Mysterious egg sac?

Denn

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HI, this is my first post on these boards, My name is Den :') Can't believe I hadn't made an account here before! but yeah, I've kept tarantulas now for 9 years and have had a wide variety of species :)

Right, now this is the reason as to why I am deciding to make a post.

I have kept an AF H. lividum for 2 years now.

When I purchased her she was an unsexed WC specimen, due to her more bulky larger size of that of her species, as well as being provided with her latest molt, she was fairly easy to sex.

Right, well 2 days ago now, I decided to carefully dig up her burrow to give her tank a complete make over, as she had been using the same 6 inches of substrata for 2 years, and to my surprise I found an egg sac :O

I am fully aware that tarantulas once mated can hold on to the seaman for quite some time, for use when creating an egg sac, but 2 years?!?!?!?

I carefully removed the sac from the burrow, and used tweezers to carefully open it just to see whether it was a food parcel, egg sac or what, and it was indeed an egg sac containing 51 very healthy looking eggs, as well as 1 black shrivelled one of which I disposed of.

The others I put in my incubator, and will give it at least 2 months before I dispose of them, or if I'm lucky enough, will separate them into individual pill jars..... but I really would like your opinions on this mysterious egg sac!

Throughout my 9 years of keeping T's I have never once seen something like this..... certainly not 2 YEARS after the tarantula was first purchased...... and even then........ the store had been holding on to her for a good few months before I purchased her anyway.

So yeah.

Discuss please?
 

billopelma

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Assuming she has molted in the past 2 years, you have what is commonly known as a 'phantom' egg sac, and it's infertile.
If she was wild caught and hasn't molted, well then, you never know...

Bill
 

Prometheus

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Assuming she has molted in the past 2 years, you have what is commonly known as a 'phantom' egg sac, and it's infertile.
If she was wild caught and hasn't molted, well then, you never know...

Bill
Exactly what I was thinking ;)
 

Denn

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Assuming she has molted in the past 2 years, you have what is commonly known as a 'phantom' egg sac, and it's infertile.
If she was wild caught and hasn't molted, well then, you never know...

Bill

I thought this myself, but she hasn't molted once since I've had her :| which is also fairly unusual I guess.
 

catfishrod69

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Being H. lividum, she could have molted, then shredded her molt and incoperated it into the walls of her tunnel. I would still keep the eggs incubating just incase. Would be very cool if you got some babies soon. Keep us updated.
 

grayzone

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still .. 2 yrs is CRAZY. I suppose, seeing how it hasnt molted, that it COULD be possible...IF you fed her the BARE MINIMUM, and kept her at sub par temps, but not likely. Im still gonna assume its a "phantom sack" until you prove otherwise.
 

jbm150

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Being H. lividum, she could have molted, then shredded her molt and incoperated it into the walls of her tunnel. I would still keep the eggs incubating just incase. Would be very cool if you got some babies soon. Keep us updated.
This is true, I've had em where they basically grind their molts into substrate. I'll find like a fragment of a carapace or leg and thats the only way I know it molted :/ Most likely it's a dud sac (had my first recently as well) but you never know....
 

Denn

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Being H. lividum, she could have molted, then shredded her molt and incoperated it into the walls of her tunnel. I would still keep the eggs incubating just incase. Would be very cool if you got some babies soon. Keep us updated.
Ahhh this is a possibility I guess! She has been my longest molter so far out of a collection of 23 T's -.- I will keep the eggs a month or so to see if they develop, and will keep you's updated on the situation :)

still .. 2 yrs is CRAZY. I suppose, seeing how it hasnt molted, that it COULD be possible...IF you fed her the BARE MINIMUM, and kept her at sub par temps, but not likely. Im still gonna assume its a "phantom sack" until you prove otherwise.
I offer her 2 large crickets and a morio worm a week, she seems to be a very fussy eater, she rarely eats, but has constantly appeared healthy so it hasn't bothered me, I know from experience fasting is nothing to panic about :') I tend to keep her at about 82'F during the day, dropping down to about 75'F at night! I keep her on the same humidity as I do my P. regalis, so I do try to replicate her natural climate as much as possible! I didn't hold back with the depth of the substrate either so she has the chance to make a nice burrow system, she always seems happy enough :)
 

grayzone

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well, ill cross my fingers for ya. On a side note*** Ive read that once a female produces a sac, that she'll molt within a cpl. months. I wonder if its the same for a "phantom sac"
 

grayzone

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no? thanks for clarifying then chad.. I was gonna ask that question in my pairing thread, but now i know
 

creepa

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As far as i know Haplopelma's dont lay duds and have a verry long gestation period.
So keep your fingers crossed!
 

grayzone

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not arguing with you creepa, but where do you get that info? is it based on your experience or... Id just like to know if theres a website with PROOF, not only for Haplos, but for all ts. id like to see what im in store for with some of my ts. The breeding reports here are informative, but there is tons stating WAY different timeframes (based on other genera/sp)
 

billopelma

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As far as i know Haplopelma's dont lay duds and have a verry long gestation period.
I have an H. sp. vonwirthi/vietnam that has been in my care through many molts, has never been mated and produced a sac last year.




Bill
 

catfishrod69

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Those beautiful legs, and that big plump pretty sac, too bad it wasnt fertile.
I have an H. sp. vonwirthi/vietnam that has been in my care through many molts, has never been mated and produced a sac last year.
 

billopelma

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Don't feel bad or be sorry, there's a good reason she's never been mated. I'm have a feeling this isn't a species you could move a lot of slings of, I'd likely still be feeding 50 of the things (like the horde of P. sp. 'platyomma' and obt's I'll probably have forever).
As much as I like them, I'll pass on that...

Bill
 

grayzone

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why cant ya move the plattys? How much are they.. id like to get into that genus

---------- Post added 04-16-2012 at 03:15 PM ----------

genera... my bad
 

wesker12

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Don't feel bad or be sorry, there's a good reason she's never been mated. I'm have a feeling this isn't a species you could move a lot of slings of, I'd likely still be feeding 50 of the things (like the horde of P. sp. 'platyomma' and obt's I'll probably have forever).
As much as I like them, I'll pass on that...

Bill
I assumed P. platyomma was a established species?
 

creepa

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I have an H. sp. vonwirthi/vietnam that has been in my care through many molts, has never been mated and produced a sac last year.




Bill
I guess i was wrong there then..., I never heard of a Haplopelma laying a dud.
But this confirms it.
 
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