Josh's Frogs' Tarantula Photo Thread

[Josh's Frogs]

Watch out for that wandering blueberry! When we are feeding baby spiders, here at Josh’s Frogs, we refer to our Antilles Pink Toe (Caribena versicolor) babies as, “wandering blueberries”! There are two reasons for that. The first is obvious, that gorgeous iridescent blue that these babies sport! The other reason is what they love to do as soon as you open their container to feed them. Some species, like all Tapinauchenious, run to escape. They bolt as fast as they can to anywhere that they can hide. Versicolor are different. They love to pop out of their containers, as soon as they are opened. Instead of running away, it would be more accurate to say that they run around! After a couple of laps around their container, they allow themselves to be chased back into their habitats. In the end, this is not good for the blood pressure but makes sure that feeding time is never boring! I still love my little wandering blueberries!

 

[Ratmosphere]

Although most species of tarantula have one consistent look throughout each species, there are some that come in different varieties. Today we will look at the Trinidad Olive Tarantula, known scientifically as Neoholothele incei. This gorgeous dwarf species from the dry scrublands of Trinidad, Venezuela, and the Caribbean actually comes in two color forms. The original is a classic, the Trinidad Olive Tarantula has a metallic pale green hue as an adult female. There is also the Trinidad Olive Tarantula Gold Form, which, as it sounds, has a shiny golden hue. Here we see two adult females that live here at Josh’s Frogs. We call them Frick (the Gold) and Frack (the Olive). They are heavy webbers and it is not difficult to see why they are so popular. Under the correct conditions, this species can be kept communally.
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I don't know anyone who has had long term success keeping these communally. It's been tried, but usually a few get eaten. They are nothing like M. balfouri IMO.

 

[Josh's Frogs]

Avicularia braunshauseni is also known as the Goliath Pink Toe. Like many of its closely related species, this species has undergone a bit of an identity crisis. For now, we can agree that it is Avicularia braunshauseni and one of the prettiest tarantulas on the market. Here is a picture of an inch and a half spiderling, and a three inch juvenile next to a 5 inch young adult. Also like so many other Avicularia, it changes color and pattern drastically as it grows. These are called ontogenetic (age related) changes.

 

[Josh's Frogs]

Brand New Clothes!! This Hispaniolan Green Femur (Phormictopus sp “Green Femur”) spiderling has just molted her exoskeleton. When they first come out of their old exoskeleton, their new exoskeleton is showroom perfect. No scratches or wear. This is when spiders that have iridophores, color genes that refract light instead of reflect it, are particularly vivid! This girl's shiny, new, brilliantly sapphire exoskeleton is just stunning to behold. Mother Nature has always been my favorite artist!

 

[Josh's Frogs]

Chilobrachys natanacharum is also known as the Electric Blue Tarantula. In a world where just about everything wants to eat you, it is a strategy for the survival of your species to hide from everything that wants to eat you, but attract a member of the opposite sex. This species took a page from the Dead :Leaf Butterfly. This butterfly has mottled gray wings that look remarkably like dead leaves, when folded. When they open their wings, they reveal streaks of bright orange. This tarantula is mud brown when seen from above. But when it spreads its frontmost legs and its pedipalps (kinda like arms), it shows off the inside face of these appendages. Here it has gorgeous electric blue and metallic lavender scales that refract light causing iridescence. It turns out that tarantulas see better on the blue end of the spectrum and can see each other, even in near dark conditions, when they flash the blue, inside edges of their front legs. This is actually a difficult thing to catch on camera. I have been trying for months to catch this spider's beauty. With a little advice from fellow tarantula breeder, Kelly Fornez, I finally managed it. He said the key was a darker room and a bright flash. I think these pictures show that it did the trick!

 

[Josh's Frogs]

Psalmopoeus victori is known as the Darth Maul Tarantula. It got that name from the striking, high contrast black and red that make this tarantula look so exciting. This individual is just starting to grow into its adult colors.

 

[Tarantula Trooper]

Psalmopeous "Darth Maul" Victori. Simply T exquisiteness! A little spicy but man!! Have 2 of these beautiful T's. Happy Spoodering!

 

[Josh's Frogs]

Psalmopeous "Darth Maul" Victori. Simply T exquisiteness! A little spicy but man!! Have 2 of these beautiful T's. Happy Spoodering!

I love them, too, but I joke that they are the mullet of tarantulas. "Business in front and party in the back"!

 

[Josh's Frogs]

The Singapore Blue Tarantula, also known as Omothymus violaceopes, is a beautiful and enigmatic tarantula. This leggy (7+ inches) beauty is part of a group known as the Asian Arboreal Tarantulas. As many people who have kept this species can tell you, for an arboreal tarantula, it spends a heck of a lot of its time underground! The mystery of why an arboreal tarantula is mostly a pet hole in captivity does have a potential explanation! This species is typically found in old growth forests, where falling, decomposing foliage builds up where the tree branches fork out, creating a floating biome where orchids and bromeliads can grow, many feet above the forest floor. Young Singapore Blues dig burrows into these biomes and find shelter and protection there. Lacking those unique micro-ecosystems in their captive habitats, these spiders are able to make satisfactory burrows directly into their substrate. That does mean that you rarely see a well adjusted, well fed Singapore Blue out and about, especially during the day. However, the effect of this is that the rare times that you do see your Singapore Blue out, it is an absolute event! Here we have a juvenile that is just starting to grow into its blue and out of the gold guard hair and abdomen colors of a youth.

