So, you want to keep a pet tarantula?

Lopéz · 21 Feb 2003 at 15:26

Baby Miguel Rodriguez stars in "The Hunt"

Well I can't fathom it. Out of the 4 different species, the greediest one is also

a) The smallest
and
b) The most docile and timid.

Baby Miguel is only about 3.5 cm legspan, no bigger than a plastic milk bottle lid.
But he's happily taking down prey nearly his own size! So far he's demolished 8 full size crickets in 2 days...that's a lot of eating for a very small spider.

Presenting the victim

One Common Field cricket. About half grown, big enough to satisfy any spider.

Entering the arena

The 2 gladiators....err, ignore each other basically. Compare the cricket to Miguel - it really isn't a whole lot smaller than the baby tarantula.
Will Miguel be scared of his foe?

The kill

Well, er no he won't actually. Miguel lets the cricket walk right past before pouncing on it unawares and injecting it with lovely digestive juices.

What a gutsy little beast!

Lopéz · 22 Feb 2003 at 11:42

Originally posted by Bungee
Nice pics Lopez

Maybe he is stocking up before he stops eating for a moult?

It's hard to tell - very often spiderlings will eat like a horse until they physically can't ingest any more food.
This isn't really very good for them, as it pressurises the abdomen beyond its normal levels - so any knock or fall is liable to split the spider open like a pod of peas.
So I'm cutting his food down a bit to save him from damaging himself.

Oh, got a cracking pic of Idi yesterday, thought I'd share it with you as it's the best Macro shot of him I've managed to snap so far:

(Sorry it's a bit big

)

Lopéz · 22 Feb 2003 at 16:08

Originally posted by iam
They are absolutely stunning pics

You should start up a gallery

/waits patiently for Lopez or Lostkat to make video's

Just made a very short clip of Miguel eating a cricket.

I apologise for the poor quality, I need to sort out some stronger lighting really. Added to the fact that I can only record 20 seconds, and there's no telling when the beast will strike, it makes filming them eat very tricky indeed.

Still, here is is, a short WMV of Mugabe catching a cricket and killing it.
He catches it RIGHT at the start of the clip, so you need to watch it a couple of times - check out how fast he moves!

http://www.donsroom.co.uk/~lopez/Movies/MiguelEating01.WMV

Lopéz · 23 Feb 2003 at 08:39

Originally posted by ToXik-yogHurt
can we get something to scale against in the next one? a nice ten-pence piece or something?
he looks huge in that movie....

The next one will be done outside in the daylight, and I'll include a coin in the shot for some indication of scale. He's only the size of a chunky house spider.

Lopéz · 26 Feb 2003 at 09:19

Originally posted by iam
Lopez - here's a question for you (well actually two):

If every spider/tarantula faced each other in a one to one battle, who would emerge victorious?

/taking into account it's not just the potency of the venom, but aggression and speed too

Also - are there any venemous spiders in the UK? And if so what are they and where do they live

/taking into account I don't mean deadly

Hehehe well, if we were talking true spiders AND tarantulas, my money would be on the Brazilian Wandering spider - It's fast, agressive, and highly toxic.
Followed by the Goliath Birdeater due to it's sheer size and agression, and then something likea Thai Black with the Sidney Funnel web not far behind.

In a spider v spider fight, aggression and size tend to be more of an asset than venom potency.

Lopéz · 26 Feb 2003 at 19:28

Originally posted by Phoolf
Trying to explain how big they are but struggling, say uhm 5cm's across, and it's £15 odd, it has the proper latin name underneath it so I'm going to go back next week after I've sorted out it's cage type thing Had a chat with the man at the shop too and he seemed to know his stuff, he even let me hold it

Can't wait til next week! Yay!

Excellent!

Chances are it will be a Brachypelma smithi, Brachypelma boehmei or Brachypelma emilia.

