Chicos! Que onda?! To night there isn't a lot to report. There is 1 that still has no spot.  3 have the spot. There were no new molts. There were 65 that are waiting to molt. I goes we are at a plateau so to speak while we wait for  the ones that haven't molted at all to molt and for those that have already molted to molt again. On the other hand, my Brachypelma Smithi ( Mexican Red Knee) has closed the entrance to her burrow in preparation for her pending molt. She did this yesterday. That's all for now. Hasta mañana!

All right! how's it going? We have a few number changes tonight. There is 1 that still has not developed a spot! I can't wait to get past that hurdle! ! had the spot. There were 2 new molts, and 65 old molts. And here I go getting the ones that had just molted for the second time mixed up with the ones that have only molted once. Dang it. However, I did see something interesting. As I removed the lid from one container, I thought it seemed like the baby was hunkered over something it was eating. As I gently turned the container trying not to disturb it, I realized it wasn't feeding but had a chunk of coconut husk in its chelicerae, which it eventually dropped. I am wondering. My first thought was that it was moving it in an attempt to do some excavating, but then I began to wonder if perhaps they can suck moisture out of the chunks of substrate. So far I have only seen my other tarantulas drink water off the sides of their containers ..and once I got a rare glimpse of one drinking out of its water dish.
 , so much for that. Now I have some new photos to show off. This is one of the little guys that worries me most. It doesn't seem to eat much, and while it doesn't even attempt a threat display, the postures it gives reminds me of someone being bullied and trying to defend itself by throwing its arms up to protect its face/head. Let me know what you think.

Well. I guess that's almost all I have for tonight, except that one of the smaller ones that had recently molted seems to have molted again. I find this very intriguing, as it is one that doesn't seem to eat well and was one of the last ones to molt. This has baffled me. Usually they molt, then spend days or weeks fattening up before they molt again. I hope he doesn't overdo himself and wear himself out.
All right, Ciao for now.

How are you all doing out there? I missed yesterday's post,because I was taking photos of "Flat Matthew" with 2 of my other tarantulas and my African Black Giant millipede for my nephew Matthew. He had asked me to do that. How could I say no? Anyway, They weren't being real cooperative and wanted to explore more than anything. Ok, so yesterday I had 3 babies that still had no spot. 1 had a spot. There were 2 new molts and 58 old molts.
  Today, there were 2 that had no spot. 1 had a spot...and 2 newly molted babies. I caught 1 in the act. It's so exciting to see that, because I don't get to see it that often. Here is the photo I took.

Of course you can't tell from a still photo, but it was wiggling its tiny legs strengthening them so it can turn over and stand....so amazing to see. I don't think I'll ever tire of seeing that.
  I have been told by my co-workers that Aragog is eating voraciously...eating up to 2 cricket legs a day! Yeah Ferda Lance and Paul! Here I am going to include a photo of Colby's greedy glutton. Every time I open the container, I think DANG this one is BIG. Then I realize it's the one I have set aside for my co-worker Colby, and I think to myself, "No wonder!" It has always been a hearty eater and definitely dwarfs most of the others and still appears larger than the one closest to its size.

This following photo is of one of the very few that have created any type of a burrow, and this one has  made the largest burrow out of all of them...and it still doesn't quite fit into it.

You can see its little booty sticking out there. That cricket leg I had just put in there, and it was demolished by the next day...which was a relief. I didn't think it was eating much since it had molted. I have noticed that, even though the are young, They don't eat much until about 3 - 4 days after they molt. I had thought that the babies might recuperate faster than that since my older Brachypelma juveniles only need 2 - 3 more days than this after molting  -  so far. I have read and been told, that as they age, they require more and more time to recuperate after molting. I guess, that if nothing else, we will learn to be patient as we wait for them to prepare to molt and then recuperate afterwards. 2 of my others closed themselves in their burrows for a whole month before emerging after molting. At least these guys aren't burrowers. They were fine except for being somewhat hungry. OK, well that is all I
have for tonight. TTYL. Ciao.

