So, you want to keep a pet tarantula?

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Originally posted by Lostkat
I read on the BTS forum that it's due to an infection of nematode worms, which is ultimately fatal to the infected T. Infection apparently spreads quickly so one T could give it to your whole collection :/ I'm glad I didn't buy off that German guy at the BTS show and am keeping a close eye on my spiders atm.
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It might not be Nematodes - from the latest symptomns it doesn't sound like it is.

We can only wait and see.
 
Originally posted by DirtyMinx
Any updates on him?
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He's made it through the night, but until he's hardened enough to attempt feeding I won't know much more.
The "jaws" and fangs have failed to come out of the old skin, leaving them sticking out at a wierd angle like buck teeth.
Hopefully he managed to shed his thorax and mouth linings - if not then there's no way he can eat.
If it's just the fangs that are damaged I can attempt to feed him by mushing up crickets/mealworms and placing them in front of him.
With a lot of nursing, it's sometimes possible to help the tarantula survive until its next moult - when fingers crossed, it will regenerate properly.

All I can do is try.....if it dies, it dies.

Bad moults are just "one of those things" that you can't really do anything about. :(
 
Glad the Tiger rump arrived okay - mine has just shed, and I believe yours had shed a day or so before the show. :)

The GBB is in "intensive care" with a damp paper towel for moisture. It's currently sat over the towel, so maybe it's trying to drink....I just don't know.

I'll do all I can....if I can keep him alive until the next moult then he has at least half a chance....
 
I've received lots of advice from various breeders and keepers, ranging from "Euthanise it in the freezer" to "Feed it mushed up crickets"
I'll be nursing the spider as best I can, but I don't hold out a great deal of hope.

What has given me some hope is an account from someone whos Usambara moulted with deformed fangs and was totally unable to feed. The spider was only small (slightly bigger than Carabobo) but went without food for 2 months, then moulted, regenerating succesfully. The spider also grew in this moult despite not eating!

Here are the pics of Carabobo - you can clearly see in the bottom pic that his fangs are held much too far from the body. :(

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/Carabobo02

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/Carabobo03
 
Originally posted by DHR
Have any of you ever used humidity meters. The one i've found just looks like a little cheap sort of dial. Wondering if its worth the £4 it is, just as a little guide more than anything so i can keep tabs on the humidity as best as i can.
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Never.

They're generally wildly inaccurate.
As a guide, if you have big water droplets on the glass it's much too wet in there. Such conditions promote mould and encourage mites to thrive.
My most humid spiders are my 80%+ C thorelli and H lividum from Malaysia, and at the most they only have slight misting/beading on the tank sides.

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/BangkokTank01

That's really as "misted" as any tank should be.
If the peat moves easily when you blow on it (like dust) then it's generally too dry.
A spider in overly dry conditions will appear "shrivelled" and move slowly, possibly with very unusual jerky/wobbly movements.

Bear in mind all spiderlings need a higher humidity level to thrive - being so small they are prone to drying out (dessication) very rapidly.
 
Awww, glad the l'il purpurea arrived safely. Good to see that Sven is a reliable trader as well. :)

I've had a new arrival of my own today - a boyfriend for Pepper!
He's only mine on a breeding loan, the guy wants him back after he's serviced Pepper as he has 2 females of his own he wants to breed.
He arrived safely packaged and surprisingly active.
This male moves more like an Avicularia than a Chile Rose - all waving legs in the air :D
The colours are striking, it's hard to grasp just how bright pink that carapace really is.

Ladies and gents, this is Roger.

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/Roger01

Handsome, isn't he?

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/Roger02

Much smaller and more slender than Pepper.

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/Roger03

1. These are his Tibial spurs. The adult male generally has these to lift the female up for mating and hold her fangs steady. Some species do not have these.

2. Palpal bulbs. These "boxing gloves" are filled with sperm and used to transfer it to the female.

I've just popped him into a small tank for now, and he appears to be spinning a sperm web already. Fingers crossed!
 
Originally posted by DHR
If possible, could i have one of the offspring mate? I'd need to do a little reading on the breed though to be sure. I was planning on getting a Mexican Red Knee (or a True Mexican Read Knee), what are they like in comparisom?
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Put it this way, there's no guarantee with spider breeding.

1. You have to actually get the damn things to mate. Sometimes, for whatever reasons, they just won't "do it"

2. Then the female might not produce an eggsac. Sometimes they just don't get gravid.

3. If she DOES make an egg sac, she might eat it, it might be infertile, it might rot, it might go hard.

4. If all the above manages not to happen, the spiderlings may just never hatch at all, or all die very quickly.

Now bear in mind from breeding to hatching we could be talking of a timescale covering 4 months plus......

