This month, as I update you all on each spider's progress, I'll also pop in some additional facts and figures about how that animal has been doing over the last year, and so we get a year-long overview of their lives so far...

 

We start today with 'the moulters'...

 

Yes indeed, 3 little spiders have moulted in my company this month, and one on Christmas day !

 

Legz, Poecilotheria fasciata is really getting very big now. If you'll remember, back in July she was a fairly wee 2 cm, and is now heading for more like 10cm now she is 8th instar. In the following video, we see her having just caught her first meal after moulting, and in the photo below, we see her an hour later, finishing off.

 

 

Note the wonderful irridescent colouring on her feet, and the adult colours coming through nicely. 

 

 

Also in the newly moulted category is little Boots, who, on Christmas day itself, I believe, emerged as a 1.3 cm 3rd instar spiderling, even more colourful than before. Here are a couple of photos of her. if it looks like there are too many legs on show, this is because her previous self is sitting just behind her, and confusing the view a bit. but here she is, in all her glory...

 

 

And again, but this time without the flash...

 

 

 

Now who else has done anything exciting ? Oh yes - little fluffy has been out and about after her last hiding episode. Eating well, and growing moreso, here she is, displaying the first we have really seen of her adult colours - ie the knee stripes.

 

 

in the 6 months or so i have had this spider she has grown from around 1 cm to where she is now, around the 7 cm mark.

And that's everyone who moulted this month ! 

 

Ginny up next, who, aside from eating well, isn't doing anything else of note. But that doesn't mean we can't have a nice pic of her doing exactly that... so here it is.

 

 

We seem to be on to the biggies now, so let's start as we mean to go on with a beautiful and somewhat rare top-down shot of young Binky, who is still 10th instar, but has grown 10 cm this year. 

 

 

And again, but from the rear. What a beautiful spider.

 

 

Before we leave the land of the big spiders this month - I did manage to capture a very fetching pose by ZBD, when I gave her a break from her diet, and popped 2 small crickets in for snacks. Here she is, looking suitably resplendent in a medium wide tank shot.

 

 

She has grown but an inch or 2 this year, and is now what an be described as an adult spider. My first, in fact to reach adulthood in my care ! No badness or aggression from her this month either, so i am assuming she too is content.

 

So, into arboreal land we head, and first up is young irminia, Tenebrus, who is vaguely more visible now she has established herself in her new tank. Here, we are lucky enough to watch her indecisively wandering about, assumedly deciding where is the best place to eat the cricket that she is carrying round. 

 

 

 

 And now we have an EVENT AND A HALF...

 

Still no pics of Flash this month (apologies), but I have more than made up for it by being as lucky as I was to have a night cam pointed at her as she chose to do this...

 

Hold on to your hats, as we see some directional avicularia poo action ! Ever wondered how spiders do their business - well - now we know, and have the exceptionally rare footage to prove it :) I'm not sure 'enjoy' is the right expression, but you know what I mean - over to you, young Flash...

 

 

Fantastic ! Always nice to see them doing something they don't do very often. Surprising fact of the day is that avicularia spiders do tend to use poo as a defence, and will accurately and forcefully eject it into the face of anything threatening them.

None of them have tried it with me yet, but then I don't threaten them, so why would they ?

 

So there's little Flash, eating, and pooing well. In the last year, she has been born, and grown in my care from around 0.5cm to around 4, which she is now. I watch her carefully, as we now entering  the realm of SSD (sudden sling death) which is where avics can just fall over and die on day, for no apparent reason. The riskiest period seems to be from 4th to 7th instar.  I hope my extra vigilance might help this not happen to her.

 

And that's everyone, I think, and certainly a feature-packed diary, so I shall wish you all a very happy and peaceful new year, and me and the girls will see you next month for another exciting report...

 

Possible species to come in the next year might include: Heteroscodra maculata (Togo Starburst), Avicularia purpurea (Ecuadorian Pink Toe), and possibly another poecilotheria of some description. All very exciting.

 

Take care, everyone...