walkingmoth

[walkingmoth]

So, the picture is shit but this is Trundle, my Hapalopus formosus, giving me some real good evidence that she would benefit from a heat source. That black beside her? That's the stove that we were just cooking lunch on. The air temp near her viv is warm but far from hot, and she has herself pressed against the acrylic nearest the stove. In the couple days she's emerged from her burrow, this is the second time I've caught her doing just this; it is not a behavior she displays when the stove is off. She's got plenty of room to go to the cooler side of her viv, too.

[walkingmoth]

Small update on both terrariums after some plant mail arrived yesterday.

[walkingmoth]

Planted!

Psygmorchis pusila, Peperomia serpens, P. rotundifolia, P. emarginella, Selaginella diffusa, S. kraussiana, and a NOID Gesneriad from the general region. Next step is to be very patient and wait to see that everything is rooting and surviving. I'll be adding my springtails shortly (Neanura growae, non-native but cute) and later will put my Trinidad dwarf tarantula (Cyriocosmus elegans) in it.

[walkingmoth]

Twinkleberry, Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens.

[walkingmoth]

The stained glass terrarium I've been working on for a long while is finally done!!! 6"x6"x9", with a perforated metal screen. This will house my Cyriocosumus elegans in a Trinidad biotope.

[walkingmoth]

I recently moved Twinkleberry into his new enclosure. I think it may be on the small side once he matures but this is plenty of room for now. I made the stained glass Wardian case myself, and everything in there is locally foraged. It's hard to tell, but it has a canted lid which makes it great for viewing. Ventilation could probably be better but it's hardly a moisture trap; the lid is held opened a ~1/4" by silicone bumpers which is far better than holes drilled in acrylic panels. I'm tempted to add Armadillidium klugii 'Montenegro' or 'Dubrovnik', but still researching care for this isopod species. I have no concern for the isopods bothering the tarantula, and Twinkleberry is very willing to take roaches so I don't think he'll bother the pods, either. Just a matter of being able to keep the humidity up which also shouldn't be an issue. I've got three inches of substrate that's easy enough to keep damp in spots without raising the overall humidity.

[walkingmoth]

Hi! I keep tarantulas, freshwater aquariums, and some miscellaneous inverts in bioactive, naturalistic set ups. This blog is meant to showcase my spiders but may also look into my other critters. Tarantulas:

Twinkleberry: Chromatopelma cyanopubescens, Green Bottle Blue, juvenile

Trundle: Hapalopus formosus 'large', Pumpkin patch, juvenile

Duck: Cyriocosmus elegans, Trinidad dwarf, juvenile

Goose: Cyriocosmus sp. tambopata, sling

Knees: Citharacanthus cyaneus, Cuban orange-violet, sling

Toes: Citharacanthus cyaneus, Cuban orange-violet, sling

Pudge (deceased): Hapalopus formosus 'large', male; purchased as a mature male, Pudge lived for six months and started it all for me.

Inverts:

Two American millipedes, Armadillidium vulgare (native) and Armadillidium maculatum 'zebra' isopods, and whatever beetles, grubs, and caterpillars may cross paths.

Aquariums:

1gal: planted low tech, no heater, no filter, Walstad method, stocked with a few cherry shrimp and microfauna

5gal: homemade planted low tech, heated and with sponge filter, Father Fish method, stocked with ember tetras and cherry shrimp

30gal: blackwater low tech, stocked with a juvenile Eastern musk turtle (Oakleaf), cherry shrimp, clams, and various tropical fish that came with the original set up