So, you want to keep a pet tarantula?

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Originally posted by Wallace
So its nothing precise then (at least not in your setup)..

Just when you were quoting figures for the spiders in your first post of "around 80%" etc I thought you might have some fancy gadget in your tank :)

Think I'll either get a spider or a snake when im working full time :)
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Oh you can get gauges but they tend to be pretty inaccurate.
Most people just go for the "mist it up every few days" routine. :)

Here's what I've just bought......

http://www.donsroom.co.uk/~lopez/Pterinochilusmurinususumbara01

http://www.donsroom.co.uk/~lopez/Pterinochilusmurinususumbara02


Temperament:
"She's a firey, psycotic beast. Fortunately, she's not prone to running around like the cobalt, but she'll basically flip over backwards in her threat position, striking at the air, jumping around and hissing. Combined with her bright, firey colors, she closely resembles a flaming ball of death. Not to be messed with at all! "

According to Phong's site, and having seen one in the flesh today, he isn't wrong!
 
Originally posted by Lopéz
Oh you can get gauges but they tend to be pretty inaccurate.
Most people just go for the "mist it up every few days" routine. :)

Here's what I've just bought......

Temperament:
"She's a firey, psycotic beast. Fortunately, she's not prone to running around like the cobalt, but she'll basically flip over backwards in her threat position, striking at the air, jumping around and hissing. Combined with her bright, firey colors, she closely resembles a flaming ball of death. Not to be messed with at all! "

According to Phong's site, and having seen one in the flesh today, he isn't wrong!
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Oh please god say your joking :eek:

You've just gone out and purposefully angry spider? :eek: :p

Ah well,

/starts singing 'Dead Man's Walking' :p
 
Originally posted by iam
Oh please god say your joking :eek:

You've just gone out and purposefully angry spider? :eek: :p

Ah well,

/starts singing 'Dead Man's Walking' :p
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Correct. However, please note that Leon is a mature adult, who has experience with tarantulas. He is not a 5 year old boy who sits by the tank poking them with a stick all day :) Fact is that the aggressive spiders display much more interesting behaviour. They are fine if you know what you are doing and handle them with due care and respect.
 
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Originally posted by Lostkat
Correct. However, please note that Leon is a mature adult, who has experience with tarantulas. He is not a 5 year old boy who sits by the tank poking them with a stick all day :) Fact is that the aggressive spiders display much more interesting behaviour. They are fine if you know what you are doing and handle them with due care and respect.
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Well, he's your boyfriend. So if your happy, I'm happy :D :p
 
Originally posted by iam
Well, he's your boyfriend. So if your happy, I'm happy :D :p
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I'm also a zoologist and very interested in invertebrates, so I'm more than happy - I've actually been encouraging him! Tarantulas may be venemous, but their prey is small so the amount of venom injected when they bite you is nowhere near enough to kill you. At worst he'll get a nasty nip.

They're fascinating creatures, and he's even persuaded me to get one. I'm still um'ing and ah'ing over which one though. There's too much choice :)
 
Me remember's Lopez's thread about burning himself while Ironing in the nude :eek: , and then wonders if keeping venomous beasties is a good idea :eek:

Poor spider might mistake something for a pinkie
:D
 
QUOTE]MiggyMan quote:[/QUOTE]

It's normaly a baby rat or mouse.. no hair, hence pinky
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BTW. None of the pinkies are alive, and mine come frozen, so you have to thaw them out first. I would never feed it a live mouse, although I have a link to a short vid of a full grown Goliath taking a full grown mouse. Quite a few spider will not eat dead food and the pinkie needs to be dangled on a piece of cotton to get the spider to go for it.

DSCN0645.JPG


As you can see my Goliath is slightly smaller than the pinkie, but that doesnt stop him. The only thing left is the head usually, but that depends on how hard the skull is. They normally eat the lot with no waste.
 
