- Hey good morning everybody!
And welcome to the vlog.
I came in to a pretty crazy little thing right here.
Of course, my giant, golliath bird eating tarantula molted!
And that is just such a wild experience.
You guys may remember, a week or two ago,
we fed all of the tarantulas and she didn't eat.
Bruce actually even had mentioned that a lot of times
they don't eat before they molt
and maybe she didn't eat because she was gonna molt
and, sure enough, she actually molted!
This is so absolutely freaky.
Now, we didn't catch the molt this time,
but the last time she molted
I actually filmed the entire thing.
And I figure I can use that
to kind of explain what was going on.
Now what's really freaky when a tarantula is molting
is that they'll actually flip on their back
and often times, to a new tarantula owner,
they'll actually see their tarantula upside down and think,
"Oh my God! Are they dead?"
Now it's really important at this point,
if you keep a tarantula,
do not try to flip it right side up, do not try to touch it,
because actually they're in their most vulnerable spot
right now.
The actual molting process for a tarantula
is one of the most dangerous things
that a tarantula can actually do
because, during that time, they're extremely vulnerable.
Not only to predation but, also,
if they're moved around the wrong way,
they can actually die.
So just leave it alone and the actual experience is crazy.
Just like this footage here
that we see the last time she molted.
The whole process can take, maybe, 15 minutes
or up to several hours.
As a matter of fact, the last time she molted
it took me almost 12 hours to film the entire process.
She struggled so hard to get out of that skin.
And again, that exoskeleton is
basically a little duplicate of the animal.
Just like a shed, basically what happens is that,
as a tarantula grows, it can only stretch so far
and then it needs to actually shed that exoskeleton out
and have a fresh layer of skin.
It is unbelievable.
It is so creepy to see it.
It's like an alien coming out of its shell.
Unbelievably crazy!
Often times the signs you'll see
before a tarantulas gonna shed is that
they'll get a bald spot on the rump.
And sometimes they can actually even
leak a little bit of fluid from their joints.
Now, not all tarantulas do that but sometimes they will.
So, if you ever see those types of things,
don't worry about the animal not being healthy.
It just means that it's getting ready for a molt.
And, again, during that process
its definitely the most sketchy time for any tarantula,
for sure.
Because, while they're vulnerable like that,
anything can possibly happen.
But, even once they break out and they slowly climb out
like you can see here, which is totally creepy,
it's definitely kind of the things of nightmares.
But, at the same time, extremely interesting as well.
But, once they finally climb out,
they're gonna do that flip over, that last flip
and that's basically a brand new tarantula.
Now, at that point, they are unbelievably delicate
and you do not want to touch them,
you do not want to handle them,
you do not want to do anything to them.
As a matter of fact, for three to five days,
you don't even want to try to offer food
because that skin is still healing and hardening up.
If you even throw a cricket in there,
that cricket could literally kill the tarantula.
So you gotta be really careful during this period of time.
Also giving it at least a week or two
before you're gonna actually think about handling the animal
And, as you can see,
I'm gonna take out this little skin right here.
Unbelievably crazy!
And you can see how she's a different color back there.
Now I'm not gonna mess with her, obviously,
because she's in that vulnerable stage right now.
But it's a much darker looking color.
Beautiful looking animal!
Now that's gonna change a little bit as it darkens
and kind of hardens up
but it is a fresh, brand new spider.
And take a look at this right here, guys.
This is --
It looks like another spider!
It's so absolutely creepy!
You can see even the back right here.
So lets go ahead
and take a closer look
at how crazy this exoskeleton actually is.
So, again, it looks like its a little spider.
One of the things that's really crazy
about the molting process with spiders
is sometimes they can lose some of their limbs,
whether it's the legs or their pedipalps.
And, during the molting process,
after they're done molting
they'll actually gain back that leg.
Oftentimes the leg is a little shorter
and isn't quite as usable.
But, after another shed,
it becomes another leg.
Totally wild!
So, as they're growing, missing that leg,
on the inside of the exoskeleton,
there's actually another leg that is growing.
They shed out and now it's usable.
But, you can see all those urticating hairs
right here on this just like you would see here.
Obviously, this is the abdomen area.
So wild!
And take a look at this, guys, right here
the actual fangs!
Oh my gosh!
These are the fangs of the goliath bird eating tarantula.
Obviously, these fangs are no joke.
I mean, gosh,
could you imagine getting bitten by something like that?
Absolutely crazy.
And, of course, we always seem to use these as pranks
because, of course, when someone sees this
they're gonna think that they're an actual tarantula.
But, today, we're not gonna do any pranks with it.
At least not yet.
Maybe Noah will later on his channel, I don't know.
But, there it is guys.
I mean, this is the end process of the growth
of the goliath bird eating tarantula.
I'm so happy that it's okay
because, again, it is a very vulnerable and dangerous time
for a tarantula.
So, wow, what a way to start the day!
Pretty exciting to be, you know,
a good three weeks into breeding season right now.
