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Geology posted:My girlfriend teaches first grade and I'm tarantula-sitting her class pet while she's travelling over the summer. Mylie is a G. Rosea and she's my first arthropod. Turns out she's been receiving proper care, according to the OP, but I bought the Schultz book anyway. I've only had her for a week and already I'm in love. Hey I did this thing today too! I was researching picking up a tarantula for about a month now, and this thread was a really awesome resource. While I really wanted a red knee, I ended up getting a rose hair due to their low maintenance and this being my first non-mammal animal to take care of ever (also the price.) She's adorable, and still pretty tiny. I'm a little worried about her tank, though. I've read both here and other places that height is an issue, and some places mention that tiny mesh top-screens can get their fangs stuck if they climb around there, I definitely don't want her to fall and hurt herself if she climbs up the glass. I've got about 3.5 inches of substrate in the tank atm, should I consider adding some more to the tank to close the space between the top of the tank and the floor?  Especially because she seems very interested in that particular side of the tank.  And while you can't see the mesh screen in that picture, you can see the shadow it casts for a bit of reference.
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Aug 5, 2013 23:35
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Does anyone know about giant millipedes here? I've been interested in them since I would like a low energy pet, and the food and care requirements seem interesting enough. Before I think about getting one, I have a question about the substrate though. A lot of the websites that I read all say to change the substrate that millipede lives on at least once a week. However to me, I think the cost of replacing the recommended substrate mixes every week would be expensive. Potting soil is kinda pricey to be using it to fill up a 10 gallon aquarium, only to be tossing it out, and unable to reuse it again for the millipede. I was wondering if I could use soil and leaf litter from outdoors, maybe if I freeze/heat it in order to kill off any lingering organisms inside, for a millipede? Couldn't I also bring in fresh leaves from some of the trees I have? I was happy to hear that giant millipedes enjoy oak leaves since I have one in my front yard. I'm very new to the idea of invertebrates, and am not sure what goes into the process of cleaning their habitat. Any advice will be very appreciated.
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Aug 7, 2013 04:47
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EagerSleeper posted:Does anyone know about giant millipedes here? I've been interested in them since I would like a low energy pet, and the food and care requirements seem interesting enough. Before I think about getting one, I have a question about the substrate though. I keep Archispirostreptus gigas and Narceus americanus. I use a mix of coco-coir, potting soil, and rotten wood and leaves. I boiled the rotten wood and oak leaves before adding it to the enclosure, but I still have soil mites, small worms, and a handful of P. scaber isopods in the cage. None of those do any harm though and my millies are doing very well. I feed mine high quality dry dogfood, dead oak wood and leaves, and various greens I may have on hand. They seem to enjoy kale, broccoli, carrot, things like that. I have literally never completely changed my substrate in over a year and a half. I add rotten wood and leaves and that's about it. The isopods and worms seem to take care of any droppings. Mine have grown from babies about the size of a match, to about 6+ inches in a little over a year. They are very hardy and cool animals.
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Aug 7, 2013 06:06
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West Ham Sandwich posted:Hey I did this thing today too! I was researching picking up a tarantula for about a month now, and this thread was a really awesome resource. While I really wanted a red knee, I ended up getting a rose hair due to their low maintenance and this being my first non-mammal animal to take care of ever (also the price.) She's adorable, and still pretty tiny. I'm a little worried about her tank, though. I've read both here and other places that height is an issue, and some places mention that tiny mesh top-screens can get their fangs stuck if they climb around there, I definitely don't want her to fall and hurt herself if she climbs up the glass. I've got about 3.5 inches of substrate in the tank atm, should I consider adding some more to the tank to close the space between the top of the tank and the floor? You're never going to regret adding substrate to a well-secured enclosure. Bear in mind that your spider can and will lift a lid if gravity is the only thing holding it in place. Also, watching them excavate is mesmerizing all on its own. They can be like little robot tractors. Very focused and precise all-terrain vehicles. Pay attention, NASA. That said, I do have larger enclosures and it's never been an issue, but the OP was written with the safest practices in mind. You did good on the species. Red-knees can be great, but overall I've found Rosies to be more predictably even tempered and very easy to care for. Enjoy owning only one while it lasts, soon you will be up to your eyeballs in arachnids. I highly recommend getting a pinktoe next. Observing the differences in behavior and morphology between the two is pretty eye-opening, given how very similar the design is at first blush. You'll notice a lot of subtle things that just make sense if you look closely  Congrats on the new spiderbot!