All are colourful, long lived, and easy to look after. Should be docile and easy to handle (but all spiders have their off days remember)

Glad you've found the thread of some use.

Oh, and the price is quite good btw.

Lopéz · 27 Feb 2003 at 10:17

Well, after a long time thinking about it (he hasn't eaten since February 8th) Mugabe finally decided to moult.
He's been sitting inside his tube web a lot, spinning extra layers of silk and building extensions.

At about 9:15 I looked up to see he was flat on his back in his ground floor burrow

He remained utterly motionless until about 11pm...I looked up at 11:20 and he was almost entirely out of the old skin.

It didn't take long before he was entirely free - check out his new fangs, still white and soft. The old skin is on the left.

He was fully free by about 12:45, and pushed the old skin to the entrance of his burrow.

He's a LOT bigger now, but his abdomen is rather small and shrivelled (as always after a moult) I'll have to let him harden up for a few days before he can take food.

Here's the old skin:

When he decides to come out of his burrow I'll get some pics of him - he's now a really bright shade of orange.

Lopéz · 28 Feb 2003 at 01:11

Originally posted by iam
Is his lair p) right up against the glass? And will he keep that lair forever now? Or do they move home?

Yep it's built right up to the edge of the glass - he's returned to the top chamber now.
They tend to be nomadic and opportunistic, and will often abandon a burrow for no apparent reason, or extend the burrow and let the old section become derelict.

Mugabe's species is well known for it's habit of swathing everything in acres of web over a period of months.

He came out for a stretch today - it's amazing just how vividly orange he is post-moult

Like Skooter said, you can really see the vivid colouring of his "feet" after the moult.
Also note the still-soft fangs (not black yet)

Hopefully by tomorrow his fangs will be hard and he can start eating again - he's so slender right now it's a wonder he can walk.

Lopéz · 1 Mar 2003 at 21:49

Originally posted by Werewolf
has it eaten yet Lopez?

"Munch"

Lopéz · 3 Mar 2003 at 11:03

If it's a Red Leg (B emilia) it will be slightly more colourful than a Red Knee (B smithi)
Regardless, both are very very similar tarantulas, needing similar care, both long lived, and both generally docile.

Males tend to be slimmer and lankier than the females - they also have a fraction of the females life span.
It will be tricky to sex it at such a young age - infact, even when they get older it's tricky. In about 3 years or so the spider should mature, making it much more obvious if it's a male (they develop large "bulbs" on the pedipalps amongst other features)

The bald patch is from kicking hairs, something nearly all S. American tarantulas do when disturbed.
It doesn't mean the spider is bad tempered or mistreated, it's just one of those things.
When it gets close to a moult, the bald spot will get darker and darker, and after a moult it will be gone, replaced with fresh hair.

As for webbing, if it's anything like my Brachypelma albopiosum it will lay a few strands of silk across the floor, but nothing really noticable.

Lopéz · 4 Mar 2003 at 19:40

How's Terry?

You can sex a spider by examining the shed skin - but it's very difficult until you've had some practice, especially with small spiderlings. Terry is probably too young to attempt sexing properly.

Mugabe has recovered completely from the moult, and is getting back to the build he's meant to be. He grew substantially during the moult - much bigger than Idi now.

Still got those bright iridescant blue-green feet, much brighter now after the moult.

I can't wait until Idi moults - he should be a fair bit larger than Mugabe when he does (Baboon spiders are all very fast-growing)

Lopéz · 5 Mar 2003 at 13:56

Originally posted by Master Skooter
I ordered 'The Tarantula Keeper's Guide' last Friday, after LostKat recommended those books.

It came today, i've just had a quick gander, it's full of great pics & loads of info about everything. Gonna sit down & have a read after me bath
LostKat, have you seen the size of the B.Emilia on P.31? It's bloomin' HUGE!

I'm in the middle of reading the TKG at the moment. It's such a chunky book for the price - well worth a purchase.

