# T.stirmi breeding



## ojo (Jun 8, 2011)

So as some of you know I've been pondering over the fact of wether to breed the Theraphosa stirmi. Ive tried looking for other peoples breeding reports but alas there is none (or im looking in the wrong places...)

Can anyone give me a link to a report of a successsful breeding of this species as i would like to breed them and get them more mainstream in the hobby.

Before anyone posts caresheets:
I know how to keep this species in captivity, i do not wish to see a caresheet on this, i would, however like a sheet explaining the conditioning of this species or general guidlines on how to condition them.

All help is much appreciated and any help that links to a page that ultimatly helps me and my female produce a sac will be rewarded with a PM


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## Mark Lynes (Dec 7, 2010)

I can't give you a link but I have tried breeding them. I put a recently matured male in with my largest female in early December 2011. She showed absolutely no interest in him nor he in her. So much so that she backed as far into her burrow as was possible. Having successfully mated T blondi without difficulty just prior to this I was surprised by her behaviour.Since the female had ben well fed prior to the mating attempt I decided to leave the male in with her, this not being a problem with T blondi in my experience. 5 days later she was still in her burrow when I left for work in the morning and I resolved to remove the male that evening and try him with my smaller female. I returned that evening to find the female had eaten the male

Sînce then I have had a female T apophysis attack, kill and eat a male immediately I introduced him. The female blondi meanwhile has failed to produce a sac

Not sure if this is of any interest but thought I'd share anyway


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## ojo (Jun 8, 2011)

Its pretty much what im looking for mate. Just trying to get everyone input on this particular species. 

I know the Americas have a hard time breeding them but as ive told others, surely someone, somewhere has done it or there wouldnt be any captive bred slings in the hobby. I just need to find those people and get their conditiong as it is a great T and one i personally wouldnt like to see becoming a rare sight for hobbiests like ourselves.


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## Mark Lynes (Dec 7, 2010)

I'm going over to Hamm in a couple of weeks. I will be collecting a fresh juv male and quizzing the German breeders at the same time. The likes of Michael Scheller, Martin Niemann, Thomas Vinmann et al all have slings. I get the impression the Germans at least don't find it that difficult. But when do they ever?


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## ojo (Jun 8, 2011)

I know! they take the hardest species to breed and breed them like rabbits haha God knows how they do but they are doing something right, its a pity they hardly ever disclose the info on the web for people to read. 

Good luck on your trip over there and hopefully you bring back some usefull information.


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## mcluskyisms (Jan 24, 2010)

I personally think the Germans are more successful at breeding tarantulas because they look into species locality conditions more (temps/humidity/seasons). Then they condition their tarantulas accordingly which I personally think is key to most of their success, also they most likely play the numbers game (more females mated, more chance of offspring) just a thought.


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## ojo (Jun 8, 2011)

I know this Mcluskyisms. But without traveling over to Brasil i need to find this stuff out online, and ill tell you, its niegh on impossible!

Im in contact with someone who has had good success with this species though and also in contact with someone about a juvie male so i have high hopes, if nothing comes to it, ill loan him out to whomever needs him and hope they have success with their pairings.


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## mcluskyisms (Jan 24, 2010)

Read some BTS articles, there's a good one by Boris Stiffler on _T. apophysis_ & _T. blondi_ (breeding in the wild and in captivity). It was written before _T. stirmi_ was classified so I would assume that most of the information is fairly relative to them also. If that fails then you can always find out a tarantulas locality (well to the country) on The World Spider Catologue, have a look on google for their exact locality and then collect data from weather sites on the conditions in the locality throughout the year ie. rainy seasons, average temps and so on.


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## ojo (Jun 8, 2011)

Well i know its Guyana which is a good start lol. the only problem about finding out local temps and what, is that i dont know when they are most likely to breed (wether its in the cooler months or warmer months for example)

Im on BTS just now but dont know where their journals are located haha 

Did you not have a go at breeding your big girl?


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## mcluskyisms (Jan 24, 2010)

_T. stirmi_ are endemic to the south east region of Guyana, weather data can be found online just by typing Guyana into google then looking in the area. Ive read most _Theraphosa_ males mature towards the end of the rainy season (Oct/Nov) so I would think the month following that would be well into breeding season, also there would most likely be an increase of temperature around that time. 

Ive just got a nice big male and I'm waiting on a female to moult, I'm also after another AF too then I will be having a crack at it.


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## ojo (Jun 8, 2011)

Well ive got a 7+ inch female here that Steve (@bugsnstuff) advised was ready for breading and that whay im collecting all the info on them.

