Beginning prep for first breeding attempt - any advice appreciated!

[Tom Forman]

I don't know how important this is but I would recommend doing the mating at night. This is just my opinion as the T's would mate during the night in the wild.

The only problem with doing it at night is that you would need some light which will not be an ideal setting for the T's.

I used red light to light up the tank so I could see but the T's wouldn't notice.

Ask your nearest reptile shop, they should have just the thing.

But maybe it's fine doing it during the day, I wouldn't know.

[Kate Arbon]

Good idea Tom. I think I will probably try at evening/night because as you said that is when they would probably do it in the wild. I will keep a low light on, enough for me to see what I'm doing. Hopefully they will think it's romantic moonlight

[Kate Arbon]

Well my MM arrived yesterday and is settling in. He is a bit jumpy but healthy enough. I decided today to take a bit of web from my female's tank and put it in with him. Their tanks are next to each other but thought I would just make sure he noticed there is a girl around in case he hasn't figured it out yet.


While getting the web I thought I'd try a piece of advice Louise suggested to me, to see how the female reacts if approached with tongs from a low angle. Well you can see the results






I'm guessing this is a good sign!? At first she ran to her hide when I was messing with her 'carpet', but as soon as I brought the tongs up behind her she slowly turned around and raised up. I stroked her legs with them and she raised up more. I know it looks identical to a threat pose but she was very calm with it so I'm hoping it's more a sign that she's in the mood. She even turned herself so she was facing directly on when I moved the tongs to the side.

She stayed in that position for about 5 minutes after I took the tongs away. Now she's sat back down and is it going too far to say she looks disappointed? LOL.

I'm happy about this because it looks like she will be receptive. All I need now is a sperm web from the boy (Louise I also took your other advice with giving him moist sub so hopefully when it finishes drying out I will get some results!)

Couple more pics of my pretty girl

[Louise~Nichols]

Kate...that's exactly the pose I was on about, where they will stand on their hind legs and let you stroke them without any flinching. This is excellent!! She certainly looks ready for a *serious palping* lol....so tell that lil chappy of yours to hurry up with the webbing. Incidentally keep a watch near the corners of your tank in case he does it overnight and then destroys it before you awaken, but you should find traces of ripped up web in the vicinity.
Most of all...GOOD LUCK!!

[Colin D Wilson]

Certainly all looking good there Kate.

Good luck from me too

[Kate Arbon]

Great to hear Louise that's what I was hoping

I keep looking out for traces of web from the boy but none so far. I got all excited this morning cos I thought I heard drumming but it turned out to be crickets I think, lol.

I'm wondering if there is anything else I can do to encourage a sperm web from him. I've heard of some people going ahead with mating even if the male is 'firing blanks' because then he will make a sperm web afterwards, but I don't know how true that is. Worth a shot?

Also if he had made a web shortly before I got him would be still be good to go now? They can store it in their palps for quite a while I thought.

I don't mind being patient if I HAVE to, lol. If it's just a case of waiting a while because he's a bit older and doesn't make them so often then that's okay. But if I CAN encourage him to take an interest, that would be even better. The sooner I start mating attempts the better really. She's up for it now and I don't want her to lose interest!

[Kate Arbon]

OKay... did I say I was okay with being patient? Cos it turns out that was a lie, lol.

I looked up a video on youtube of tarantula drumming and that was exactly the noise I heard this morning. I also realised I've never heard crickets make a noise like that, and the reason I thought it WAS crickets was because I couldn't see my MM moving while the noise was happening. But I was looking at him from across the room and they don't actually move much. So I concluded that maybe it was him after all.

Sooo... I figured I'd see what happened if I opened their tanks up next to each other.




The answer... not a lot. She stayed in her hide cleaning and he hunkered down all freaked out cos I'd taken the lid off. They were like that for about 20 minutes. On the up side, while peering at him like a giant voyeur I did noticed the faintest trace of web in one corner of his tank, just a few short strands but enough to make me

Anyway after 20 minutes my saint-like patience ran out again, lol. So I scooped him up in a deli cup and put him in her tank. I put him on top of her hide, thinking that way she couldn't pounce straight on him and he could come round the long way and get into position.

