Hello again, and welcome to this month's spider diaries !

Today has brought with it some exciting news - me and the girls have a new little friend to join the rest of them ! Indeed, spider no 5 arrived this morning, and marks the first tarantula I get to look after that is not terrestrial...

 

 

'Legs' (which is what she's called til I name her properly) is a baby Poecilotheria fasciata, or Sri Lankan ornamental Tree Spider.

Poecilotheria are some of the most strikingly beautiful tarantulas, often with bright blue, purple, and yellow bands on their legs, and a unique white chevron down their backs.

(S)he is currently 2 cm across, and 3rd instar (has moulted twice since birth), but will grow up (within around 2 years) into something like the adult female I have also attached for your viewing pleasure...

Apologies all round for the rubbish photos, btw - all done rather quickly and with no tripod - next month's will be better...

Poecilotheria are 100% arboreal animals, and live in mesic forest canopies in Sri Lanka, India, and surrounding areas, where they build elaborate slung tube webs. They do not burrow, and being 'old world' spiders, they do not possess urticating hairs like all my other T's...

Pokies, as they are referred to by those who love them, represent a step up in the world of spider keeping, and require extreme levels of caution when maintaining, and looking after them. Unlike all my other T's, these spiders have excellent vision, can jump and glide, cling upside down to glass , and can move so fast that the human eye cannot register it. Unfortunately, fasciata are amongst the most aggressive and highly -strung of the pokie genus, and because they don't have flickable hairs, their only defence is to bite, which they do very fast, and repeatedly.

Not something I'll be aiming to experience, though. Poecilotheria are also the most highly venomous tarantulas, and were I unlucky enough to be bitten and envenomated (they do have a choice to 'dry bite' as a warning), it would invariably be hospital time, and up to 3 months of unbearably painful all-over muscle cramps... not good. 

However, not being one to handle my tarantulas, and having done all I can with tank design to facilitate multiple ways in, and eliminate escape routes, and given that I have 2 pairs of 2 ft long tweezers, me and the spider should be able to 'do our things' without getting in each others way, as long as I continue to be careful and watch the spider at all times !

Lastly - a quick word about arboreal terrariums - as different from terrestrial, or burrowing terrariums...

 

 

The last photo is of the 2 new tanks I have built to ultimately house the latest arrival. As you can see, it has to be quite a different design. Arboreal spiders need vertical space, and big bits of bark and leaves to climb about on, and to use when anchoring their elaborate webs. they also need considerably higher humidity than the others, ideally at around 85%, but also lots of ventilation, and temperatures of 80F and up. It is also important to have at least 2 secure ways in to the tank, so that maintenance can always be done at the opposite end of it from the spider, minimizing its ability to rush out at feeding time...

 
For now, legs is living in a converted mini donut holder, which although very small, has been constructed with the same points in mind ! She seems happy for now...

 

 

So there we go - what a beautiful, wonderful little animal...

And that's it from me and the girls until there is more to report, which will no doubt be soon...

 

Take care

 

Z, G, B, F, L & J