 Ok, Tonight I think my numbers might be slightly off, which I will try to explain in a bit. First off, there were only 2 that had not spot...which is good. That means they are eating enough to  get closer to molting, which in turn means the less delicate they are. There were 3 that showed the spot. There were 3 definite new molts, possibly 4. The 4th, I'm kind of uncertain about. It appeared to have molted very recently because of the bluish color of it's exoskeleton, but I couldn't find an old exoskeleton in the container. This means that either it was counted as a new molt yesterday , and its color hadn't changed( so far their colors have shifted from the bluish new-molt color to a tannish or brownish color by the next day), or, it had molted and destroyed its old exoskeleton. I have heard of tarantulas destroying their exoskeleton after molting, but being new to this, I have yet to experience it yet. However, since her last molt, Fifi, my Brachypelma boehmei still hasn't thrown out her old exoskeleton. She molted 3 weeks ago! Sometimes it seems as if they don't want to give up the familiarity of the old exuvium...kind of like a security blanket. Sometimes, when I open the container and they have molted, they'll run over to and crouch down by their old exuvium. To me it seems like it gives them comfort or perhaps a sense of protection. But perhaps it's purely instinctual. Perhaps to a predator, there might appear to be two spiders there, thus giving the newly molted spiderling a 50/50 chance of survival which would be better than if it was alone. All right! So much for new molts. OH! Not quite yet. I know for a fact that one of the babies that had molted previously had just molted AGAIN! A few days ago I had mentioned that I thought that perhaps1 or 2 babies that had already molted might have molted again. Since then, I divided the tank into 3 sections. Section 1 had babies with no spots and this withs spots that had not molted. Section 2 had the newly molted babies, and section3 had the ones that had already molted(old molts). Today, while going throughout he little guys, I found 1 that was still trying to get the exuvium off its abdomen. Of course I was excited by this find. I guess I need to email Stan Schultz again to see if he remembers how often his L.parahybana spiderlings molted.
  One last thing before I go.  Dylan in Kalamazoo, MI got the baby I sent him today! Herre is the picture he sent me of his new baby getting acquainted with its new house.

I hope you can see it. It's in the tube/hide. How cool is that!?

Till next time Adios muchachos!

Well, as of yesterday, there were 3 that has no spot. 7 had the spot. There was 1 new molt, and 59 had molted previously.
 Today, there were 2 that had no spot. 5 with the spot. 2 new molts . and there were 59 that had molted previously. This doesn't add up. While 1 developed the spot, 1 less had the spot and the number of previously molted was the same even though there were 2 molts. This adds more supporting evidence that  the ones that had molted previously might be starting to molt again. I will have to pay very close attention tomorrow when I go through them. I'm scratching my head, because if it's true that they are beginning to molt again, it'll blow apart the idea that they don't molt more often than other tarantulas.
Below I am posting a current photo of one of the babies. This one will be going home with one of my co-workers,Colby King, someday. It's a real glutton. You can see how plump and shiny it's abdomen is.

All right! As I may have said, I sent one of the babies to Kalamazoo, Michigan. If it doesn't arrive tomorrow, it should definitely arrive on Monday.  A young guy from Richmond, Virginia came by this evening for 20 of them. That still leaves me with 66....much better than 106 though. Being a nice guy, I only gave him ones that were doing well and had already molted. Of the ones I have left, there are still 4 that have not grown enough to have a black spot.  The one that I had posted a picture of that has a white patch on its carapace ( I call him Invalido...means cripple) is one of these. There are 9 that have the spot but still have not molted. There were 3 that had molted since yesterday....one of these seems BIG. I mean significantly bigger than all the others, and I'm wondering if it might have already molted  again for a second time. I guess I need to divide the tank into 3 sections. One for those that haven't molted. One for those that have molted, and then have a section for future molts. One expert I received an email from said that in his opinion the Lasiodora parahybana doesn't seem to molt more often than other tarantulas, but that they seem to increase more in size than others when they do molt. From what I have read, most juvenile tarantulas tend to molt about once a month. People also say that as they grow and age, the molting process takes longer, and they take longer to recuperate afterwards. One article I read online says that Lasiodora parahybana can reach a size of 6 inches in a year. I am assuming that is if you constantly power feed them. I don't intend to power feed them for a whole year...just until they get to be  about an inch or two. Well, that's all for tonight. Ciao.

Well, it' has been a few days since I have updated my blog. I've had quite a few changes. Yesterday, I had 7 babies that had no spot a all. There were 13 that had molted since the day before, and 50 that had already molted.

  As of today, there are 4 that still have not developed enough to have a dark spot. 10 had molted since yesterday. 1 had died. It was one that had molted already. 13 have spots and are waiting to molt. 52 have already molted.

  The 1 that died has me perplexed. Although I know there is no way of determining the cause, I wonder if it was too dry.