Im looking for that journal from Striffler but no joy as of yet 

So basically im looking to up the humidity before introducing the male and then up the temp when the male has left? Sounds plausable (and by no means take this the wrong way) but im still going to do my own research so i know i done everything i could and didnt freeload of someone elses work.


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## mcluskyisms (Jan 24, 2010)

Yep, sounds about right. 

: victory:


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## ojo (Jun 8, 2011)

I wish you every success in your breeding attemps mate, hope all goes well for you.

And please, for the sake of us all, publish your findings (good or bad)


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## bluerose (Jan 20, 2008)

I have mated my pair of T.stirmi recently. First attempt the female was not interested she wasnt aggressive but did stridulate a lot and he didnt continue to pester her. She has moulted again, which i wasnt expecting and i tried them again and she was very interested it looked like it was a successful pairing.

I have moved her to a quieter location and she has suddenly increased her food intake so im hoping....really hoping that we may have some success though early days, i will keep you posted on how we get on


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## ojo (Jun 8, 2011)

Thats great news mate! hope she produces a nice sac for you 

Got my fingers crossed.

If you can, can you PM your findings with the pairing? Temps humidity and the like? really want these out in the mainstream like GBB's


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## bluerose (Jan 20, 2008)

if i get a sack then i will definitely let you know temps etc. I wont post them yet until i know if it has worked, as i may have got it wrong lol. Good luck to everyone else as well 

also my male will soon be available if anyone would like to borrow him!


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## Poxicator (Nov 14, 2007)

To get to the history of journals you'll need to be a BTS member. Well worth the £15 to get a huge backlog of information.

This species comes from high humidity areas, 100% most of the time, even when its not raining. So, to my mind you need to repeat that with a deep burrow and regular spraying. You'll therefore need some isopods to keep things clean.
If you find info on breeding T. blondi (which you're more likely to do considering T. stirmi was only recently classified) then you'll be on the right course. From my recollection you need to soak for 10 months then let it dry out for 2 at which time you introduce the male. The female usually moults before the dry period arrives so this seems the most obvious key.
Of course the ultimate issue is to make sure you actually have a pair of T. stirmi.
I take it you've looked in other tarantula forums for advice? I'd certainly recommend doing so because to my knowledge there's not been much success in breeding these or T. blondi within RFUK.


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## robowen (Aug 14, 2010)

I bred my T.Apophysis last same year. I used one male and had 5 breeding seesions spread over 5 weeks. I fed her up and she eventually webbed herself in and produced and egg sac.

She abandodned it at 35 days and I took it out but all 140 of the eggs were covered in a chalky dust..needless to say they were infertile.

Speaking to Thomas Vinmann at SEAS he explained that something like 30% male tarantulas have duff sperm and increase my chances (especially with theraphosa sp) i should mate her with multiple males so say 5 in my case a different one per week.


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## ojo (Jun 8, 2011)

Poxicator, I've gathered the fruits of the internet regarding T.stirmi/goliath breeding and also contacted quite a few people who have gotten viable egg sacs from this species. My plans up until the breeding will be disclosed with the end result (good or bad) but my prep work has already begun, I've ordered 24 blocks of coco coir and will be totally re-doing my SA females tank to encorporate a big chamber at the very bottom of the tank and a winding slope down to it (all made from kingspan with coco coir glued to it) to avoid the female eating any sac that she may produce (just wondering if there will be an easy way to get the sac out if needed or if i need to leave it to hatch on its own accord)

robown, As far as im aware your 100% correct, although cross breeding is usually a failure in captivity a lot of the species who co-inhabit territory, it wouldn't, and isn't uncommon for cross breeding to take part and thus leave us with either low sperm count or infertile T's all together. 

Sourcing MM stirmis are become a headache though.


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## davwpol (Jun 15, 2011)

Just to echo everyone's sentiments, in wishing you the best of luck, and hope that you share your findings, as there is precious little solid info out there. About to tread the same path with some trepidation with my collection of Stirmis, will keep you posted with the results of my experience. Only ever attempted breeding tarantulas once before, B. Vagans and successfully first time round, but think this will prove to be a totally different kettle of fish!


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## Oderus (Nov 24, 2009)

I'd email/PM Tescos on the The Tarantula Store, he has bred real _T. blondi _(though not _T. stirmi_) the biotype is near enough the same within the range of both. I know he had a few tricks, but did it without too much fuss and little in the way of a natural setup (i.e. About a 12" X 8" plastic tub, wet end, dry end).

Edit: As he doesn't much like the spider hobby crowd any more. He might tell you where to get off..


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