(Template courtesy Magnificent Duke)

Genus: Poecilotheria
Species: fasciata
Date female moulted last: July 2010.
Date male matured: Unknown - Owner Theex.
Last mating date: 5 April 2011
Mating behaviour: The male did not survive.
Tank conditions and temperatures before mating: The female was kept at a room temperature of between 24 and 28 degrees since her last moult. The enclosure was left very dry, no water bowl.
Feeding schedule before mating: She was fed a few crickets once a week. Her final meal was the male.
Tank conditions and temperatures after mating: I placed her enclosure next to a heating unit. The temperatures varied between 31 and 34 degrees inside the enclosure. I "flooded" the enclosure with a few liters of water, to the point where the substrate became saturated. I sprayed the outside of her hide ensuring that water flows into her nest, without spraying her directly.
Feeding schedule after mating: None.
Date egg sac produced: 13 April 2011
Date egg sac removed: 6 May 2011
Development time of nymphs: 23 days
Total number of spiderlings: Yet unknown
Additional notes:

The female was heavily gravid. The picture was taken after flooding. Water droplets on the glass caused the blurry appearance, but the "bell" shape of her abdomen is clearly visible. It was also obvious that she was unable to hold the abdomen in position due to its weight.



On opening the egg case, I found it very "clumpy". Many eggs were black and some were stuck to each other. It took me about two hours to separate the "good" nymphs.



After removing dead eggs, some order was restored to the batch.



They started moulting into first instar slings during the past few days. It was a tremendous struggle as almost all were stuck to their exuviae. I painstakingly freed as many as I could, they now seem to be doing well. What fascinates me is that first instar Poecilotheria look nothing like Pokies. Only once they moult into second instar do they become typical Pokies.



I will update this thread soon...

Seeing that I have more time than brains, I put together a little vid to firstly occupy myself, secondly to annoy "expert keepers" (who have seen this a trillion times before) and thirdly to frustrate people who pay for bandwidth... :laugh:

Although not a "glamorous" species like purple Curlys, it is still hugely satisfying having second instar babies running all over their hammock.

This will conclude this breeding report.