Celeste
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Male P. metallica finally molted -- Warning: big picturesI can't tell if he has hooks or not. He's still scrunched in the corner with his exuvia (and too webbed-in to get a clear look or photo).
I'm keeping my fingers crossed. (And I know my female is, too!)
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WBurke17
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Hopefully.....
how long ago did your female molt?
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Celeste
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About two months ago.
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ftorres
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Hello,
Some of my females already molted too, so we can also try the pair them after your girl. Hopefully he is mature now
congrats
francisco
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balam
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 cool Celeste!!!
Let's hope he's ready to go...
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Herpetologyfrk
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I really hope he is mature now. I'd much rather get them from you than anyone else
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Celeste
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Herpetologyfrk: you win today's prize for the grossest Google ad:
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Ronin
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Hope he has matured Celeste. Good luck with the pairing. Looks like you may have a waiting list for his services and for slings. 
And  at the genital wart picture. So who has clicked on the ad?
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Herpetologyfrk
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Ahahaha that's great. I never click on ads ::lol::
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Celeste
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Is it possible that P. metallica males don't have hooks? I think I might have read something like that at one point.
Anyway, I can't see any hooks on him. But he is quite large now -- probably almost as big a leg span as the female, but nowhere near her weight (she's got some good weight on her right now).
I'll just wait and see if he charges his pedipalps and starts drumming. If not, then we may have another molt to go... I'll keep you posted.
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Herpetologyfrk
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I didn't think pokies had hooks, I could be wrong though...
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rosenkrieger
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I think I remember reading somewhere that they don't have hooks.
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ftorres
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Hello Celeste,
If you see Embolus in the pedipalps, it is a mature male.
The Genus Poeciloteria does not display any tibial hooks.
can you get us some pics of this newly molted guy????
Can I also see pics of how big your girl is???
thanks
francisco
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Celeste
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I just tried taking some pix through the glass and webbing, and they are just not turning out well at all... (too much backscatter from the webbing).
I will try to get them out of their enclosures and into a clear container I can try to photograph them through. (But you know how much fun it is herding Pokies!)
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ftorres
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HEllo All,
Celeste can I play??? Oh pick me!!! Oh pick me!!!!!
have fun and be carefull.
francisco
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Celeste
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O.K. -- they were as good as gold! Very docile and well-behaved. But very timid. I think getting these photos was very traumatic for them.
Female (on left) and Male (on right) in their adjoining condos:
Female in her condo:
Female in plastic container, scared out of her wits:
Closeup of Female in plastic container:
Female safely back in her home-sweet-home:
Male in plastic box, scared out of his wits:
Best ventral shot I could get of male:
Male safely back in his home-sweet-home:
It seems to me they are both out and about much more now -- I think they are looking for each other. But he can't have charged his pedipalps yet, and I haven't heard any drumming yet.
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ftorres
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Celeste,
Thanks for the Pics.
He is a nice mature boy.
Give him a couple weeks, good luck.
My females are about the same body size of the male o perhaps a little bit smaller.
I wonder is is a good idea to try breeding mine with your boy.
Congrats, lets start breeding these guys.
francisco
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Celeste
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Why not? You think he would eat your females?
Well, I'll feed him really well before introducing him to any females, and we can supervise the introduction to your females (assuming he doesn't get eaten by *my* female first!) ;-)
I didn't cohabit the regalises -- they spent all of about 2 minutes together, and mated right away.
He sure is a pretty boy, isn't he? I got him from Anastasia a little over a year ago.
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ftorres
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Hello Celeste,
He is Celeste he is.
I am more concern on the girls side, not really worried that the male could eat them, that doesn't happen in pokies.
So celeste let me know when he is available. I will start fatten my girls up.
regards
francisco
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noexcuse4you
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I'd say your girl looks gravid already. She probably just needs to be mated. When was her last molt?
Shine a bright flashlight under her booty and see if it glows. If it does, she's good to go!
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WBurke17
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I hope to see some metallicas in the future....
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Ronin
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Wish you all the luck in the world with these Celeste. Keep us posted.
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Celeste
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Man, this little guy is sure taking his sweet time! It has been *three weeks* since he molted.
