So, you want to keep a pet tarantula?

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Your second guess is probably closer than the first. ;)

I've never seen such a huge amount of web come from such a small spider.
When I saw it in the shop yesterday it had only just moulted, so I beat the price increase by a day :)
It's a good 2"+ in length - big enough to take full-grown crickets which makes it a good deal easier to feed than miniscule slings.

It's rather a nervy spider, and fast moving too. :)
 
Originally posted by DirtyMinx
Come on Lopez, put us out of our misery!:D

/prays for a cobalt
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Unfortunately not Minxy, they had some stunning Cobalts but they were £80 each and I couldn't persuade Leon into wasting all his money on one.

Keep guessing, you're on the right continent!

Leon bought me a lovely easter present today :D It's quite a mean piece of work, tagged the petshop owner whilst he was poking it about for me :eek: Pics coming tomorrow!!!
 
Originally posted by Lostkat
they were £80 each and I couldn't persuade Leon into wasting all his money on one.
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now thats the first bit os sense i've read in this thread kate. :)

Can you tell I don't like spiders?
What do you get from keeping/breeding spiders? (genuine interest question)
 
i know what it is now, but i can't tell because i didn't guess ;)

i got a new sling as well !!! a classic b.smithi it was a bargain at ten pounds :)
 
Originally posted by Stumpy
now thats the first bit os sense i've read in this thread kate. :)

Can you tell I don't like spiders?
What do you get from keeping/breeding spiders? (genuine interest question)
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i get a sense of satisfaction i suppose also it's very interesting and i get the same pleasure from keeping them as i keep fish, they are interesting to look at when you can see them and they are a much easier pet to keep size and husbandry wise. feeding is the only thing that might be a hassle (keeping the circkets alive) but it's prety fun
 
Originally posted by DirtyMinx
Come on Lopez, put us out of our misery!

/prays for a cobalt
Click to expand...
At £80 for a juvenile I managed to resist - going to keep an eye out for spiderlings at the British Tarantula Society show in May.

Originally posted by Stumpy
What do you get from keeping/breeding spiders? (genuine interest question)
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Not sure really -the same satisfaction as people get from keeping any pet I suppose. They're interesting to watch, easy to keep, they don't smell, they aren't noisy, they're cheap (compared to things like Dogs) and relatively long-lived. And you can leave them for 2 weeks when you go on holiday and they won't be dead when you come back.

Originally posted by Werewolf
probably lots of little spiders, unless my biology is worse than i thought

seriously it's like any pet i suspect, the interest etc
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Not tried breeding them yet - if this new one of mine turns out to be a male he'll be studded out as they are in demand as pets and rarely available.

Originally posted by hsp70
i know what it is now, but i can't tell because i didn't guess

i got a new sling as well !!! a classic b.smithi it was a bargain at ten pounds
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That's cos you cheated ;)

B smithi for a tenner is a bargain - another hardy colourful Brachypelma for your collection!


So, as nobody is going to guess what I got, I'll put you out of your misery:

He's a juvenile Chilobrachys fimbriatus - an Indian Violet.
He's fast, nervy, and webs like nothing I've ever seen. I've just transferred him to a larger tank and he's already coated it in a thin layer of silk - less than 15 minutes work.
He moulted Wednesday and he's eating already.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Maz.

Maz01.jpg



Maz02.jpg



Maz03.jpg
 
I've finally managed to get pics of my new psycho juvenile after leaving him in his tank to settle for the night. I'd had my eye on this little beastie since Wednesday when we got Leon his Indian Violet. There were two of these in the shop, and the one I was interested in had just moulted, making its colors absolutely gorgeous. The shop bloke put the tank on the counter so I could have a look, and nudged it about for me. It spazed out, swivelled round, BIT him and then legged it. I knew that was the T for me :D

Guessed what my psycho beast is yet??

A Brachypelma vagans :eek: One of the supposedly more docile tarantulas. Not this one!! A prime example that not ALL tarantulas conform to their textbook behaviour.

Meet Sanchez (Balddog will be pleased :) ):

Sanchez01.jpg


We got the little spazmeister out this morning to see how he liked being handled, and he seemed quite content to plod across Leon's hand, posing for the camera. However, I startled him by breathing on him and he jumped onto Leon's chest and started running up his t-shirt. We thought it best to put him away then before he comitted suicide.
Sanchez02.jpg


He also seems to be a bit of a greedy guts too, he's had 3 mealworms since yesterday afternoon.

I also have some more news - a lot has been happening on the T front this week. But it can wait until another post!
 
LK:how are mealworms as a food for them? i tried them out a few times (there were several with my crickets) but they have a habit of digging underground so i killed them before popping them in.
And your vagan's looks great ! Mine looked like a house spider until it's recent molt, now it's putting on some colour. hope it's as colouful as yours soon :)


lopez: yep, i wasn't looking for a smithi sling really but it was a price i couldn't turn down :D, what i'm really on the look out for are some more avicularia sp's (purpurea, metallica...) and b.klassi Thinking about heading to the BTS show myself but will have to see if i can find the time :)
 
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Originally posted by Lostkat
I'v It spazed out, swivelled round, BIT him and then legged it. I knew that was the T for me :D
...
We got the little spazmeister out this morning to see how he liked being handled, and he seemed quite content to plod across Leon's hand, posing for the camera. However, I startled him by breathing on him and he jumped onto Leon's chest and started running up his t-shirt. We thought it best to put him away then before he comitted suicide.
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LMAO, that is very funny & I was needing a laugh :p


Usually I get a crazy idea and aftter a few weeks I forget about it... however that hasn't happened with the idea of getting a T. I believe I shall be paying a certain shop a visit tomorrow ;)
 
LMFAO @ LK and the Spazmeister!

I'm glad you are happy with Sanchez and Maz, rather you than me with the suicidal one though.:eek:
 
Tiny! :eek:

They feel so delicate at that stage, I guarantee you'll feel happier when he's moulted a few times and grown a bit :)

My Chile rose was double that size when I got her all those years ago, and I remember thinking then how small she seemed :)
 
I've some more news from Tarantulasville, my baby Avicularia geroldi has moulted. I was suspicious because he hadn't eaten since I got him, but had a reasonably chunky abdomen nevertheless. We returned from a drive on Thursday to find two little Zico's in his tank!

Here's a pic of him before
Zico04.jpg


And after he'd moulted and hardened up a little
Zico07.jpg


What a difference, eh? He is now a gorgeous bottle green colour with white flecks on the longer hairs. As you can just see, his dark green feet are tipped with really cute little rose pink toes. This is one of the main characteristics of the Avicularia or 'pinktoe' family.

We managed to coax him out for a little walk, so we could get some decent pics and give you a gauge of size. He's grown tonnes since his last moult. He looks ever so clumsy when walking with his large clompy feet and slow, methodic stomping movements.

Zico19.jpg


He's quite a jumpy little sling, and gave us a bit of a shock when he was sat on Leon's hand and suddenly catapulted himself about a foot onto his other hand! He then proceeded to stomp up his jumper

Zico12.jpg


Here's a shot of his underside to show his red mouthparts. Almost all tarantulas have these bright red mouthparts, and I've found that they really show up well on my 2 baby Avicularias.

Zico20.jpg
 
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