So, you want to keep a pet tarantula?
- Thread starter Lopéz
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Well, after getting Zico, Maz and Louis home from Leicester (after a few complications) we unpacked the spiders to check how they were.
Louis and Zico were fine, but Maz was looking a little the worse for wear. He's been badly shaken about and was in the "death curl" position.
In a situation like this there isn't a great deal you can do except skyrocket the humidity, keep the spider warm and hope for the best.
Luckily when I checked on him in the morning, Maz was fine
While I was in Leicester I missed two moults - both baby Guarico and fatboy slim Miguel have shed their skins.
Miguel is now looking like a "proper tarantula" - really thick bushy hair all over and he isn't far off Pepper's size
I'm sure his appetite will return when he hardens up.
Guarico has now graduated from the "flea" stage - his legs and abdomen are now a stunning black, with peachy colour markings
Just glad they're all ok
Louis and Zico were fine, but Maz was looking a little the worse for wear. He's been badly shaken about and was in the "death curl" position.
In a situation like this there isn't a great deal you can do except skyrocket the humidity, keep the spider warm and hope for the best.
Luckily when I checked on him in the morning, Maz was fine
While I was in Leicester I missed two moults - both baby Guarico and fatboy slim Miguel have shed their skins.
Miguel is now looking like a "proper tarantula" - really thick bushy hair all over and he isn't far off Pepper's size
I'm sure his appetite will return when he hardens up.
Guarico has now graduated from the "flea" stage - his legs and abdomen are now a stunning black, with peachy colour markings
Just glad they're all ok
I'm going to have to ban myself from visiting pet shops at this rate.
Popped down to my local to show Kate the feisty Baboons, and ended up staying a while chatting to the owner.
He even mated his massive female Chilean rose while we were there - I've never seen tarantulas mate in the flesh and it's very amusing really - the male waving his legs like mad, almost like he's on a runway signalling a plane in to land
After all that excitement I noticed he had a box of tiny Avicularia avicularia (Guyanan Pink Toes) living communally in a cricket tub.
At eight quid I couldn't say no, especially after Kate picked one out.
Pink toes come from Brazil originally so I needed a Brazilian name - and as my one has a missing leg I decided to use a little irony and call him Pelé.
Here he is this afternoon feasting on a cricket
Popped down to my local to show Kate the feisty Baboons, and ended up staying a while chatting to the owner.
He even mated his massive female Chilean rose while we were there - I've never seen tarantulas mate in the flesh and it's very amusing really - the male waving his legs like mad, almost like he's on a runway signalling a plane in to land
After all that excitement I noticed he had a box of tiny Avicularia avicularia (Guyanan Pink Toes) living communally in a cricket tub.
At eight quid I couldn't say no, especially after Kate picked one out.
Pink toes come from Brazil originally so I needed a Brazilian name - and as my one has a missing leg I decided to use a little irony and call him Pelé.
Here he is this afternoon feasting on a cricket
He's about an inch end to end When he gets to adulthood the leg colouring will reverse - the legs will go green-black with tiny pink toes.
When he gets to adulthood the leg colouring will reverse - the legs will go green-black with tiny pink toes.
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How big can the Chile rose become?
This is the first time I have looked at this thread and I have just read the last 2 pages and all I can say is wow I have to read the other 39 pages now
I love spiders, but never had a Turantula...
Great thread Lopez
This is the first time I have looked at this thread and I have just read the last 2 pages and all I can say is wow
I have to read the other 39 pages now I love spiders, but never had a Turantula...
Great thread Lopez
Most Chile rose seem to end up around the 5" mark (across)
The one in my local pet shop is a right whopper though, about 6.5" across and a really thick legged and stocky looking.
The red-phase (like my own Chile rose) is far better looking IMO, but there's no telling what colour variant they'll be until they get to adulthood.
The one in my local pet shop is a right whopper though, about 6.5" across and a really thick legged and stocky looking.
The red-phase (like my own Chile rose) is far better looking IMO, but there's no telling what colour variant they'll be until they get to adulthood.
