Dionysus arrived, MM G pulchra

I received a mature male G. pulchra today; thank you Jenn. He was sent to me for the breeding project. He is planned to be paired with Ebony(008). If all goes well, and Ebony is a good mommy, I should have spiderlings by around June of next year.
He is set up in a similar enclosure to Ebony(008), Onyx(009), and Sable(010). A 10 gallon glass tank with about 6" of coconut fiber/pete humus, a water dish in the corner, some silk plants, and a plastic disposable drinking cup with the bottom cut away and a 2" strip cut from the side buried in the corner opposite the water dish.
He has not produced any sperm webs yet, but he has become more active and wanders frequently. Jenn, his previous owner, said he spent much of his time in his hide. So, this is a good sign. As soon as I get confirmation from him that he ready to pair he will be introduced to Ebony(008)

Dionysus' new home, you can see the hide on the left

Top view, the hide is under the silk leaves

Ebony is on the left and Dionysus is on the right

You can see a piece of silk from Ebony(008) I placed in the corner.

Roaming the new home range.

He's a big boy, easily 5.5" (not an easy pose to get)

He's a handsome one

The Fab Four Molted (well three of them)

On September 22 both Shadow(003) and Eclipse(001) molted. On September 28 Phantom(002) molted. Shadow and Eclipse were confirmed female, and Phantom confirmed through examination of the exuviums. Now if Midnight would quit being a stage monger, perhaps he will molt soon.
The back story:
When I entered the classroom on  Wednesday, September 22, I went to check on the tarantulas, as I always do, and noticed something very disturbing. I grabbed my stool and stepped up to get a closer look. Eclipse was in the far rear corner of her enclosure in what looked to be a tangled mess. My immediate thought was "Oh no!, She is in a death curl! What happened!" I peered in for a closer look and noticed a few extra legs. *deep sigh* "She is molting." I carefully opened her enclosure, and sure enough she had just completed her molt and was still lying in her back. She had spun a silk hammock over the entrance to her burrow and used it as her molt mat. Thinking she was clear of her exuvium I grabbed my forceps and carefully grasped the exuvium and began to pull it out. Unknown to me, she was still lying on it; as I tugged she flipped over. Fortunately she was not harmed, and I got a perfect exuvium specimen. The exuvium had no tears in at all, and upon closer examination under the microscope I could could see distinct spermathecae. I have prepared her exuvium to be mounted for display.
I went back to the shelf and checked on the other three and found that Shadow has also completed a molt inside her burrow. She looked to have finished her molt a few hours before Eclipse did. Six days later, Phantom joined the group. Eclipse and Phantom have not yet exited their burrows, so I have not been able to get their exuviums out for examination.
They should all be well over 4" after this molt. This should put the myth about G. pulchra being a slooow grower to rest. I received these four back in December 2009 at just over 1" (they were alittle larger than the diameter as a quarter. Now, nine months later they are over 4". Their molt progression has slowed over the nine months time. In the beginning they were molting about once a month, and now they are molting about every two months. It will be intersting to see how long it will be to the next molt.

Eclipse(001) exuvium is clearly 3.5"+

Eclipse right after the flip

Eclipse, wishing the paparazzi would go away

Phantom's exuvium, nearly 4", if the front leg were extended