Xerces is a spider of the species Brachypelma boehmei. As with all my spiders, Xerces was a tiny little spiderling when (s)he arrived through the post in August 2008.
Also known by the common name 'Mexican Flameleg' these natives of Mexico have a very striking appearance of red legs with black toes and tan body.
Now (March 2009) with a leg span of maybe 2 inches the little chap is
growing nicely, always keen to catch his food, he has a very healthy
appetite.
A quick web search for brachypelma boehmei will provide plenty more images of this little beauty of a spider.
I keep mine with a heatmat at one end of the tank. A water dish is kept full (sometimes see spider with head in it having a drink).
Aim to keep humidity at around 65%. So far no problems with moults etc so think this sort of setup is ok for him(/her).
July 2011 - Another moult (just realised I haven't tracked all moults here). Fascinating watching him pump himself out once out of skin. Skin is in brilliant condition so should be able to sex the little guy now....
Shortly after his moult he appeared to quickly make and destroy a small web, after sexing him using the moult I came to the conclusion he is indeed a he. So I'm now contemplating sending him to breed, particularly as this is a species that is desirable within the hobby community and is a member of the CITES listed Brachypelma genus so I feel I really should do what I can to prevent further wild collection of these guys.
Early September 2011 and I get a confirmation message that Xerces has arrived safely in South Wales. After a week or two he will meet his new Welsh girlfriend and hopefully we'll have some spiderlings (often referred to as slings in the hobby) after that.
I have asked for photos and/or video of the process, if I get some I'll share them here.