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Programme with some T's in it on Discovery Animal Planet right now (actually about the Amazon, 22:00 to 23:00)
(actually about the Amazon, 22:00 to 23:00)
Soldato
Another news flash. After telling you all that I would probably never handle Rio, Leon decided that she looked docile enough to try and coax onto his hand... so he did, ans Rio actually seemed quite happy about it. We both handled her a couple of times and she's far happier than Jezzie to be on your hand. She just walks and walks and walks. I even got my mother to hold her, shock horror.
Here she is posing for pics on Leon's hand;
Strike a pose
Vogue vogue vogue
The next morning, Leon was nudging her to see if she wanted to be handled and she suddenly tagged the tweezers a couple of times and went into full threat pose. I've NEVER had one of my T's do this before so to see my little docile Rio being all threatening and mean was quite amusing.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, I'm a big, scary trantua, feel my wrath. ph33r me. Raaaaah. etc. etc.
Seems like she's definately a bit of a schizo... bless
Here she is posing for pics on Leon's hand;
Strike a pose
Vogue vogue vogue
The next morning, Leon was nudging her to see if she wanted to be handled and she suddenly tagged the tweezers a couple of times and went into full threat pose. I've NEVER had one of my T's do this before so to see my little docile Rio being all threatening and mean was quite amusing.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, I'm a big, scary trantua, feel my wrath. ph33r me. Raaaaah. etc. etc.
Seems like she's definately a bit of a schizo... bless
lol mine are all kinda dopey and docile.
i moved wong choi (boehmei) to a smaller enclosure and he wouldn't budge until i gave him a push up the butt with the forceps
all my t's have molted once now sxcecpt my smithi although it seems she's going to soon as her abdomen is getting quite dark.i had a bit of a problem with fu qwai (vagans) who had a bit of his molt stuck to his abdomen but it finally let go when he crawled up a pretty wet side of the wall of his petpal
on the new additions front. i finally found a a.metallica from a guy who was reducing his collection !
i moved wong choi (boehmei) to a smaller enclosure and he wouldn't budge until i gave him a push up the butt with the forceps
all my t's have molted once now sxcecpt my smithi although it seems she's going to soon as her abdomen is getting quite dark.i had a bit of a problem with fu qwai (vagans) who had a bit of his molt stuck to his abdomen but it finally let go when he crawled up a pretty wet side of the wall of his petpal
on the new additions front. i finally found a a.metallica from a guy who was reducing his collection !
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Originally posted by Lostkat
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, I'm a big, scary trantua, feel my wrath. ph33r me. Raaaaah. etc. etc.
Seems like she's definately a bit of a schizo... bless
LOL
He is cute...
That cheered me up
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My Power Feeding Experiment
When I first got Miguel, I decided to conduct a bit of an experiment.
In tarantula keeping circles, there is a much-discussed method of raising juveniles known as "Power-Feeding"
Basically, you choose a tarantula and feed it as much as it can physically eat, in an attempt to make it mature quickly.
This requires a spider with good feeding responses, making a baby Curly Hair ideal.
I decided to feed Miguel as much as he could manage to eat, whilst using his fellow hatchlings in the pet shop as "control spiders"
I know that the pet shop owner feeds his spiderlings once a week with a single medium cricket each.
Miguel was aquired on 18/2/03. Here he is on my hand - he'd moulted shortly before I purchased him.
I fed him as many mealworms and crickets as possible over the next month (a typical weeks food for him was around 15 crickets or up to 30 mealworms ) - he fasted just a couple of days before moulting on 14/03/03
The picture below was taken on 20/03/03, one month after purchase.
As you can see, he has clearly grown a substantial amount.
As you probably guessed, he ate ravenously before entering a fast on 14/04/03
Miguel moulted again (in my absence) on 18/04/03 - making each moult approximately a month apart.
This picture was taken on 23/04/03 - two months after I purchased him.
As you can see, he is now a seriously chunky spider.
I returned to the pet shop last week to check on his fellow hatchlings - the ones fed once a week.
Some of shed once in the last 2 months, and others not at all. None are anywhere near Miguel's size - and most are still the same size he was 2 months ago.
