when john first found lucy, he'd mentioned that she looked preggers (gravid, in spider terms). upon her arrival, i took a look at her fat tummy and agreed with john. however, as the days passed, our hopes dimmed because she didn't look like she had any intention to make her cocoon or lay any eggs. every night, she went to sleep standing on the jar walls. this made me a little worried about whether she felt uncomfortable in her new home. everyday, i hoped to see her spin a hammock to sleep in, even if it wasn't a cocoon for eggs.

she was also not eating like a pig, like munster did before laying her eggses. thus, i began to think that maybe she wasn't gravid after all. she actually only accepted one flying ant, since arriving at my place.

this morning, i opened my eyes and peered at her jar next to my bed. i didn't see her familiar shape walking around or standing anywhere, through my myopic blurriness. so i popped my specs on to take a closer look. she was sitting in a cocoon! i was so happy to see it. whether or not she lays eggs, i was just happy that she was making herself at home finally.

the cocoon looked totally white, so i didn't detect any eggs. didn't matter. i had a drink of water and took a coupla pictures of her jar. then, i went to the loo. when i came back and had another look, i saw a yellow blob!



she must have laid her eggs in those few minutes. i could have sworn i saw that she was still fat and round, just a few minutes ago! i was so excited that i couldn't go back to bed!

this saves me from maybe 30 mozzie bites if i had gone to find her a man. :) which i was intending to. i can't wait to see how cute lucy's bubbas are gonna be!

my little queen will be guarding her eggses for awhile, possibly about two weeks. in the meantime, here are some lucy pics i took over the last few days. enjoy!



edit: tragedy struck! lucy just ate her own eggses! john did mention that tarantulas eat their own eggs when stressed, so i should put her on a quiet shelf from now. which i did. she wasn't disturbed all day. just now, i peeked at her from a distance and saw her sitting outside her cocoon. thought it was rather strange and took a closer look. she was wiping her fangs the way she would after a meal, and her tummy was fat again. i thought that was highly suspicious and brought her jar to the light to have a looksee. her eggses are gone! looks like i may have to find her a man after all...

edit again: found an extract online that said female spiders sometimes eat their own inviable eggs. so perhaps her eggses haven't been fertilised. :(

:(