So, you want to keep a pet tarantula?

Clark Nova · 24 Jun 2003 at 01:19

Moult-a-doodle-doo!

Check out my P.regalis Jerry. He moulted while I was at work. When I came back I was shocked to see how much he'd grown!
I wish I could have seen it. I knew he was getting ready to moult because he hasn't eaten for a couple of weeks now. He just kept killing crickets and leaving them for me to clear up

Here he is again, that 10p is touching the side of the tank :cool:

Lostkat · 24 Jun 2003 at 09:03

He's beautiful Si!

The pokies must be fast growers because I was shocked at the amount Tamil grew during her last moult. They're also damn big T's too, can't wait til mine's fully grown. I must have more pokies, I'm addicted

SaBBz · 24 Jun 2003 at 09:49

My female b.auratum came today and looks stunning. I will get some pics for you guys later when the gf brings her digicam over

Lopéz · 24 Jun 2003 at 20:18

How's the new auratum settling in? They're really nice T's.

Just a quick update, a couple more moults over the past few days.

First off, Idi has finally shed and regrown his dodgy legs
Examination of the skin leads me to think it's a male, currently having a nice debate about it on Arachnopets!

Punta has moulted for the second time in a month:

And I moved Maz to a bigger tank which he has completely filled with web

Clark Nova · 24 Jun 2003 at 22:37

Congrats on the good moults Lopez. I like the top pic of Idi, he looks like a ghost spider, leaving his body.

I'm looking forward to feeding my Pokey when I get home, his fangs were starting to harden up when I left so he may try to tackle a big cricket

Repo · 25 Jun 2003 at 10:30

I think I have a slight problem...

I got my humidty gauge this morning from Easy Exotics and it's only reading about 30% humidity in Frida's (my A.Seemani's) tank. There's a water dish in there; I've been spraying almost every day & last night I covered 80% of the top with cling film as per LostKats suggestion.

The substrate is peat & it's fairly moist & there's a water dish for her to drink from.

I know it's been said before that these gauges arn't that accurate; but 30% as opposed to the suggested level of 75-80% is a long way out! It's not in a centrally heated room but the temps are fine - they are in the 80f range; the T's are in my Seti cruncher room & the heat from the farm keeps everything warm (no radiators required

)

I would have thought that the humidty level in Blackie's (my Tigerrumps) tank would be the same as it's the same design (but smaller). That might explain why she/he has burrowed themselves into a hole again :rolleyes:

Frida hasn't eaten since she arrived even though there are three crickets in there & Blackie hasn't eaten in ages. Houdini (my B.Vagans) is in a completely different type of tank (a plastic jar

) & is eating like food is going out of fashion. He's gone very black all over now so I'm expecting a moult any day even though he's still eating.

Any ideas? :confused:

(Apologies for long post)

Malt_Vinegar · 25 Jun 2003 at 19:33

Look what wandered into my bathroom today

Aint it wonderful!! Its being released shortly, so he can go get his mate, it turns out he is a protected species, as are all stag beetles, and very rare!! Hes about 10cm long!!

I was tempted to keep him, but after a bit of research its a bad idea, seeing as they take up to 7 years to mature!! It would be a shame to stop him from mating after all that time

Well, thought u lot might appreciate it.

Nexus · 25 Jun 2003 at 19:42

That beetle was found in our country?

Maya is finally moulting! Been waiting ages for it to happen and its taking place right now, and looks almost done. She appears to have moulted in a upright kind of position though. :eek:

SaBBz · 25 Jun 2003 at 20:13

Some pics of Ameterasu (named her after a Japanese female sun god

)
She's a bit of a hair kicker which is a bit disconserting so I haven't handled her yet, maybe I will soon

Nexus · 25 Jun 2003 at 21:23

Nice and big there.

Maya has decided to sit right on top of her old skin, so I cant get it out at the momment. I figured she was moving it about to take it outside of her burrow/plant pot but instead just seems to be sitting on it.

Clark Nova · 25 Jun 2003 at 21:43

Originally posted by Malt_Vinegar
Look what wandered into my bathroom today

Aint it wonderful!! Its being released shortly, so he can go get his mate, it turns out he is a protected species, as are all stag beetles, and very rare!! Hes about 10cm long!!

I was tempted to keep him, but after a bit of research its a bad idea, seeing as they take up to 7 years to mature!! It would be a shame to stop him from mating after all that time

Well, thought u lot might appreciate it.

Hey, Malty. How do you think that would fare against your mantis?

I'm saying a knockout victory to the stag beetle!

