My Spiders – Sarah’s Spider Friends

Spider Colony Thriving

It’s a couple of months since the last update. I managed to get some pictures of one of the little balfouris today, but better than that – I managed to catch all five of them out of their burrows a few days ago; confirmation that they’ve all survived so far and are living happily together.

To recap if you didn’t start reading the blog from the beginning, the Monocentropus balfouri (common name Socotra Island Blue Baboon) is one of the very few rare species of tarantula that can live in colonies. Most tarantulas are cannibals and live alone. A few people I’ve read about have started balfouri colonies with a view to experimentally rearing them through a full cycle, ie: start with a number (ideally between 5 and 9) baby spiders, raise them to adults, wait for them to breed, and raise the babies. The blogs I’ve read before didn’t get to that stage; whether the writers grew bored of updating the blogs, or the colonies didn’t survive, I don’t know.

I started this experiment last August with five baby balfouri and eight months on, they’re thriving together and are approximately 2.5 inch leg span in size now. I’ll try to catch several of them together for the next update.

The balfouri colony, very well webbed now above the burrows

Spider Family Updates

There’s not a great deal to report this month. The colony of Socotra Island Baboons is still doing great. I get to see two or three of them out most mornings if I go in the spider room early. Always good to see they’re still living together in harmony.

Orinoco, my Venezuelan Suntiger has just moulted and looks considerably bigger.

Magenta, the Salmon Pink Birdeater, was just as keen to come out and explore as usual.

Blackberry, the Brazilian Black, is looking exceptionally fat. I’d be surprised if she doesn’t moult soon, but they are notoriously slow growers.

Somebody’s been over-indulging on crickets!

Sadly, Pumpkin, who was less than half an inch in leg span, died recently. Occasionally spiderlings are lost and he/she had been reluctant to eat. I will replace him/her as I wanted to keep this species in my collection. The picture shows an adult.

Latest Updates

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.

Blackberry looks brown in this picture from the flash on my camera. He/she is jet black in reality

Pumpkin Patch

The latest addition to my growing 8-legged family is a Hapalopus sp. Colombia (a Pumpkin Patch tarantula), so named for the pretty designs on its body. The picture below shows an adult specimen.

I only recently discovered this little beauty and decided to add one to my collection as soon as I could. The species originates from the Pacific coastal areas of Colombia. This is a burrowing spider and is known to be a heavy webber. It’s a relatively small species of tarantula, growing to between 2 and 4 inches.

I purchased a very small spiderling, which I will need to raise on fruit flies or bits cut off crickets to start with! A snack pot from Tesco makes an ideal habitat, with holes poked in the lid with a nail, and a spoonful of Spider Life substrate, slightly dampened. Looking forward to watching this one grow.

My very tiny spiderling arrived today in this small vial.

An active little creature, keen to escape its travelling container.

New Arrivals

Finally the new inhabitants for my planned colony of Monocentropus balfouri (Socotra Island Blue Baboon) have arrived. I have five spiderlings, measuring around an inch and a half leg span. They’re from the same egg sac and have grown up together to this point. They’re extremely fast, so I placed their travelling container in their new home, took the lid off, and coaxed them out to prevent any escapees. They all quickly disappeared into some of the starter burrows I’d made under a log, so hopefully they’ll do well. After a few hours, I threw in a bunch of crickets so that none of them will go hungry and be tempted to eat their brothers and sisters!

Updates to follow as things develop. Here’s hoping for a successful colony.

5 x Monocentropus balfouri in their travelling container.

The first one ventures into its new home.

One of them in its burrow, just visible above the leaf to the left.

Magenta Moves House

I adopted Magenta in May 2018 at the same time as Juanita. This is my biggest spider, a Lasiodora parahybana (Brazilian Salmon Pink Bird-eater). She doesn’t actually eat birds, by the way – locusts, crickets, and cockroaches usually suffice!

There is a little information about this species on the “My Pets” page, but to summarise, a warm, humid climate is a suitable habitat. The Salmon Pink hails from the Atlantic forests of Brazil so her home needs to imitate this. A water bowl and occasional “misting” of the substrate provides the moisture, while in the summer the temperature in my spider room is warm enough. In winter, I heat the room with a radiator on a timer.

Magenta’s new home is an Exo Terra terrarium, with Eco Earth as substrate, deep enough for her to dig in if she wishes. Sphagnum moss which is great at retaining moisture raises the humidity, and I’ve added some decorations and a “cave” for her to hide in, partly consisting of the very well webbed piece of bark from her old home. She seems to like it!