Today was our biggest copulation of the year.
More males were hooked up with females than any other day.
We had about 15 or 16 lock stay, some really good ones.
Still have a few males that are a little bit small
that just don't seem to be getting that trick of it.
Pretty soon we'll have to make a decision
if we're gonna switch those males out.
Definitely gonna get an ultrasound with all these females
some time this week.
That way we get a baseline.
That way I can actually look at follicle growth,
I can look at how they're feeding
and how they're actually breeding
and I can start to make really good decisions.
This is where the art becomes a little bit of a science
and the science becomes a little bit of the art.
But, we're moving along pretty well
and, hopefully, within the next month or two,
we'll see some advanced follicle growth.
- Down here in the Brumation Room
we're just gonna go through today
and check some of the snakes out,
check on their water, check on the actual snake,
make sure it's not losing weight,
which it shouldn't,
because down here we're at about mid-50's,
55 to 58 degrees, you know,
they're obviously staying nice and cool
getting ready for breeding.
I have some of the late brumaters next door.
We're gonna get those guys set up,
bring them down here.
I think they'll have about three weeks to a month
to cool off.
So, let me check up on these guys,
I'm gonna check the water,
check make sure they're still looking good and healthy.
And then I'll take you over and we'll see the whole process
of bringing the new ones down.
(upbeat music.)
- Who do you see in this enclosure right here?
Exactly! Absolutely nothing (laughs.)
The deal is
we're gonna do a little revamp on this cage right now.
This is actually a Bromeliad Lithro Kyla,
I believe that's how it's pronounced.
But it always hides and no one ever sees it
and no one ever wants to take it out.
So we're gonna actually take this off exhibit right now.
We're gonna actually put the
translucent female chameleon in here on display.
And we'll eventually get this back on
when we do our expansion and stuff like that.
But the first things first
is that we actually find this little monkey here.
Usually its hiding back here.
Yep, its right here in the corner.
So I'll just kinda slowly get this little guy out
and don't get me wrong I love a Bromeliad.
I think they're absolutely amazing.
The one problem is that, again, hides all the time
and it is a biter as well.
So it likes to bite.
So it's not really a good animal for people that take out
and handle typically.
As a matter of fact, its rare for me to take it out
as long as I have right now and not get bitten.
Cool animal, love all of the abronias.
So we're just gonna go ahead
and set this little guy up at BHB
just for another month or two.
Then we'll put him into another enclosure in the expansion.
But, in the meantime, we'll get this cage all revamped,
resetup and ready for the female veil chameleon.
(upbeat music.)
Andrea has the whole cage disinfected and redone up.
Nice branches, different size branches and vines
and stuff like that for her to climb on.
Some foliage.
Not to mention,
they actually like to eat these types of plants.
So, whenever you put a veil chameleon in a cage,
you wanna make sure that you're using plants
that are not toxic whatsoever.
Because you can see she'll nibble on all of these plants.
This is the plant that was in her enclosure before.
When we first got her,
we thought that she was actually egg bound
and we were really concerned about it.
I'm not sure exactly what it was.
Maybe they were feeding her like corn worms and stuff
that made her really fat.
Slimmed down a bunch, not egg bound.
So we'll just go ahead and put her in her new environment
over here at the Reptarium.
Pretty much the same type of enclosure she had next door.
So it's not a really big change.
Shouldn't be much of a stretch.
We use a lot of the same type of vines and branches
and stuff like that she had over there.
Same plant over there
that way she kinda adjusts really well.
So, I think, she's gonna be a really great addition
because those translucent with that pied look to them
through recessive mutation is really cool.
I think people are gonna love her.
And, although, I love the Abronia personally,
the fact that you really never saw it
didn't really work out here.
So, there it is, the new addition to the Reptarium.
- It could definitely be creepy because,
I mean, you go down there,
you'd have to find the right night
where it's a little windy,
it's a little, maybe, precipitation, okay.
- [Camera Man] He's using big words today, I like it.
- Windy and precipitation.
(laughter)
- [Camera Man] I've never heard him say something
with seven letters in it.
That's crazy!
(laughter)
- I just heard it on the TV.
Alright guys, so,
down here you see this beautiful Everglades rat snake
we've got here.
Usually this thing would be biting the crap out of me,
running around, trying to get away.
You can tell they definitely slow down
here in the winter time.
They almost shut down.
It's, like, I wanna say,
like putting your computer on sleep mode or something.
It's still on but it slows down a lot more,
shuts a lot of the stuff down,
they're metabolism almost completely stops with the cool
and it's just like
we're mimicking what they would do in the wild.
As you can tell, we got our brand new cup rings.
They're sterilized cup rings, sterilized tubs,
brand new bedding.
So when you go to put these guys down to cooler temperatures
not only does their metabolism slow down,
but so does their immune system.
So they're a little more susceptible to sickness
so what we wanna do is
make sure they have 100 percent sterile environment.
They're nice and safe.
