a tarantula and inverts blog

I finally caught and sexed the Cyriocosmus and so far we are at four females of of the seven tarantulas in my collection. Time to start making breeding plans. On the line up are: Cyriocosmus sp tambopata, "Goose." I'm aware of several other breeding projects for this species, but my specimen (probably like most) is from the first sac of this species produced in the States and I really want to contribute to the continuation of this species in the hobby. Breeding her is my primary goal, and I've been grilling her breeder for tips. Hapalopus formosus, "Trundle." My first tarantula was a MM H. formosus named Pudge. Feels like a good place to dip my toes in. I'm not sure if she's completely mature but I feel pretty confident that she's big enough to breed. She molted last month and if I can get a male ASAP, I'll be happy. The pumpkin patches are also pretty common so I won't feel so bad if I screw up on this or if she eats him straight out the gate. Cyriocosmus elegans, "Duck." I don't have strong feelings for breeding her at the moment, tbh. I've got a sling of this species that I hope is male so I can do all my pairing in-house. I figure I'll get around to her eventually -- possibly even before Goose just as a means of familiarizing myself with the breeding habits of the genus (knowing there are differences between species). The other female is Twinkleberry, Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens, but she's still a sub-adult and not close to even consider breeding. Further, I hear that species is pretty tricky to breed at all. The first steps are research, which I feel modestly comfortable with. The second, and concurrent step, is getting my house deep-cleaned (per my husband's ruling, which is fair) and finding more shelving (which is sorely needed). I've been mulling on possibly vending at a local expo once I've got slings into the second or third instar. As it is, I've been selling cultures of peanut beetles, and am working on my propbox to sell some cuttings from my vivariums. Other possibilities are handmade waterdishes, and prints of my artwork.

The Cyriocosmus spp enclosures are looking lovely. Everything is in need of a trim, and the right-hand one is looking a little bare since I removed the fern on the left side (desperately needed but I miss how it looked before). The left-hand one is currently empty as its occupant, Goose the C. sp tambopata, is now in the middle enclosure to facilitate breeding efforts. The lid on the middle one completely comes off and there is no hardscape preventing me from accessing the spider now. The right side holds Duck, a Cyriocosmus elegans. Both spiders are female and once I get some things in order, will be looking for husbands for them both.

The terrarium from a couple weeks ago, all filled in.

Twinkleberry, juvenile Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens.

Cyriocosmus elegans taking prey.

(Photos by jithesh and bhuvanrajk on iNaturalist, respectively)

Next big step is figuring out a better shelving, lighting, and heating system for my spiders. A lot of them got moved to my art shelves, darker and more out of the way, and I've really seen Trundle and Goose out and about a ton. I'd like to replicate that but the shelves are very low and I'd need some very slim lights to keep them there. But heating is the big goal. Before that, I'll be building Trundle a new terrarium, moving to glass with a sloped front, as the acrylic case I've got her in is all scratched up. Goose will probably go into the stained glass terrarium soon, but really feeling I need to up my temperatures before then. Everyone else is itty bitty and, in Twinkleberry's case, good where they're at for a long while.

So, the picture is shit but this is Trundle, my Hapalopus formosus, giving me some real good evidence that she would benefit from a heat source. That black beside her? That's the stove that we were just cooking lunch on. The air temp near her viv is warm but far from hot, and she has herself pressed against the acrylic nearest the stove. In the couple days she's emerged from her burrow, this is the second time I've caught her doing just this; it is not a behavior she displays when the stove is off. She's got plenty of room to go to the cooler side of her viv, too.