October, 2000

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October 2, 2000:
The T. blondi has stopped eating completely, and the B. smithi's legs are getting very dark in preparation for the next molt (I expect a noticable color change, and hopefully some decent growth). Also, Curly #2 sealed itself in its hole new hole in its new cage, so it should be starting to fast again. It has some odd marks on the underside of its abdomen, so I'm hoping that's not some sort of injury.

October 3, 2000:
The green theme of the page was starting to wear on me a bit, so I went for a simple change. I may consider redesigning the site totally though, or making it at least partially DB driven to simplify updates.

October 4, 2000:
MOLT! The B. smithi molted early this morning. Again, it didn't seem to grow much.

October 5, 2000:
I was looking over Boots's molt record, and it seems that the intermolt period for Boots is increasing at a quite regular pace. Based on that, I predict that her next molt will occur on or about the 27th of this month. I'll put together a couple other predictions for T's that have molted at least 3 times and see how accurate those are... With a few exceptions, most seem reasonable!

Raul  09/22 (obviously wrong since this date has past and she's still eating)
Curly #2  10/12 (consistant with the fact that she's fasting)
G. actaeon  10/22
A. avicularia  10/26
Boots  10/27
P. regalis  11/06
P. formosa  11/06 (intermolt length decreased at first, then increased)
P. cambridgei  11/07
Speck  11/08 (intermolt length increased, then decreased, then started increasing again!)
P. ornata  11/11
A. braunshauseni   11/15
The Grinch  12/02
Kuni  01/06/2001 (that's a long while, hopefully wrong!)

October 7, 2000:
MOLT! I've been busy, but I would like to report that the V. platyomma molted today. I hope to get around to a big update tomorrow, and all the new pictures (lots of them) will be posted soon! Also, Curly #2 is darkening up, and could easily make that 10/12 predicted date.

October 9, 2000:
Ok, I have continued to procrastinate on the update, but I've got the best part (the pictures) well under way. I've posted them on the recent pictures page, but still have to migrate them to the individual photo albums and spider pages. They're out of order and have the wrong dates on them, which I hope to remedy tonight. Also, lots of the individual pages are getting woefully outdated, so I plan on fixing those as well. I've really put off the update for too long; some of the pictures I've just posted are outdated by a molt or two!

October 11, 2000:
Not much news to report... I've pretty much completed the update, though there are probably still a few errors here and there... Curly #2 is very close to a molt and should go any time now. The A. purpurea, A. minatrix and T. blondi also appear to be premolt, and the P. rufilata have stopped eating and should molt soon. The T. gigas seems to have stopped eating, but I'm not sure if it's in premolt yet because it's been acting totally normal and hanging out of its web like it's looking for food.

I'm sorta worried about the centipede because it didn't move much this morning when I gave it a good misting (it normally freaks). It may be molting, as it hasn't been eating.

Update: MOLTx2! A. purpurea #1 and Curly #2 molted while I was at work today. Curly #2 was only off of my prediction by one day. For her next molt, I'll predict 11/12. For the recently molted V. platyomma, I'll predict 11/29.

October 12, 2000:
The V. platyomma was out and about (and feisty) and resumed eating. I was finally able to see it well enough to see that it really looks a lot different now. I'll have to get a picture. I'll also make sure to get a new picture of the purpurea when they recover.

October 14, 2000:
MOLT! A. purpurea #2 molted early this morning and was just starting its stretching excercieses when I woke up.

The A. minatrix, T. blondi, P. rufilata and T. gigas should all molt any time now. Also, according to my guesses, the G. actaeon, A. avic and Boots should all start fasting soon. The A. avic is very fat and shiny, so that one at least is probably right. The other two are quite fat, but don't appear to be in pre-molt yet. I can't wait for Boots to go, she should be big and possibly mature as well.

October 16, 2000:
The A. minatrix is quite dark and shiny and should molt very soon. The A. avic is pretty much sealed in its web and is not eating. The P. pulcher also appears to have begun fasting.

Update: MOLT! P. rufilata #1 molted today, and must have just finished before I got home. It was still on its back resting, and had not begun the stretching excercises yet. The A. minatrix has spun some more webbing, which may be a molting cradle, so it might go any moment.

October 17, 2000:
MOLT! I awoke this morning to discover the T. blondi molting. I had to leave to work before it could finish, but it had already almost gotten all of its legs free and appeared to be making excellent progress. The ventral side of the abdomen appeared to be free, as did the spinnerets. The fangs were definately free, and the one that was deformed appears to be better now, though it's not perfect. I couldn't tell if the top (dorsal) side of the abdomen was free.

