Crazy find in my lateralis tub

catfishrod69

catfishrod69

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Well to start this off, in the beginning of September 2013 i had around 670 B. vagans slings get out of an incubator through vent holes. http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?217014-did-some-pairing-last-night/page38 Post #562 shows the culprits. I only caught around 179 of them! Some got eaten by house spiders, the rest dissapeared.

Fast forward to 11-26-14. I was doing some routine feeding/watering, and was using my lateralis as feeders at the moment. Well the feeders were being very uncooperative, and running down inside egg flats that i hardly ever have to dig out. This time i decided to dig out all the flats, and scare up all the lateralis, to get some spooked back to the side that i normally feed from. When i was done with a handful of flats, i laid them back down in the spot where they are always at. Then i noticed something on that set of flats that looked akward. Looked like a big black spot, like a cocoon or something. I know there is a female hacklemesh weaver that stays in with my lateralis, and i just leave her there, but this was different. So i picked up that set of flats for a closer look. As soon as the object came close enough for me to see what it was, i knew exactly what it was.



This little squirt is about 1.5-2", super plump, and in premolt. You can even see a previous molt right next to it. Looks like im gonna have to snag that molt and try to sex it. Crazy that this thing has lived with over 1K lateralis for over a year, and has not been demolished mid molt.
 
Beary Strange

Beary Strange

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That's really cool. Hopefully it's a female so the little survivor is with you a long time. Did you check the rest of the tub or your other roaches to see if more were in those as well? It kind of makes sense, with the food source and all.
 
lucarelli78

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That story reminds me of Homer Simpson getting the job as the beer inspector and swimming around in the vats of beer. Talk about a happy tarantula. Or is it one of those cases where the cockroaches took in the tarantula and raise it as their own and now you've got a spider that thinks its a Roach? He's probably dealing with all kinds of internal emotional struggles, having to feed off of his brothers and sisters while cohabitating with them, you might look into getting him a good shrink.
 
cold blood

cold blood

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That t was definitely powerfed....lol.

Amazing story catfishrod, who'da thunk it?
 
problemchildx

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That is awesome. Sorry to hear about the sac though. =/

I think he/she will be a keeper :)
 
A

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This is fantastic. I really enjoy seeing posts like this because it drives home the fact that tarantulas can take care of themselves and don't require the over analyzed care regime that most people use.
 
catfishrod69

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I havent checked the dubia colony yet. But will probably do that soon. Im not sure if ill keep this one or not though, because in the spring im going to downsize some new worlds, and vagans are definitely a species that one is enough of. Im wondering if the lateralis treat the vagans as if its their "Kong", and give it sacrifices to appease it? And over a year with absolutely no water, definitely shows how tarantulas dont need us to overthink everything for them.
 
lucarelli78

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catfishrod69 said:
And over a year with absolutely no water, definitely shows how tarantulas dont need us to overthink everything for them.
Click to expand...
Well said sir. Everyone is always saying how important a water dish is to the tarantulas survival. How big was it after a year in the roach colony? Was the size comparable to one kept normally?
 
cold blood

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One could argue that it had water available, but in the form of a never-ending supply of fat roaches. Power-feeding like it almost certainly did would easily reduce, if not replace the need for water...as this little guy proves. T's get a significant amount of moisture from their prey, but I certainly don't see this as an indictment against the need for a water bowl. :wink:
 
pyro fiend

pyro fiend

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catfishrod69 said:
I havent checked the dubia colony yet. But will probably do that soon. Im not sure if ill keep this one or not though, because in the spring im going to downsize some new worlds, and vagans are definitely a species that one is enough of. Im wondering if the lateralis treat the vagans as if its their "Kong", and give it sacrifices to appease it? And over a year with absolutely no water, definitely shows how tarantulas dont need us to overthink everything for them.
Click to expand...
better check those dubias.. if not in 2-3 yrs youl hear some random drumming or find a nice lil juv fem roaming around your bin lmao but he/she MUST have been their kong, isnt that an oothica right beside it? ;P multiple sacrifices to please the mighty kong!
 
catfishrod69

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I havent measured it or anything, but guessing 1.5-2". Its still in the roach tub lol. I havent decided on to take it out, or leave it in longer just to see what happens. I didnt keep any of the sacmates, because the whole sac was spoken for. I rounded up all that i could possibly find, and they got shipped out. But this little creature made it from 2nd instar.
lucarelli78 said:
Well said sir. Everyone is always saying how important a water dish is to the tarantulas survival. How big was it after a year in the roach colony? Was the size comparable to one kept normally?
Click to expand...


---------- Post added 11-30-2014 at 08:22 AM ----------

I would definitely say the roaches kept it alive both by food and moisture.
cold blood said:
One could argue that it had water available, but in the form of a never-ending supply of fat roaches. Power-feeding like it almost certainly did would easily reduce, if not replace the need for water...as this little guy proves. T's get a significant amount of moisture from their prey, but I certainly don't see this as an indictment against the need for a water bowl. :wink:
Click to expand...


---------- Post added 11-30-2014 at 08:24 AM ----------

Lol yeah im going to. That is a oothecae right in front of the vagans. And if you look closely, right between the spiders front legs, and the molt, there is a bolus :).
pyro fiend said:
better check those dubias.. if not in 2-3 yrs youl hear some random drumming or find a nice lil juv fem roaming around your bin lmao but he/she MUST have been their kong, isnt that an oothica right beside it? ;P multiple sacrifices to please the mighty kong!
Click to expand...
 
pyro fiend

pyro fiend

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Haha wow i knew you said you was gona leave him in there for a bit but dang didnt think you was a man of u word there lmao.

Can i place a reservation for this gal(if gal) for when u finally remove it? XD after such a great story behind it i kinda want it bahaha (sry im greedy n selfish lol)
 
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MrCrackerpants

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Super cool and thanks for sharing. I had this happen with a large number of Lasiodora parahybana (Brazilian Salmon Pink Birdeater Tarantula) babies. They got out last summer and I am still finding them in different enclosures.
 
mmfh

mmfh

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It is truly amazing at how resilient they are. This is why they have survived for so long :)
 
klawfran3

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Woah wow. This is absolutely amazing! My questions is if he is bigger than his siblings, what with having a never ending food supply and all.

I was reading this thread and laughin with each post. I'm amazed to see this spider is doing so awesomely! Can we get any more pictures if he's set up a little nest or something? It's hard to believe he's been undisturbed every molt so far.
 
S

SammyBoy

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This is fantastic, I'm glad you left it in for a while. I've still got my fingers crossed for slings that have escaped in my apartment; hoping to find them thriving someday. Although I've let the house spiders proliferate to the point that no sling would have a chance to even make it to the feeder bin.
This is truly a fantastic accidental experiment you have going on there. I'm looking forward to more pics.
 
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