Ally's Eight-Legged Journey

This is Loki. He is my Hapalopus formosus spiderling. These spiders - also known as pumpkin patch spiders - are a dwarf tarantula, growing to about two and a half inches across. When Loki came to me, he was about 0.5cm, and now...I'm not actually sure he's much more than that. About 1.0cm, maybe 1.5cm. He has molted multiple times, he just seems to grow slowly. When he arrived, he was the smallest spider I'd ever had: The enclosure he is in there - and indeed is still in - is a spiderling tub from The Spider Shop, and is 9 by 9 cm. It's a small one. He still hasn't grown enough for me to move him into anything larger, and I do think he will always be my smallest spider. However, he has done some growing, so when I checked in on him this week I decided to get him out and take a comparison photograph. In this picture you can see two things. The first is that he has his adult colouration and markings. Does this mean that he's no longer a spiderling? I...

So, now that my new spoods have had a little time to settle in, it is time to introduce them. Obviously, I have already mentioned Fred, the regal jumping spider, but this post is for the Spoods. As with the original three Spoods, I do not know the sexes of these animals, but the names are what they are. First up is Joy. Joy was named by my daughter. She is a Salmon pink birdeater from Brazil, or Lasiodora parahybana . She may be small now - approximately 2cm DLS (diagonal leg span) - but at her full size she could be up to 11 inches. My daughter named this spider, so I am hoping that Joy does in fact turn out to be a female - I don't want to be the one to explain to her that Joy is a boy spider with a girls name. At this stage she reminds me very much of how Lolth looked prior to her first molt. But this makes sense, as when they are both adults they will have very similar colours and markings, even if their sizes are different. Salmon Pink birdeater adult: Catchy Camouflag...