  On a lighter note, I have sent one of the little guys to a new home in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Fare ye well. I hope all goes well Mr. Seuss. Tomorrow, I have to get 20 ready for a new home in Richmond, VA. Finally, all the ones ( all 3 ) that I had set aside for myself have molted. I have been on vacation this week, hence the lapse in reporting. I wonder hoe Aragog is doing. I know he molted like most of my brood. I also know the 2 I sent to Texas have molted as well, even though they hadn't eaten since I shipped them. Mine seem to eat no matter what and have molted right after eating. Some have molted even with cricket running around with them much to my surprise the next day. I usually tear the crickets in two now and crush the head end before I drop it into the container, unless it's a very small cricket. In this case, I simply crush it's head and thorax with my fingers and drop it in. Evidently, that's not enough for some. Or, perhaps, I am not vicious enough as sometimes I discover a cricket running amok in the container the next day.
 Well, that's all for now.

I just finished checking on everybody, and everyone is fine. There were 11 new molts tonight. I did forget to mention earlier that one of the littlest ones died. It was one of the smallest and hadn't molted yet and didn't feed regularly. So much for weak genes. I am still concerned about the two small ones that seem so timid. They both have molted, but just sit hunched up with their legs pulled in tight to their bodies all the time. They can't do this all the time, because they have been eating. I wonder if they are more photosensitive than the others or perhaps more sensitive to disturbances. Sigh. I truly don't expect them to make it, but we shall see. Only time will tell.

  I had after the first week marked 3 containers for myself to be ones that I would keep. My reason for wanting these three was mainly based on their eagerness to feed. I thought that they would grow quickly, but as time has passed, they aren't growing as fast as many of the others... I keep thinking about the book "The Tarantula Keeper's Guide". In this book the authors put down the thought that perhaps some of the faster growing spiderlings might perhaps be males so as to grow and mature rapidly. If this is indeed true, then I should be glad mine are not growing so fast as the others, since males only live a fraction of the time females do. Below is a photo of one of the little ones who molted today. I interrupted him molting in a not very normal position(right side up).

In about a day, it'll be hungry and ready to eat.

Well,  I skipped yesterday and didn't post anything....not because there was nothing to say - because there was, but because I got my new computer and spent the day setting it up and figuring things out.
I did have quite a few molts yesterday - 15 in all. I even was lucky enough to catch one in the process. It had shed its exuvium(exoskeleton) but had not yet righted itself and was still stretching its legs. Her are a couple of photos.

This is the first time I have ever seen this firsthand. If you look closely, you can see the shed exuvium off to the left of its abdomen. It's kind of hard to see as it is the same color as the coconut husk. Besides the increased number of molts, there are 41 babies that have  the darkened spot on their rumps, and a few looked as if they are starting to get the dark spot.

 I have been pondering a thought for some while now. When I first started this blog, I thought I would make it solely about the baby L. parahybana. I have thought about and considered including my three other juvenile tarantulas as well, just to add a little variety. I am still undecided as to if I should break up the purity of the topic of this blog. Well, that's all for now. Perhaps I will add another post later today, after I check on the babies, and, of course, I need to go to the local pet shop and get more crickets. I'm there so often to get crickets, it throws them off when I show up for dog food! Hasta luego!

All right! I've had three more molts since yesterday. They seem so timid and skittish after they molt. I guess that's to be expected. They are very vulnerable and defenseless. I also counted 54 babies that have developed the dark spot. Surely more will have molted by tomorrow when I check on them. Well, that's all I have for tonight.

Today, while checking on the little guys, I found 39 had dark spots, and one more had molted since yesterday. It still had some exuvium stuck to its abdomen, which, luckily brushed off without any problem. I waas somewhat concerned as so far I had not encountered that. I'll put a notch in my belt for getting through that. :O) Quite a few of the babies with black spots appear pretty dark in color. I'm hoping that means a molt is imminent. Oh, yeah, and so far all three that have molted still have dark spots as well.  Although it's not as prominent as before, it's still  very noticeable as you saw in the photo I posted yesterday. That's all I have for today. Good night.

Tonight, I went through all of the babies and removed uneaten cricket parts and fed those that had nothing in thier containers. All together there are now 32 babies with black spots on their abdomens, but the most exciting news is that 2 of them had molted! I was happily surprised. I though that their whole abdomen would turn dark like my older tarantulas....and maybe they did and it happened so fast I didn't notice. Believe it or not, I don't watch them 24 hours a day. I do sleep, and I do have a job. LOL. Any way, the 2 that molted still have a dark spot, however, it's not quite as bright. but is still very noticeable, which makes me wonder how far away is their next molt? Only time will tell. Below is a photo of one of them(still kinda bluish).

