terristerial my @$$

[raebug2000]

my b.smithi seem to always hang out on the cage lid....
<talks to T's> hey guys you know you're supposed to be terristerial right?

but they are eating so i cant really complain:atom:

[manville]

Maybe the substrate might be moist thats why it is climbing? Thats the only reason i can think of.

[reptile boi]

How long has he been on the substrate for? If hes new to the substrate id give him a few weeks to web it down (kinda like marking his terrirtory) once hes done that he should be staying on the ground from then on. Same thing happens with all my tarantulas everytime i change their substrate

[raebug2000]

yeah i did change their substrate.....
and it was a little moist ....( for some humidity )

the kewlest thing is watching these guys eat...my bigger b.smithi grabbed a cricket and i sucked in my breath at the violence of the whole scenario.....and my T ATE THE WHOLE CRICKET. there was only a little piece of skin left.....ew. but it so rocked.

[bistrobob85]

If you want to see something really impressing, look for a praying mantis!!! They can kill prey items way bigger than themselves!

[reptile boi]

no no bistrobob, a giant centipede!!! try feeding a pinky mouse or a roach to one of those!!! ull be shocked lol





Thanks,
Ben

[Alien_Regalis]

What exactly is the substrate youre using? Even though Ive seen many people use a mix with vermiculite, none of my terrestrial tarantulas seemed to have liked it. They would stay on top of hides, rocks or whatever else they could to stay off the substrate.

[raebug2000]

im using bed a beast dry on top of a layer of moist bed a beast

[Alien_Regalis]

If youre going to use bedabeast thats great, I do suggest that you not use moistened bed a beast underneath. While its true that with terrestrial burrowers the deeper they go the more humidity there is, its still not good practice. You should keep the substrate bone dry except for a simple misting in one corner of the enclosure. Make sure you get a nice amount of the water on the side of the enclosure too. I never place water dishes in with terrestrial tarantulas from even a tropical climate. The only tarantulas that recieve those are the arboreals.

[raebug2000]

really....
so no water?

[Alien_Regalis]

I never use water dishes. Crickets tend to defacate in them. I spray the side of the enclosure and the substrate once or twice a week. It has worked for me sucessfully for many years. :)

[raebug2000]

thankyou for your advice :) im new to T's ( 2 b.smithi's and I know one is definately a girl)

[Alien_Regalis]

Nice, B.smithi are great for beginners even though theyre a tad expensive. :) You are planning on getting more I hope?

[raebug2000]

Yes, perhaps a few more. They are very fascinating.....i want to be comfrotable with these though fist

[Alien_Regalis]

I got my first many years ago to try to overcome my fears. Within a year I had 50 or so. It can be addicting. :D

[raebug2000]

thats what i have heard! i have been reading and looking through archnoboard.com as well

[manville]

Alien regalis, i am really interested to know what you have in your collection now.

[Invictus]

Originally posted by Alien_Regalis
I got my first many years ago to try to overcome my fears. Within a year I had 50 or so. It can be addicting. :D

I think it's time I showed my face in this forum, since I used to be the same... an absolute phobic of spiders. Well, at the last reptile show I picked up 14 of them.

Erin came home with a pink toe a year ago. I figured I have 2 choices - get over it or live in fear. I decided to get over it.

I now own the following:

1 Grammostola actaeon
1 Grammostola pulchra
1 Grammostola cala
1 Acanthoscurria musculosa
1 Aphonopelma chalcodes
1 Crassicrus lamanai

Erin has:

1 Grammostola rosea
1 Brachypelma vagans
1 Grammostola actaeon
1 Avicularia avicularia
1 Brachypelma smithi
1 ACanthoscurria musculosa

We've sold a few since the show too... started to become too many for now. We plan on getting MANY more in the future though. I love T's now, and it's great to be a complete newbie with something again.

I think it's really interesting what you mentioned about misting as opposed to water dishes. We use pillow packs, and both the spiders and the crickets seem to do quite well with them! Even the slings are able to drink from the pillow packs.

[Alien_Regalis]

Originally posted by manville
Alien regalis, i am really interested to know what you have in your collection now.


I keep my adult terrestrials in plastic shoe boxes or sweater boxes. The larger arboreals get 5 gallon tanks on end. The rest are in jars and insect cups of varying sizes.

[Dragoon]

My goodness, Invictus!!

I remember well your aversion to arachnids...wow, how things have changed.
Good for you! I am a big fan of spiders, they are such an ideal pet in that they demand so little money, time, or space. And they give so much.
;)
I am at 52 tarantulas now.

Sadly, it WAS 53....but my darling A. geroldi dropped dead this week. I'm so bummed...its my first loss to no apparent cause. He was a favorite.
Best wishes
D.

[Dragoon]

hahaha, Alien Regalis....

he asked what was in your collection...

not what your collection was in...
hee hee, funny.
D.

[Invictus]

Dragoon - Not a bad transition eh? I'm proud of myself for how far I've come. The G.Actaeons are my favorite to handle... they are hyper enough to be fun, but not so hyper that they are a launch risk.

[Dragoon]

For handling..nothing beats a rosea. They are lovely, they walk where you want, start and stop when you want, and are so gentle and tolerant.

I was at the nearby petstore, and had taken out a juvie male rosea to show some fellow customers how nice spiders are. Well, this mother with her toddler came by and mom ooo'd and ahh'd over the spider. The toddler held out her hand, with mom encouraging her to pet it. I considered this briefly, since it was such a young child...but I figured it was a great chance to encourage arachnid love in the world. The baby was great as the spider walked over her palm...
then she closed her chubby fist!
The rosea was awesome, all it did was wriggle free as I pried the baby's fingers from around its butt. The lovely gentle animal didn't bite.
Thank God!!

I'll never trust a small child again, hahaha. And I did not let on my panic to the mom, mom and kid were cooing over the 'pretty spider', as I let out a silent sigh of relief!
D.

[Alien_Regalis]

Hey I was on my first cup of coffee when I read that!! I call it morning dyslexia :P

I keep

A.avicularia
A.versicolor
A.purpurea
A.minatrix
P.regalis
P.ornata
P.striata
P.rufilata
B.smithi
B.albopilosum
B.emelia
G.rosea
G.pulchra
L.difficilis
L.parahybana

ETC

[manville]

very nice collection.