June, 2000

June 1, 2000:
I was able to sex the molt of the Grinch as female quite obviously. She is so velvety that I just about want to make a plush toy out of her. She's been mostly hanging out near the entrance to her burrow, so I don't know how quickly she is recovering.

June 2, 2000:
I moved Speck into a new container last night. She was very skittish about the whole thing. Ran all over the place. I got a couple pix while I was at it.

Some of the spiders ate. Bob seems to be refusing food still (though I haven't tried her in a while), the Grinch is still recovering. The Cobalt and Usamabara are getting a break after their big roach meals. The P. irminia hasn't gained much weight even though she's eaten a lot. I'm giving Raul and Kuni a break, as they are very fat. The P. ornata didn't eat the first cricket I offered it, so I'm trying it with some of the tiny ones now.

The three new arboreals have all built interesting retreats. The avic has a dainty little tube/hammock web under the top part of the cork piece I gave it. The P. ornata and P. regalis each have dug out little areas under their cork and supplemented that with webbing above ground, covered in dirt. Odd little shelters. The ornata doesn't come out much - I think it's preparing to molt. The others spend some time out of their webs. They seem to be eating regularly.

I've got a total of four P. audax jumping spiders now. Haven't been able to find any other species around here. Lots of wolf spiders though. Haven't been keeping those, they're not as interesting.

June 4, 2000:
The new avic and P. regalis are both eating happily. The P. ornata molted today or last night, which was expected because it wasn't eating. Looks like it gained some major size, but it's hard to tell because it hides so well. I'll have trouble getting pictures of the two pokeys anytime soon. The spend some time out, but as soon as I even touch the cage to take a picuture, bam, they're gone for a while.

The Grinch was out moving dirt, so I decided that she's recovered and I moved her into a new cage. I got some pix while I was at it. She was pretty pissed after I flooded her out of her burrow, but she's still her typical, slow, stubborn self. Not too feisty, but she did get a bit nippy when I started prodding her around too much.

Via a combination of hungry spiders and old age, the last of the crickets met their fate in the past few days. I tested her with some small crix, which she pounced on, but were simply too small. So after I moved her, I gave her a good sized sub-adult roach. It ran for cover right away, and she's still pissed from moving, so she might take a little while to nab it. I got a really accurate measurement when she was up against the side of the cage, and she's just under 4¼". Big growth this time. Should be adult in no time at this pace.

The Cobalt is finally starting to build a respectable burrow, though she does spend time climbing the walls still. Silly thing.

Kuni and Raul shouldn't be more than a couple weeks from molting. Raul's abdomen is slowly starting to darken (Kuni's is naturally so dark that it's hard to tell), and Kuni isn't attacking the water dish as much. I'm anxious for both to get down to business.

June 5, 2000:
The P. ornata was actually acting hungry this morning, bolting in and out of it's hideout. I got some pictures that weren't very good.

Speck is really at home in her new cage. I get sorta creative with her cages because she prefers a semi-open hiding spot to a cave and webs her retreat rather than burrowing. I put in a slanted slab of cork bark, with some dirt dug out beneath one end, sorta like a patially fallen tree on a hill or something, and she moved right in and constructed her little web home underneath.

The abdomen of the A. braunshauseni and P. regalis are shiny, and they both just sealed themselves in their retreats (the avic definately, it's harder to tell with the regalis.)

The new spiders should arrive on wednesday.

June 6, 2000:
The P. ornata apparently ate the little cricket it was offered yesterday. It looks much cooler now. I'll try to get some pictures, but it's very hard. The regalis and braunshauseni appear to both be preparing to molt.

The grinch took down the roach I offered sometime last night. She was digesting it this morning.

I made several minor updates to several of the pages, and changed my layout a bit. I also added a wish list and a new picture of The Grinch.

Update: After work, I was able to take a couple photos of the ornata. I think there might be a good one in there. I threw in a little cricket, and it was snatched up quickly. A second cricket was offered, and it was standing there about an inch from the retreat, when all of a sudden, it simply vanished. At first I thought it had jumped to some other part of the container. But then I saw the ornata moving about with both crix in its mouth. It's colors blend in so well, and it moves so fast that I actually couldn't see it grab the cricket. Amazing.

I broke down and bought a couple dozen crix at the pet store even though they're expensive to buy that way, and they're not as big. I did also order some more from New York Worms. I tried Bob again with a cricket, but still no interest. No signs of molting either.

