So, you want to keep a pet tarantula?

DHR · 20 May 2003 at 20:54

Anyone with mod status (hint hint

) fancy going through the thread and putting all the usefull links at the top

Lopéz · 21 May 2003 at 09:49

Originally posted by DHR
Anyone with mod status (hint hint ) fancy going through the thread and putting all the usefull links at the top

Go through all that on 56k?!

Maybe when I've got a few very free hours to spare

Don't be afraid to bring up something you think might have already been covered

All my new T's have settled in and are feeding well.
I've managed to pick names for them all, as usual the names relate to their country of origin.

Greenbottle blue (Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens) - Venezuela - "Carabobo"

Tiger-rump Doppelganger (Cyclosternum fasciatum) - Costa Rica - "Punta"

Trinidad Chevron (Psalmopeus cambridgei) - Trinidad - "Winston"

Malaysian Earth Tiger (Cyriopagapus "thorelli") - Malaysia - "Chong" (This is the blueish spiderling with the orange spiny hairs)

Cobalt Blue (Haplopelma lividum) - Thailand - "Bangkok" (The second Mystery Spider)

Oh, and little Maz moulted yesterday. He's really coloured up nicely, in the light you can see he has steel blue legs.

http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/MySpiders/Maz02

If you look closely you can see the blue and violet hints over each leg, that will become brighter and brighter as the spider grows.

Repo · 21 May 2003 at 11:31

w00t!!!

The new addition to the Repo household arrived this morning at 9:00am with the morning post

Already had a home prepared for him so the transfer was done quite quickly onto warm peat. He was totaly stationary for a few mins & then as he warmed up went haywire. This chap can MOVE! and is very active; already had a little dig & was webbing up just 20 mins after arriving, whereas my B.Vagans took a couple of days to start

This chap is not going to get even a glimpse of an escape opportunity as it's so quick I doubt I'd be able to catch it.

The pics posted above simply do not do the colouration & markings of these little chaps justice at all, the markings are fantastic! The abdomen looks like it's been stolen from a large orange wasp. In fact I think I'm going to call him/her/it#2 Blackie after Blackie Lawless, the frontman of WASP

Great purchase LostKat & Lopez, VERY impressed

Thank you very much

Lopéz · 21 May 2003 at 11:52

Glad he arrived safely mate, that's the first T I've packed for posting! Sorry about the packing tape, I think Kate got carried away

Have you checked out any care information on them yet?
If not, I've made a caresheet compilation you can download HERE

Please not I did NOT write these caresheets, I just compiled them together and therefore cannot accept credit for them

Repo · 21 May 2003 at 12:03

Originally posted by Lopéz
Sorry about the packing tape, I think Kate got carried away

Yeah, it took me 15mins to cut the postman free

I didn't read any TigerRump specific caresheets

but he's got the large surface area that they need (he's in a medium sized coffee jar on it's side), will just have to exchange the soggy sponge for a water dish by the look of the stuff you linked to there

Cheers

Lostkat · 21 May 2003 at 13:32

Phew

Relief++ that he arrived all in one piece. I was really worried about the little guy being thrown around. I've packed up hsp70's exactly the same and shipped it out today so fingers crossed he'll be ok too. He ran around like a psycho and kicked hairs before I managed to settle him into his fim cup

Glad you like him! I really wish I'd have bought myself one now, but the only ones left were really small and I really wanted one of the bigger, more hassle free ones. Ah well, there's always next year.

Oh, and yours is a hair kicker too Repo

It's really funny to watch!!

Lostkat · 22 May 2003 at 00:44

Right, I've finally settled on the names of all my n00bs now, and managed to get a MUCH better pic of My Pokie too. I'll never get a full shot of him because of the shape of the tank.. plus he will NEVER be leaving it either. Definitely a look don't touch T. He's currently spinning round in circles and running around his container :confused:

I thought he only did this when I disturbed him, but I haven't touched his container all evening and he's been runing around for a good half hour now.

Anyway, I've called him Tamil, after one of the national languages of Sri Lanka where he comes from. Isn't he a beauty? I'm so glad I bought him. He's just gorgeous

I've named my P. irminia Zuila after a Venezuelan state. He's settled him nicely and has even started to web now.

Mr Greenbottle blue has also webbed his whole tank up, and seems quite content. He's called Tachira, after another Venezuelan state.

And Mr curly hair has been named José (pronounced Hose-ay) to go with his Honduran roots and match the equally greasy name of Miguel. I've also rehomed him today to a slightly posher and more sturdy tub than his cricket tub.... a tub that I salvaged from one of our Indian Takeaways... it says 'chick roganjosh' on the top, hehe. Now that's class!

I also had a moult whilst I was away. Little Zico decided to flip over and shed, despite haveing only eaten a few days previously. He's grown half an inch!!!! His last moult measured just under 1.5" and he's now just under 2". Woah!

Ratty · 22 May 2003 at 01:09

a bit of a silly question really but i am not sure if anyone has asked yet, do T's go to the toilet? if so then what dose T poo look like?

i just cant imagen what it wood look like!

btw, i have followed this thread from the start but never posted in it. I would just like to thank all the people who have psoted for one of the most enjoyable reads i have ever read. I allways look out for this when i am in GD so keep it coming!