Remember how I said Mugabe had extended his webbing?
It doesn't look quite so neat and tidy now, but it's certainly impressive:

He got disturbed by a cricket I dropped in for him this morning....I've never seen such a reaction - he literally bombed around the tank - like that electricity Gremlin from Gremlins 2? Utterly mental, he was jumping up very nearly the height of the tank (9 inches!) before settling on the side of the glass.

After all the excitement of this one doing his best Tasmanian Devil impression, I decided to leave him alone and hold Miguel instead - he's a fat little sod these days.

He's grown visibly in the short time I've had him.

Lopéz · 5 Mar 2003 at 16:14

The guy owns (or did) a Red Knee, which he's had for around 8 or 9 years. He bought it for £225! He was told by two experts that it was a female, that's why it cost so much. He finds out eventually, after trying to mate it, that it was in fact a male! *lol*

Yep, I can believe that - about 10 years ago Red Knees were at sky high prices - they are still pricey today.

He said they just get sent stuff, so they don't really know what they're gonna get until they arrive, which i found a little dodgy. He said they usually get about 11 or so per delivery

Sounds about right - most pet/reptile places get sent a random assortment of stuff - I know for a fact my local place gets a lot of his stuff from Bugs Direct.

The Mexican Red Knee was born in 1997, so must be around 6 years old, and was marked as sub-adult. Apparantly they've had that 1 since it was a spiderling. It was a good size, but they wanted £75 for it including the tank, which sounded a lot? How much do Red Knees go for? He said spiderlings were around £20-25, which i also thought sounded a lot.

Adult and subadult Red Knees go from between £40 and £100 - online stores are always a LOT cheaper - 50% less in a lot of cases.
That one was priced at around the going rate for a shop specimen - 6 years old means it should really be on the verge of maturity at the very least.

They also had 2 Chile Rose, as i mentioned earlier in this thread. I think 1 was about £18, the other £25, which again included the plastic tank. They were both a good size, with the largest about a similar size as the Red Knee. Why are they so much cheaper than the Reds?

Basically because they're boring to look at compared to the Red Knee - unless you're lucky and get the Red Colour Form like my own Pepper is.

Normal variants are more of a dull pale brown colour.
Also they are very easy to collect in the wild - unlike the Red Knee which is protected, and therefore only available if bred in captivity.

It was nice to talk to someone, but i don't think i'll be buying my T from there

The exact relationship I have with my reptile centre. Yes, I buy my crickets, vermiculite etc from him, and it's nice to pop down for a look and a chat, but pet shop spiders are generally bought by n00bs who haven't discovered the power of the intraweb.

Antilles pinktoe / Avicularia versicolor

My favourite Avicularia. I was in the process of buying a spiderling, but the guy's mails keep bouncing so I've backed off for now. Shame as they are ultra-rare over here.

Greenbottle blue / Chromatopelma cyanopubescens

Another stunner - only seen an adult male or two in the UK. Lots being bred in mainland Europe though - worth trying to bring some over as a personal import in bulk I reckon. You'll sell them no problem.

Cobalt blue (Female) / Haplopelma lividum

Nasty piece of work - take photos of it the second it arrives, cos it'll hammer underground within minutes and you won't see it for six months. Commonly available as Wild Caught adults ( :mad:

) and now being bred in the UK as spiderlings - babies go for about a tenner, adults up to £100.

Togo Starburst / Heteroscodra maculata

Really fancy one myself and I'm sure these are available in the UK. Very similar in temperament to my own Baboons.

Is it possible to buy ANY species of T you like in the UK?

No - our choice is very limited compared to Europe and the States. The best place to get more obscure species is the BTS show (in May I think), or any other tarantula shows. This way you get to buy direct from breeders, talk to experts, and find stuff you'll hardly ever see in the shops.

Lopéz · 5 Mar 2003 at 17:40

Originally posted by Master Skooter

What's the BTS Show? Do you know of a link?