The Grinch was still working on her roach. The cobalt was looking skinny, so I offered it several crix. We'll see if those disappear. I haven't seen the Usambara in a few days (other than its legs through it's web), so I offered it some crix. The P. irminia, Tick, Sparky and Speck also got fed.

June 7, 2000:
The P. regalis looks like it just finished molting shortly before I woke up this morning. Her abdomen is sorta darker than I would have expected, and I can only see one side of her so I'm not sure if she grew all or part of her leg back, so I think I'll have to wait a bit before I can tell if it was a good molt.

The P. ornata was posing again, so I tried again to get some pix.

The new spiders arrived today. The P. formosa is pretty cool. About an inch in legspan, maybe a bit more. The A. avic is pretty small, a bit smaller than the A. braunshauseni. The P. cambridgei is (was) pretty tiny, and the fracta is amazingly small.

After I unpacked them I realized the fracta (and possibly the cambridgei) might be able to escape through the holes in the lids of their cage. I decided to put some TP in to block the holes, and I did the fracta first. I started moving the cages into the spider room when I realized that I forgot the TP on the cambridgei cage. I think it escaped because I couldn't find it in its cage at that point. I don't know where or when it escaped, but I put some TP on the cage just in case I just didn't see it. I'm pretty sure it's gone though.

Fortunately, it's a four dollar spider. If the formosa or something had escaped, that would have really sucked! I'm still pretty miffed though. It's so tiny, I don't think there's any way I'll find it. If it is gone, it'll get bumped back to my wish list. They're widely available and inexpensive, so I'll just get one next time I make an order. I don't think I'm going to bother ordering spiders this tiny in the future unless it's a really hard to get species. It's just too much of a pain in the butt.

I'm not even sure what I'm gonna feed the fracta. Newly hatched crickets are hard to come by, and even those are about as long as the body length of the spider! Fortunately, it should molt frequently enough to get bigger soon.

Update: After I got home, I discovered that the P. cambridgei was still in it's cage. I don't know where it was hiding before. It's markings are striking, yet it's just about invisible unless you know exactly where to look.

I gave all the new spiders crickets of appropriate size. I was afraid that the smallest pinhead crix (newly hatched) would even be too big for the fracta. In fact, I put one in its cage and the spider ran away from it. These crix are actually smaller than the flightless fruit flies. Fortunately, it did end up grabbing it later. I hope it gets a little bigger soon.

I got some pictures of some of the new spiders, and hope to post them soon. I also tried to take some shots of the largest of the P. audax salticidae. It was moving around so much, that I wore the batteries down before I got any really good pictures. I also photographed a new jumping spider that my brother found taking a dive into a jug of Kool-aid.

June 8, 2000:
I posted pictures of some of the new spiders in the "recent pictures" section and added the page for the P. ornata. The others should follow soon.

I'm going to try to put more care information in the individual spider pages. One of the major points in making this web site is helping others learn from my experiences, but my pages don't even really describe how I care for the various species. I think I'll include details about temperature and humidity in the housing section of each page.

June 9, 2000:
It looks like the P. regalis did regenerate the lost leg, though it appears to be sorta scrawny. It appears to have full use of it though, so it should be back to normal with the next molt. She still hasn't come out of her home to eat, but I expect her to any day now.

The P. ornata is still happily eating away, and is freqently on display. The A. braunshauseni appears to have its web sealed, but its not getting much darker yet. Its abdomen is quite shiny though. It's web is actually quite beautiful.

The four new ones are all eating with vigor. I have to be careful to give the fracta the very smallest hatchling crix. If they are too big, it just runs away from them until I take it out. Even the small ones it ignores or runs away from until it gets settled down. The cage is big enough though that it can get away from any crix in there to have a spot of its own. If I throw in two or three appropriately sized crix, it will pick them off one by one over the course of a several hours. I'm going to try fruit flies, but the very smallest crix seem to be just a bit smaller. It's getting fat, so I hope it molts soon.

The cambridgei seems to have a incredible hiding space underneath the cork bark slab. I don't know if I'll see it again until it gets bigger if it decides to stay there.

The formosa has moved a little dirt around (including some that got dumped from her shipping container accidentally), but otherwise hasn't built much of a home. She's been eating though.

The A. avic has built some webbing on the top of her cork slab. She's really quite tiny.

Bob, Raul, Kuni and Sparky all appear to be fasting now. The irminia, the Cobalt, Tick and the Usambara all seem to be eating at a medium pace. Speck appears to have sealed off her retreat, so unless I see a change there, I'll assume she's started her fast. She's really quite fat too.

