So, you want to keep a pet tarantula?

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Nice piccies LK :D


Just awaiting the arrival of my first Pokey - a P.Ornata from Brum T's - they're gorgeous & I'll remember to keep my distance from his/her fangs ;)
 
Updates!

While Kate was up staying last week, my T's decided to go into a bit of a moulting frenzy. I don't honestly remember who moulted on what day, so I'll do them in the order I remember!
So:

Pelé (Avicularia avicularia). Last moult he finally turned green - this month that became a deep blue-green, and I couldn't resist taking him outside for a few pictures. He's about 2" or so now.

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The red abdominal chevrons are slowly fading :( If only they stayed this colour for ever.

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The large feet present in all arboreals are clear to see here.

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In this shot you can see the thousands of milky white bristles covering his legs.
 
Miguel (Brachypelma albopilosum) hasn't moulted in 2 months, a record for him! I can't really photograph him as he's underground at the moment, but rest assured he's fat, healthy and curly.

Maz (Chilobrachys fimbriatus) has moulted into a seriously stunning beast. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend one of these spiders. She still remains pretty shy, but with a heightened sense of defensiveness. Now probably measuring 3-4" legspan (remember, Legspan is measured diagonally from the tip of Leg 1 to the tip of leg 4)

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From the top you can see the bold abdominal chevrons, the pale tan carapace, and the steel blue femurs

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But what a threat posture! A mixture of bright violet and steel blue hues, combined with the red mouthparts and iridescant feet makes for an impressive sight

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She has also gained tan colour fringes down each front leg, not amazingly visible in this shot but they are very bold in real life.

Punta (Cyclosternum fastciatum) has also just moulted - and grown into a pretty large beast. This is her 3rd moult in my care, and I've only had her since may. The worst thing about this pretty and nervous spider is the urticating hairs. They affect me far more than any I've encountered before.

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The best thing is that these small tarantulas won't ever lose their bold spiderling colours. They stay like this for their whole lifespan
 
Chong (Cyriopagopus schioedtei) moulted again, just a month after the last time. He's grown significantly, now the size of a chunky house spider, and BOY is he fast! Also showing the first signs of the defensiveness so prominent in adults. These become sexually diamorphic at an early age (colour differences) so hopefully that will start to show soon. Already the gold carapace is starting to show (very slight, but noticable up close)

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I love the gold bristles covering these things. They remind me of a sea urchin :D

Pepper (Grammostola rosea) looks to be gravid! We have a long long wait before any signs of an eggsac, but the signs are all there - plump abdomen, sudden defensive attitude, sudden large appetite. Now it's a case of wait and see - Roger has been sent off to service another laydee.

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The happy couple, just before he left her for another woman.

Bangkok (Haplopelma lividum) I showed you last week, but here he is all darkened down. The blue is still really bright even in poor light, and I love the tan hairs all over the body

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Currently residing in an old cricket tub, where he seems very happy!

Napalm (Haplopelma sp. "longipendum") has settled in a large penny sweet tub at the moment. She's an evil witch of a spider and we aren't talking since she attempted to hack my arm off last time I fed her.
 
Winston (Psalmopoeus cambridgei) is now living in a glass pickle jar, which he has totally swathed with web, constructing a messy u-shaped lair. He's growing at a phenomenal rate - adult by Christmas I reckon, and he was only born in January this year!

Guarico (Psalmopoeus irminia) is a fine figure of a tarantula these days - jet black with bold orange tarsal stripes and abdominal chevrons. Getting faster and nastier by the hour or so it seems, this is another one that's growing like a weed.

Idi (Pterinochilus murinus) has made an excellent recovery from his multiple recurring leg injuries, and is now a proud handsome gold tarantula. I'm really impressed with the way this one has pulled through.

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Mugabe (Pterinochilus murinus) also moulted last week - what a big beastie this is now! Still devensive and fast, and rapidly on the way to adulthood. The colouring darkened to orange after these post moult pictures were taken

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Finally, my tiny Poecilotheria ornata that Kate got me from Brum T's suffered a nasty moult a few days ago. I had to remove both front legs and both pedipalps, and even after that he seems poorly coordinated, and the fangs are also badly distorted. Nothing to do but hope for the best I'm afraid.....
 
