new regalis sac! question about brood sizes..

What seems to be the average brood size for you all? Ive seen breeding reports of 50-130 pretty commonly, my first sac, which i messed up by drowning many of them, had about 170, this one has like 191 good ewl. Pictures below. I rarely breed tarantulas so I am pretty proud of the size of the sac. Any enviornmental conditions I must have replicated correctly! I just thought I would share and try to get any additional advice that I could

Her first brood i kept back are doing great in a communal. 9 total. 5 males 4 females all from 2.5-4"!

1. Hollow cork log tube
2. 3-4" of moist coco
3. Misted 2-3 times a week, waterdish kept filled, restricted ventillation
4. Male cohabbed for 2 weeks
5. Temps averaged 70-72.
6. Fed as many large dubia as she would eat.
7. Kept at about 1 ft above ground, 5 feet from my floor (i live in a split level)

Only advice i can offer man, is once the slings molt to 1st instar, move them ontly slightly moist coco fiber. Once every few days to a week, lightly mist the substrate. This will allow them to drink, and get their internal moisture levels ready for the next molt. I do this most of the time, but recently didnt with irminia. Well the irminia had some molting probelms when molting to 2nd instar.

catfishrod69 said:

Only advice i can offer man, is once the slings molt to 1st instar, move them ontly slightly moist coco fiber. Once every few days to a week, lightly mist the substrate. This will allow them to drink, and get their internal moisture levels ready for the next molt. I do this most of the time, but recently didnt with irminia. Well the irminia had some molting probelms when molting to 2nd instar.

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See thats how i drowned them the last time, by placing on moist coco. why is this better than keeping in the incubator?

catfishrod69 said:

Only advice i can offer man, is once the slings molt to 1st instar, move them ontly slightly moist coco fiber. Once every few days to a week, lightly mist the substrate. This will allow them to drink, and get their internal moisture levels ready for the next molt. I do this most of the time, but recently didnt with irminia. Well the irminia had some molting probelms when molting to 2nd instar.

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I put my EWL's & 1st instars on slightly moist paper towels inside a 16 deli cup, with one of those lids with holes and fabric covering them (cheesecloth?). This lets a little air exchange that prevents mold/mildew and prevents flies from getting in. I give them a very light mist very 2 or 3 days. I don't like them to be totally dry.

For me, a big Poec sac is 150+. 191 is very big and probably due to all those dubias. A young female may get 75 or less.

I keep mine warmer than his 70-72 degrees, I don't like them that cool, slows down development. In the summer, mine are 90 degree days and 8o degree nights (not totally by choice) and they develop FAST. I see no point whatsoever in letting a male cohabitate for two weeks. In one night he's done what he's going to do, and if you want a re-pairing, do it for one night the following week. Extended visits significantly increase the chance of him getting eaten. And in most cases, there is no backup, so if the female sheds before laying eggs (common in captivity), you've shot yourself in the foot and guaranteed you won't get any slings.

I also remove the water bowl once a sac is laid. Earlier this year an ornata disposed of her sac full of EWL's in her water bowl and drown them all. I won't let that happen again. I recommend you don't risk it either.

In communals, take the males out as juveniles. Their sisters have a tendency to kill them as they mature. Too much confusion and chaos with a group of adult males and females.

I've also used the moist substrate method, seems to work for me on terrestrials/Avic/poecs arboreals, you don't need it heavily watered (just moist) so they can drink/obsorve through the skin, they lack the waxy layer they need until 1"+. Not an expert on all T's and eggsacs but what i've used before has worked with few EWL deaths, except ones that didn't hatch or eaten by others during setup changes.

Edit OP, poec54 has the best method, although i've not had problems using slightly moist substrate.

You must of had them too moist man. I had accidentily had a few too moist, and had some die. Best to just lightly mist, so they can get something to drink. Ive had better success doing it this way, than keeping them on dry coffee filters until 2nd instar.

gromgrom said:

See thats how i drowned them the last time, by placing on moist coco. why is this better than keeping in the incubator?

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Wow, that is a lot of slings. Great job!

Poec54 said:

I put my EWL's & 1st instars on slightly moist paper towels inside a 16 deli cup, with one of those lids with holes and fabric covering them (cheesecloth?).

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Would you be able to provide a picture or two? I guess pictures are not needed. It sounds like a very basic sent up. Do you mist the paper towel directly when it dries? I would assume a moist coffee filter is ok too. Maybe gromgrom's incubator set up (pictured above) but just keep the coffee filters moist? Thanks in advance.

Oh, gromgrom...Awesome and congratulations!

MrCrackerpants said:

Do you mist the paper towel directly when it dries? I would assume a moist coffee filter is ok too.

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When they're EWL's, I just mist the edges of the papertowel, as the slings are almost immobile and can't get water droplets off their bodies (which may cover their lung slits). I want the mist to boost humidity, I doubt they can drink yet. Once they're 1st instar, I'll mist the towels and slings both; they can move around and drink from wherever. These are light mists, never getting the paper towel too soggy.

To me, the big drawbacks to putting EWL's and 1st instars on substrate is the potential for mites and difficulty in house-cleaning. I like having a papertowel I can easy change if needed (due to black/dead eggs or slings). If mites are on the towel, they get tossed out too.

Once they're 2nd instar, I give them substrate and moist long fiber spagnum (to drink from).

Poec54 said:

When they're EWL's, I just mist the edges of the papertowel, as the slings are almost immobile and can't get water droplets off their bodies (which may cover their lung slits). I want the mist to boost humidity, I doubt they can drink yet. Once they're 1st instar, I'll mist the towels and slings both; they can move around and drink from wherever. These are light mists, never getting the paper towel too soggy.

To me, the big drawbacks to putting EWL's and 1st instars on substrate is the potential for mites and difficulty in house-cleaning. I like having a papertowel I can easy change if needed (due to black/dead eggs or slings). If mites are on the towel, they get tossed out too.

Once they're 2nd instar, I give them substrate and moist long fiber spagnum (to drink from).

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Thanks!

My methods aren't the only way to do things, but I want to share what I do, and most importantly, why I do it. Armed with that, I'm sure some people have improved on my methods, or at least modified them to fit particular situations. Some of what I've learned comes from trial and error, and some of it is from thinking things through. Do this long enough, and you'll eventually see just about everything that can go wrong. The drowned ornata EWL's was a heartbreak, they were plump and healthy.

Poec54 said:

My methods aren't the only way to do things, but I want to share what I do, and most importantly, why I do it. Armed with that, I'm sure some people have improved on my methods, or at least modified them to fit particular situations. Some of what I've learned comes from trial and error, and some of it is from thinking things through. Do this long enough, and you'll eventually see just about everything that can go wrong. The drowned ornata EWL's was a heartbreak, they were plump and healthy.

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I will most likely be using your method thank you!

Here are my regalis hitting 1st instar. I started transfering some to moist coco fiber, but im gonna wait until they all molt, then move the rest.