Setting up a Colony

This is my first post on my experimental tarantula colony. Few species can be housed together as most tarantulas are known to be cannibals if kept in close proximity. However, one of the few species which can tolerate and even enjoy each other’s company, is the Monocentropus balfouri (Socotra Island Blue Baboon). This tarantula originates from the island of Socotra in the Arabian Sea, a couple of hundred miles from the coasts of Yemen and Somalia. This will be new to me in more ways than one, as all my spiders so far have been “New World” species, from Central and South America.

This is a fast and aggressive species, so it’s safe to say I won’t be handling them. I plan to document their growth and how they behave as a group. I’ve read other blogs about colonies of this type, but have never seen one complete a full cycle, ie baby spiders (spiderlings), grow up together, hopefully breed, a new generation of spiderlings are born and grown. Fingers crossed for some success!

To start, an acrylic box measuring 14 x 10 x 10 inches, with aeration holes front and back to circulate air, and a secure lid with clip fastenings to prevent escape. The substrate is Spider Life which is created for many species of spider, great for burrowing spiders. It’s good for retaining moisture for those that like a humid environment, but this species hails from dessert regions, so I’m allowing it to dry out a lot before the spiders arrive.

I’ve added some branches to create hides, and started some small caves under them for the spiders to form into their own burrows as they wish. A silk plant to make it look more attractive and create more shelter, and a water dish. That’s all that is needed.

I’ve placed an order for five spiderlings, which I’m advised will have approximately a 1 inch leg span. They should arrive at some point during the next week – I’m working out a suitable delivery day with the supplier to ensure someone is home to receive them. Watch out for the next blog post when they arrive and enter their new home. Feel free to subscribe if you don’t want to miss anything!

Upgraded Accommodation for Cadbury and Juanita

I’ve kept most of my spiders in faunariums in the past, but after discovering a manufacturer of various acrylic containers, I discovered some perfect new homes for some of my suitably sized pets.

Cadbury, my Brachypelma albopilosum (Honduran Curly Hair), is the spider I’ve had for the longest time, after Cherokee and Apache died of old age, so she gets one of the new homes. Cadbury is a docile girl and easy to handle, but unfortunately I’m allergic to her hair. Hopefully she’ll like her new nicely decorated home.

New acrylic container with coir substrate (coconut fibre), sphagnum moss to retain moisture, a hide and water dish.

Cadbury might look soft and fluffy, but I’m horribly allergic to her hair, hence the motorcycle gloves. I’m wearing a waterproof jacket too – the hairs can work their way through clothing fibres and into your skin.

Juanita is my fully grown Brachypelma hamorii (Mexican Red Knee), whom I adopted in May 2018. Such a pretty spider, so I decided she should have nicer surroundings. She has the same set-up as Cadbury, but with less moisture as she likes a slightly more arid environment.

A nice burrow supported by a hide for Juanita.

Magenta, my biggest girl, is getting her new home next, so an update on her will follow. Charlotte will be the next to move house, but I need to order another new container for her. Incy Wincy is going to grow into a giant like Magenta, so once he/she gets bigger, there’ll be another house move to follow, some time next year I would expect.

Latest Addition

Orinoco is the newest member of my spider family, having arrived from an online spider breeder a few days ago. This is a Psalmopoeus irminia (Venezuelan Suntiger) and is an arboreal spider, meaning in the wild, they live in trees rather than burrows. I have kept a couple of arboreal species in the past, but on this occasion I did something I’d never done before. I looked at a tarantula breeder’s website to choose a new pet, spotted a picture and thought, “That’s a pretty spider,” shortly before clicking the Buy button. Due to the excessive hot weather at the time, the responsible breeder emailed me to say he would hold off sending me the spiderling until temperatures cooled down. Lucky for me, this gave me time to research the species and set up a suitable habitat – a custom made acrylic box furnished with slightly dampened coir, tree branches (scavenged from the playing field next to my house), and a plastic vine plant from the store that supplies me with locusts and crickets.

When Orinoco (named after the Venezuelan river, of course) arrived, the little devil was so eager to get out of his transportation container, he took a flying leap onto my shoulder and scampered down my back. After a moment squirming in front of the bathroom mirror, I managed to get him to make a careful descent down my leg and hastily moved him into his new home. I say “he” at the moment, as the spiderling is too small at about an inch and a half leg diameter to establish its sex. Hopefully in a couple of moults’ time I’ll be able to determine whether he is a he or a she.

Anyway, Orinoco has settled in well and after a couple of days had devoured a locust almost the size of his own body. He’s now stretching out and resting at the top of his new home.