Until tomorrow! Night all!!

Today was another day at Terra Tarantula. Hmm, I kinda like that! Lol. Any way, today we went from 13 babies with black spots to 21. I was hoping there would be more than that as the number had doubled from yesterday from the previous day. Oh well, growth rate isn't something that can be counted on to be regular. I did chat via text with the guy who had bought 2 of the babies yesterday. I was rather concerned that the post office had delivered them to the wrong address. Luckily the package was refused, but that still meant another day of travel, and the guy said that it was 102 degrees! Today, he texted me though and said that they had arrived safe and sound. Whew! That was a load off my mind. Well, I guess that is all for now. I am anxious for these guys to molt. I need to do more research . I have read that they grow very fast. So far I'm not seeing it. My older Brachypelmas, which are still juveniles, molt about every month. I thought that these guys would molt more often. OK. TTYL.

Well, tonight I had a nice surprise. Most of the babies seemed hungry, so I have decided to go back to feeding every other day. This decision was spurred on by the discovery that 13 of the babies have developed the black spot on their abdomens  -  as opposed to the 5 I saw yesterday! Oh! And there were no deaths either.  Aragog, the 1 purchased by a co-worker seems to be doing well, However, I am worried about the 2 I sent to Texas. They were supposed to arrive today, but due to a delivery error they have not. From what I was told, it was 102 degrees today! I hope they survive the trip!

Tonight, I went through all the babies to see how they are doing and to remove the leftovers.. Just as I thought, almost every single one had eaten overnight. This one was still feeding.

Tonight, there are a total of five that are showing the telltale black spot on the abdomen indicating that a molt is approaching. Here are photos of the five.

This last spiderling is just starting to show the dark spot, which I find interesting mainly because not only is it one of the smallest, but is also one of the most timid and seems to eat very little. One other think to noe is their coloration. Some of them in these enlarged photos display an interesting salmony pinkness. Is it a coincidence? Or could they already be starting to diplay the salmon pink bristles for which they were named? Or perhaps it is just the flash from my camera playing tricks on me. Only time will tell! Also, there were no more deaths to report. I did start to add drops of bottled water to the drier containers to help alleveiate dehydration. There is one that is very skittish  and does not want to move. I hope that increasing the humidity in its container might help to  turn this around. It just seems stressed for some reason. Well, that is all for tonight.

Well, tonight was feeding night. I thought that by waiting 2 days between feedings that perhaps the little tykes might be hungrier and more inclined to eat in front of me. WRONG!! They might be hungry, but not a single one came over to eat. I bet it'll be a different story  once the lights go out.  There are 3 more little ones sporting  a black spot on their abdomens. That's good. I'm anxious for them to grow and get past this hazardous infant stage.  I did get a few really nice threat displays from a few of the more brazened tykes though. If only I'd had my camera. At least there were no more fatalities. I guess that's all for today as there really wasn't much to report. Ciao.

Tonight, when I got home from work, I sat down to go through the babies containers. Yesterday, I only fed a few that didn't eat at the previous feeding. So, tonight was primarily a review to make sure everyone was OK and to remove any leftover from the few I did try to get to eat. Everyone was alive, however there are 2 that I'm a little concerned about. They seem rather skittish and while they don't run wildly around, it's as if they are afraid to go anywhere. I know they have all lain down webbing in their containers, eventhough I can't see it, and its as if these two, when they take quick steps, that they are getting stuck in or are startled by the webbing...or something. I hope they are ok tomorrow. Tomorrow is feeding day. Anyway, on a brighter note, I have a great picture to share.

This is a great sight for me. Note the darkened patch on this one's opisthosoma/abdomen? That is an indication that it's getting close to molting. I am so excited! This will be the FIRST of these guys to molt since I have had them. We all know that the molting process is the most crucial time for them and many die  when everything doesn't go just right, much the same as when women give birth. I will update you all tomorrow. The abdomen will turn completely dark like that spot before it happens. It'll be interesting to see if it's hungry tomorrow.
  As you can see in the above photo, I have been allowing the containers to dry out, but have been adding drops of bottled water to keep some moisture in the containers.  Some containers are drying out faster than others. I can only assume that some of the coconut coir wasdamper than other. At any rate, tonight, I was watching to try to see if the babies in the drier containers were hanging out closer to the damp substrate or not. On at least 2 of them, they did appear to be staying on the dampened substrate, but some of the others were on the dry substrate. Is it a coincidence or not? They have no other water source in these tiny containers. Well, that is all I have for now. Hasta manana amigos.