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Aug 7, 2013 10:33
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EagerSleeper posted:Does anyone know about giant millipedes here? I've been interested in them since I would like a low energy pet, and the food and care requirements seem interesting enough. Before I think about getting one, I have a question about the substrate though. I had a Giant African Black Millipede (Archispirostreptus gigas) for a few years. I kept it on a substrate of coconut fiber mixed with dried Oak leaves. I changed out the substrate about once every year. In terms of care it was the easiest pet I've ever had. Sometimes it would burrow and not come out for a few months (I assume it was molting). I fed it all sorts of fruit and veggies. I think it died because I forgot to wash some strawberries, and it most likely got dosed with pesticides.
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Aug 8, 2013 07:47
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It's too bad that Millipedes cannot be legally possessed in Canada. They seem like great invertebrate pets.
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Aug 8, 2013 07:51
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Improbable Lobster posted:It's too bad that Millipedes cannot be legally possessed in Canada. They seem like great invertebrate pets. there are probably cool species native to your area.
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Aug 8, 2013 08:15
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 I just fed my T for the first time today. It was the most fun I've ever had watching an animal eat in my life. She seems like a super active variety, I replaced her substrate with the coconut fiber substrate because I wanted a more burrowable substrate and I wanted to fill her tank a bit more. She seemed pretty against it at first, but once she got used to it she started going insane for the crickets we put in to her tank. While nabbing 2 and 3 crickets in her mandible at once, she was spinning a web in circles and I managed to get some pretty close-up iphone video of her webbing. I searched "spider" in the youtube audio editor and put the coolest sounding one to cover up how stupid me and my roommates sounded while this was happening. Make sure to set it to 720p.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ksd9rOrpA30 I don't know, I thought this was super cool atleast.  Sorry for the vertical iphone camera video, as well. I always tell myself to turn my phone sideways when recording video and I never remember. I was also holding another phone as a flashlight to try to get better lighting on her spinnerets and I'm not so great at mulitasking.Also, bonus iPhone quality picture of a cricket's head in her jaw. Mmm that sweet, sweet cricket soup. This was taken about 5 seconds after the last couple of frames in that video were shot.  (timg'd cuz it's fuckin HUGE)
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Aug 10, 2013 03:45
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Beautiful T man. Looks like it is at a good weight and I will take the webbing up as a sign that it's feeling right at home. Don't be too disappointed if it doesn't burrow, that all seems to depend on the individual
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Aug 10, 2013 07:31
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Yeah she really doesn't seem to be interested in burrowing. We've gone on a bit of a buying frenzy for her and bought a static cling backdrop for her cage and another cork log for her to climb on/dig under but for the most part she's avoided both of them and stayed in the open. Not complaining, she's almost always visible, but I would love to see her burrow eventually. 
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Aug 11, 2013 07:01
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My G rosea hasn't burrowed the entire time I've had her. She's dug out he hide and sat in it but that's about it. My E murinus on the other hand has been burrowing like a champ. Every time I look at its tank it's either just sitting near its hide or digging.
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Aug 11, 2013 07:08
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The cecropia caterpillars have finally molted to 3rd instar! Here are a few pics: Love all of the knobs and spikes on these guys. I think this is one of my favorite caterpillar pictures so far.   In this pic two are in 3rd instar and one the one in the center is still in 2nd. Late bloomer.
