The Spider Conservatory

The Spider Conservatory Where fear becomes curiosity

Tarantulas, Invertebrates, Plants! No gate keeping, No judgement, Beginners welcome!

09/02/2026

I’ve been waiting almost a year for this.

These five Tityus smithii have been growing up separately while I waited for them to become established and closer in size. Now they’re finally ready for the setup I’ve been planning from the beginning… one communal enclosure.

Tityus smithii is a venomous scorpion in the family Buthidae. The genus Tityus includes some medically significant scorpions with potent neurotoxic venoms, but there appears to be very little published research specifically characterizing the venom or medical significance of T. smithii. So while these are absolutely treated as a look-but-don’t-touch species, I’m not going to exaggerate what we actually know about their venom.

They can also show enough tolerance of one another to make communal keeping possible, but communal never means risk-free. I’ll be watching these five closely as they settle in.

Would you keep five venomous scorpions together?

09/01/2026

The pairing worked… we officially have babies! 🕷️

Our Madeira wolf spider (Hogna maderiana) produced an eggsac, and now the first spiderlings are here.

How many babies do you think are packed onto mom… and is that a new eggsac? Or the remains of the old one…

08/31/2026

Just some fun from rehousing the OBT babies…

How calm would you be?

Pterinochilus murinus, commonly known as the Orange Baboon Tarantula or OBT

08/31/2026

The OBT babies are officially 2nd instar… which means the easy part is over.

Pulling back the silk revealed a whole pile of tiny Orange Bitey Things.

They’re getting faster, more active, and rehousing video is coming soon!

How many would you have guessed were hiding under there?

Pterinochilus murinus, commonly known as the Orange Baboon Tarantula (or OBT)

Meet Angus.. Nearly a year mature. Successful father. Still kicking. Hundreds of little tarantulas exist because of this...
08/30/2026

Meet Angus.. Nearly a year mature. Successful father. Still kicking.

Hundreds of little tarantulas exist because of this guy.

How old is the longest-lived mature male you’ve ever had?

Once a male tarantula reaches maturity, his biology changes quite a bit. He’s finished growing and, in most species, generally won’t molt again. His pedipalps develop specialized reproductive structures called emboli, which are used to transfer s***m, and males of many species also develop tibial hooks that help control the female’s fangs during mating. Their priorities shift from growing to reproducing, so mature males often spend much more time roaming in search of females. Many also lose much of their appetite, eating only occasionally or sometimes refusing food for long stretches as they devote their remaining energy to reproduction.

Doing some rearranging… this is just the alocasia 😭 Close to 40.. think I may need to start parting with a couple. This ...
08/30/2026

Doing some rearranging… this is just the alocasia 😭

Close to 40.. think I may need to start parting with a couple.

This doesn’t include the anthuriums, begonias, monsteras, and others 🤪

Tiabeanie is getting a lil plump… will there be a Hyllus walckenaeri eggsac in our future? 🤞😊
08/28/2026

Tiabeanie is getting a lil plump… will there be a Hyllus walckenaeri eggsac in our future? 🤞😊

08/28/2026

Family bonding, but make it Scolopendra.

At what point does your childhood become “slightly unusual”?

Just a dad, his 5-year-old, a perfectly normal conversation…

…and a giant centipede absolutely ruining a roach’s day

She’s grown up around spiders, centipedes, scorpions, and all the other little creatures most people run away from, so to her this is just normal family time.

And honestly, I kind of love that.

08/27/2026

How Many OBTs Is Too Many OBTs?

The Orange Baboon Tarantula (Pterinochilus murinus) better known as the OBT or “Orange Bitey Thing” is one of the most infamous tarantulas in the hobby. They’re incredibly fast, highly defensive, and very willing to stand their ground when they feel threatened.

And now I have a terrible number of them.

The babies are officially 2nd instar, which means the incubator has become absolute chaos… and every single one needs to be rehoused this weekend.

So:

How many do you think are in here?

How long do you think this rehouse is going to take me?

What’s the over/under on how many escape?

Would you volunteer to help with this?

08/26/2026

Today I’m rehousing my communal group of Florida tailless whipscorpions (Phrynus marginemaculatus) into a larger setup with plenty of vertical space, cork bark, and hiding places.

Despite their intimidating appearance, these arachnids are harmless to humans and are one of the more fascinating species to observe socially.

Would you ever keep a group of these?

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