The cricket supply is starting to get pretty ragged, so I ordered some more last night. Speck and Kuni each got medium sized roaches (Kuni has, for some reason, been refusing the big ones she used to gobble down). The P. ornata got an adult female roach (a smallish but fattish one, maybe a subadult). Kuni and Speck both showed immediate interest, but the roaches evaded initial capture. The P. ornata's wedged itself in at the bottom of the cage, which was too far to attract the attention of the spider. All three were mincemeat by morning. The ornata had gotten quite a bit fatter, and was far from finished with its meal. It has had a very strong appetite since its last molt, but crickets were just too scrawny to really get it nice and fat.

Update: The T. blondi made her through perfectly, though the fang is not completely repaired. It seems to be about half way there. I was able to sex the molt as definately female. Also, the spider got her spunk back! She went into a threat posture when I grabbed the molt (which she wasn't even sitting on), and seemed to be doing a very strange dance. Almost like she was trying to lay down a silk mat while threatening me (though she wasn't producing silk). Maybe like a kick-boxer bobbing back and forth sizing up its opponent. It was very weird.

Also, I retrieved the molt from P. rufilata #1, and I can safely say that 1½" was a fair estimate, and 1¾ would not be unreasonable depending on how you'd like to round it off. It seems really odd though, because they seem so small, but they're so leggy that they can be small in mass or body length but still have such a big legspan. I can't wait until they're big enough to sex! I'll have to post some new pictures soon because the new colors are stunning!

October 18, 2000:
MOLTx3! The A. minatrix, P. fasciata and T. gigas all molted today. They all appear to have grown nicely. I'll predict 11/19/00 for the next P. fasciata molt, and 11/16/00 for the next T. gigas molt (though that molt record makes less sense). I tried to sex the molt of the P. fasciata, but was unable to. It's getting some yellow though, so I'm leaning towards female (a friend's ornata that I'm fairly sure is male, never really got any yellow or bright colors, and the same is true of my formosa which I believe is male). The T. gigas looks downright green; I can't wait to get a picture. Also, the A. minatrix looks like it didn't grow as much as I was really expecting.

Also, P. rufilata #1 seems to be running around a bit, so it may be ready for some food soon. I measured it, and it seems to be a safe 2", and is real close to 2¼".

I took Curly #2, the V. platyomma and A. purpurea #1 out of their cages for pictures today. Curly #2 didn't cooperate with leaving its cage, but posed nicely for the picture. He was very upset when I put him back in his freshly cleaned cage though. The V. platyomma seemed to cooperate (though he was skittish), but the A. purpurea fought the whole procedure. I tried to get a picture of me handling the little purpurea, but that would have required three hands. After reviewing the pictures I did get, I decided to give #2 a try, and he seemed a bit better, though it was still a chore. The pictures of him came out acceptable though. I attempted to get the P. formosa out of its cage, but it was in a pretty foul mood and met the paintbrush with threats and very offensive (i.e. not defensive) behavior. I felt satisfied with the pictures I was able to get in the cage with the lid off. (-:

October 19, 2000:
I posted pictures of the P. regalis, P. formosa, A. purpurea, Curly #2 and the V. platyomma today. Also, my cricket shipment should be here, so there'll be an extra-big feeding all around.

Update: MOLT! P. rufilata #2 molted this evening and is very clearly growing faster than #1. I suspect there is a difference in sex. I was able to measure it at easily 2¼", and it wasn't even in a stretched out posture, and it still seems to be doing some post-molt stretching! It may get to a solid 2½"! I'll see if I can notice any color difference when it's got its color back. Also, when I retrieved it's skin, I also got the one from the previous molt. Looking at that, it appears they were about an inch when I got them, rather than ¾". I was able to unfold the abdomen surprisingly well on the new molt (it was nice and fresh and not too mangled), and although I wasn't able to confirm or deny the presense of spermetheca, I did notice what appears to be the patch of dark male "hairs", which I am definately unable to see on #1 or its molt (which wasn't in good shape, but still...). It may just be wishful thinking on my part, but I would not at all be surprised if #1 was female and #2 was male.

Also I recieved quite a shock when I could not find the centipede in its cage. I did a quick look around the room before realizing that it would be long gone if it did get out. I shuffled through its cage again, but I couldn't see where it could have buried itself when all of a sudden it poped out from under the water dish. Relief is an understatement.