June 10, 2000:
The A. braunshauseni is starting to look darker, so a molt can't be far off. All the other little ones got an opportunity at a cricket today. The fracta is getting sorta fat, but I'm gonna let it get as fat as possible so I can get some growth on it.

The Grinch really looks big! I'd swear she's easily 5", but when I measured her, she was just over four. She's nice and bulky looking.

June 11, 2000:
I went through a redoing of the spider room this weekend. I bought some shelves and lights and stuff and went to work. I now have a lot more space, and I cleaned out tons of useless junk. The spiders even seem to be happier.

Did a mass feed of all the spiders. The ornata and regalis are eating like pigs. The formosa is slower to catch it's food. It may even be beginning to fast for a molt. I'll check to see if the crix make it till morning.

The A. avic is eating, but it's so small and its web is at the top of the cage so sometimes crix take a while to get up there. It ventures out, but mostly wanders the top of the cage. The A. braunshauseni did finally molt today at about 11:00pm I actually got to watch it, which is a treat. Tick and Boots each were offered some crix as well. Their webs are open, and they sometimes venture out.

The P. irminia roams the cage, and hasn't really built a web home yet. I think the cage is too small. I may switch her to a 5 gallon or some other type of container. The P. cambridgei is shiny and fat, but crix don't usually survive long in her cage. Her home is a tangle of webbing and dirt at the base of the cork bark. She's impossible to see unless she comes out for a stroll, and even then it's hard.

The grinch is eating piggishly while raul awaits her molt. Kuni is a bit further off I think. The fracta fled from its food as usual. I expect it to pounce shortly though. It's starting to get fairly plump. Bob and Sparky are fasting on the Grammostolla front. Speck is as well. The cobalt and Usambara are taking crix when I turn my back.

I got some Hi-Cal cricket food with my last order form New York Worms. The crix and the roaches seem to really prefer it to the sort of stuff I've fed them before. A couple roaches immediately walked over to start eating it, and the crickets swarm it.

June 12, 2000:
Well, I decided to test Kuni with a cricket to be sure that she was indeed in PMS. She pounced on it, but did not kill it. I'll take that as a sign that she's getting ready to molt. Raul's abdomen is pretty black. The Grinch is aggressively hungry right now and doing the thing Kuni does with the water dish (attacking it when I fill it). I gave her a whole bunch of crix, and she chased around and snatched up all but one (always leave one to go back and tell the rest!) The A. braushauseni seems to have grown quite a bit. The A. avic has a fat shiny abdomen, but is still eating. The P. formosa is either fasting or eating very little. The ornata is still eating, but not as aggresively.

The A. fracta ate both the pinheads offered yesterday. Its abdomen is fat an shiny, but still light in color. I threw in a couple fruit flies to see what it thinks of those. The P. cambridgei might be starting to prepare to molt.

The P. irminia cage may be a tad too small. I'm not sure though. I'm considering moving her into a 5 gallon, and then moving boots into the 2.5 gallon after her next molt. The cage I made her is coming apart. Hot glue initially holds plexiglass well, but its adhesiveness fades. Fortunately, it's holding together well enough to last a while, but it's not a pretty site, and the whole thing sorta shifts when I open and close it.

June 13, 2000:
The P. regalis was out and about this morning, but I had to move the cage to get it into the light in order to try to take a picture. Unfortunately, when I did it went bonkers. It couldn't find its way back to its hideout for some reason, and when running all over the place like crazy. Eventually it hid under the cork bark mostly out of sight. Hopefully it will come out again and I can get a picture. I haven't done the pages for it, the A. avic or the A. braunsauseni because I haven't gotten any decent pix of them yet.

Update: After I got home, I discovered what seems to be a mite outbreak in several cages. The P. irminia's is really bad, and the A. metallica's isn't pretty either. Several others have a few also. I've ordered some predatory mites, but those won't be here until next week. They're SOOO obvious, I have no idea how I missed them before. They're really easy to see crawling around on the substrate.

I'm going to replant the irminia and the metallica when I get a chance (I was thinking about doing that in a while anyway), but I hope the mites don't present much danger in the mean time. I've asked on the arachnids list to see what other advice people have. It looks like there are none on the spiders themselves (it would be really easy to see). Mostly theyr'e sticking within a short distance of the substrate. Needless to say, I'm going to be more careful about how damp I let the cages get, and I'll put in a lot more ventilation in the future. The irmina cage really is more damp than I'd like it, and it appears to be the center of the outbreak. Yuck.