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Aug 15, 2013 03:10
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Is there any risk in feeding my G. rosea bugs I find in my apartment? Stuff like these http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphimallon_solstitiale or Ectobius lapponicus. I've also found some other bugs that I figured might make a nice meal for her, but wasn't sure if it's safe. What I am thinking is that I could just toss them into her tank instead of putting them outside after catching them.
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Aug 15, 2013 08:24
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Tahirovic posted:Is there any risk in feeding my G. rosea bugs I find in my apartment? Stuff like these http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphimallon_solstitiale or Ectobius lapponicus. I've also found some other bugs that I figured might make a nice meal for her, but wasn't sure if it's safe. Honestly, probably not, but I wouldn't risk it.
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Aug 15, 2013 09:08
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Is it possible for crickets to be too small for a t? After a local pet shop closed I can't find anywhere that sells crickets bigger than 3/4" and my Ts seem to be ignoring them. I'm not worried yet but I want to be sure that I'll have access to large enough crickets in the future. Also, I think my G. rosea is molting. Last night she was in the upside-down molting pose, though today she was rightside up again. Is this something else I should be worried about? I don't think she molted over the last 10~ hours but she wasn't in a death curl or anything and was walking around just fine.
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Aug 28, 2013 20:10
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Improbable Lobster posted:Is it possible for crickets to be too small for a t? After a local pet shop closed I can't find anywhere that sells crickets bigger than 3/4" and my Ts seem to be ignoring them. I'm not worried yet but I want to be sure that I'll have access to large enough crickets in the future. If she's preparing to molt it's important to leave her alone as much as possible. Make sure to remove all prey items as well.
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Aug 28, 2013 22:11
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Big Centipede posted:If she's preparing to molt it's important to leave her alone as much as possible. Make sure to remove all prey items as well. She has indeed molted. I checked up on her and she's out of her old exoskeleton. I can also now confirm that she's a she.
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Aug 28, 2013 22:37
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Improbable Lobster posted:She has indeed molted. I checked up on her and she's out of her old exoskeleton. I can also now confirm that she's a she. Congrats. Dont even attempt to feed her for 2 weeks or so.
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Aug 28, 2013 22:49
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So I've had my G. rosea since very early April, and he/she hasn't yet molted, though it did stop eating for about a month. It doesn't appear sick, is still very active, and has since started eating again. I know going off food is pretty typical, but how often should I expect it to molt?
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Aug 29, 2013 01:47
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Pretty much they molt when they want to. There is no set time. I have a rosy that hasn't molted in two years, and I had one that went off food for 9 months. They're funny like that.
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Aug 29, 2013 01:50
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Olive Bar posted:Pretty much they molt when they want to. There is no set time. I have a rosy that hasn't molted in two years, and I had one that went off food for 9 months. They're funny like that. Alright, thanks! Just was worried I had screwed up. It seems to be happy otherwise, I put a few crickets in last night, heard the chirping for about an hour, then complete silence. Edit: bonus picture! 
anotherblownsave fucked around with this message at 02:01 on Aug 29, 2013 |
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Aug 29, 2013 01:58
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Decided to get another pair of Mastigoproctus giganteus again. I had 3 pairs a few years back, but never successfully got them to breed. I'd get eggs, but they'd go bad. I ended up selling 2 pairs and giving the other pair away. Going to try things a bit differently this time, deeper substrate, higher humidity. I'll post pics when they come in thursday. Here's some old pics.  
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Sep 2, 2013 08:17
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Avic, you have the power to poo poo on literally any spot of your giant tank without actually moving. Why would you choose to take careful aim directly at your water bowl?
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Sep 16, 2013 14:59
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Mr. Vile posted:Avic, you have the power to poo poo on literally any spot of your giant tank without actually moving. Why would you choose to take careful aim directly at your water bowl? It's telling you it wants indoor plumbing in the only way it knows how.