Well, hello again. I'm not really sure where to start. I found 1 dead spiderling today.

 It was nice and plump.The one I found yesterday that I thought was dying, is definitely dead today. I have been keeping one suspected of dying for at least one day to be sure. So far, none of them have molted. Even though I have read that Lasiodora parahybana grow extremely fast, I am not sure what that means. I have read that the average juvenile tarantula will molt about once a month. I thought that these - being spiderling - might molt more than that. Or, perhaps the "growing fast" means that when they do molt their size increases more than other tarantulas do. I don't know but can't wait to find out. My other three tarantulas, when they molt - being juveniles, fairly double their size. At any rate I will just have to wait and see, and they should be getting close to molting since I got them on August 24th.

   Yesterday was feeding day, and since only 1 baby was hungry enough to eat while I was waiting and watching, I had decided that may be I should start feeding them every two days as opposed to every other day. It had also crossed my mind that perhaps they weren't hungry because they are getting close to molting. Today, I went throught each tarantula's container and removed all the leftovers I could find and discovered that almost all of them had eaten overnight. A few had fed out in the open, but most had dragged their food to the side of the container. I guess they just needed a little candlelight and privacy.

Here is one of the little fatties.

 Their opisthosomas/abdomens are all fat and shiny, which still makes me think that it might not hurt to lengthen the time between feedings so that they aren't so fat. Could they being so well fed be contributing to the deaths - even though there haven't been all that many? I am down to 90 from 106. I have sold two to a gentleman in Texas though. There are a few that are not eating as well as the others and are not nearly as plump,,,which may be to their advantage. One of the smallest has had an odd white patch on its carapace ever since it arrived. I thought it might be a deformaty of some king at first, or perhaps a patch of exuvium that didn't come off in the last molt. Who knows.

Here is a photo of it. I will have to get a close up.

Hello there. Tonight is feeding night. So far I have fed about 10, and so far, no one seems interested or hungry. I just opened a container to feed another and found the inhabitant to be alive but rather rigid and twitching...almost as if it was convulsing.

You will have to excuse the chunk of cricket hat was intended to be food. . I can only put it back and wait til tomorrow. I assume it is dying...reason of course is unknown. I took some pictures, unfortunately the camcorder on my phone  cannot record a good image as it is too small and too close up. Here are some pictures of the dying baby that was twitching.


So far, I have noticed that very few of the babies have even attempted to burrow. Only about 6 of them have burrowed at all, which may be a clue(duh) as to why they lay so many eggs at a time. Babies out in the open in Brazil are just asking to be picked off by predators such as ants.

  Well, after feeding I am wondering. Very few of them - only 1 notably(took pictures) was hungry. I am wondering when they are going to molt as they arrived on August 24. Notably almost all seem rather plump and their opisthosomas/abdomens are rather shiny. I wonder if they are too well fed or perhaps just getting ready to fast before they molt. My Brachypelma albiceps and Brachypelma boehmei haven't eaten in 3 weeks and are just showinf the blackened abdomens that indicate a molt is imminent. None of the babies are showing any darkening of the abdomen. The one I fear is dying has me somewhat concerned, but I don't know or think there is anything I can do.
  I have decided, that since so many of the babies don't appear to be hungry, that I will start to feed them every 2 days in stead of every other day. If they are indeed preparing to molt, I suspect they may not even be hungry then.
  One of the smallest babies, I have not had the pleasure of witnessing it feed.  It has an odd white patch covering a good portion of its carapace. When they all arrived, it was there. At first I thought it was a deformaty and I totally expected it to die, but it hasn't.  I think it must have feed yesterday as its opisthosoma/abdomen appears larger today, but it is as skitish as ever. I wonder if the whitishness might be part of its exuvium/exoskeleton that didn't come off. It appears to move normally at any rate.