Originally posted by At The Gates
They post the spiders? :confused:

I think i'm going to go for a giant weevil :D
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Gauranteed live on arrival, Special Delivery. :)

It's been commonplace in America for years, only now is it getting more polular over hear.
Our winters don't help - most places will check weather forecasts etc beforesending animals out as any more than a few hours in the cold can be enough to finish them off.

As long as they have the 2 Baboons I want in stock I'll be placing the order today. I've been given a huge fish tank which is about to be converted using a simple divider.
Baboons are voracious feeders so I'll probably end up buying extra crickets every few weeks.

Unless you have an allergic reaction, most tarantula bites are not serious. Many of their close allies (Brazilian Wanderingspiders, Funnel Webs etc) do indeed have potentand lethal venom - but you shouldn't find them on sale, at least not unless you have a Dangerous Animal's License.
The problem with spider bites is they leave a large painful mechanical wound (the fangs are large and leave a big hole) which often gets infected.
There are some excellent bite reports here which I suggest anyone intending to keep tarantulas reads - just in case you do ever get tagged.


On another note, my Chile is far happier now that she has deeper substrate - she's been active all night judging by the cricket debris in her tank, and I even saw her climbing last night, which is somethingshe's not done for years.
 
Originally posted by silverpaw
Do they taste nice? Saw some dude munch one on tv, maybe Ray Mears... :cool:
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Sure it wasn't Rick West (guy with a beard)?
He's a spider expert from Canada.

Apparently they taste pretty much like barbecued or chargrilled chicken. Not a great deal of meat on them mind you, and I don't think all species are edible.
 
I just remember he put his fingers between thorax(?) and head pushing it to the ground, then bent the legs up and smoked it in a bunch of bound up leaves. All very bush tucker man :o
 
Originally posted by Lostkat
They're fascinating creatures, and he's even persuaded me to get one. I'm still um'ing and ah'ing over which one though. There's too much choice :)
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Trust women to be totally unable to make a decision. :D
I'd recommend something attractive asyour first spider, to keep you interested when it doesn't do much. Don't get an aggressive species, you will end up getting bitten. :(

Any of the Brachypelma genus would be suitable - it's just finding them for sale as many pet shops have them at extortionate prices, often double what online shops charge.
 
I'm sure i saw a documentary once about some tribes in the Amazon i think, that smoked a type of tarantula to 'reach the spirits'. Apparantly it was hallucinogenic. No idea how true it was :eek:

And i've decided to get some Rainbow Land Crabs instead of weevils. It says that onces they get to know you they'll eat out of your hands :D
 
Originally posted by At The Gates
I'm sure i saw a documentary once about some tribes in the Amazon i think, that smoked a type of tarantula to 'reach the spirits'. Apparantly it was hallucinogenic. No idea how true it was :eek:

And i've decided to get some Rainbow Land Crabs instead of weevils. It says that onces they get to know you they'll eat out of your hands :D
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That's a typo mate.

It should say
"Once they get to know you they'll eat your hands"

;) just kidding
 
Originally posted by Lopéz
Trust women to be totally unable to make a decision. :D
I'd recommend something attractive asyour first spider, to keep you interested when it doesn't do much. Don't get an aggressive species, you will end up getting bitten. :(

Any of the Brachypelma genus would be suitable - it's just finding them for sale as many pet shops have them at extortionate prices, often double what online shops charge.
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Brachypelma boehmei

raul4.jpg


Current favourite :)
 
Well, just been down to collect my new (free) tank.

It's bigger than I expected! I can house 2 Baboons here easily - infact 4 would be more like it. And it's so deep I could put an arboreal spider in it if I wanted.
Just need to knock up some perspex dividers (spiders are generally cannabilastic) and I'll be ready to receive my 2 baby Baboons.

I've ordered them online - hope they arrive safe. The guy says to allow 5 days delivery, so I'll need to be in over the next few mornings 'cos it's no good sending these things back to the Sorting Office!

http://www.donsroom.co.uk/~lopez/NewTank01
http://www.donsroom.co.uk/~lopez/NewTank02
 
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