He decided instead to charge straight down into the corner (the worst possible place I would have thought but I obviously don't think like a horny male spider!) Considering how shy and calm he's seemed since I got him I was quite surprised at the urgency with which he moved.

She turned round and stuck her head out her hide ('ello, who's this in my tank?) and he basically rugby tackled her head on. I nearly had a freaking heart attack. She seemed startled for a second but then sat back and let him do his thing!







He alternated from palp to palp, I was too busy with the camera to pay close attention but I saw atleast 3 inserts and at the rate he was going I reckon he could have got two or three times that many.

Towards the end she started to jerk back every time he made an insert but he kept going. I guess this was a no means no moment cos she kind of pushed him off her and hit him with her legs. He backed up in threat pose looking kind of guilty, lol. The second there was space I put my tongs between her fangs, and once it was clear she wasn't actually planning to pounce I quickly herded him back into the deli cup and put him back in his own tank. She stayed reared up for a few minutes. I'm not sure whether or not he was ever in danger. It's hard to tell what she was thinking, but she never actually went for him.






Now they are both settled down and cleaning themselves. I couldn't be happier with how it went, I'm so proud of them, lol.

I will keep feeding her up and wait to see if he makes more sperm webs, then try again in a few days or a week or so.

Thanks for all the positive vibes guys they seem to have worked

[Mark Pajak]

Your pictures are great! Are you using a special lense?

[Kate Arbon]

Thanks Mark. Nope no special lense, just quite a good camera for its age, and macro mode.

[Nicola Dolby]

Well done Kate,
hope you have egg sacs soon!

[James Box]

well that seemed to go well! great pics indeed good luck with the rest of the process to her and to you!

[Tom Forman]

Hiya Kate, excellent news there.

It really is nerve wrecking, I did tell you :P

Your scenario really reminds me of mine lol, I said I'd be patient too.

It might have been me you heard it from that males recharge after a successful mating. It's someting I have read in a T book but it did not happen in my case!

But finally, finally after 3 weeks and after giving the male a few egg crates to attach webbing to (don't know how crucial that was though) I have a perfect shining white web this morning.

I will attempt breeding one last time tomorrow and then leave the female be.

[Colin D Wilson]

One thing i (and a few others from chatting) tend to do (with Grammostola, particularly rosea) to encourage sperm web manufacture is to quite heavily moisten the males enclosure, 9 times out of ten it's an over night event !!

[Kate Arbon]

One thing i (and a few others from chatting) tend to do (with Grammostola, particularly rosea) to encourage sperm web manufacture is to quite heavily moisten the males enclosure, 9 times out of ten it's an over night event !!

Thanks for the tip. Louise recommended to me to give him damp substrate when he arrived and let it dry out. I don't know if I didn't make it damp enough or what. Still doesn't seem to be interested in making any webs. I will try your suggestion this evening and hope for some webbing tomorrow. Is there a limit on how soon they can recharge after mating?

[Louise~Nichols]

Congratulations on that lovely first mating Kate!! I'd maybe guess that your lil fella had already made a web before you got him, and it could be upto 14 days before you see him making another web now, although *Gangly Griff* recharged himself just 6 days from mating when I re-damped his enclosure.
With the boys I often use a heavier substrate or vermiculite to mix in with the coir just to increase water retention, not in major amount, 6 cups of coir to 1 cup of clean, decontaminated topsoil or vermiculite. As far as dampness goes for triggering the web, it should be damp enough to make a nice ball when you squeeze it, and no drips should run off. The soil ball should also crumble easily...generally if you hit that balance you know that it isn't too wet to create problems with fungus/mould, but is moist enough to give the desired results.
You're doing really well, I'm cheering you on from here!!