So if I actually get some hatchlings, you'd be welcome to one. :p

Species is Grammostola rosea
 
Last night I decided to "test the water" and put Roger in with Pepper.
I dimmed the lights, set the tanks down on the floor and let Barry White play softly on the stereo.
As soon as Roger hit the peat Pepper came out of her burrow and sat atop her cork bark, drumming loudly with her pedipalps.
If you've not seen mating tarantulas before, this drumming is surprisingly loud, almost like someone rapping their fingertips on a wooden table.
She approached Roger, partingher chelicerae and lifting her body.
Poor Rog was having none of it though - he froze at first, eventually grappling with Pepper in an attempt to shrug her off before spinning around and legging it at an almighty rate of knots!

I managed to get a few pics of the failed copulation:

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/PepperMating01

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/PepperMating02

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/PepperMating03

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/PepperMating04

I can only assume this means he has not had a chance to spin his sperm web and charge his palps.
I'll try again in a few days - one good thing to come from this is I now know Pepper is responsive and willing to mate. :)
 
Originally posted by Bungee
Some good pics of the 2 future lovers Lopez :cool:

Hows Carabobo?
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He's alive...
I've tried feeding him mushed up crickets but he seems uninterested. Tried a live crick (very small one) the other day - he attacked it with vigour but was unable to actually kill it. :(

I'm just giving him plenty of water at the moment in the hope he will survive long enough to moult again. At the next moult he should regenerate properly.

He's quite uncoordinated, but seems to be webbing and acting as normal otherwise.
 
In all honesty, it varies.
Generally I feed them once a day (one cricket)
The smaller slings get fed twice, sometimes three times a day - I'm power feeding them in an effort to make them grow and mature faster.
When a T looks "fat" I stop the food for a few days. Swollen abdomens are liable to rupture and cause moulting problems.
 
Well, I fancied taking some new pics tonight so here are a couple

Pelé

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/Pele06

This fat little chunkster looks fit to burst. Even though it's only 3 weeks since he last moulted, his dark legs (normally pink) tell me it's going to be shedding time soon. The darkness is the new cuticle forming beneath the old one. Maybe he'll start to show some of his adult (green) colours this moult? Who knows - but his regenerated front leg should get bigger at least.

Idi

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/Idi21

After his dramatic leg surgery a few weeks ago I was very worried about little Idi - but he's back on the food, eating well and has made an excellent recovery. Hopefully that leg will regenerate next moult, and he'll lose the scab on his injured right rear leg at the same time

I'll try and shoot some of the others tomorrow - the light in here is too crap to focus properly :(
 
Right on cue, I got home to find one freshly moulted Pele.

I picked out his old skin to straighten it and he started running all over my hands, so I took a few snaps.
Here he is, Mr Ghost spider!

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/Pele07

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/Pele08

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/Pele09

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/Pele10

If you compare Pele (Avicularia avicularia) to Kate's Zico (Avicularia geroldi) you can see the common characteristics that put them in the same genus

  • Elongated front legs
  • Large padded "feet"
  • Difference in colour between leg and "foot"
  • Small, striped abdomen
  • Similar chelicerae and carapace shape
 
From the top:

Pepper Chile rose Grammostola rosea

Pepper is back on the food after her 8 month famine. She's never looked better, and is ready and willing to mate. Shame Roger has other ideas.

Roger Chile rose Grammostola rosea

Roger is one of the best looking tarantulas I've ever seen. He is healthy, feeding well, and acting like a normal Chile rose does.
Shame he appears to be gay.

Mugabe Usambara Baboon Pterinochilus murinus RCF "Usambara"

Mugabe is healthy, and eating well. I havenot seen him out of his burrow in nearly a month. All I can see is the glint of his eyes if I shine a torch on him. I'll try to persuade him out for a pic or two.

Idi Mombasa Golden Starburst Pterinochilus murinus

Idi has made a fantastic recovery from his crushed legs. One has healed into a neat scab, the other I removed in a bit of nailbiting surgery. Since then he's been moved into a much smaller tank, where he seems to be thriving. He has begun to web more heavily than before, and eats very well indeed. His next moult might be difficult - that scab may cause problems, and if it does the poor sod faces losing yet another limb.

Miguel Curly-hair Brachypelma albopilosum

Miguel is much happier in his big tank - he's dug a deep burrow beneath his cork bark and webbed himself in. I checked his abdomen the other day to see his bald spot is now totally black, so a moult should occur within the next week.

Maz Indian Violet Chilobrachys fimbriatus

Maz has developed a good appetite and a calm temperament. His colours are absolutely stunning in the right light - I'll post a couple later on. Looks to be a female, and these mature at a small size (4" or so) therefore I will be seeking a male ina few months.

