Ally's Eight-Legged Journey

With Diablo vacating her large invertarium enclosure, it seemed to make sense that we move Big Spood into it. It wasn't much bigger in terms of area, but it was definitely deeper. This means that Big Spood will be able to dig - something that she clearly enjoys doing. We often sit and watch her as she excavates one corner of her enclosure, only to pile it up in a big tower at the opposite end. Here is Big Spood mid transfer: She has molted several times in my care, and right now I am finding it hard to picture how much smaller she was when she first arrived, so here is a photo (complete with wonky legs!) for comparison - though I'm not sure any size difference is at all visible. So now her substrate is about twice as deep, her water bowl is much larger, and she has some plastic decorations that I'm sure she probably won't even notice, (but I think that they look nice). Given that she has finally outgrown the white plastic container that she was using as a hide, I d...

As one of my largest spiders, Big Spood is often the subject of my photography attempts. I love the way she walks - lifting each leg with slow deliberate movements. I love the way she charges at her food - sometimes so fast that she tumbles over, taking her prey with her. I love her markings and the way her fur is so defined in her photographs - though I do regret not having named her some derivative of Beetlejuice, for the dark and white stripes. I also love the way she can be very expressive of her moods. I have previously posted photos of her sitting in her cage looking very concerned, as well as photos of her reared up on her back legs, baring her fangs. Today, I post images of her bipolar nature - or perhaps her "hanger". These photos were taken when I opened her cage to perform the basic weekly maintenance and feed. She took particular offence to me attempting to remove her water bowl for cleaning - she is one of many of my spiders who likes to use their water ...

Big Spood has finally gifted me with a molt, and with it I have been able to confirm the sex. I have discussed sexing tarantulas on this blog several times here and here, so this was an easy spood to sex. In my most recent post about tarantula sexing, we looked at Incy Wincy's molt and concluded that he was a male. When his molt was flipped over, there was no sign of a pouch (known as a spermathecae) under his epigastric furrow. As a reminder, this was his molt - the circled area is where there would have been a pouch in which to store sperm for fertilisation, had he been a female: As you can see, there's nothing there. I had previously posted to social media asking for people a little bit more knowledgeable than myself to attempt to sex Big Spood from her underside. This is less accurate than molt sexing as the differences are much more subtle - it is all down to the angle and the shape of the epigastric furrow. This is the photograph that I submitted to the forums, and ...

Well, that is clear as day! I was casually doing my spood spritz - opening each cage, checking the spoods were alive, taking note of their molt state, etc, when Big Spood too a special dislike to my interference... In not so many words, she told me to Fuck off! Obviously, I closed the lid and left her alone - this is a spood who does not want company right now.

I finally got a video of the Happy Dance!! I had thrown a locust into the enclosure, and I hung around for a little while to see if she would do it (as I usually do) but there seemed to be no sign and I had all but given up. I went to feed another spood, and when I came back, she was doing this: This dance is often seen in Big Spoods species, although a lot of other species do it too. They are essentially spinning in circles, laying a web - a feeding mat - underneath them as they do so. I've read a number of theories as to why they do the "happy dance" when they feed, but there is no definitive answer. Some of the most popular theories include: Threat detection Liquidising and slurping a critter takes a long time, and during that time, they are vulnerable if sitting out in the open. By laying a web underneath themselves they are better able to detect approaching predators. Vibrations from predator movement are more easily transmitted through the web silk, in the sam...

As usual, Big Spood is happy to be out and about. She clearly enjoys the attention she gets (and why not - she's definitely the largest of the Spoods, and big is beautiful after all!) After spritzing her this evening, I quite liked the way the water was beading on her fur, so I took these photos. I also like the way her chelicerae look so velvety... I kind of wish I could touch them to see if they feel as velvety as they look, but...I don't think she would appreciate that. She definitely has a "look but don't touch" kind of a vibe, as as soon as I open the lid to her enclosure she is right there to chase me away...