June 15, 2000:
I transplanted the P. irminia into a new 5 gallon cage last night. She seems much more at home. I had to adjust one of the shelves so that it could accomodate the larger cage.

Right before I left to work, I saw that Raul had flipped on to her back and her legs were already starting to curl. She is in her favorite spot (between the cork bark shelter and the wall). It's sorta cramped, but she's molted in more cramped places before. I'll probably have to move her into a 5 gallon after this molt, which should last her the rest of her days (I hope; I don't have room for that many 10 gallon cages). That also means that Kuni can't be far off.

Last night the A. braunshauseni was outside of her web and looking ready to eat (the web was open the day before, but I wanted to be sure). I threw in a couple crickets and tried to get a couple pictures.

I also got some pictures of the P. regalis finally.

The A. avic seems to be sealed up, and Tick's web actually seems to be closed now as well. I'm guessing she'll open in back up sometime.

June 16, 2000:
Looks like Raul made it through her molt OK. The A. avic is probably less than a week away. I think the A. fracta might be close as well, but there hasn't been any color change. Speck molted early this morning sometime. I thought she was about a week away still, but I wasn't too surprised. I couldn't see her well enough to see anything except that she was still ghostly this morning. Kuni is very close; she should go any time now. The P. ornata is super-fat and shiny but is still eating.

I got a good photo of Raul within about 6-8 hours of the molt. Very nice. I tried to get some better photos of the regalis and some others as well.

June 17, 2000:
The A. fracta has started to dig a little burrow. It hasn't changed color yet, so I'm going to try it with a cricket today.

Kuni should molt any time... I'm on vacation this week, so I might be able to watch it.

Speck seems to be OK, but I still haven't had a chance to see her. I'd like to count her legs and see her new color.

Update: At about 3:00pm, I noticed that Kuni had spun (or had started to spin) a silk mat. She's out in the open, so I should hopefully be able to get a photo sequence of the molt! I'd imagine she'll flip on to her back any time now.

5:55pm: No change in Kuni's cage. She's moved around a bit, but hasn't appeard to spin any more silk or flip over or anything. I still expect her to molt tonight, but I've got a friend's 21st birthday to attend, so I don't think I'll get to watch. She may hold out until tomorrow though.

June 18, 2000:
Well, I came back this morning to find that Kuni had indeed molted last night. I'm bummed that I missed it, but she made it through perfectly, and is BEAUTIFUL. I'll post a picture today. She might be slightly larger than Raul now.

Also, the A. fracta not only has dug a nice burrow, but has also sealed it off, presumably in preparation for a molt.

Update: I finally was able to get at Kuni's molt. She protested with a rain of hairs (both her and Raul are MUCH more likely to kick hairs right after a molt), but I kept my distance. It was easy to tell she's very female from either side of the exuva. I also double checked Raul, and her hoo-haa is clear as well.

June 19, 2000:
I was taking pictures of some of the more recent shed exuva today. They're pretty desecated now (I haven't taken any measures to preserve them properly), but they're fairly large so they're good enough to show as examples (all female as far as I can see).

The A. avic is much darker now. Should molt any time. Maybe very soon. The P. cambridgei has been out of site for a while now. Its abdomen was very shiny, but it seemed to be eating. I'll expect a molt because its so small. The P. ornata has ignored crickets, but it's been acting like it's been waiting for food. Its been out and about.

Speck opened her web yesterday, and I tried her with a small cricket today. She promptly grabbed it. I may chase her out of her web to get some pictures if she doesn't venture out on her own soon. I hope to move Kuni and Raul into new cages soon. I got a 5 gallon for Raul and a 10 for Kuni. Hopefully, those should be good through adulthood. Now that Kuni's streched out some, I have little doubt she's bigger than Raul and probably just over 5".

June 20, 2000:
Finally, the P. formosa molted. It never was really fat, so I don't think it grew much. It's come out a little bit more than it seemed to before.

The A. avic is really dark now. It should molt any time now. It's still moving about when disturbed, so it probably won't go until tomorrow at least though.

The A. fracta seems to be waiting just inside the entrance to its burrow. It hasn't changed colors and actually seems slightly thinner than it had since after it last ate. I'm going to try it with a very small cricket I think. It's so tiny I can't tell if the burrow is really closed or not.

Since speck is eating again, I decided to chase her out of her web to get some pix. I'll post them soon.

June 22, 2000:
The A. avic finally molted about 2:00 am. Not sure the exact time. The P. formosa started building a shelter similar to the other pokeys.