Conclusion
Power Feeding works!
When I first got Miguel, I decided to conduct a bit of an experiment.
In tarantula keeping circles, there is a much-discussed method of raising juveniles known as "Power-Feeding"
Basically, you choose a tarantula and feed it as much as it can physically eat, in an attempt to make it mature quickly.
This requires a spider with good feeding responses, making a baby Curly Hair ideal.
I decided to feed Miguel as much as he could manage to eat, whilst using his fellow hatchlings in the pet shop as "control spiders"
I know that the pet shop owner feeds his spiderlings once a week with a single medium cricket each.
Miguel was aquired on 18/2/03. Here he is on my hand - he'd moulted shortly before I purchased him.
I fed him as many mealworms and crickets as possible over the next month (a typical weeks food for him was around 15 crickets or up to 30 mealworms
) - he fasted just a couple of days before moulting on 14/03/03The picture below was taken on 20/03/03, one month after purchase.
As you can see, he has clearly grown a substantial amount.
As you probably guessed, he ate ravenously before entering a fast on 14/04/03
Miguel moulted again (in my absence) on 18/04/03 - making each moult approximately a month apart.
This picture was taken on 23/04/03 - two months after I purchased him.
As you can see, he is now a seriously chunky spider.
I returned to the pet shop last week to check on his fellow hatchlings - the ones fed once a week.
Some of shed once in the last 2 months, and others not at all. None are anywhere near Miguel's size - and most are still the same size he was 2 months ago.
Conclusion
Power Feeding works!
The main risk with power-feeding is the possibility of a ruptured abdomen - the abdomen, unlike the rest of the spider, is soft and prone to being split.
If the spider were to fall or be dropped, then a ruptured abdomen would be almost certain to kill the spider.
However, Miguel is kept in a rather low tank, so there's no danger of that happening. I never let him get too fat - I've seen tarantulas eat so much that they are virtually ballooning.
The other problem is that it can reduce lifespan - for example it may take a Curly hair 18 months to mature normally - power feeding might cut that down to ten.
Personally I like to power-feed them until adulthood, and then return their feeding pattern to normal so as not to shorten lifespan
If the spider were to fall or be dropped, then a ruptured abdomen would be almost certain to kill the spider.
However, Miguel is kept in a rather low tank, so there's no danger of that happening. I never let him get too fat - I've seen tarantulas eat so much that they are virtually ballooning.
The other problem is that it can reduce lifespan - for example it may take a Curly hair 18 months to mature normally - power feeding might cut that down to ten.
Personally I like to power-feed them until adulthood, and then return their feeding pattern to normal so as not to shorten lifespan
Soldato
Having now met all of Leon's new arrivals, I can vouch that Miguel is THE fattest little git ever! Never thought I'd hear myself praising curly hairs because I always thought they were a bit boring, but he's a stunning tarantula. I was SO tempted to buy myself one from his local petshop, but I thought it best not to until I have a bigger heatmat. Pelé is also a little cutie, as is Guarico with his stripey bum and cool pink legwarmers. Pepper seemed to like me too and happily strolled across my hand for ages. She's a beautiful docile T.
I got back to Leicestershire yesterday and came straight upstairs to check that my bro hadn't managed to kill any of my babies. I picked up Sanchez's tank and well... that little B. vagans never fails to suprise me! He's built a proper underground lair!
This is an arial view. You can see two of the tunnel entrances, but not the other which comes out in the top left corner. Solid yellow lines mark sides of tunnels, and hashed areas are the bits he's hollowed out.
This is a side view of his main chamber. I'm so glad he's build it up against the sides because I have a perfect view of him wherever he is now!
Looking in from one end of the tunnel (you can see greedy guts complete with a nice juicy mealworm)
And the other end (you can see his bum)
And finally, this is his side tunnel which I think he's only just started building because it's not amazingly big like the others
Pretty neat huh?? Now I just need to get rid of that annoying sticky mark on his tank and I'll have perfect viewing of him wherever he is. Excellent.