I love this picture of Big Spood. Big Spood is the largest of my spiders currently (Though I'm sure Incy will catch up quick!) so feeding is always a spectacle. Big Spood has a little dance that she does, which I call her "happy dance" whenever she gets a decent sized prey item. Unfortunately I've not yet been able to capture the dance - though I definitely will - so all I have to share are these photos. But oh my gosh, she looks so worried! Obviously, I know she's a spider and they don't exhibit emotions, but just look! Those look like some very concerned eyes! It amuses me to no end! Big Spood is fine though. I had just dropped a cricket into her enclosure, and she was coming out to see what was on the menu. She did catch the cricket - very quickly - but despite being ready with the camera, on this occasion I didn't see the happy dance. So have a photo of Big Spood standing over her food instead.... Her legs look pretty crooked, but I promise the...

I have moved the spood cam! Since Winnie's death, it has alternated between my jumping spider Fred and Catchy, in an attempt to catch something vaguely interesting to watch. However, both Fred and Catchy have proven to be rather dull participants, preferring to sit still in their respective corners. Big Spood, on the other hand, has been an incredibly active Spood since she got moved into the larger enclosure. As such, I have moved the camera to focus on her. So far, I have not been disappointed.

With all this space to wander around in, Big Spood has started to walk on the sides of his enclosure, inadvertantly flashing his underparts at me. As he is the biggest of my spoods, and only him and Incy Wincy are really large enough to sex, I have been wondering about Big Spoods gender. Sexing a mature tarantula is much easier, as the two sexes are visually different as adults. But as a growing juvenile, it is harder. Now, I have already posted these images to two different online resources, and both of them came back to me and told me that Big Spood is most likely a FEMALE , though it's easier to tell once she has molted. Now, if she is a female, then I'm happy, because females can live in the region of twenty years, compared to the paltry four of the male. But how can we tell that Big Spood is a female? To be perfectly honest, I can't tell one from the other, although I have been reading around the subject. *Side note: Check out those awesome fangs!* Apparently, th...

Big Spood finally has a new house! The posts on this blog are buffered, meaning that - in order to maintain a regular posting schedule, I write my posts in advance and schedule them to drop at a later date. This means that while it appears that a lot of time has passed since getting him, I actually ordered his new house the day after he arrived, and then rehoused him the day after that. He was in the Braplast tub for three days, in total. That was three days too long really, as he really didn't have a lot of space in there, but I promise he wasn't in there for the weeks since my last mention of him. In looking around for a reasonably priced enclosure, I happened upon this acrylic terrestrial enclosure on Amazon . It was reasonably priced, and came with an inbuilt hygrometer and thermometer. It was just the right size for Big Spood, and ought to last him a little while. (I don't know why it shows a beardy on the image - it is definitely not large enough to keep a bear...

Big Spood seems to be settling in nicely. He has eaten a cricket, started laying web mats down, and is moving around his enclosure. As such, it's been easy to tell that his legs have successfully detangled themselves, and are nicely straightened out. He just needed a little bit of space. Unfortunately, it is also clear to see that he does not have enough space in the braplast tub that he is in. When he stands to eat, he almost touches the lid, and it only takes him a few steps to walk from the front of his house to the back. Getting Big Spood a new house is now a priority, so watch this space for updates.

So, the first critter to be unpacked from my recent mystery box was the Brazilian white knee, or Acanthoscuria geniculata . I was desperate to get this spood out of his tube because he seemed quite large from peering in. As it turns out, I couldn't even see a fraction of the spood, and he was much larger than I had realised. So much so, in fact, that when he came out of his tube, his legs were all crumpled up and tangled over each other. I didn't want to manipulate him too much, because he was already incredibly stressed and was flicking hairs at me while I tried to move him off of his tissue home. I am hoping that with a little bit of time and the space to sdtretch out, that he will be able to right himself without too much hassle. Failing that, he ought to be okay once he molts. As can be seen by this photo, this spood is actually quite a bit larger than any of my other ones. When fully grown he ought to get to be around eight inches across, diagonally. Right now he is...