He finally spun his sperm web last night:
It's really cool: I know you can't see it very well in this picture, but it's like a little kangaroo pouch, and he's tucked into it like a joey with his front legs or his pedipalps hanging over the edge (I can't tell which).
Both he and the female have been side-by-side against the partion between their two enclosures every night, so I know the female can't wait to meet him in person!
(We'll see what kind of sicko google ads the phrase "sperm web" prompts!)
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Ronin
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He's just trying to show the female that he's a gentleman that's why he has taken his time.
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elportoed
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Cool, good luck Celeste. I hope I can take another drive to you again to pick up some slings in the near future.
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Celeste
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Well, my retarded male finally started drumming tonight. I still can't see much in the way of sperm packets on his pedipalps, but maybe they are microscopic... (The ones on my male regalis last year were *huge*).
I coaxed him into the female's side of the enclosure, but he was so freaked-out he just sat hunkered down in the corner for a while. He eventually drummed for about a minute. The female did not respond (she was probably also freaked-out from me moving their enclosures into the bathtub for the transfer), so he gave up. They are still crouched down in their respective corners, not really taking an interest in anything (or each other) yet.
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Ronin
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Letting someone watch their act must not be their thing...yet.
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Celeste
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He finally started drumming again and looking for her. She lunged at him a few times, like she either wanted to drive him away or eat him. He was pretty persistent. But she was not drumming back at him or encouraging him in any way. So I herded him back into his own enclosure.
Hopefully, her attitude will improve. I'll watch and see if she shows any more interest in him, and maybe try again later this weekend.
BTW: I'm doing this introduction in a darkened room -- they seem too shy in bright light.
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Herpetologyfrk
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I have my fingers crossed, hopefully she changes her mind about him!
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ftorres
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Hello ALl,
Celeste, best of luck with them.
P metallica does not like bright lights, so a darkened room is great.
regards
francisco
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Celeste
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I think he may have scored tonight!
They were both out on the glass, close to each other but in their adjacent enclosures, so I thought I'd give it another try. I put the tank in the bathtub and coaxed him into her enclosure, and he started drumming immediately. She didn't drum, but was much more interested in him this time. She kept looking for him and reaching out to touch him very gently with her front legs, and didn't lunge at him like last time. After about 30 or 40 minutes of really tender courtship I *think* he may have succeeded. They came together reaching their front legs out very gently toward each other, and then there was a quick little scuffle and a thump and he backed off in a hurry.
Unfortunately, it was nearly pitch dark in the room, and they were behind her hide log at the time, so I couldn't see a darned thing, but it sounded promising.
She is now hunkered down in her hide log (where I can't get a good look at her), so I think that's a good sign, too! I put the male back into his own enclosure.
Keep your fingers crossed!!!
Francisco: I'll keep an eye on him to see if he recharges his pedipalps ('though honestly, I couldn't see much on them before). But we should try him out on your females soon. Let me know when you would like to give it a try. (Feed your girls really well first!)
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ftorres
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Hello Celeste,
I think that as soon as you see him recharge his palps try again with your girl.
Then we can try with my girls.
fingers crossed on these project Celeste, good luck.
francisco
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Celeste
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Well, by the time he is ready for your girls, he will really know what he is doing! He was so much more confident this second time. :-)
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ftorres
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Hello Celeste,
Here is M jacobi's quote on his experience with P metallica.
This will help everyone.
"The female was mated April to June with one of my own males while I was still in Nashville.
She was put into the cool room at 67F on August 22.
She was warmed to the upper 70s on October 5, produced a sac on November 8, and I removed it December 4 after 26 days. "
The postembryos are incubating at approximately 79F."
regards
francisco
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Celeste
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Hmmm... that's going to be difficult. There is no place in this house that is less than about 78F currently... And the metallicas are in the reptile room which is about 10 degrees warmer than that, even, during the day. I can get them into the low 70's in my son's room at night, but they'd still be upper 70's during the day.
In their natural environment, it would be Monsoon Season right now, so [I think] they'd be steamy hot and wet... maybe a tad cooler because of their elevation? After the Monsoon Season, the cool season starts in late summer/early fall as you indicated.