I got back to Leicestershire yesterday and came straight upstairs to check that my bro hadn't managed to kill any of my babies. I picked up Sanchez's tank and well... that little B. vagans never fails to suprise me! He's built a proper underground lair!
This is an arial view. You can see two of the tunnel entrances, but not the other which comes out in the top left corner. Solid yellow lines mark sides of tunnels, and hashed areas are the bits he's hollowed out.
This is a side view of his main chamber. I'm so glad he's build it up against the sides because I have a perfect view of him wherever he is now!
Looking in from one end of the tunnel (you can see greedy guts complete with a nice juicy mealworm)
And the other end (you can see his bum)
And finally, this is his side tunnel which I think he's only just started building because it's not amazingly big like the others
Pretty neat huh?? Now I just need to get rid of that annoying sticky mark on his tank and I'll have perfect viewing of him wherever he is. Excellent.
I've decided I'm going to get one, I managed to get the go ahead of my Mum to allow me to keep one in their house. I'm not going to tell my housemates at Uni, as the girls will probably object; but going on what you guys have said it seems like people are usually quite interested when they see that its safely contained and fun to watch.
I'll probably look into it more when I get back to Uni on Monday, I'm just really not sure what to go for with so many choices.
I'll probably look into it more when I get back to Uni on Monday, I'm just really not sure what to go for with so many choices.
Soldato
Good decision, you won't regret it You'd be better to start off with one of the most docile and hardy T's like a curly hair, Chile rose or any of the Brachypelmas (assuming you don't get an UTTER psycho like my B. vagans). It will give you a chance to get used to looking after a tarantula before you get a bit more daring and go for an avic or one of the more bitey species. leon's local petshop has some decent sized curly's for £3.... absolute bargain! I really want one but my heatmat isn't big enough 
You'd be better to start off with one of the most docile and hardy T's like a curly hair, Chile rose or any of the Brachypelmas (assuming you don't get an UTTER psycho like my B. vagans). It will give you a chance to get used to looking after a tarantula before you get a bit more daring and go for an avic or one of the more bitey species. leon's local petshop has some decent sized curly's for £3.... absolute bargain! I really want one but my heatmat isn't big enough
Soldato
I was supposed to be going back to uni this morning, but I got up at 10am to find Jezzie lying on her back in moult position. I couldn't transport her like that because she probably would have died, so I'm now going back to uni first thing tomorrow. Damn inconvenient little T!
Anyway, didn't manage to get any pics of her actually moulting because she was under her bark at the time and I didn't want to disturb her by moving it. Once she'd shed the skin it was ok to move the bark out of the way and get a couple of shots of her stretching.... my how she's GROWN! Probably as big as Rio is now! That's one hell of a growth spurt.
Stretching her new lanky legs after emerging from that tiny skin she's been cramped in
Now for a little limbering up:
Aaaand bend (ph33r those mean fangs)
Aaaand flex
Here's her three skins next to eachother. As you can see, she grows a fair amount each time she moults. I think this is probably the most she's grown so far though.
And here's the old gal after she'd flipped over and stomped around a bit. I sat there ages waiting for her to flip over just because I was interested how they did it. I turned to put some more paper in my printer, turned back and she'd flipped... grrrr!
The poor thing looks all lanky and skinny. Time for some intensive cricket therapy methinks!
Anyway, didn't manage to get any pics of her actually moulting because she was under her bark at the time and I didn't want to disturb her by moving it. Once she'd shed the skin it was ok to move the bark out of the way and get a couple of shots of her stretching.... my how she's GROWN! Probably as big as Rio is now! That's one hell of a growth spurt.
Stretching her new lanky legs after emerging from that tiny skin she's been cramped in
Now for a little limbering up:
Aaaand bend (ph33r those mean fangs)
Aaaand flex
Here's her three skins next to eachother. As you can see, she grows a fair amount each time she moults. I think this is probably the most she's grown so far though.
And here's the old gal after she'd flipped over and stomped around a bit. I sat there ages waiting for her to flip over just because I was interested how they did it. I turned to put some more paper in my printer, turned back and she'd flipped... grrrr!
The poor thing looks all lanky and skinny. Time for some intensive cricket therapy methinks!
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