Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 9:39 pm Post subject: Male P. metallica finally molted -- Warning: big pictures
I 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!) _________________ "Tarantulas are friends, not food" (but I bet they taste pretty good with butter and lemon!)
Last edited by Celeste on Mon Jun 01, 2009 5:57 pm; edited 1 time in total
Hopefully.....
how long ago did your female molt? _________________ “Look down at me and you see a fool;
look up at me and you see a god;
look straight at me and you see yourself.”
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. _________________ "Tarantulas are friends, not food" (but I bet they taste pretty good with butter and lemon!)
I think I remember reading somewhere that they don't have hooks. _________________ "Paranoia driving me insane; Paranoia ripping through my brain; Paranoia making me believe; Paranoia, that somebody's after me!"
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!) _________________ "Tarantulas are friends, not food" (but I bet they taste pretty good with butter and lemon!)
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. _________________ "Tarantulas are friends, not food" (but I bet they taste pretty good with butter and lemon!)
Last edited by Celeste on Tue Jun 02, 2009 6:02 pm; edited 2 times in total
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. _________________ "Tarantulas are friends, not food" (but I bet they taste pretty good with butter and lemon!)
I hope to see some metallicas in the future.... _________________ “Look down at me and you see a fool;
look up at me and you see a god;
look straight at me and you see yourself.”
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!) _________________ "Tarantulas are friends, not food" (but I bet they taste pretty good with butter and lemon!)
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cool Celeste!!!
at the genital wart picture. So who has clicked on the ad?