Punta Tiger Rump Cyclosternum/Davus fasciatum

I found out from the dealer that Punta is 18 months old. Since his moult he has settled nicely and feeds very well, despite at first appearing scared of crickets. He is handleable but nervous. One of my best looking spiders.

Carabobo Greenbottle Blue Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens

Following his bad moult in which he lost the use of his fangs, Carabobo looks like a spider who's been beaten up and dragged through a hedge backwards. Such a shame, becuase his colouring is so bold and vibrant.
He is very thin, uncoordinated and totally unable to feed. I believe he can drink - but he is a touch and go case until his next moult (if he makes it that far)

Pele Guyanan Pink Toe Avicularia avicularia

Pele moulted today, and his legs have begun to turn a pale minty green over the course of the day. This is his second moult in under a month. Pele eats very well (like most of my T's) and has built a strong hammock web.

Guarico Venezuelan Suntiger Psalmopeous irminia

Just like Kate's one, he's developed an evil temper, striking repeatedly at any potential threat. His small tank has become a mass of tangled web tunnels encased in dirt that he moves through at immense speed. He is a voracious feeder.

Winston Trinidad Chevron Psalmopeous cabridgei

Winston looks like a washed-out version of Guarico. He lives in a similar web, but stays close to the floor at all times unlike Guarico. He is currently off his food so I expect he will moult fairly soon.

Bangkok Cobalt Blue Haplopelma lividum

Another small T with a temper, Bangkok will sink his fangs into everything and anything that comes too close. At the moment he is a patterned grey spider - the blue will not show for a few months yet. He is an eating machine that I rarely see due to him living in a very deep burrow.

Chong Malaysian Earth Tiger Cyriopagopus schiodtei/thorelli

Chong has still got a minor mite problem around his chelicerae, which I hope will vanish soon. He has calmed down a lot lately and is nowhere near as psychotic or hungry as when I first got him, so fingers crossed for a moult in the next couple of weeks.

And my mealworms don't smell :confused:
 
Skooter, just for you I decided to take some fresh shots of Mugabe. I decided to kill two birds with one stone and move him to a smaller tank (like Idi's) at the same time.

Getting spiders from a small tank to big tank is EASY.
Getting spiders from a big tank to a small one is HARD (especially if they are as fractious as Mugabe)

After not a lot of co-operation he was in his new home and webbing like mad - didn't enjoy being disturbed though, as the pictures clearly show.

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/Mugabe32

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/Mugabe33

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/Mugabe34
 
I really feel for you...parental problems mean that until I find a better job and get my own place, no more T's...well....not uless I do it sneakily.
My mother is genuinely arachnophobic, but she's held Roger, Pepper and Miguel. As long as I remove the spider from her hand when she says "enough!" there are no problems :)
But 13 t's is where she's decided to say "thou shalt have no more" :( Ah well, when I get my own place, first job is to rig up a purpose built spider room.

Fear I can understand, but I've never quite grasped how someone can develop such a hatred for what is basically an unobtrusive, primitive, 8 legged arachnid. :confused:
I'm just lucky my bird loves 'em as much as I do. :)
 
That's another thing that's always amused me - how can anyone be so bothered about something which is encased in a glass cabinet and need never be brought out?
What do these people think it's going to do - smash through the glass with its evil little fangs and hunt them down?
In a wild environment, I'd certainly be more than a little apprehensive about apporaching a Lion.In a zoo, however, I don't care - the damn things in an enclosure.
Same goes with something like poisonous octopus - no way would I knowingly jump in the water with one, but in an aquarium it's hardly rational to be afraid of it.
You can keep an adult T without ever taking the lid off.
Small holes in the lid allow you to drop in crickets and water, and old skins will eventually decompose if left in the tank.

I know a girl who's scared of snakes - to the point where if a snake comes on the telly she screams and turns it off - I honestly have to question the intelligence and stability of someone scared of a picture of an animal.
 
Originally posted by si_sleaf
Definitely, how often do you read about a Tarantula in the papers that has attacked somebody and has had to be put down? I know not as many people keep tham as do dogs but in all my years I'd still expect to have heard of one or two.
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Very good point

My mum always says to me "Simon, what if they escape in the night and lay eggs in your ear?" She says that with a completely serious look on her face too. "I think I'd know Mum", I say "because I'd have a spider on the side of my face for a couple of months guarding her egg sac!" The nutter.
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Not to mention the Immaculate Conception your spider must have had to lay the eggs in the first place :D

Lopez, I seem to remember you like to powerfeed your Ts. Do you feed them every day or does it matter if I just feed my Indian ornamental a bit bigger crickets a few times a week?
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Either feed small crickets regularly, or big crickets less often. I've found t's will tackle stuff their own size, sometimes much bigger when they are young! Try it on some bigger crickets, but be ready to take the food back out if the spider appears to be afraid of its food.
 
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