October 20, 2000:
I brought both P. rufilata out of their cages for a picture session today. Comparing the pictures side-by-side I can't see any significant color difference (aside from what one could expect since they're three days apart in molting). #2 is definately bigger, though, just a hair over 2¼", whereas #1 is just over 2". I was able to get very accurate measurements using the pictures of them sitting on cork bark, then measuring the distance on the actual piece of cork bark based on features I saw in the pictures.

October 23, 2000:
The G. actaeon missed its expected molt date, but it has begun fasting, so it could molt soon. The A. avic is shiny and has been fasting for a while, so it could hit its day easily. Boots and the P. regalis also appear to begining their fast.

Update: MOLT! The P. pulcher molted today. I've known that it was pre-molt for some time because it was dark and shiny and sealed in its hole. However, just a few days ago, I saw it munching on a cricket I had missed in its cage. I wasn't fooled though, as today's molt did not surprise me.

In other news, the T. blondi was fed today, and ate with the vigor that is expected of the species. It's past injuries had certainly broken its spirit, and it is now the feisty beast it should be.

The P. fasciata resumed eating. It needs a new cage badly now.

October 24, 2000:
For some reason, the centipede is not in the best of health. It should be molting soon, but it doesn't seem to want to. It hasn't eaten in forever. Also, the legs and thingies on it's back end seem chewed up and aren't working real well. I'm going to move it into a new clean cage and leave it alone for a while and see if it can molt for me.

Also, I got an Avicularia urticans and a Florida blue centipede (Hemiscolopendra marginata?) today as part of an order a friend made with Realm of Inverts. I'll probably post pictures and pages tomorrow. The centipede was a freebie because it's not in the best of shape. It's antennae are screwed up and it seems to have some other problem with its head. It may fix with a little TLC and a molt though.

October 25, 2000:
I've placed an order with Swift's Invertebrates, which should arrive tomorrow. They had several species I was interested in, including CB babies of S. g. robusta (the really really big centipedes). Also, I made the pages for the A. urticans and the blue centipede today and uploaded pictures.

I've taken several pictures of molted skins that have been piling up. I'll upload them soon, and probably put together a page on sexing via molted skins.

Update: MOLT! The C. thorelli molted today. I think it's female, but I'm really just guessing. The predicted next molt date is 12/01.

Tomorrow's going to be a busy day. I have to house several new spiders, and a new centipede. I also want to get pictures of the T. gigas, A. minatrix, P. pulcher and P. fasciata. The fasciata and probably pulcher need new cages, as will the regalis and possibly the formosa on their next molts. Even the rufilata might want to get moved upon their next molt.

October 26, 2000:
MOLT! The G. actaeon molted this morning before I awoke. The fast was fairly short, so it only missed it's predicted date by 4 days. The next molt shall be predicted as 12/12/00.

Also, the new beasts arrived today. Included were an A. huriana, A. versicolor, C. fasciatum, H. gigas, H. maculata and S. g. robusta. Also included was a second, free H. gigas. I also got a starter colony of N. cinerea (lobster roaches) for feeders.

I may actually name my centipedes because they have such personality. Names I've been pondering include "Nightmare," "Fluffy," and "Cuddles." I like the sarcastic ones better. "Fido" seems like a good name for a roach.

Update: Well, I got everyone unpacked and in their new cages. Some might be temporary quarters until I can find something better (the cage for the C. fasciatum in particular is probably too small).

Also, some sad news. The blue centipede is dead and the red-head is near death. The injuries to the blue caused it to keep banging its head into everything and just make things worse and worse until it basically ground its head to bits. I'm fairly certain now that the red-head has some sort of impaction. That would explain the malfunctioning of the hind end as well as the lack of appetite. It seems that it's hind quarters are just rotting away. I hope to get new ones, as both of these seemed doomed from the beginning.

I finally moved the P. fasciata into a new cage finally. Got some pictures while I was at it.

October 29, 2000:
MOLT! The A. avic finally molted. Seemed like it was in premolt forever. Didn't miss the predicted date by much. I'll predict the next molt on 12/13. I've also moved a few spiders into new cages. The P. pulcher got a medium pet-pal, and the two h. gigas got some of the larger spice jars so they can satisfy their obviously strong desire to burrow. The C. fasciatum will need a bigger cage than the one I gave it initally. Also, the g. actaeon and C. thorelli will need a new cages when they're recovered.

October 30, 2000:
MOLT! Well, there wasn't any molting going on today, but the "Usambara" did molt sometime in the past few months I think. Looking at it when it was out and about this weekend (a rare sight) it seemed brighter in color, and not only that, today I discovered small bits of exoskeleton in its cage. Not much, but it definately molted sometime. Copyright ©1999-2008 Thomas Schumm