Cheers mate.

Yes, versicolor is docile, though for some reason prone to dying without any apparent cause as spiderlings.

As for the show, this should have some info, or just search through the whole BTS site.

Lopéz · 5 Mar 2003 at 17:54

Originally posted by Master Skooter
Cheers mate.

You going up? It's Birmingham way, which isn't too far i suppose.

Have you been before? Is it a good show?

So if i managed to find a juvenile, would is be less at risk? I hate to have my T die on me for no reason. Especially if it took a lot of time & effort to find in the first place.

What about a Greenbottle Blue, or would that be a bad choice as a 1st T?

I've spoken to traders who tell me the show is pretty damn awesome. Stacks and stacks of stuff to see.

Really really hoping to go this year with Kate.

Juveniles are generally less at risk than spiderlings - spiderling is the most fragile stage.

If you can actually find one, there's nothing wrong with a Greenbottle Blue as a first Tarantula IMO - infact, if you're sensible about it you can keep anything as a first tarantula - even something like a Baboon spider.

If you only ever open the hatch to drop in a cricket once or twice a week and the lid is secure, then I can't see why you couldn't keep any species. Just like any "dangerous" animal, it's only a problem if you keep sticking your hand in the tank. They don't randomly burst through the glass and hunt you down.

Lopéz · 6 Mar 2003 at 09:05

Originally posted by Master Skooter
I've just started searching for breeders, found a place that has Antilles pinktoe / Avicularia versicolor (adult) £79.95!

(Another place has tiny 1cm spiderlings for £9.99)

And

Greenbottle blue / Chromatopelma cyanopubescens (adults) £79.95

Also found some Togo starburst baboon - Heteroscodra maculata that you liked Lopez £24.99 (Captive & wild)

The adult versicolor will be wild caught. Spiderling sounds about hte right price - they are seldom available as babies.
Nearly all adult spiders are wild caught. For a start, you won't know it's age, it could be ill, dying, just about to moult or just come out of a moult - you have no way of knowing.
Not only that, but it means numbers are being decimated in the wild.

Wild-caught spiders = no thanks.

Lopéz · 6 Mar 2003 at 13:48

Originally posted by Master Skooter
I wasn't thinking of buying either of the adult T's, i was only stating that those species were available to buy over here. I agree about selling wild T's , anyway i want to go through the growing-up stages with my ickle baby when/if i get one. But i do REALLY fancy a Antilles pinktoe / Avicularia versicolor now & i can afford £9.99 , but i'm a little worried after you mentioned that they are prone to dying as spiderlings

Basically I'd Google for every caresheet and more specifically spiderling care sheet you can - they are stunning as babies - completely different to the adults. The babies are blue with dark chevrons.

If it *does* die (and it shouldn't as long as it has high humidity but also sufficient ventilation - keep an eye out for mould!) then you can console yourself that:

It only cost you a tenner
You still have the tank etc. and will be better prepared for any future spiders
It was bred specifically for the pet trade, much like cows are for beef & leather

Lopéz · 6 Mar 2003 at 16:18

Originally posted by Master Skooter
I've emailed a few reputable shops, who are gonna make some enquiries about them & let me know. Fingers crossed!

Skooter, where did you find A. versicolor in stock? I can only find them listed at www.easyexotics.co.uk, and they appear to be out of stock.

Lopéz · 6 Mar 2003 at 19:19

Originally posted by Nexus
Question - Do regular spiders, house spiders etc moult as well?

Yup - all arachnids moult.

You sometimes find the shed skins discarded near a web in this country - they look like dead wrinkled up spiders.

Lopéz · 6 Mar 2003 at 19:31

Originally posted by The Edge
Are those veriscolor spiders aggressive? They are purty!!

No - the whole Avicularia genus are generally docile and nervous. They are easily frightened though, and run rather fast. They can safely jump downwards from a good couple of meters.