I tested Raul with a cricket and she snatched it right up. I let her digest her meal then moved her into her new 5 gallon cage. She doesn't like me at all. She kicked hairs at me en masse, and somehow managed to get them all in my neck. The rest of me is fine, but my neck, oh man.

I'll try Kuni in a day or two. Bob STILL is refusing (or rather, ignoring) food. It's been quite some time now. No signs of weight loss. The P. cambridgei may have molted, but I don't see a shed skin. I would have a hard time telling. I wish the A. fracta would molt soon!

Update: Later in the day I discovered that the P. cambridgei had kicked a shed exuvum from her burrow/web shelter. She seemed "larger" last time I looked at her, but was not sure. Based on when she was hidden away and the bad shape of the exuvum I'm going to assume the molt occured on th 19th, though no fasting period was really noticed. Crickets never stopped disappearing from the cage.

Also, during the night, Tick did some major expansion on her web. Almost doubled in size. The construction sorta opened a portal for me to see her. She's been sealed in for a little while now. Either she's not happy with the environment or she's fasting.

The mites seem to be abating on their own with less moisture. The predatory mites arrvied today, so that should finish them off. There was more than I really needed (the smallest quantity is 1/2 liter). They come in a bottle mixed in with vermiculite. I put some in every cage, even the new cages just to be sure. It's a bit of a mess, but it'll take care of the problem. Fortunately, I've only seen the mites in a couple of cages. The rest get the treatment as a preventative measure.

The P. ornata's abdomen is fairly dark and very glossy. It seems to have stopped, or at least slowed down its eating too. I wouldn't be suprised if it molted in the not too distant future.

June 23, 2000:
The P. formosa was out on display today, so I took some pictures. Also, I tested Kuni with a cricket, and though she seemed surprised to see food (its been a long time for her since I stopped feeding her before her last molt), she snatched it up once she realized it was food. I'll move her into her new cage later today once she digests this meal.

Update: Ok, I moved Kuni into her new cage, and was able to get a very accurate measurement of her. She's just about 4¾ inches, (very close), and based on that, I'd say Raul is 4½". I guess I was a tad too hopeful earlier.

June 24, 2000:
3:30am: I think the P. ornata has molted (hard to tell for certain because it's in its web). For a while it looked like it was having trouble or was injured (it was molting in a rather odd position in a cramped spot), and was sorta acting spooked (sorta jumpy) with its legs pulled together. It probably was just doing its post-molt stretching excercises. It seemed pretty weird though. Anyhow, it looks like its in a normal position now, but again, its hard to see because of its webbing and dirt stuff.

Update: Ok, it's definately molted. It looks to have come out OK, and much bigger. Based on how freqently it's molting (20 days apart), and how much its growing with each molt, and its current size, it must be the fastest growing T I have. The other pokeys might be able to match it, but this one will end up being the largest of the three so I wouldn't be surprised if it was the fastest growing. There's also the male vs. female bit. Anyhow, the only one of the new seven that hasn't molted is the darn A. fracta! It's made quite a nice tunnel, but still no molt! It's so tiny I thought it would have molted by now.

Also, the P. irminia got pretty snappy with me today, so much for her being a sweetheart. She had some substrate stuck to her abdomen for a couple of days, so I tried to remove it with a paintbrush, but as soon as I got near, she snapped at it and sat in a threat posture for the longest time. I wish she would build a web already.

June 25, 2000:
The A. fracta did finally molt this morning. I'll assume it's ready to eat when it opens its burrow. It didn't seem to grow much.

Update: Check that, it seems to have nearly doubled in size. Unfortunately, it's still tiny.

Sparky has been acting pretty weird lately (mostly making a giant pit out of her entire cage and piling it all in the water dish). I hadn't fed her in a long time because she seemed to be in pre-molt (fat shiny abdomen, refusing food, etc.) I tried her with a cricket today, and she snatched it up. So much for premolt (her bald spot hadn't darkened at all though). I'll give her some more food and hopefully she'll start acting like a normal spider.

June 26, 2000:
The P. regalis molted today sometime. 19 days apart - these pokeys sure do grow fast. Looks like the leg is fully normal (I can't tell which one was even gone).

I've also ordered more 'lings. Hopefully the last for quite some time. A G. actaeon (which should hopefully be the super furrry critter I've been lusting after), a T. blondi (finally), a B. smithi (finally), and a V. platyomma (hopefully one of those super cool looking males).

