Let’s see some Inverts

We’ll absolutely need pictures once everyone arrives!!

4 Likes

I will do my best! Two of the spiders I’m getting will arrive very tiny (like 1/2" or smaller), so I can’t promise they’ll be good pictures, but there will be pictures.

4 Likes

I am so excited for you Jennifer! I can’t wait to see the newbies!!! :pray::clap::+1::crossed_fingers:

3 Likes

Thanks, Caron, I’m excited too! It’s been almost a year since I added any new critters, I’d almost forgotten how exciting it is. The lava spider and purple pink toe are species I’ve wanted for a long time, and the orange mouth will be my first “intermediate” species in terms of speed and temperament. I’m really looking forward to watching them all grow.

Just got the email that they’ve printed my shipping label, the 8-legged babies will start their cross-country journey from Virginia to California tomorrow!

2 Likes

Yay! I hope their journey goes smoothly Jennifer! :crossed_fingers::pray:

3 Likes

Well… they’re here!!!

Avicularia purperea (purple pink toe, though it’s more blue as a little one):


Davus sp. panama (lava spider, this one is teeeeny tiny):


Aaaand…I might have wussed out just a little with the Psalmopoeus reduncus (Costa Rican orange mouth).


I promise I’ll get a real picture once it comes out on its own. :joy:

4 Likes

Congratulations Jennifer! Those guys are GREAT!

3 Likes

The Psalmopoeus had finally come out of the vial when I checked this morning, so I’ll try to get a picture when I get home today. That one is actually a pretty decent size, maybe like 1 1/2", so in theory, it should be easier to photograph.

3 Likes

The Psalmopoeus just threat posed me while I was taking her picture. :joy: I didn’t touch the enclosure, I didn’t even get all that close to it, I used my zoom because I didn’t want to scare her behind the cork. Yet she still somehow found something to get mad about. :rofl:

Sadly she was at a terrible angle, but I snapped a few anyway.


Here she is in the threat pose.

Then she walked slowly backwards still in the threat pose, and retreated behind her cork.

I think this one’s gonna be a handful. :joy:

4 Likes

She is so cool Jennifer! She’s got a lot of spunk! She has definitely set the ground rules for you! :fire:

3 Likes

Got some slightly better pics of Miss Attitude when she moved into a better position. She didn’t threat pose me this time, even though I used a flash. :person_shrugging:


I ended up moving the Avic into a different, bigger enclosure. While the Psalmopoeus and lava spider had gotten to work making themselves at home (lava spider started digging a burrow and Psalmopoeus started putting up dirt curtains), the poor little Avic just couldn’t seem to settle. She just paced around the enclosure, rarely stopping to rest, and seemed stressed and almost sort of frantic. I was starting to get concerned. I also realized that the top-opening design of the sling crib I had her in could make it kind of complicated to feed her without her just walking right out. So I moved her into another enclosure I got as a small jumping spider enclosure (just in case). It’s much taller, and I was able to give her a bigger piece of cork and some little magnetic perches. So far she seems calmer and less stressed since I moved her.

4 Likes

Psalmopoeus definitely are a handful, and are not only generally very apt to be defensive, but also extremely fast. They’re one of the few New World tarantulas that don’t possess urticating hairs, but they make up for it with a more potent venom.

3 Likes

Yeah, their reputation was part of why I jumped at the chance to get this one. Eventually there are some old world species I’d like to keep, so I thought it was time to try a species known for having a bit of speed and attitude now that I feel pretty comfortable with the basics of caring for and rehousing more well-behaved species. Hopefully I haven’t bitten off more than I can chew. :joy:

She seems to have settled down a bit now that she’s constructed her little dirt curtain den behind the cork. She hasn’t threat posed me again, and now just skitters behind the cork when I startle her. But rehousing her should be fun. :joy:

4 Likes

Rehoused my Caribena versicolor into a bigger enclosure. Mainly did it cause i wanted to be able to see it better but i love the look of it! I’ll probably add another fake plant in later when i get the time.


5 Likes

Well, two out of the three new babies took their first meals for me last night! The Psalmopoeus and Avic made quick work of their crickets.

Unfortunately the two pinhead crickets I put in with the lava spider both promptly skittered into the little corner “burrow” I use to add moisture to the substrate. As of this morning, both the crickets still seem to be stuck in there, on the opposite side of the enclosure from the spider’s burrow. :person_facepalming: So yeah, I’m going to have to find a solution for that issue. I forgot how much I hate dealing with pinhead crickets. I need to get this tiny spider eating so it will grow and can start taking less annoying prey. :joy:

5 Likes

Very nice! Those Tarantula Kat enclosures are super cute.

2 Likes

Smash the head of a meal worm and put it in there. They scavenge as spiderlings.

4 Likes

In my experience many slings, particularly terrestrial ones, scavenge without issue. I’ve had great success placing a couple cricket “drumsticks” or mealworm pieces near their burrow and finding them magically disappeared the next day. Something to consider until your little one puts on a bit more size and confidence since crickets can be rather…uncooperative.

3 Likes

You beat me to it!

3 Likes

That’s a great suggestion, @scissortailscales and @spottedbull! I always forget that they’ll take pre-killed prey when they’re tiny. I’ll try to pick up some mealworms today, that sounds much easier than dealing with itty bitty crickets.

4 Likes