Grammostola rosea with egg sac

[david clarke]

Hi all

I am very new to the Tarantula scene, and a new member of the BTS and would appreciate any advice that can be given. I bought my Chilean rose in November, from a reputable dealer. I originally had her on a substrate of bark chippings but noticed her to be very unsettled. I then changed her substrate to a compost generally used for ponds / aquariums. Generally loam, I think. She settled in well and seems to be a generally active spider. A little over 2 weeks ago, she started to build herself a cave annex to her hide. She then completely webbed the new cave and overnight had produced an egg sac. Before buying her, I had loved the idea of raising young T's and passing them on through the trade. However, I thought this was years ahead. Only 1 way to learn, I suppose, and I am very excited about what lies ahead. I have researched on the internet and got some very conflicting views.

If anyone could shed light on the few questions below, it would be much appreciated.

Is an un fertilized egg sac common?

How many eggs should I expect the sac to contain?

Will it be difficult to pass on such a common species?

At what age should I be looking to pass them on?

I fully intend to get involved in breeding, in the future, when I've learnt a lot more. I see this as a brilliant learning opportunity and any advice is welcomed.

Many thanks

David Clarke

[Mrs Linda Street]

Hi Dave and welcome to the BTS forum, you've certainly been thrown in at the deep end, at least you know you've got yourself a female. Phantom eggsacs do happen, perhaps the seller could confirm that she had in fact previously been mated, the Chilis are great T's especially for starters, they're easy to keep and robust. They prefer dry substrate, eco-earth (coco fibre) is probably the best substrate to use,but as she is now, don't disturb her, she's obviously made a home, just make sure there's a dish of clean water for her, some do offer food, I've found that some will feed whilst with a sac, and others won't so pop a cricket in now and again and see if she takes it, if not remove it, and basically leave her to get on with it. Keep us all updated

[david clarke]

Hi Linda, thanks for the response. No problem feeding this girl!!!! If you were to keep offering food she would eat it. The seller was, unfortunately, unable to confirm whether, or not, she had been mated. Won't be too long 'till I find out though. I'll keep the thread up to date as things progress and hopefully catch a few photos to share.

[Peter Roach]

99 .9% of all adult chiles for sale in the Uk are WC so there is no reason why she couldnt have been gravid when bought, as Grammostola's can mate this year and lay eggs next year.
I would now leave her totally alone apart from changing the water once a week.
Put a newspaper or cloth over the tub and DO NOT DISTURB.

[Aragorn Davies]

When i read this thread, i though i was having a deja vous, i posted almost exactly the same thing a couple of months ago! dude all i can advocate from the experience is exactly what peter said ,,,DO NOT DISTURB HER,,,that is, i believe, the single reason why my rosea left her eggsac,,she was disturbed to much!!!...let her be...mother knows best n all that....i am totally rootin for ya with this as i was unfortunate that the sac mine produced wasn't viable...dude i did loads of research on the net and the information is not very specific or detailed for this sp specifically although there is loads of info generally, had some great advice from some peeps on this and other forums though, ya just cant beet experience so that was a good help. You might also want to look into making an incubator just incase...re ya questions

1, i don't believe its common at all, although not improbable, as linda said phantom sacs do happen!!..

2, in the sac my female Grammy produced there was about 250 eggs, what the average is for the Grammostola Rosea, i don't know, i do know that some T's produce like 1000 eggs or more while the T Blondi can be as little as 50....

3, Not sure but i suspect not if your reasonable about the price you wish to sell them on for, i wouldn't be surprised if you end up giving some away lol

4, again not sure, maybe 2nd instar at a guess,,someone with more experience please chime in?


And your absolutely right about learning, its a fantastic opportunity to study these creatures in a way other than just looking at them as pets, and you get so much more from them by doing it, it helps to develop a greater understanding thus hopefully improving your husbandry of them....as a result of being in exactly the same position as you are in now, i have acquired a male Grammy and have managed to pair my couple, so all i have to do know is wait.....being Grammies that could be a long wait lol...............
all the very best, keep us posted!!

[Simon Brown]

Hi

congratulations on the sac, same thing happened to me a while back

in answer to your question number 3 you may well struggle to get rid of them due to them being a very slow grower (one i have is 2 years old and just over an inch and a half) and bearing in mind a full grown adult can be picked up at under £20 all of which are readily available

But saying that, Lee at the spider shop was very interested in G rosea slings a while back (amongst other commonly bred varieties like L parahybana so may well take the lot off your hands as well as offer his experience.

Best of luck

[Mark Pennell]

Hi David

Is an un fertilized egg sac common? - This species as with many others in the right conditions and abundant food, produce phantom egg sacs
However being wild caught and not molted in your posession, this should be treated as viable until proven otherwise - good luck

How many eggs should I expect the sac to contain? - how long is piece of string, totally variable maybe 100 to 300+

Will it be difficult to pass on such a common species? - considering exports from Chile are now finally closed, we need to captive breed all the Chilean species, so hopefully you'll have some success.. there a great species and really would to see viable breeding programs for these.

At what age should I be looking to pass them on? - they should be at least feeding and at least a moult or two behind them, might be worth raising them and releasing in batches of sizes..


Wish you the very best of luck, and hope all goes well.

Mark

[david clarke]

Hi Guys

Many thanks for all the advice. Chatting on the forum here has certainly put my mind at rest. I shall keep you posted, along with any other questions I have.

Thanks again
David

[david clarke]

She has left the egg sac and won't return!!! She has been sitting at the opposite side of her enclosure for approx 48hrs. I inspected the egg sac, and found that one side was a little gungy ( not sure if that's a word! ) and pretty stuck to the substrate. I've removed, and opened, the egg sac to find around 30 black and sticky eggs. I've now removed them and placed the good eggs in bun cases in a cricket container and placed it back in her enclosure. In the container I've placed a couple of damp cotton balls, to maintain humidity. At a rough count, she has 200 eggs.

Have I done the right thing?

Are they now, not likely to hatch?

I wasn't expecting this and my excitment is slowly turning to worry. When she had the egg sac she was very defensive, and now, is happy to sit there, beside my hand, while I change her water. Back to her normal, docile behaviour. I want to give the eggs every chance possible.

Please advise.

Thanks
David

[K Smith]

Theres vids on you tube regarding artificial incubation. Just type that in and all the info youl need is there on what you need to do from now on till they hatch.. Thats if theyr viable. You can but try... All the best anyway!

[david clarke]

Thanks dude. Had a look on Youtube and tryin' my best. I'm pretty much reacting at the mo, instead of pro acting. Steep learning curve though. Keeping me busy.

All exciting!

Thanks
David