So I'll try moving her into my son's room in ~mid-August for a month or so...
She has not emerged from her hide log since they [possibly] mated on Monday night, so I think it may have been a success. She is usually out and about more. The male disappeared for a couple of days as well, and only just re-emerged last night, so he may have re-charged his pedipalps. He was out searching last night, and I don't think it was for *food*...!
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Ronin
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Looks to be like promising news Celeste. Can't wait to hear updates on your hopefully gravid female.
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ftorres
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Hello celeste,
It seems like your male was kind of rough on her!!!
I am not sure if i want to introduce the Beast to my my girls!!!!! 
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ftorres
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Hello All,
Celeste I have good and bad news about my P metallicas
The bad news I don't have 4 females any more. 
The good news I now have 2 males, one is mature and the other one is sub adult.
I will be pairing them soon.
francisco
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balam
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All "bad" news come wit something positive man. Good luck on those pairings
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Celeste
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Congratulations, Francisco (I think...?)! Good luck with them!
I'm kind of relieved, because I was worried about having to extract my nervous male from his secure little home and transport him to your house -- they are so timid!
This'll be interesting: we might get a lot more data on the best conditions for the females to produce a sac and produce babies.
Please keep us posted on the conditions you use, etc.
BTW: my male P. regalis is *still* alive and kicking! He molted out to adult in March 2008, and they mated in late March 2008, and he's still with us. He's not drumming or anything, and doesn't have any obvious sperm packets on his pedipalps, so I'm assuming he's not fertile (but I could be wrong...) I haven't re-introduced him to the female because I was giving her a break and letting her put on some weight. But I might try re-introducing them at some point if he stays out and active like he has been... The female regalis is looking good, and molted again a couple of months ago.
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Celeste
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I tried introducing them again last night, per Francisco's recommendation. The male drummed a little bit, but it seemed almost as if it was more of a "please don't eat me" kind of drumming, rather than a "Hey, Baby!" kind of drumming... (It was weaker and less enthusiastic than his drumming last time I introduced them). The female didn't respond at all, and stayed hunkered down next to her hide log, trying to look inconspicuous. The male drummed halfheartedly for a couple of minutes, and then found the entrance to the female's hide log and went inside it and hid. End of story. No nookie.
I removed the male and put him back in his own home-sweet-home again. (I don't want to risk cohabiting them).
But I'm thinkin' they did the deed last time anyway. (At least, I *hope* so!)
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Herpetologyfrk
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I hope, this would be awesome =]
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Ronin
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Hi Celeste - any updates on your girl? Changes in behavior, abdomen size, etc.? Thanks.
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Ronin
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Guess what? I got home today & found my P. metallica is now a mature male. He must have molted yesterday.
Something told me to check up on this thread. :-)
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noexcuse4you
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You guys, keep those things alive! My two girls should be ready next molt!
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ogershok
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I hope you guys produce about 400 metallica slings by Christmas. Oh yeah, I'll be down for a few.
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Celeste
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No noticeable changes yet. I was going to try to introduce them again this past weekend but didn't have time. Will try introductions again soon just to see if there is any further interest.
According to 'Cisco, I should start cooling the female soon if they *did* mate...
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Ronin
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Hey Kyle - that sounds great. How big are your females and when did they last molt?
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noexcuse4you
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Oh, sorry! Totally forgot about this thread.
Answer: They both molted about a month ago and are around 4". I think they might be ready to go next molt or, at the most, the molt after that. Tunedbeat used a male that was over a year old and he got a sack, so I think we have plenty of time!
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Ronin
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Good to know. Thanks Kyle.
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brachybaum
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Hi Celeste, where you did you get that rectangle plastic container that your female P. Metallica was in from?
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Celeste
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I think Francisco ordered them a year ago. Check with him.
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elportoed
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Hi Celeste, what's the update on the P metallica? Does she look gravid now?
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Celeste
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Nope. I have introduced them three times, and was fairly certain they mated at least two of those times. But she doesn't look any fatter.
Maybe she'll surprise me.
Francisco says I need to cool them down more, but I'd have to put them in the garage to get them any cooler than low 70's. (There's no place in my house colder than that).
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