Howdy. So far I don't have anything new to say. Most of the babies have full bellies and are refusing to eat. I'm thinking they are trying to prepare to molt again. It is about that time. Plus most of them have been taking down large crickets on their own, so, that's a lot of food considering their size. I need to go through them again. The last time, I did not notice the one that had the bad molt and was scrambling around with its leg stuck in the old exuvium. I did try to take tweezers and pull off as much as I could  -  which wasn't much. I didn't want to cause damage myself ( yes I AM a pussy), so I've been hoping nature would take its course and Que sera, sera. There were no dead ones. I noticed nothing unusual, so maybe it scraped off the excess.

Well, how's it going? All of the babies have finished molting again. I've had one problem. One of the babies molted, and then about 1-2 weeks later, it molted again. It was a bad molt. One of its hind legs did not come out of the exuvium. It has been dragging the old exuvium ever since. I tried, using tweezers, to remove as much of the old exuvium as possible - to little avail. I totally expected it to die by now as all the ones that have previously molted so closely together HAVE died, but it seems to be doing well....so far. I know others say you can pull a leg off, and it'll be fine  -  as long as it's a clean separation. I have not had the balls to try that. Here is a photo of the little guy.

You might be able to see what's left of the old exuvium which is on the near side.
on the bright side. I have taken to feeding them less often. They are finally to a point where they are large enough...and if hungry enough....to take down "large" crickets  -  which are really medium crickets from the local pet store. Well, that's all for now. Ciao.

Hi there! It has been a long time. Most of the babies have molted for the third time and are getting big. I had to move them into deli cups - some I moved into chinese take out containers, and after looking at them after a couple of meals, I think those might not last too long. I have switched to feeding them only a couple of times a week, so that they'll be hungry enough to take down their own prey(i.e. I won't have to kill crickets anymore!). Here are some photos I took.

  As you can see, The middle photo is of a baby in the process of molting. The bottom photo is of the burrow the baby excavated after being moved into its new home. You should be able to see 2 openings. When I moved them, I put new coconut coir in the new container. I then put the old home containing the baby inside the new container on its side. I then gently nudged the baby until it left the old container. I, then, removed the old home and dumped the old substrate onto the new substrate. I had hoped that this might help them to settle in more quickly. With several of the babies, the old substrate stuck together in a clump. I'm sure webbing helped. These guys actually dug burrows, which surprised me as most go them had shown no signs of burrowing before. Que sera, sera!

Hey there! how's it going? I hope everyone is getting ready for the holidays. I haven't been on in quite a while. There hasn't been  a whole lot going on with the babies. A handful of them have molted. They are too big for the ketchup containers when they molt, so I have been trying to get deli containers from the store when I can and have been re-housing them as soon as I can. The first one that molted has been real hungry and took down a medium size cricket with no problem. I guess this means that I should probably feed them less, and, therefore, I won't have to kill the crickets anymore. An interesting occurrence, when I re-housed the little guys, I put their ketchup containers inside of the deli container and gently nudged them into their new home. I then dumped the old substrate on top of the new substrate. My hope was that it would give them a sense of security by having something familiar around. Several of the babies - where the substrate basically fell into the new container whole or at least mostly intact - have actually dug burrows. At least one now has a burrow with an entrance and an exit - or should I say 2 openings. I just find this intriguing as none of the ones left had burrows before. I will have to post some photos soon. Ciao.

I know I have been scarce here, but I finally have some news. I have had one of the babies molt for the 3rd time since I have had them! I think moving it to a new container helped speed up the molt by a few days. Taranttulas have been known to molt after moving to new quarters. Here is the pic.

Well, that is all I have. The new molts will be BIG. At least bigger than before! I have been trying to get new containers for them all, so they'll be content for a couple of molts at least. Ciao.

Well, I am glad to be back. I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. All the babies were very hungry when I got back. Only one died while I was gone for 6 days. Of course I went straight to the pet shop to get 50 small crickets and to pick up my parrot from boarding. Because they hadn't eaten in six days, many of the babies actually attacked and killed the crickets I gave them. If you remember, none of my babies would kill their prey, but because a couple of people that got babies from me said that theirs would kill their crickets, I figured I  would try to feed live prey to mine this time as they should have been hungry. I an guessing that mine don't like to kill their prey because I feed them every other day. Perhaps because they are so well fed, they just don't feel the urge to kill. I haven't asked the others how often they feed their babies, but ,obviously, if they are hungry they will do whatever it takes to eat. At least one of them was still willing to kill its prey the day after I got home as well. Since today is Wednesday - day 3 since I have been back, I haven't fed any of them...a day of rest and relaxation for all. Ciao.

Well, tonight is the last time I will be able to update my blog until next week. I am going to my mom's for Thanksgiving. I will be back Monday, but I don't know if I will be able to post anything until Tuesday. All the babies have been fed and watered. I'm sure I will be a nervous wreck leaving them for 6 days. Hopefully, they will be ok. As of tonight, there are 4 that still have not molted, but they are fat and looking ready to pop. Have a happy Thanksgiving everybody.