Ambush (Brachypelma Albopilosum) As of 11/08/1999, Ambush is dead. The apparent cause of death was some sort of molting problem. She will be missed. The information below has not been changed to reflect her demise. Ambush was the first tarantula I bought, and was named for the way in which she stalks her prey. Lately, she's gotten lazier (or less motivated) and simply waits for the dumb crickets to wander right in her burrow. She can keep the name though. Quick stats: Name: Ambush Species: Brachypelma Albopilosum (Curly Hair) Sex: Female (80% certainty) Size (approx): 2.25" diagonal leg span, 1.25" body length Enclosure: 9-1/8" length, 6" width, 6-5/8" depth Spider Patch baby habitat Substrate: 3" deep, 50% peat, 50% vermiculite Hide: 2" rigid PVC pipe (disguised with sphagnum moss) Purchased From: The Spider Patch on 09/27/1999 Recieved: 09/28/1999 Mother: Molly Father: Tiant Laid on: December 19, 1997 Hatched on: February 12, 1998 Began eating solid food: March 1, 1998 Molt dates: ??? Ambush's photo album Species Information: The Honduran Curly Hair (Brachyplema Albopilosum) is a tropical terrestrial species native to central America and is an avid burrower. Being a new world species, they do have the capability to kick urticating hairs, but they are generally considered docile and non-agressive (but sometimes a bit skittish). More info soon...

One of the last pictures taken of Ambush...

Feeding: When I first got her, she seemed pretty hungry and was eating crickets like there's no tomorrow. She's slowed down since then, but she still is a healthy eater. She tends to close her burrow when she's full, and opens it back up when she's ready to eat. She has gone through some short fasts of a few days, but nothing longer yet. Eventually I'd like to feed her Madagascar hissing roaches, but she's too small for the big ones, and the baby ones are too good at climbing out of her cage. After watching her capture and digest a few crickets, I'm pretty sure the little ones I'm feeding her are PLENTY small enough. She'd probably be able to handle adult (or nearly adult) crickets without any trouble, but I'll stick to the small ones just to be safe. I think she's told me that she wants to go the power feeding route. I don't think there's any harm in that as long as I make sure to clean out anything that's left over after 24 hours. Her method of hunting is fascinating. When she takes notice that a cricket is in the cage, she'll just poke out her front 4 legs, sorta feeling the top of the dirt mound (I've heard that they hunt primarily by vibration). She'll wait for the cricket to venture near the mound or try to climb up it. She'll creep out a little further, and as soon as the cricket stumbles on the loose steep surface, WHAM!, she'll pounce and dash back into the cave to enjoy her meal in private. After watching her digest a couple crickets in their entirety, I'm certain that she hasn't been leaving leftovers hidden somewhere that I can find them. Lately, she's either gotten lazy, or feels less urgent about eating, because she hardly ever ventures out of her burrow to hunt. She usually just waits until the dumb crickets eventually wander into her burrow (rarely takes longer than a couple of hours for them to do that). It's not too bad now that she can be seen in there though.

The two on the left are the wrong size. The big one is a little too big and Ambush doesn't show as much interest in the very small ones. The ones on the right, however, are just right!

Housing: The container is a common pet-pal style enclosure about 9-1/8" long, 6" wide, 6-5/8" deep deep (not counting the lid which gives a little more headroom). The sides are clear plastic with a little bit of a slope, and the lid has a clear plastic door to allow easier access. The rest of the lid is pretty much entirely made up of ventilation slits. The container has been rotated 180 degrees since the picture was taken. The substrate is 3" of a 50% peat, 50% vermiculite mixture, mixed with enough water to make it hold together, but not dripping wet. I've read lots of opinions on what makes a good substrate, and some combination (often 50/50) of peat and vermiculite seems to be widely agreed upon. Some would never use any vermiculite, because they said their spiders hated it. Others would only use pure vermiculite, because it prevented various infestations. I didn't like 100% vermiculite, because it's not a very stable walking surface and will collapse when the spider tries to burrow. Potting soil was another possibility, but the peat/vermiculite mixture was pretty similar except that it's cleaner and has better moisture holding properties. The vermiculite I procured was pretty fine grained, so the mix has the look and feel of real dirt. The water dish is the lid from a perscription bottle with the liner removed and a rock to prevent drownings (the sponge in the picture has been replaced.) For a hide I used a 2" long piece of 2" PVC pipe cut in half length wise. It is driven into the substrate at an angle, making the end closest to the wall completely buried, and the other end almost completely above ground. I took a little substrate out from inside the pipe to encourage burrowing there. Within hours, the opening to the PVC cave was mostly blocked off by a growing pile of dirt. A few small pieces of sphagnum moss are scattered around the cage. There is a large dirt mound in front of her burrow, which sometimes completely blocks it off if she doesn't want to be disturbed. The burrow descends back from the top of the pile through the pipe to a chamber behind and under the pipe. A stairway (well, ramp really) descends from that chamber toward the front corner of the cage. At the bottom of the stairs (which reaches the bottom of the container) there is a largish chamber where most of the digging is currently being done. There is a window into the burrow from the front into this chamber, as well as smaller one about an inch up the stairway. The burrow can be seen through the bottom of the cage with some difficulty. Ambush has started to sprinkle some dirt on the floor in the bottom chamber - I don't think she likes hitting bottom. When I change the substrate or move her to another enclosure, I'll be sure to make it much deeper.

Ambush's enclosure, PVC hide, water dish and the film canister she was shipped in.

Temperment: Since I've only had her a couple weeks and she's just a spiderling, I can't say too much about this. She mostly seems to be lazy and timid, though she has to be quite active when I'm not paying any attention. The rest of the time she doesn't do much of anything fast. She likes to push the moss around sometimes, and she really loves to dig. As soon as I'm not watching, she becomes a living bulldozer. I'm curious as to how she actually moves the dirt around. I can imagine lots of ways it COULD be done, but I don't know how it really IS done. She really spends most of her time in her cave, totally out of site, except when she hears the dinner bell ring. When it comes to eating, she's very patient and methodical (see feeding section above). I didn't think she could move that fast (based on her other activities in the cage) until I saw the motivation that hunger provides. Usually when I open the cage she darts down to the bottom of her burrow. She does that sometimes when I just look at her. She doesn't seem to notice at all when I spy on her in her burrow. She doesn't even seem bothered when I shine a light in there to see better or to take a picture.

So far, she spends almost all her time in her burrow.

Molting: None yet since I've had her!

Copyright ©1999-2008 Thomas Schumm