Death Dance!!

I saw Smithy's "death dance" for the first time on Tuesday. Well that's what I like to call it anyway:P She looked sooo cool spinning up her food. Check out This YouTube video I was watching. It's of a Black Horn Baboon T dancing.

It's feeding day again today. I picked up new crickets last week because the original bunch of them grew too big. They grew their way to freedom. Chris let them out in to the garden.

The new ones had a nice ride home on my bicycle. Then one of the cats knocked the container off the kitchen counter:/ Poor bugs.

Both of the spiders are out and about today. I wonder if that means they are hungry.

I'll find out in a few hours!

Worried Spider Mom

I've noticed this blog contains many "worried" posts. This entry is no exception!

Neither of the spiderlings have eaten in about a week! I don't know if this is because I have been feeding them so much over the course of the past month, if they're going to molt, or if they're sick. I just don't know!

I keep hearing that tarantula keeping is a game of patience. Sometimes they won't eat in a while. Sometimes they don't move for a while. For the most part, they are strange and alien creatures. I can totally accept that, but at the same time, I don't want to brush everything off as them just being weird animals.

For example, I have not seen Mustapha in 2-3 days. I tried to grab a dead cricked from his container, and once again, collapsed his burrow. The first time was way worse, and he dug out through that, so I think he should be okay. I also remember that when he arrived from Montreal, he hid for nearly a week. Maybe he's going to molt again? After he hid that week, he finally surfaced and shed his skin. I hope so!

Then there is Smithy. Why hasn't she been eating? I thought maybe she would molt, but it's been a week now! The interesting thing about her, is since she has not been eating, she's much more active. No more couch potato lifestyle for her! Not only is she moving more, she is shockingly fast! I had no idea!

Well, I'll just sit on my hands, try not worrying so much, and wait for them to do something!

EW Mold!

Last night I spotted some white fuzzy mold in Smithy's container. Yuck! Apparently, it's common, and not too much of a problem. Well it is for me!

I took out the visible mold and scraped off the first layer of substrate. I'm going to ask Chris to poke a couple more holes in the lid (because he does such a fine job) and hopefully, that will help to keep it under control.

I also need to be on the look-out for bug bodies. I'm not easily recognizing them, all webbed up, in the substrate. It all looks the same to me!

In other news, Mustapha has been hanging upside down off the container, above his burrow, holding on to his "prize" from yesterday. At this point, the larva is looking pretttty deflated.

Good for him!

Birthdays and Antics

I wrote the breeders today for the first time since the Tarantulas' arrival exactly a week ago. I had a few questions I needed to ask, and I wasn't getting straight answers from books, or forums. The most important for me was, can you overfeed a spiderling? I asked, because Smithy is the Homer Simpson of spiders. I swear, she fell asleep last night holding a (sucked almost dry) larva in her arms.

Amanda, from Tarantula Canada, told me that although a spiderling can't be overfed, their abdomens can become very swollen, leaving them more vulnerable to ruptures, if they fall. That makes sense to me, so I'm not feeding Smithy for a couple of days. She definitely looks full!

I also asked about their hatch date. I want to be able to celebrate their birth...err hatchdates. Mustapha was born in their care, and his hatchdate is May 20 2009. Even though from my understanding, he was in an eggsac since January...Bizarre!

Smithy, is from another breeder. She estimates she was hatched in June 2008! Holy crap! Smithy is over a year old? I had NO idea! I'm actually excited because that means she'll be full grown in two years from now, rather than three like I thought. Awesome!

Other Observations:

-After Mustapha's molt yesterday, he spread out and dried(?..lol) for a few hours.

-Smithy is a stop motion pet. I'll go look at her one minute and she's in a slightly different spot/position from the last time I looked. Sometimes she waves at me.

-All I did this morning was look at Mustapha, and he jumped back in to his burrow again. Who knows how long he'll be there? He's very shy.

-I went in to Smithy's container this morning to pull out the bug. She was pretty close to my finger and didn't seem to care. This is good!

I know I want to handle Smithy. Even when I do, it will be with the utmost care and caution. Mustapha, I'm not too sure about. When he's full grown he'll have an 8-9 inch legspan, and a bite that can cause significant physical harm. It all depends on his temperament.

Day 4 - AM Observations

My first thought this morning was of the spiders, Smithy in particular. She ate two little crickets last night. She's the ideal spider, so far. However, I'm a little concerned. She is clinging to the side of her container. I'm reading online that this either means she is unhappy with her surroundings, or hungry. HUNGRY? I wouldn't be surprised. I hope its not the substrate. I'm using what basically amounts to "Eco-Earth." It's not wet, or dry. I figured it was just about right.

I'm probably just being paranoid. Within the the first year of acquiring my tiel "Baby," she visited the vet about three times. Only once, for a good reason. She's turning 9 at the end of the summer. Even though I made my share of newb mistakes, she turned out healthy and happy. Both birds are sitting on me now, demanding head scratches!

Speaking of novice mistakes, I was trying to feed Smithy her crickets last night, and I accidentally knocked her container. Oops! She ran and dove in to her burrow! I felt so bad but it was kind of cool to see her run. As soon as dinner was served she was back out again, gobbling up her third and fourth meal.

GOOD NEWS! I have decided to name the Brazilian Black and White "Mustapha." For some reason, it suits him. That, and my boyfriend Chris, and I have an inside joke concerning the name. It was mentioned last night, and there you have it.

Mustapha has burrowed. I haven't seen him for about 12 hours. It's a little concerning! He still hasn't eaten anything. We were reading that the Nhandu coloratovillosus is a shy, reclusive species. This is turning out to be very true, even for a wee spiderling. They are also suppose to be very hungry. I know they can live weeks without food but I'd feel a lot better if he'd eat!

For the record, I'm going to assume Smithy is a girl and Mustapha is a boy, until proven otherwise.