Another adult male Ctenolophus, almost...

[jeff h]

Well, I was excited about one of my immature males molting....
Unfortunately, it died just before or while trying to molt. What caused it's death I do not know.


I removed some skin on the pedipalps to expose the palpal organs.

[Widowman10]

well dang, sorry bout that... those are some pretty cool pics though:clap:

[jeff h]

Red Ctenolophus male 3 after a recent molt.
The first male in other post lost a leg and died the next day some time ago, so nothing ever happened with him.
Male 2 pictured above. Males 4 and 5 are still subadults and should molt during the next couple of months.
The black Ctenolophus subadult male I had suffered the same fate as the one above.



Thanks, Widowman.

[What]

Any idea what is leading to their death? It seems they are having issues molting, so maybe more humidity?

[dtknow]

Maybe they are not getting enough water...which may be delivered to their burrows in the wild somehow? Or perhaps the substrate used means that burrow humidity is not as high as in the wild?

[jeff h]

I don't believe it was dehydration or humidity levels. I have seen these spiders kept in poor conditions (bone dry peat) by importers/wholesalers, yet the sated imports successfully molt. On the other hand, when water is added (not flooded, but damp), it often results in fungus on the spider due to poor air circulation. In well maintained captive conditions however, fungus usually isn't an issue.

I currently have five mature female reds four mature female blacks that are doing great, and my longest lived red lasted six years after I purchased her as a large adult, and I don't know how long she was around previously. Anyway, I believe my current temp/humidity conditions are adequate, but not perfect. I have no idea what the specifics of their natural environment are.

My only 'mystery' problems have been with those two males so far, and I hope it stays that way. My next problem will be trying to find another male black...

[jeff h]

Left the male alone for a week and a half after molt. During this time he somehow managed to lose a palp.

Next step was to introduce to a female.
After building a small retreat with a trapdoor the night I introduced him to the female's enclosure, there was finally evidence of recent activity after appearing to remain in the retreat for two weeks. Now I have no idea if he came out at night looking for a mate when I was sleeping, but every time I checked he was in his retreat, day and night.

Ideally copulation took place the night of the introduction. If so, by now he definitely would have been perceived as prey rather than a mate.

Pictures of male 3, his retreat, and his current condition.

[Johnnyster]

Wow, very impressive, and great pictures. Good luck! :worship:

[jeff h]

Thanks, Johnnyster.
I sure hope he was more than just a meal.

[jeff h]

As it turned out, the male above was nothing more than a meal.

My last subadult male shed the other day, and it is still a subadult, meaning it was most likely at the antepenultimate instar. I'm pretty sure it is a subadult now due to it's large size though, and he is larger than most of my previous adult males.

I can't be the only one out there (on AB at least) with male African reds. Some of you other keepers should have some..... It sure would be nice to see someone's 2nd instar images down the road, because I'm sure having a hell of a time with trying to breed Idiopids!

Here are some more images that will help sex immature male reds, and a couple misc images.
The most obvious feature for sexing an immature male is the genital opening.

[froggyman]

impressive photos

[jeff h]

Thanks, froggyman.


A red Ctenolophus captive natural history note:
Adult females are capable of expelling excrement up to 78 inches from their burrow entrances. (at least one of my females)

I noticed some crap on my bed and at first thought maybe it came from the ceiling. A closer look revealed it was in fact crap. The splatter ranged from
60" to 78" from the culprits burrow. That combined with flinging their prey remains certainly aid in concealing their location from potential predators in a natural environment.

[jeff h]

The male above molted on Oct. 28th. The largest (LS 70mm, CL 11mm, BL 24mm) and darkest one I've seen. Hopefully I'll get some results out of this one unlike my previous attempts.
I placed him with a female a day after she molted two days ago. He entered it's burrow that night, and was back out the next morning, so maybe something happened.

Coloration of the male above now and few days after molt.

[j.everson23]

That is a really pretty spider!

[MaartenSFS]

This is a very informative post. I really wish that I could be able to get my hands on some trapdoors. You're doing great things for the hobby. I commend you. :worship:

[What]

Congrats on the male! Nice to finally have someone with a healthy adult male.

[jeff h]

Thanks, Marteen. Hopefully this thread will be useful to others who have the red Ctenolophus and are interested in breeding them. Unfortunatley these things are common and there is not a high demand for them, but captive bred is always better than wild caught.

What, all the previous adult male reds started out healthy, they just kind of self destructed in one way or another...

[syndicate]

Wow looks at that male!Very nice Jeff!Don't know how I missed this thread :X
Best luck with the mating.I agree it would be very cool to see some of the around as CB!
-Chris