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.
Sarah's Spider Friends 