A. minatrix: epitome of cuteness

Also known as the Venezuelan Red Slate, A. minatrix is on the smaller side for it's genus Avicularia (the "pink-toes"). Adults usually finish under 3 inches. These charming spiders have so much personality packed into such an adorable little package!

Mom with one of her babies

A. minatrix is a mommy!

Mom is huddled over a fuzzy puddle of her young. It's difficult to get a good picture of what's going on in her tube. But trust me, it is all so exceptionally adorable I think I'm going to pop!

A. urticans eggsac :)

Jon and I recently pulled an A. urticans / Peru Purple Pinktoe eggsac to find a group of healthy first instar spiderlings (pictured). Aren't they precious?

To celebrate we are offering a discount on A. urticans this week. $19ea and $24 for the special. This stunning colorful Avic reaches 6" in legspan!

A. minatrix coming soon!

We were lucky enough to get an eggsac from one of our A. minatrix females. This is especially exciting for me as this is my first eggsac from the species. I almost posted our A. minatrix breeding group for sale on Black Friday. I'm so glad I kept them! I cannot wait to find out if this eggsac contains tiny "Mina-Mini" babies. ^^

Pictured is Mom of above eggsac about a year ago

We will hopefully have some A. minatrix slings available as soon as next week. That group of slings was bred with the help of a friend - a fellow tarantula breeder. Whether our eggsac is good or not, we are so happy we will have slings to raise up and keep this breeding group strong, as well as some extras to be publicly available. Now that I have an eggsac from the species (my females have always molted after breeding) I'll be keeping these girls the rest of their days. Stay tuned for updates!

B. boehmei 1"+ are getting larger and showing adult color!

Until recently our B. boehmei slings have looked like this; brown and about an inch in length (leg-span)

Recently the siblings have started to molt. Everyone who has molted thus far is showing adult color. I am so proud of these little babies. They are growing up so fast!

Here is an example of what they look like after molting. This sling was shipped Monday to a very lucky customer :) The B. boehmei slings are still being sold as 1"+ and as you can see by this example many of the slings are considerably larger than 1"! Get them before they're gone!

DOA Tarantulas - Addressing the Elephant in the Room

Every winter we have so many people contacting us asking if it's “safe” to ship tarantulas in the cold. The truth is, Jon and I prefer shipping in the winter to any other season. Temperatures in the winter although low, are consistent. With the help of Google weather forecast and time release shipping warmers we had a 1:142 dead on arrival (DOA) rate this winter season 2012-2013. I can't ever bring myself to say this is “good.” It will only ever be “good” if we are able to eradicate DOA's all together. All things considered, it could have been a lot worse this past winter season.

Now it's April and it's beginning to warm up, at least in the afternoon. When it is 25 at night and 85 during the day this erratic sort of weather increases the chance of a DOA. If your weather looks like this I would recommend getting the package held for pickup. A hold for pickup is a much safer delivery option because Jon and I are able to pack for a more consistent temperature range. The one downside is you'll have to drive to get your package.

If you don't want to have your order delivered in your current weather conditions, nor do you want to pick it up, there is a third option: “Hold until better weather” Just ask us in the notes when you check out. If we believe your current weather increases the chance of a DOA we will hold the order until the weather looks better. If there are any days you are unable to receive the package keep us informed via email. 

If your weather looks really bad we will automatically hold your order. This rarely happens and we will contact you if this is the case.

If you experience a DOA:

1. Take a really good picture of the dead on arrival tarantula and keep the tarantula until I give the OK to discard. The picture needs to be obvious the spider is DOA or else I will ask to have it sent back. Lately I have had a lot of people will try to fake DOA's. Having the spider sent back is the only for-sure way I can verify the tarantula was actually DOA. We apologize for any inconvenience.
2. Please don't publicly post a DOA video or Facebook comment. It's those people who blast a DOA all over the internet before contacting me or giving me a chance to respond who really push my buttons. DOA's suck for everyone, including me. A spider I produced, packed and sent with love arrives dead and aside from feeling awful about the whole thing, I have to pay out of pocket to send a replacement. 
3. Please specify if you would like a replacement (free shipping), store credit (free shipping), something of equal or lesser value (free shipping) or a refund (minus shipping)
4. I will need your name, order number, address (if different from the order address) and date you would like the specified replacement shipped. 

I love Lats

For years we have been using D. hydei as our feeder of choice for our small spiderlings (1/4-1"). Also. for the record, roaches as feeders are so underappreciated. We have recently started to feed our "larger" (1/2-1") slings "Pinhead" (recently hatched) Rusty Red Roaches. Also known as "Lats" short for their scientific name, B. lateralis.

Unlike the flies which require proper heat & humidity, or pinhead crickets who will die off for what seems like no reason; "pinhead" lats will thrive on any fruit, vegetable or grain fragments you offer them, and won't die when kept at room temperature. Unlike FFF, lats can't climb glass, and won't escape out of screen vents. Lats won't burrow and hide in the spiders enclosure. They'll simply run around and are easy for the spider to find. Lats have significantly more nutritional value than flies so you don't have to feed your sling as often. The Versi's gave their feeding waltz of approval! After you get over the fact they're "roaches" what's not to like?