I went away on a hiking trip. I keep a box in the freezer containing parts of crickets ready for the spider’s meals!
Cadbury successfully moulted too. I don’t have a picture as she’s been in hiding in her burrow since, but the picture below is her looking her most fluffy. She’s now the one I’ve had the longest – I got her as a small spiderling in 2011.
Orinoco, currently my only tree-dwelling spider, has created a webbed home high up the container, and not actually in the “trees” I put in there. He/she is getting on well though, eating well and healthy. The picture shows the underside of the spider.
Juanita looks like she’s approaching a moult too. She’s begun to look scruffy, with a bald patch appearing on her rump, and she’s not eating, so watch this space. If she moults any time soon, her colours will brighter in the next picture I take.
Finally, little Blackberry also seems to be heading towards a moult. Another balding rump and the fact that he/she hasn’t eaten for the past week or so indicates it won’t be too long.
Sarah's Spider Friends 