Outside of the door to my apartment I found a very large dead wolf spider. It's much bigger than any of the ones I've found around here. I hope I find a living one like that (they've been spraying lately, so my odds aren't good).

June 27, 2000:
The A. fracta left the shelter of its burrow, so it got fed. It actually seems to be acting much like a very tiny version of Kuni now. Pouncing rapidly, and even doing the cricket dance, laying a mat of silk. Also, the P. ornata is again accepting food. I'll probably wait to move it into a new cage until after the next molt (which is probably about 3 weeks away!)

Tick may be not far from a molt. She was a little less than two months apart on her last couple molts, and it's been over two months since her most recent one. She's been sealed in her web for a while. Boots was about a month and a half apart, and it's been about a month and a half since her last one too. She's been sorta sealed in her web, but not completely. I've got to move her into a new cage soon (her current one is in terrible shape), but I think I'll wait until after Tick molts, then repot them both.

June 30, 2000:
Well, Boots and Tick do both seem to be in premolt. Boots is probably further off than Tick though. Also, the P. cambridgei seems to still be disappearing crickets, but has not been out of its retreat in a while. It's eaten a lot since its last molt, and it wouldn't surprise me if it was in premolt. I didn't really fast prior to its other molt either.

Last night I cleaned out the roach cage and moved them into a wastepaper basket like the crickets. There are TONS of baby and medium sized roaches now. They're breeding like mad. I've decided I have too many, so I fed some big ones to Kuni, Raul, The Grinch and the Usambara. Almost any time I feed these things, they generate stores. First came Kuni. She got a fat female roach. It ran directly twoard her and was easily subdued. Oddly though, as the roach was wiggling (which it did for some time), it decided NOW was a good time to give birth! I've heard of them ejecting egg casings before, but this is crazy. Anyhow, they look as if they were just born normally, and started feeding on the partially ejected egg casing. It didn't look like very many escaped, but a few did. Since I couldn't very well retrieve them from the cage, I gave them a piece of stale bread (their favorite food) to eat so they don't go after the spider.

Next was Raul. She ran up the side of the tank when I opened it, so I had to chase her back in so she was a bit spooked. The roach ran right over to her, and she pounced on it when I wasn't looking. Because of where she was standing, she was able to lift it off the ground, and the result was a minimal struggle.

Next was The Grinch. Hers ran around the water dish, then along the wall of the cage right next to the T. She grabbed it as it went by, and the two went into a mad hissing tumble, literally rolling around the cage and into the cork bark hide. I was afraid for the spider's life because of the violence of the attack. The cork bark shelter was boucing up and down (it was previously fairly well anchored to the substrate and partially buried), and the web mat in front of the cave was slowly getting dragged in. I tried to grab my flashlight to see in, when suddenly the two came flying back out. The spider, facing into the cave, braced her front legs against the ground, and her back legs against the top of the shelter, with her other four sticking out into the air. She had the roach (now showing multiple bite marks) near the rear end, and it was trying to run in the opposite direction. The Grinch somehow had the leverage advantage and the roach lost its grip. The T did a sumersault carrying the roach with it, and as they did, the blanket of dirt and webbing got pulled over top of them. There was a writing mass of spider and roach under the web, so it just looked like a big wiggling blob coated in dirt (meanwhile, the roach has been hissing this whole time.) Eventually, the spider came stomping back out, covered in dirt, dragging the roach underneath. No apparent injury, but I'm gonna be more careful about the sizes of roaches I feed in the future. She's still eating it and covered in dirt this morning.

Finally, the Usambara. The spider had been out and about, but had retreated to her shelter when she saw me. She hadn't webbed it back up yet though. The roach wandered around the cage for about a minute, but then crawled over top of the cork shelter. As it reached the front, it started going into the front entrance. Suddeenly, it started backpedaling, but wasn't getting anywhere. The retreat sucked it in like a vacuum cleaner, and it was gone. Suddenly, the head of the roach poked out of the tiny back opening to the cave then got sucked back in. The Usambara could then be seen inside the retreat, holding a now paralyzed (appearing dead) roach in its fangs.

The next morning, I went to check all the spiders and how they were doing, and I saw the roach walking around the Usambara cage as if nothing had happened. It had some serious wounds in its back and looked partially eaten. It had its own blood and guts smeared on it, but it didn't care! It was partially digested and still alive! I thought for sure it was dead when the spider had it last night. The spider could be seen inside its retreat, looking dejected, but otherwise fine.

Crazy roaches.

Copyright ©1999-2008 Thomas Schumm