Thanks

Ratty

Clark Nova · 22 May 2003 at 03:20

From what I can tell, T poop looks like little white blobs. In my Poky's tank he does it on the side. looks like a tiny bird has done it, ha ha.

Lopéz · 22 May 2003 at 08:50

Originally posted by si_sleaf
From what I can tell, T poop looks like little white blobs. In my Poky's tank he does it on the side. looks like a tiny bird has done it, ha ha.

Yep, that's the stuff. T poo is odourless, and dries on contact with air into a white chalky substance.

Mugabe does exactly the same as yours - leaves runny marks down his tank all the damn time.

Kate, Zico is now one stunning little tarantula

Clark Nova · 22 May 2003 at 18:20

Just wondering, are tarantulas especially good at hearing or are they a bit deaf? I know their vision isn't great, they see a bit like flies from what I can gather only sensing movement but not actually seeing anything while it is standing still. Just wondered if they will mind the noise if I am listening to music on my PC or playing games online.....

Certainly yesterday when I was feeding Tom, my B.smithi, he went beserk when I was clearing out dead crickets on the other side of his tank. He rushed out from underneath his half coconut that he seems to like and tried to eat me. To say he made me jump is an understatement. He seems to have good enough vision. My god, he is a real psycho. I have only had him since Sunday and so far I have been hissed at, hairs flicked and the long forceps I use to put crickets in has been attacked. Hmm, I seem to have misread those caresheets where it says Mexican red knees are a calm and docile species. :rolleyes:

Anyway my computer is back up and running now so I will try to get some pics up for you guys to see.

Werewolf · 22 May 2003 at 19:48

Originally posted by si_sleaf
, I seem to have misread those caresheets where it says Mexican red knees are a calm and docile species.

By the sounds of it your spider hasn't read the same caresheets

i think LC and Loppy have mentioned that there are some extreme exceptions to the general rules when it comes to T's

Kainz · 22 May 2003 at 22:01

lol si_sleaf, nice to see Tom having fun

Lostkat · 22 May 2003 at 22:09

Si, sometimes tarantulas don't conform to the 'norm'. You may get an uber calm usumbara which will roll on its back and let you tickle it (well, maybe not quite

) and you get supposedly docile species acting like utter psychos. My Brachypelma vagans is meant to be one of the most docile T's to have, ideal for beginners. Mine shows me threat postures, goes for the forceps and tries to kill anything in sight. There's no way I could hold her, despite what all the care sheets say. Absolutely nothing I can do about it though. It's just the way she is.

Choosing the liveliest tarantula isn't necessarily the most sensible thing to do when you're looking for a docile individual. They're not cats or dogs

Also, tarantulas actually have very poor sight! It’s not that your tarantula can see you, he can feel the vibrations you’re making when you clean the tank out etc. The “hairs” all over their bodies are a continuum of their “skin”, and are massively sensitive to touch, taste/smell and vibrations. They find their prey by touch and taste/smell, not sight.

I’m not sure about hearing, but afaik they either can’t hear well or at all. As long as your speakers aren’t on the same surface as them (which would cause a lot of vibration), then they should be absolutely fine. It doesn’t affect mine at all when I play extremely loud music.

Clark Nova · 22 May 2003 at 22:20

Thanks for the info LK, I will move my 4 Ts into the spare room now that I have fixed my PC. That way I can still watch them in the evening while I am in there. I don't think my girlfriend slleps too well in the same room as Tom.

Anyway, thanks for laughing Kainz

if one day I stop posting in here you'll know why. Eaten by Tom, what a way to go....

Clark Nova · 22 May 2003 at 23:39

Pics of my spiders for you

Here are my Ts; Tom and Barbara, Jerry and Margot:

Tom my B.smithi:

Barbara my Curly:

Jerry my P.regalis:

And Margot my G.rosea:

Thanks for looking :cool:

Nexus · 22 May 2003 at 23:55

Nice pics Si, your B.Smithi is Huge! Can't wait until my Ts are a lot bigger.

Lostkat · 23 May 2003 at 00:03

Awww what a set of gorgeous T's you have, especially that Pokie

My curly is EXACTLY the same size as yours. We probably got him from the same stand

Clark Nova · 23 May 2003 at 00:28

LostKat, I think you might be right. I got my curly from the stand at the front of the smaller hall that was selling them for £2. It had a sticker on the tub saying what T it was.

Nexus: Yeah, he is big. I bought him from the show at the weekend too. I got him off a guy that was starting to pack up. He did him for me cheap, £10. Very pleased with him except that I need riot gear and tear gas when I feed him. He is a bit lively

Lostkat · 23 May 2003 at 01:03

Originally posted by si_sleaf
LostKat, I think you might be right. I got my curly from the stand at the front of the smaller hall that was selling them for £2. It had a sticker on the tub saying what T it was.

Yup, they're from the same bloke

I had the very last one before he sold the last 20 or so to one bloke. I think the bloke was a bit peeved because I grabbed my curly just as he was clinching the deal (I didn't actually notice until I'd paid for him though).