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Sep 16, 2013 23:35
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How often should I clean out a funnelweb spider's bedding? Since they build dense tunnels, I was wondering how stressful it is to force them to rebuild. Like this? 
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Sep 19, 2013 21:13
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Me and a friend handling a female Archimandrita tesselata (Peppered Roach):     I'm the shirtless one covered in tattoos, she's the cute one with pink hair. No good pics of the Hissers today. Maybe next time. Missed one: 
Desert Bus fucked around with this message at 10:48 on Oct 4, 2013 |
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Oct 4, 2013 10:41
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So a CL ad near me advertises "rehoming" a couple tarantulas. The first one's a big Togo Starburst gorgeous but...they seem to be giant bitey teleporters, probably out of my league. The other one is this guy:  N. chromatus, right? I've read/heard they're skittish and picky about humidity, but what do you guys think? I realize craigslisting a couple of unID'd should sound sketchy, but I guess this many years dealing with exotics, not taking the time to put up a verbose, descriptive ad just seems normal.
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Oct 5, 2013 04:54
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It's pretty, that's for sure.
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Oct 5, 2013 05:10
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the yeti posted:So a CL ad near me advertises "rehoming" a couple tarantulas. The first one's a big Togo Starburst Its indeed a Nhandu chromatus. They're pretty skittish but not too difficult to care for.
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Oct 5, 2013 05:45
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My bf's nandu is skittish about light. Super pretty though. Everything Ive heard about togos is that they are intense and a bite will really knock you on your rear end for a few days.
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Oct 5, 2013 18:29
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Anybody raised Macrothele Gigas slings? I was just wondering what they seem to like best in their juvenile size. I'm trying the tiniest itty bitty babby dubias right now for a half inch size guy.
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Oct 10, 2013 22:55
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My rose hair is doing something it hasn't done before, it's cool though. Barricaded itself in it's hide with a massive thick web it's also pushed most of the substrate out so it goes down about an inch and a half, you can barely see it in there.
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Oct 11, 2013 02:00
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That sounds like seasonal or pre-molt shenanigans.
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Oct 11, 2013 02:08
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I've got a quick question, thread. I caught a palmetto roach (at least I'm pretty sure it's one) and I'm wondering if it's alright to keep this little dude over fall and winter and release him in spring? Here he is chowing on some banana.  I'm keeping it in a spare tank with aspen and dirt and it hangs out on the grating most of the time.
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Oct 21, 2013 04:20
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Pew! Pew! posted:I've got a quick question, thread. I caught a palmetto roach (at least I'm pretty sure it's one) and I'm wondering if it's alright to keep this little dude over fall and winter and release him in spring? It is morally reprehensible to remove an animal from the wild for your own amusement! Just kidding, go for it. What's the worst that could happen? Not like they're in short supply or anything. I recently started B giganteus and H tenebricosa colonies. Once I finish moving and get around to it I'll post pics.
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Oct 21, 2013 04:34
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Here is a picture of my rose hair constructing one hell of a hide for herself followed by a picture of the completed project. It took her a couple weeks to get it to the 2nd picture (taken today) she's so far down in there now she's barely visible without a flashlight. 
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Oct 25, 2013 19:56
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Weird question, but I can't think of a better place to ask it and I'm pretty sure locusts are used as food items for some critters. I know locusts are basically just some grasshopper species that occasionally go insane, but does anyone know if they chirp/stridulate? I want to say ALL grasshoppers do that so the answer would be yes, but not really sure. It's been years since I paid much attention to grasshoppers (I always feed with crickets) and the internet only seems interested in talking about swarming when it comes to locusts.
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Oct 28, 2013 23:45
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It turns out that my Ts love hornworms. I've never seen them grab something so fast.
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Nov 19, 2013 19:25
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I have baby Archimandrita tesselata! I'm doing something right. This is awesome.
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Dec 10, 2013 06:06
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Congrats! Post pictures you doof!
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Dec 10, 2013 07:08
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