 

[Josh's Frogs]

People protect what they love.

 

[Josh's Frogs]

What’s in a name? The Goliath Pink Toe is much more commonly known in the tarantula keeping hobby as Avicularia braunshauseni. It may be one of the hardest of the Pink Toe names to pronounce, but there is no doubt that they are one of the prettiest!! As you can see here, these Brazilian beauties sport a metallic teal carapace and metallic blue legs with long frizzy, “hairs” (setae) all along them. These legs are tipped with pink tips to their “toes” (tarsi). They have dark black abdomens with crimson red racing stripes on either side. All together, this is one breathtaking tarantula to behold in person. Not the least because females can attain a whopping eight inch leg span!! The name may be hard to say, but you learn it pretty quick when you are the proud owner of one!

 

[Josh's Frogs]

Tarantulas are egg brooders. That means that the mother tarantulas stick around and tend to their eggsacs until they hatch. While they all defend their eggs from predators, some care for their eggsacs differently. Most tarantulas lay out a silken mat. They lay their eggs onto this and then pull the silken mat up and around the eggs to form a sac. This sac is generally round. The m

other tarantula carries this and turns it, periodically, to keep the eggs on the bottom from being crushed by the weight of the eggsac. Other tarantulas choose, instead, to use silk to attach the sac to silk above and suspend the eggsac from above. Then they attach it on the sides to give it more support, keeping all of the weight of the eggs from being born by the ones developing at the bottom. Here we see an Usambura Orange Baboon Tarantula, having done so with her sac. She looks quite satisfied with her work in this picture.

 

[Josh's Frogs]

Did you know that all tarantulas have the same unique eye arrangement? They have two big median eyes, each surrounded by three orbital eyes. When the light hits them just right, it looks like they have sparkling eyelashes! Sooo cute! Here's a close-up of a Trinidad Chevron Tarantula (Psalmopoeus cambridgei) showing off her dazzling eyes!

 

[Josh's Frogs]

Nhandu trippepi is the Brazilian Blonde Tarantula. This gorgeous mix of flaxen, reddish and greenish hairs gives this spider a look reminiscent of old 3d movies. As pretty as this tarantula is, approach with caution! Her short temper and dramatic threat poses make her a jewel in a more advanced keeper’s collection. She may not be the best idea for beginners!

 

[Josh's Frogs]

Ceratogyrus marshalli is known as the Straight Horned Baboon. Like a few other closely related species, they have a protrusion extending up from their carapace, where most other tarantulas have a divet, called the fovea. Biologists do not agree on why they have it or what purpose it may serve. Many people are impressed by the bright, flashy colors that can be found on many of the most popular species. However, fans of this species seem to appreciate the tones and patterns that can be found on this tarantula. With dappled spots on their abdomen and radiating striations on its carapace in tones of brown and bronze, it is easy to see why this handsome species has been popular for the last two decades!

 

[Josh's Frogs]

Meet Naranja. She is an adult female Giant Mexican Orange Knee Tarantula (Brachypelma smithi) that lives in the Arachnid Division of Josh’s Frogs. She is a stunning example of her kind. When she was younger, her carapace was black, ringed in bright reddish orange. As she matured, most of that carapace filled in with that bright orange, leaving a black triangle over her ocular mound (eye area) that looks like a missing slice of pie. I saw her sitting out, sporting all that color, and I had to snap pics while I could. She apparently did not appreciate the paparazzi and went back into her hide, but not before I got a couple of great pics!

 

[Josh's Frogs]

The term Chiaroscuro is derived from the Italian, “chiaro", meaning clear, bright and, “oscuro", meaning 'dark, obscure'. In art the term has come to refer to the use of bold contrasts between light and shadow, particularly across an entire composition, where they are a prominent feature of the work. That’s the word that came to my mind when I saw the striking contrast of light and shadow in this picture of Big Betty who is a Rear Horned Baboon Tarantula (Ceratogyrus darlingi) who is part of the Breeding Team here at Josh’s Frogs. I think it makes her look very bold and dramatic!!

 

[Josh's Frogs]

The Peach Earth Tiger, known scientifically as Aspinochilus rufus, is from the island of Java, in Indonesia. They can be found in the lush, high-altitude montane rainforests around Mount Argopuro. It inhabits elevations around 2,900 feet. They are considered endangered due to habitat loss from deforestation in their native land, but due to breeding efforts in the Tarantula Hobby, they are well established in captivity and not too difficult to obtain.

 

[Josh's Frogs]

Cuban Bronze Tarantula (Phormictopus auratus) This is one well named tarantula! When it is still young, like this individual, they have a greenish bronze carapace. Their legs and abdomen are dark, with long, reddish gold hairs interspersed. This gives them a shaggy look. By the time females are full size, their abdomens are black. The base color of their legs is black. Their carapace and those long, shaggy hairs become brilliant golden. When this girl grows into her full, potentially eight inch size, she is going to be quite a breathtaking tarantula!

 

[Josh's Frogs]

The Costa Rican Red Leg tarantula was, until recently, known scientifically as Megaphobema mesomelas. The genus "Megaphobema" is derived from the Greek words Mega- (Large) and -phobema(Fright/Terror). Their genus has recently been changed to “Abdomegaphobema” which basically translates to, "removed from Megaphobema" reflecting that this species was previously grouped with Megaphobema but distinguished by its darker coloration compared to other species. By whatever name this spider is known as, it is a rare and breathtaking beauty!!!