What I'll do is I'll wrap up the rest of these cages here,
get them swapped over
and get them downstairs into Brumation.
You have to help.
- No.
- (laughs) Yeah.
No but just for the camera.
It's smoke and mirrors around here.
I actually have robots helping me.
- He was supposed to be done on Friday, dude.
- No, but listen, I had to help Mary.
You know Mary.
God bless her had to help her a little.
Didn't have time.
So what we're gonna have you do,
you're gonna carry minimum four at a time.
If you don't carry four --
listen, you can take two if you'd like okay?
It's not a big deal.
I didn't bring my knife today.
You know what, I'll record you to the police,
that's even --
the pen is mightier than the sword, my friend.
Am I right?
I'm getting out of here.
(upbeat music.)
Okay, guys, that's it!
We've got them all moved over.
Thanks, you know, I couldn't have done it without you.
- Yeah, you really couldn't of.
- It's a lot of trips by yourself.
That's right, you're gonna need tickets to that gun show.
(laughs)
So, what I was gonna say was, they're all moved down here.
They might be a little bit late
but they're still gonna get time to cool off.
They'll come back over with the other group,
they'll start breeding
and another colubrid seasons on its way.
- Like I mentioned earlier,
there's a lot of breeding
when it came to the pythons earlier today.
So I wanna teach Mary how to ultrasound
because it's gonna be important for us
to ultrasound all of these animals and we'll do it together.
But when she's actually spot ultrasounding
it's a good kind of tool for the breeding, right.
So if a particular animal is getting bred
and you're like, "I wonder how she's doing,
is she advancing?"
I want her to just be able to just do one animal at a time.
When we do all of them we'll probably do it together
just because it's a lot quicker.
But I figure I'll teach Mary
and you guys right along with me
how to actually ultrasound animals.
So, obviously, we just have a CTS3300 suite.
You can get all kinds of different ultrasounds.
And let me just tell you, for sure,
you don't need an ultrasound to breed snakes.
It's just a tool that helps you, right.
So you're not gonna bruise any more clutches
from having an ultrasound.
But just kind of knowing when to breed an animal
and when to stop breeding an animal, all that type of stuff.
It does help quite a bit.
It takes a lot of the work and the guessing out of it.
So the first thing that you,
you just wanna use conductive gel, right.
So basically you just put a nice conductive gel on this
and I'm gonna show you, Mary and you guys as well,
and then I'm gonna have you do it as well,
so you get a feel for it.
The first thing you wanna do is,
you always wanna know that you wanna go about
60 percent percent down the body is
where you're gonna start.
Right in this area here.
Right in the side, above the belly, right on the side there.
And we're gonna take this probe
and you have to push it in pretty decent,
you know, not just really soft.
You have to really do it.
And then you start to see the actual stuff
on the screen, right.
And what we're basically doing is
we're just going up and down until you find the gallbladder,
which is in here somewhere.
And, again, it can kind of move around quite a bit.
In this case, I actually found the follicle
before I found the gallbladder.
You can see those round spots right there
and you can see how, kinda, I'm definitely pressing hard.
I'm not hurting the animal but I'm pressing hard
and I'm going up and down like this
to kind of get that sonogram going.
So, ultimately, once I get the follicles right here,
I just basically measure the follicles.
I take my cursor, I hit enter there,
I can go across to the sides.
I have an idea, says its an 11 millimeter follicle.
So, ultimately, when you can find that gallbladder,
that big, black gallbladder, its a little easier
because you can follow them down to the follicle.
But, sometimes, you just find the follicles first,
which is completely fine too.
Because, ultimately, that's obviously what you wanna do.
So, I'm gonna go ahead and get this back gelled up
and I'm gonna let you take over, Mary, all right?
- All right.
- And again, just kind of hold that animal right like that
and then just push right about there.
And you can push pretty hard, push a little harder, yep.
Keep going down, keep going down.
Push a little harder, keep the conductive.
And, actually if you go back over here,
you can see the gallbladder actually is right there.
See, that's the gallbladder right there.
So now follow that down here,
keep going up and down, up and down, up and down.
Yep, there's the follicles right there.
See them?
- [Mary] Aw yeah I do.
- And then just step on the thing and there you go,
there's your follicles.
So, there you are,
Mary, you figured out how to ultrasound!
- Woo!
- Yay! And so that's really what it is.
And as the follicles get bigger, obviously,
it's a lot easier to find them
because they're bigger follicles.
Sometimes it takes me 10 seconds to find a big follicle, so.
That's basically it.
We'll go through and do an entire ultrasound here
later on this week.
So that every animal we have an idea.
This girl is at 11 millimeters,
which is the starting off point.
So, breeding season is well underway.
Pretty wild about that tarantula, right?
If you like this video,
you can watch the tarantula molting
right here in that video.
There's an entire playlist for you guys to roll through
if you don't mind, over here
hit that subscribe button for me.
Turn the post notification on.
Have an absolutely wonderful day
and remember to be kind to someone.
I promise, I'll see you guys tomorrow!