Brazilian Salmon Pink Tarantulas

When I becam interested in Tarantulas I  registered and becam a member of The American Tarantula Society Headquarters - atshq.org. After purchasing Charlotte, my B. smithi( Mexican Red Knee Tarantula), I soon acquired Gigi, my B. albiceps( Mexican Gold Red Rump) and Fifi, my B. boehmei( Mexican Fireleg). As the days passed and I scoured, I scoured The American Tarantula Society's forum for infor mation on how to care for my new pets. I soon camee across a posting from a woman who had recently purchased Lasiodora parahybana spiderlings and wanted to find a home for the extras. She supposedly had purchased 4 spiderlings from an enthusiast/breeder. Lasiodora parahybana - aka - Brazilian Salmon Pink Tarantula is supposed to be one of the largest tarantulas in the world. I thought to my self that this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I sent her a message saying that I would be interested in a couple of the babies. She responded saying that she had asked for 4 babies but had been sent about 40 and was really hoping to get rid of all at one fell swoop. Once again, I thought to myself...this might not be a bad idea. They are babies and surely some will die as a matter of due course, and perhaps I might be able to find a home for some of them. So I told her I would take them all. To date, the 3 tarantulas I had purchased and all of the feeder insects I had ordered online had all been sent overnight delivery. So I began the anxious job of waiting. When the day came and went that I had expected to receive them came and went, I jumped online and sent her a message as soon as I got home from work, asking her when they might arrive. She had sent them 2-3 day delivery. Sure as shooting they arrived the next day, much to my relief. They were fine.

 I took them home and ran to my local pet shop and bought 40 small crickets. The smalls were very small at this time. I rushed home and opened their container and began catching a few small crickets and tearing their hind legs off and dropping them in the container. A few of the braver babies grabbed a leg and dragged them over to the side of the container to feed.
  After a couple of days had passed, I sat down at my computer desk and started to separate them into their own little individual houses( ketchup containers I had gathered from Five Guys near me). I started by using a lid to one of the condiment containers and a cotton swab..ushering the little tykes that were on the wall of the container with the cotton swab onto the lid of the container. Then, I, as gently as possible, deposited them into their own little house. Each container  contained some damp coconut coir( shredded coconut husk). The first day of rehousing ended when I ran out of condiment containers, and I realized that I had only removed the babies that were on the walls of the original shipping container! That hadn't even touched the large wad of dampened paper towel in the container that was covered with babies! BEWARE!!!! If buying from Hobbyist/enthusiast, you may get MORE than you asked for!All in all, I made 3 trips to Five Guys to get condiment containers before I had enough. After 3 days of gathering containers and continuing my individual rehousing project, I realized I had 106 babies... WAY more than the original 40 I thought I was getting!! I soon found my self at the pet shop again purchasing a 10 gallon aquarium and a smal undertank heater in which to put all of my new babies. Note: I did not put the babies' containers direectly on top of the undertank heating pad, but as they were in the basement, and it is 65-70 degrees down there I did drape a towel over the  tank to help hold in some of the heat.
  During the next 2 weeks, I spent time each day opening each condiment container and examining the spiderling inside. The coconut coir I had used was left over from when I housed my 3 Brachypelmas and had held more moisture than I had thought. Each day upon opening each container, I wiped excess moisture from the lid and the sides of the container with a paper towel. I then proceeded to look for remnants of the last feeding and removing them.

 I had intended to try to feed them all every other day and thus cut down on my workload of caretaking, butI soon found myself manipulated into an everyday feeding regimen as some would not eat when I wanted while otheres would. So, everyday I would go through them one by one. If I opened a container and found cricket parts, I removed them whether they had been fed upon or not, closed the container and put it back. If, on the otherhand, I opened the container and there were no cricket parts, I would procure a fresh cricket leg, put it in - perhaps I would use a cotton swab to try to usher the little tyke over to the food, and then back it would go with the others.  I always alternated positions of the containers. Obviously, the containers closest to the undertank heater were warmest, so I therefore, every day alternated postitions putting those that were farthest away from the heater the day before in the closest position and vice versa.
  After the first 2 weeks, I had lost only about 6 babies, which I thought was pretty good as I was new to all of this, and I had only really wanted 1. I currently need to recount and make sure how many I actually have. The differences among them are interesting. Some of them are hearty eaters, while others are not. A few of them I can only assume that they have eaten something although I have seen no evidence of it. Some of them when they are hungry literally tackle their prey as it is dropped in. Some will run up on it and then get startled and run away. Others just seem to take their own sweet time, and I don't know they have fed until the next day when I open their container and find the cricket part in a different place and obiously discolored by the venom. I should note here that when I feed the babies, I ALWAYS put the food in the center of the container. If they don't show any interest right away, I use a cotton swab to usher them over to it. Then I let them be. Usually, when a baby has fed, It drags the food to the side of the container where, I guess, it feels less exposed and more comfortable. Well, I suppose that is all I have for today, except that one of my co-workers has taken one of the babies off my hands. It's name is now Aragog. :)