the species is Cerura vinula (puss moth). that’s the first time i’ve seen it in real life! it’s dark colored because it’s gonna become a pupa soon. dude didn’t spray me with acid, but be careful if you want to hold these guys, they can absolutely do it if bothered too much.
one of the reasons why i love working on a plant farm is that i get to meet cute critters😭 i found this guy chilling on my hoodie which i had to take with me, and he didn’t even want to leave my hand despite me trying to let him go into the woods. sorry lil man i’m not taking you home. (must be uncomfortable walking on trees with these fancy boots but he just does it!)
this is gwen miles. he’s a rescue t. albopilosus that i adopted around october last year. my mom’s boss had been given him as a gift and he was an irresponsible owner. he handled miles during a molt which damaged one of his legs (although it thankfully regenerated after his next molt). also he gave him mealworms that turned into beetles and bit him, he even arrived to me with a literal beetle. one day my mom sent me a video of her boss poking him with a pen and laughing. she asked if i wanted to adopt him, i immediately said yes and started doing my research right away, since i didn’t know the first thing about keeping tarantulas.
i was told miles was a female but he started molting yesterday evening when i came home from work. i was exhausted so i felt asleep after he finished, and today when i checked on him i saw the hooks… i’m genuinely devastated. that was his ultimate molt and now i know he’s not gonna live nearly as long as i was hoping. i grew very attached to him. i’m going to do everything i can to make whatever time he has left as comfortable as possible, so i’d love some advice from more experienced keepers.
should i upgrade his enclosure to a bigger one, since he’s now enormous? he currently lives in a 15x20x20 cm (about 6x8x8 inches) tank, gets a cricket every week (except when he’s in pre molt), and i change his water daily. is there anything else i can do for my little guy? i’m not experienced enough to breed him, nor do i have the nerves to watch him get murdered. and the thought of him instinctively searching for a female he’ll never find is heartbreaking. is there anything i can do to help him live as long and as comfortably as possible?
thanks in advance! (and i apologize if i made some phrasing mistakes, i’m not a native speaker)
i can’t tell whose position is less comfortable lmao. i’m sitting on the bed facing towards the upper right corner of the picture and that’s my RIGHT arm. i didn’t expect him to fall asleep so fast lol