Seriously though, that is fantastic looking. I can't believe that was found in our country either. Congrats on the find :cool:

Malt_Vinegar · 26 Jun 2003 at 00:10

Originally posted by si_sleaf
Hey, Malty. How do you think that would fare against your mantis?

I'm saying a knockout victory to the stag beetle!

Seriously though, that is fantastic looking. I can't believe that was found in our country either. Congrats on the find

Im saying a close fought mantis victory, the stag kept falling over and its SRMECH was not too hot. One slip, and he would be mantis food

Im sure he would get a few good blows in with the horns, but the males cant actually bite with them, with the speed of the mantis i think its really a forgone conclusion

(Dont think i did not think about it, would have been one hell of a video, not sure what music i would have played, eye of the tiger? No easy way out? Gladiator (AWWOOOGA) theme?)

Nexus · 26 Jun 2003 at 00:23

(Dont think i did not think about it, would have been one hell of a video, not sure what music i would have played, eye of the tiger? No easy way out? Gladiator (AWWOOOGA) theme?)

It would have to be Gladiators theme tune

Clark Nova · 26 Jun 2003 at 00:27

What about "Eye of the Tiger"?

That would have been great!

"It's the Eye of the Tiger,
It's the thrill of the fight,
Rising up to the challenge of our rival,
And the last known survivor
Stalks his prey in the night,
And he's watching us all
With the Eye of the Tiger"

Bring back the 80's, all is forgiven

Lostkat · 26 Jun 2003 at 07:42

You've all gone bonkers! I'd put my money on the stag beetle cos he's just beastlier and looks like he's on 'roids or something.

Repo - NEVER trust humidity gauges because they're utterly crap, to be honest. Neither myself nor Leon have any humidity gauges in any of our tanks, and yet our T's manage just fine. I'd say your seemani was more than adequately hydrated, certainly far more than 30% anyway. Be careful though and watch out for mites. My ornamental and irminia weren't that damp, but they both had plagues of mites... it's extremely easy to pick them up if you keep the tanks too wet. They're tiny cream-coloured dots moving around inside the tank, so keep an eye out for them just in case.

Repo · 27 Jun 2003 at 01:28

w00t!!!
Got home tonight from the gf's to find that Houdini, my B.Vagans had moulted

I thought he was about to as he'd gone very black. I didn't think it was going to be so soon though as he was still eating! He must have moulted this morning as he's completely hardened already

Ack!!!
When I open the jar to take a closer look at my newley moulted spider... what do I see but... a little white flea thingy... I don't think that there has been any before as I peer into the T's homes several times a day.

So...
I already had a spare temporary tank with some sterilised vermiculite in it ready for one of those "just in case moments" and so el spido was out of his old home & into his new one is double time!

Poor sod; he'd made a very nice burrow in his old place

just hope this quick transfer stems any mite problem.

Malt_Vinegar · 27 Jun 2003 at 09:19

Wings?

For the interested parties, i thought i would show you what seems to be the start of my mantis' wings. Hopefully the next shed should see some larger wings sprouting

I find this really interesting, and cant wait to see the progress of these ickle immovable wings

azrael357 · 29 Jun 2003 at 00:21

I've got one!!!

Well after a few weeks of serious thought, and after reading this thread over several hours I have been out and bought a pet tarantula.

I'm not sure but I think it's a female.

It's a Red leg (mexican I think). He moulted last Wednesday and the guy in the store gave me the moult as well.

The spider is really cool. It's currently sitting under a peice of bark in it's tank. I've also got a heat mat at the bottom of the tank.

It's got about a 2 inch width leg span. What is strange is that since I took it out if the little container and put it in the tank it seems to look bigger.
Is this possible?

I've about 1,5 inches of wood subtrate and I've misted the tank. There's also a small pot with a soaked sponge in it.

Question. When you mist the tank, do you mist the subtrate or the sides of the tank or both.

Malt_Vinegar · 29 Jun 2003 at 00:37

I would move the heat mat to the rear wall of the tank m8, thats what i was told was the best option, so the spider can get away from the heat source if it so wishes

azrael357 · 29 Jun 2003 at 01:03

Species?

The heat mat that's in there is not even half the size of the tank. This way it can wnder over the cool side if it's too hot. Or at least this is what I've been told.

I'm really excited

Now, I need some help from those of you who know spiders (lots on here).

I was told by teh gent who I bought the spider from it was a mexican red leg. Now after looking at picture, I'm not so sure. I think it could be a mexican fireleg.

Here's some pictures. Any ideas of what type of T it is?

Cheers.