Beautiful pictures Leon, they've turn out brilliantly :)
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We had quite a few escapees on this photoshoot trying to make a break for freedom. I can't believe the speed of some of them. Thank god they were mostly all postmoult and highly unlikely to sink their fangs into us :D
 
excellent pics they all look very healthy my mate had one a few years ago and all it did was cower in the corner and look very ill then it died :(

i just showed one of the girleys in the office the spiders ha ha ha she hates them i think she was nearly sick :p
 
some very nice looking spiders there, Mugabe looks beautiful



sounds daft but i think the information and pics in this thread is helping me to get over a slight fear of spiders :)




/can't beleive he just called spiders "nice looking" :eek:
 
sorry but without me reading through 53 :eek: 53 pages what size tank would you need to keep a spider. I have three fish tanks spare but i only see spiders in quite small tanks are they ok do they need an area to run about a bit, hamster wheel?

edit/ 54 PAGES!!!
 
Originally posted by pacman
sorry but without me reading through 53 :eek: 53 pages what size tank would you need to keep a spider. I have three fish tanks spare but i only see spiders in quite small tanks are they ok do they need an area to run about a bit, hamster wheel?

edit/ 54 PAGES!!!


I think they only need a tank that is 3 or four times their length and they should be fine. Obviously burrowers need plenty of substrate to dig around in and the arboreals need more height than floor space so they can climb around. If you go for a terrestrial spider make sure he has somewhere to hide if he feels threatened, Something like a half a plantpot or a piece of slate, half a coconut.:)
 
i ve got a nice twin hexagon fish tank with tubes attaching the two tanks and some lights in the top
obviously i would have to make it secure but would a bigger tank just be a waste of space or should i use my 15 x 10 x 12 small glass tank
 
Originally posted by pacman
i ve got a nice twin hexagon fish tank with tubes attaching the two tanks and some lights in the top
obviously i would have to make it secure but would a bigger tank just be a waste of space or should i use my 15 x 10 x 12 small glass tank

A 15x10x12 tank would be more than big enough, even for a fully grown tarantula (hy00ge species excepted). If you're thinking of getting a spiderling, you need something significantly smaller than that... like a clear tuperware tub.
 
Oops!

Well I fed my Boehmei yesterday morning and when I went in again this morning I noticed I'd left the tank open.
My eyes quickly darted left to right but when approaching the tank I was suprised to find my T still in there.

It was laying very flat and when I got right up to the tank it stood up. I dropped cricket in and it gave me a defensive posture.
I don't think it appreciated me leaving the door open.

I can imagine the T saying "There's been a bloody draft coming through that door all night. I'm freezing."

In this heatwave though I can't keep the temp down in the tank. The heatmat has been off for days now and I'm misting up everyday.
 
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It is pretty damn hot, but looking at caresheets my Ts are at almost the maximum recomended heat, so they seem to be alright.

Don't know what my Bohemei has been up to, but I looked in this morning to see its butt was totally bare! There is a cricket in there which hasnt been eaten for days so maybe she got a bit annoyed at it during the night. Im not sure she is that close to a moult yet though, as it took her weeks before she did last time.
 
Great piccies Lopez :D



I did a bit of rearranging of Frida, my adult A.Seemani's tank last night. I added some vermiculite to the top layer of soil, made the burrow deeper & put a bigger water dish in.

She was in a very frisky mood, kicked hairs at me while I was digging some peat; and then she escaped. Then she climbed up the side of the tank, I tried to gently poke her back down with a spoon but she was a lot stronger than I thought & just climbed over it :rolleyes: Eventually caught her on the draining board :p
 
w00t!

My P.Ornata arrived about 30mins ago. Have put him/her into it's new home, although it did make one escape attempt in the process :D

Feisty little melonfarmer it is too ;)
 
Originally posted by Bungee
*Cough*

(Sorry if you've already mentioned it recently - this thread is too big to check out multiple pages ;))
Knew there was something I forgot ;)

The scorp is doing just fine - hyperactive, psychotic, the usual scorpion traits. It hasn't moulted yet, an event I'm really looking forward to.
It's overly aggressive for a P imperator...maybe the seller had them mislabelled :eek:
To be honest, they just don't interest me as much as the tarantulas do, I'm a bit indifferent towards it. :(

Maybe I should give him to Balddog. :)
 
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