So, you want to keep a pet tarantula?
- Thread starter Lopéz
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Soldato
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Ok, here is a pic of my new tank I got for my Poecilitheria regalis (Indian ornamental). It may just look like a few bits of glass but I really like it so does Jerry my T:
As you can see, Jerry is getting pretty tubby and I think is due for a moult as he hasn't eaten anything for well over a week now.
This is the state of my collection at the moment:
From the top you can see my jar of crickets on the left, my Ceratogyrus bechanicus in the middle and then my Brachypelma albopilosum on the right. On the second shelf is my Grammastola rosea on the left and my Brachypelma smithi on the right. You can see Tom sitting on the half coconut. On the bottom shelf are five Brachypelma vagans spiderlings, an Hystocrates gigas spiderling and my Pterinochilus muriner spiderling. In the middle is my Poecilitheria regalis and on the right is my Psalmopoeus cambridgei. This is what happens after you read this thread
As you can see, Jerry is getting pretty tubby and I think is due for a moult as he hasn't eaten anything for well over a week now.
This is the state of my collection at the moment:
From the top you can see my jar of crickets on the left, my Ceratogyrus bechanicus in the middle and then my Brachypelma albopilosum on the right. On the second shelf is my Grammastola rosea on the left and my Brachypelma smithi on the right. You can see Tom sitting on the half coconut. On the bottom shelf are five Brachypelma vagans spiderlings, an Hystocrates gigas spiderling and my Pterinochilus muriner spiderling. In the middle is my Poecilitheria regalis and on the right is my Psalmopoeus cambridgei. This is what happens after you read this thread
crickets are so cheap, i don't think it''s practical for a lot of people, unless you really have an army of t's and other insectivores to feed or it's really inconvinient for you to buy crickets.
i have trouble feeding all the crickets in a box to all my t's before they begin to die off.
i have trouble feeding all the crickets in a box to all my t's before they begin to die off.
Me too, plus if you were breeding them then you'd have to shell out for a tank and food for the cricks too. I've found out that the ones you buy don't last any longer if you feed them so I just don't bother anymore. It's far easier just to buy them.
hsp70 - impressive collection there. I have some new additions to mine. I'll post some pics tonight
Well I once got a batch of noisy adult size black crickets and put a small pot of moist soil under a heat mate for the females to lay eggs in, but not a lot ever happened.
Mealworms are great though, I've had one tub that I've had since May and they are only just about run out or dead.
Mealworms are great though, I've had one tub that I've had since May and they are only just about run out or dead.
Sorry to hear that SaBBz - sometimes the little ones just don't make it, all tarantulas are prone to unexplained deaths as spiderlings.
I lost Guarico, my P irminia a few weeks ago - just dropped dead for no apparent reason.
I've got new stock coming on Thursday, so will be updating with more pics
I lost Guarico, my P irminia a few weeks ago - just dropped dead for no apparent reason.
I've got new stock coming on Thursday, so will be updating with more pics
Laruel (my a.versicolor) molted last night. 
He's been premoult for ages, I knew this by:
a) He's been off his food for a while, been leaving crickets, if they annoyed him, he just killed it.
b) He's been living at the bottom of his home, which is very unlike him or his species.
c) He's not been as responsive or bothered etc.
He had created a web off the cork bark to the side, so when he moulted he was suspended in the air, which I though was weired? but maybe it's different for arboreals.
Last night, I was just going to jump into bed, then I checked on my T's, and there he was, upside down, on top of his web, with half a new body out. I sprayed a little bit of water incase he needed it for the rest of the moult.
This morning, I excitedly jumped out of bed and checked him again, he was all fine, and his old skin was a few inches behind him in a heap, so I got it out.
It's in pretty bad condition, all the legs are in the wrong places etc, but it's too small to be messing around with.
He's growed quite a bit, but not as much as people were making out.
I'll put him back on food in about 2 days.
Thanks,
He's been premoult for ages, I knew this by:
a) He's been off his food for a while, been leaving crickets, if they annoyed him, he just killed it.
b) He's been living at the bottom of his home, which is very unlike him or his species.
c) He's not been as responsive or bothered etc.
He had created a web off the cork bark to the side, so when he moulted he was suspended in the air, which I though was weired? but maybe it's different for arboreals.
Last night, I was just going to jump into bed, then I checked on my T's, and there he was, upside down, on top of his web, with half a new body out. I sprayed a little bit of water incase he needed it for the rest of the moult.
This morning, I excitedly jumped out of bed and checked him again, he was all fine, and his old skin was a few inches behind him in a heap, so I got it out.
It's in pretty bad condition, all the legs are in the wrong places etc, but it's too small to be messing around with.
He's growed quite a bit, but not as much as people were making out.
I'll put him back on food in about 2 days.
Thanks,
George, the amount of growth depends upon the amount the spider is fed, the species and even the sex. It varies from spider to spider. My Avics grow faster than my Brachys, but nowhere near as fast as the pokie. I also feed mine quite allot, so they tend to grow more during a moult. You haven't really had yours long enough to 'feed it up' and breeders never gives their slings much food because they want a low growth rate because it's cheaper and easier to feed small slings.
They vary from moult to moult really.
You can also straighten the skin out quite easily. If you spray it with some water and leave it to soak for a couple of mins then it will become soft again, so you can manipulate it and leave it to dry. Be very very careful with it though, because T skins are uber fragile.
Oh and congrats on your first successful moult
Correct. My pokie moulted about 6 inches off the ground suspended in a hammock of web. A couple of the avics also moulted suspended mid air, and one even moulted right way up
They vary from moult to moult really. You can also straighten the skin out quite easily. If you spray it with some water and leave it to soak for a couple of mins then it will become soft again, so you can manipulate it and leave it to dry. Be very very careful with it though, because T skins are uber fragile.
Oh and congrats on your first successful moult
The colour doesn't run with T skins.... it's not a dye or pigment. The colour is part of the actual chemical make up of the animals' cuticle. It can't run.
Anyway, use less water next time and it shouldn't fall apart.
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