Tarantula Madness

[Green_Elite_Cab]

I got one more to add, a particularly "aggressive" Cobalt Blue Tarantula (Haplopelma lividum). These are old world species from southeast Asia, and generally live in burrows, only coming out at night. It is a shiny iridescent blue on the legs, with a blue/gray body and subtle tiger stripes on the rear. There venom is on the more potent and painful side, though most symptoms would be gone by the end of the day if bit, with no need for medical attention.

Unlike my other "new world" (north/south american) tarantulas, this one is NOT laid back. provoking it in anyway results in a lightning fast response. It will strike multiple times in quick succession. This spider literally bent over backwards trying to threaten everyone as soon as I disturbed it when i first brought her home. The only reason I am trying this species out, is because it IS a more advanced animal, and I'm testing the waters a bit. Since it stays in its burrow during the day, its relatively "safe" if I have to reach in for any reason, just as long as i use long tongs and keep my hands clear.

However, so far this animal has been rewarding. Even though it is a "pet hole" during the day, at night, it is an aggressive hunter, and it is exciting to watch an enormous blue exotic spider eruptiong out of a small hole in the ground to nail a cricket at night.


Pictures-

More or less minutes after arriving at home... on Halloween no less! Nothing better than an actual monster for Halloween!



Apparently, Tarantulas can play limbo too...



Its the only good shot I got of her threat pose. This is classic tarantula body language for "I am going to bite you". Those fangs are particularly impressive. Though it is common for the bristles near a tarantula's fangs to be brightly colored, what is not visible a subtle deep red iridescence just above the fangs, so that when the tarantula faces you, it looks "bloody". The Cobalt Blue has definitely earned reputation for meaness.



Building her burrow the next day-




You can barely see her down her hole, but she waits.



She was stuck to the side the other night, no doubt exploring for escape routes. Though I doubt she could escape, I have some glass railroad insulators that will probably be heavier than she can lift.



With my hand for size comparison



Eating a cricket that got too close to her burrow. Tarantulas typically stand on their tip-toes while they eat. The blue color shows up well in this photo.







That is the problem with iridescent creatures, their color changes depending on light and the angle.



My new Costa Rican Zebra (or Strip leg) Tarantula munches on a cricket in her hide. I wish she would come out!



This was the one "good" picture I got of her out of her hide, but that was the day after I got her, and she hasn't really come out since, at least not while I was up to see (she is nocturnal).




My Asian Forest Scoripion was out and about this morning.



Ironically, for being an "old world" species, this thing is a lot of bark and no bite (or sting). He just looks tough. Not that I trust it on my bare hands, but I am pleased that it is docile, if not a little skittish.



My Pink Toe was giving me a health scare, but it was apparently only dehydrated. These tarantulas are skinny to begin with (they live in the trees rather than the ground), but she was exceptionally shrunk before. placing her next to the water dish helped a lot! Gotta mount the water bowl higher up "in the trees".



My Chilean Rose has definitely gotten fatter compared to the first few pics of her earlier in this thread. You can see her abdomen has become black and shiny, a strong indicator she about to molt and grow even larger. I haven't yet had the opportunity to watch one molt, but it will be interesting. She is still eating though, so she might not molt until early spring. That might be nice, given that here "rose pink" sheen seems to have dulled to brown.

Keep in mind that she only eats one cricket a week, and even that might be more than she needs!