Monday, June 26, 2006

Big Bummer!

I have bad news for you all: I am sorry but something happened I did not expect.

My camera broke down and was sent back to be exchanged for a new one. This is the first problem with the project we've had and I did not expect this, otherwise I would've gotten a replacement from a friend or something.

I thought about posting an old picture, but it is not the intention to cheat anyone. Im sorry, and we'll be back with a picture next week.

Also, the poll will continue until next week since there really isn't any event to post.

Thanks.

Posted by The B. smithi Lifespan Project at 9:06 PM | Permalink | Comments

Monday, June 19, 2006

Feeding Pic and Video!

(Click image for larger version)

Today I fed our little guy/girl and took the opportunity to shoot this week's picture.

It has grown a lot since it molted and is now showing great colors! It's been very active and hungry, this is the 3rd time I've fed it since it molted, all three in the last 7 days.

If you want to see a video of the little one catching the cricket, you can watch it here and you can download it here.

The following is a list of my favorite name suggestions that were made, I selected 5 from this list which made it to the poll.

Agent Smith
Truman (Show)
M-quela
Cricket
Grassy Ass
Rogue (from X-Men)
Cellmate #1
Cristalena
Maikol
Itsy
Bravo
Ethel
Taco
Blinky
Fluffy

I feel an "unsexed" name is better, so if it turns out male or female there won't be much of a problem. Imagine calling a female Bob... it might be strange. Thanks for ALL the suggestions that were made.

As always please direct your questions and comments to the email link on the right.

Thanks again... until next week!
Later!

PS Vote!

Posted by The B. smithi Lifespan Project at 12:22 AM | Permalink | Comments

Monday, June 12, 2006

Post-Molt

(Click image for larger version)

Well, today I measured little smithi and it is a little over 2in in legspan.

I also changed the format of the picture, instead of saying "Day 388" or whatever, it says the number of years, months and days since it was born... I think that will give a better idea later when looking at pictures and seeing how old it is... let me know what you think, you can post a comment or through email.

Thanks for all the names suggested so far, some great ideas. Next week I'll put up a poll to see which name should stay. Keep 'em coming please.

That's it for now, feel free to use the picture as your Desktop background, I do, looks nice I think. Thanks for visiting and for the feedback.

Later!

Posted by The B. smithi Lifespan Project at 11:37 PM | Permalink | Comments

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Molt!

(Click image for larger version)

Our little one is growing!

So today our B.smithi molted... while I sat at the computer (stupid stupid stupid). I was gonna go to bed when I realized it had molted... something that hadn't happened 3 hours earlier when I got here.

Anyways, keep the names coming! Many suggestions have been made, some of them very original and funny. I'll let you guys know it's final name soon.

If you want to see more pictures of the little guy post molt, check out the gallery (link on the right... GO TO - Our B.smithi's Gallery!).

Comments, questions or suggestions, keep them coming.
Thanks! :)

Posted by The B. smithi Lifespan Project at 4:31 AM | Permalink | Comments

Monday, June 05, 2006

The Beginning!

(Click image for larger version)

Hi and welcome to my project!

Being an avid tarantula keeper I decided to start this blog as a sort of documentary on the growth and life of a Brachypelma smithi.

B.smithis are known for being slow growers and that should make it even more interesting.

The idea is that I will take a picture of it every week for its entire lifespan... It is possible that the smithi outlives me since it isn't exposed to the dangers of urban life :P ... that is, if it's a female. If it turns out to be a male then we will likely see its last days here.

So, every week from today until death do us part, I shall post a picture here and a description of how its doing.

Special pictorial events will be highlighted and added to a special events section.

Another thing: this spiderling is in need of a name. All suggestions are welcome. When enough suggestions have been made I will make a poll of 5 or 10 names that I liked and you get to vote for which one we should keep.

If you have ANY questions, comments or suggestions feel free to leave them here by clicking on comments (below the post) or email me at smithiproject@gmail.com

I have many plans and ideas I would like to implement, these will be added through time. I would especially like to have my own domain and server space, but I cannot afford it right now... we'll see how things develop.

Any questions you have please check out the FAQ, there is a link to it on the right.

Come back frequently to see what's going on, I will be constantly improving this site.

Thanks for reading... and wish this little one good luck!

Posted by The B. smithi Lifespan Project at 10:14 PM | Permalink | Comments

Thursday, June 01, 2006

FAQ

About our B. smithi:
Born: May 2005
Sex: Male
CB/WC: Captive Bred
Size: Currently at about 3in / 8cm (legspan)
Current housing: Medium Kritter Keeper (Click HERE for picture)

Why do this? Many reasons... for fun, for education, for research, for entertainment... best of all: why not? I think it can turn out to be educational at least and may help others as reference some time in the future.

Why a B.smithi? I acquired 5 B.smithi slings, all siblings. These were born in May 2005 so they have just turned one year old. I do not have adult B. smithis but they are one of the most beautiful tarantulas I've seen in my opinion. Another reason: it's the hobby classic! Everyone has seen one, be it a T hobbyist or not.

Why this particular sling? Funny you should ask. Being how all 5 of these spiderlings are siblings you would think they would be about the same size. At least I did. But no... while 3 of them are very similar in size, the other two aren't. One is really small, the other one is really big!. I thought the bigger one would make for better show and pictures since it is already starting to show color... so the big one it is.

How do you know the exact day? I don't. I know he/she was born on May 2005. Since I do not know the exact day, I supposed (because it's easier to count) that it was born on April 30, 2005... the counting starts there, so May 1st, 2005 was Day 1.

How often is a picture taken?: Every week. Plus special pictorial events out of date such as molts and rehousings.

Possible reasons the project will end:
The spider dies. It's possible that it dies soon as it is still very young. Or old in many years.
Another reason, I die. It's possible too.

Posted by The B. smithi Lifespan Project at 1:00 AM | Permalink

Molt Records

All recorded molts listed, from most recent (top) to oldest (bottom).

__________________________________________________________________

(Click image for larger version)

Date: July 21, 2006.
Time: Aprox. 3PM
Lasted: Aprox. 1.5 hours
Comments: Caught him when he had just flipped, did not witness the whole thing as I had things to do, but there are pictures of the beginning, the middle and the end in the gallery.

__________________________________________________________________

(Click image for larger version)

Date: June 10, 2006.
Time: Aprox. 3AM
Lasted: N/A
Comments: Did not witness it. Realized it had molted after it had just finished.

Posted by The B. smithi Lifespan Project at 12:10 AM | Permalink

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Posted by The B. smithi Lifespan Project at 12:02 AM | Permalink