"May all the holes in your path hold large hairy spiders."
~Stanley Schultz
Wolf Spider - Zig Zag
Brazilian Black - Drew
Web designers: Courtney & Erik Honer
Copyright 2010 all rights reserved
Curly Hair Tarantula - Owen
Aviculara aviculara slings - 'Pink Toe' tarantulas
Wolf spider with slings
Aviculara aviculara sling- her toes will be pink
Costa Rican Zebra
Chaco Golden Knee - King Midas
Brachypelma boehmei - Lucy
Costa Rican Tiger Rump - Gondor
Green Bottle Blue - Noel
Spiders use silk to make homes.
Striped Bark Scorpion
Skeleton Tarantula - Keith
Erik and I had a Goliath Bird Eater who went through a bad molt. Her fangs didn't molt all the way, leaving her unable to eat. I made cricket soup 3 times a week to use to force feed the tarantula for over a month. If the tarantula had molted again, she probably would have been able to eat without assistance. Sadly, however, she died 7 weeks after her bad molt.
This is a tarantula's molt. The white spots on the abdomen are the booklungs. All spiders have booklungs, but tarantula's booklungs aren't as developed as the booklungs in true spiders. Tarantulas cannot move and breathe at the same time, while true spiders can.
BREEDING TARANTULAS
Breeding tarantulas is tricky. Male tarantulas can be in grave danger during mating, because the female may attempt to eat him! It also takes a LONG time before you have slings. It can take as long as 2 YEARS! The female waits until conditions are just right for her before she has an egg sac. If you are lucky enough to have slings, you will be separating up to 2000 babies into deli containers! These slings are tiny. Slings are fed flightless fruit flies for up to two years.
Molting
Tarantulas flip over on their backs and slowly push out of their old skin. This is called molting. Sometimes it takes a few hours. This is Courtney's Mexican Red Rump tarantula named Liberty.
Many taratula keepers, including my mom at first, think their tarantula is dead when they find it on its back. My mom almost tossed out my first tarantula when she thought it had died! If a tarantula is on its back, it is molting. Get a camera ready! It's a great time to start taking pictures. There are many stages to molting and all are interesting.
After molting, the tarantula will stay on its back for a while. Do not disturb the tarantula for about a week after molting, since its exoskeleton is fragile. Also wait before feeding your tarantula to give its fangs time to harden. After tarantulas molt, they are very colorful and vivid! ~Courtney
** Remember if your tarantula is on its back, it is molting!**
SPIDERS
SCORPIONS
All scorpions glow (fluoresce) when under a blacklight. They have an enzyme on their exoskelton that continues to glow after the scorpion is dead. Scorpion fossils even glow! You can buy a scorpion hunting flashlight and go on a scorpion hunt. Scorpions, like other arachnids, eat many harmful insects.
Desert Hairy Scorpion
South African Flat Rock Scorpion
Flat Rock Scorpion -( juvenile )
African Emperor Scorpion
South African Tri-colored Scorpion
Spiders use their fangs to catch and kill their prey. Because spiders inject toxins with their fangs, they are venomous. Poisonous animals have to be touched or eaten for toxins to be delivered.
Arachnids
* two body parts
* four pairs of legs
* exoskeleton
* no wings
* no antennae
Arachnids are spiders, scorpions, mites (including chiggers), ticks, and harvestmen. Harvestmen are commonly known as "Daddy Long Legs."
African Emperor Scorpions - The scorpion on the right recently
shed its skin and will darken as its exoskeleton hardens.
Emperor Scorpion shed skin
Tarantulas vs. True Spiders
Arachnids, like scorpions and spiders, don't fossilize well. Because of this, scientists disagree on the evolution of these critters. All spiders that are not tarantulas are called "true spiders." Many scientists believe tarantulas are ancestors to true spiders, since true spiders are more advanced in many ways. Some true spiders are: Black Widows, Wolf Spiders, and Jumping Spiders. The most obvious difference between tarantulas and true spiders can be seen in the fangs. Tarantulas have fangs that point downward, while true spiders have fangs that oppose each other.
All of the systems in true spiders are more developed than those in tarantulas. For example, because of a more advanced respiratory system, true spiders can move and breathe at the same time. This helps true spiders move faster and cover more distance without stopping. Tarantulas cannot breathe while they are moving. They have to stop for short periods to catch their breath. Tarantulas and true spiders all have booklungs to help them breathe, but the tarantulas' booklungs are far less advanced.
The brains of true spiders are also more developed than those in tarantulas. Portia Jumping Spiders are true spiders and are very intelligent. Through many tests, scientists have discovered that these interesting critters can actually think and solve problems. During one of the tests, researchers put a Portia Jumping Spider in a room with another true spider, an Orb Weaver. Portia Jumping Spiders only eat other spiders. The reaserchers created a problem. They set up a barricade so the Portia Jumping Spider could not reach the Orb Weaver. The Portia Jumping Spider would have to problem solve in order to reach the other spider. The reaserchers created a solution, a dog with a mechanical walker. The dog walked laps around the room twice passing the Portia Jumping Spider and the Orb Weaver. On the third lap, the Portia Jumping Spider jumped on the dog and rode around the room. When the dog reached the Orb Weaver, the Portia Jumping Spider jumped off and ate the Orb Weaver!
Scientists continue to study the similarities and differences between tarantulas and true spiders. The more we understand about these critters, the more we can appreciate them!
Special tongs are used to hold the female back so the male can escape.
feeding slings
Rose Hair tarantula protecting her egg sac
These Mexican Red Rump tarantulas were bred in Dec. 2010, and almost a year later, there is still no egg sac.
