More Spiders under my care !!! O.o

The Core RPGC Main Forum
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Ok guys,

some major changes are currently happening. First off, the scorpions are being donated to the Montréal Insectarium since their dissapointing lack of activity and actual showing off made me decide to stick with tarantulas until I move on my own. So I got 3 more tarantula spiderlings to fill in the void.

First off, the 1" C. darlingi (East African Horned Baboon)

As you can see, I attempted to feed it a dead cricket thinking it may not be ready for a live one. We don’t have pinheads here and I’d rather not leave a large adult cricket in there in case it decides to “turn the tables”. Unfortunately, it completely ignored it. So I mustered all my courage to open up the container and remove it. Having witnessed how fast it be, no doubt it would escape in seconds if I give it the opportunity.

Now, the 1/4" C. fasciatum (Costa Rican Tiger Rump)

This guy is small, but he went for the cricket abdomen I left in its enclosure almost immediately. Seems to still be feasting off of it. So that’s a really good sign.

Last up is my 1/4" L. parahybana (Brazilian Salmon Pink Birdeater)

Like the C. fasciatum, it readily took the cricket part I left for it, this one being a good-sized drumstick. I’m also quite hopeful with this one.

And now for some extras.

My B. boehmei (Mexican Fireleg) sling seems to be in premolt now… has ignored the cricket I had offered it.

And here’s a sweet surprise… Fluffy, my G. rosea (Chilean Rose) caught in the act of eating a few crickets !!

Honestly didn’t expect her to eat since she’s always been on and off with feeding. Roseas really like messing with their keepers :smiley:

Ok, I realise a lot of you don’t like spiders, period. I’m cool with that. For those that would consider getting a pet tarantula… get a Honduras Curly Hair. Super docile, decent eater, grows fairly fast and looks like it has a bad hair day all year round.

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Thanks for the pics! I don’t think I would have a pet spider (I prefer cats) but I love spiders nonetheless. So that little one moved pretty fast? I’d imagine they all would move quickly. Maybe I asked this before, but what sort of cleaning do you do for their terraniums?

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Basically, I remove leftovers a day or two after feeding and refill their water dishes (if applicable). There is no need to do a substrate change unless a mite infestation takes place. That usually only happens if you leave food leftovers for weeks in a damp container. Spiders kept on dry substrate rarely if ever get mites since they die off because it’s too dry for them.

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Oh god, I confused Dragon’s Revenge for you at one point. Do you ever let them crawl on you? Would they fight each other if you put them together? Do they have to eat bugs of their own nationality?

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This sounds like a silly question, but it actually seems quite reasonable. Would an organism prefer prey from it’s native habitat over something more exotic? I’m thinking since they’re spiders they would have no real preference, but I believe some more complex organisms might display a sort of preference. Obviously the predator wouldn’t be picky, it’ll eat what it gets, but it would be interesting to check out.

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I’m sorry Gila-Monster… you’re awesome. You’re Canadian. But I have to say… GSG: THAT IS THE MOST FUCKING RETARDED QUESTION I HAVE EVER SEEN ON THIS FORUM!? WHAT THE FUCK!? WHAT THE… WHAT THE FUCK!? CHRI…FUCK WHAT THE…WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!?

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I thought maybe bugs from its natural habitat have different nutrients.

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Bullshit. You’re just saying that because it’s what Gila said. As usual, you just said whatever popped into that tiny skull of yours.

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That is really what I was asking. There is no way I can prove this to you, so fuck off. Why would that just pop into my head? Do you think I was trying to be racist?

EDIT:

Lets go through my questions and I will explain why I asked them.

“Do you ever let them crawl on you?”

I asked this because he has to clean the cages. When he gets them out, does he let them crawl on him? I want to know how dangerous they are.

Would they fight each other if you put them together?

Are they territorial? Antisocial?

And I already explained the last one.

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No, I don’t think you were trying to be racist, this time. Why would you be racist about bugs? Your avatar is pretty disgusting, though (especially considering your last avatar of yourself in blackface). I’m just sick of you asking retarded questions in every single thread. Nobody does shit about it, and I’m probably going to get in trouble by calling you out on it. You are a shitstain in the boxers of RPGClassics, and you need to be washed out.

Your question wasn’t racist, it was insipid. The rest of the questions weren’t stupid, but I’m chalking that up to luck. If 2/3rds of a post of your 1028 posts are not completely idiotic, that doesn’t mean that suddenly you’re a good poster. And no: I will not relent on a homophobic racist asscobra such as yourself.

EDIT: Oh. Cool spiders, DG. Sorry for getting mad in your thread.

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Just so you know I did not choose this avatar, it was donated by an anonymous moderator. I just don’t feel like changing it.

What is insipid about wanting to know whether or not they need bugs from their own country? I think you are just trying to find a reason for me to get banned.

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Cool spiders Dragon God. Not as scary as their grown up counterparts. How big do they get anyway?

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There are tons of better ways to be racist than to ask if a bug eats other bugs from the same country. Chillax dude.

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I didn’t say it was a racist question. I said it was a stupid question, and I’m sticking by that. :expressionless:

EDIT: But I can see I’m making an ass out of myself, so I’ll stop.

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Ok guys,

for GSG

No, I don’t let them crawl on me during maintenance. They are not toys. I just get the prey remains out and refill the water dish if needed, then I close the enclosure. And since I cannot acquire any exotic bugs, they’ll need to accept crickets and mealworms as their main diet. And they don’t refuse them.

for Generic

Thanks for the compliment on my spiders. I’m glad you like them.

for Lex

the East African Horned Baboon reaches about 5", the Costa Rican Tiger Rump usually gets 3~4" while the Brazillian Salmon Pink Birdeater gets to 8~10" !

Even the adults aren’t that scary if you keep an eye on them and take all the necessary precautions to avoid an escape.

Hope this answers a lot.

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I’m glad you got rid of the scorpions, DG.Cool-looking as they are, less people die from tarantula attacks than scorpions’. Uh, I think. :stuck_out_tongue:

And yes, some predators don’t go after atypical prey. For example, big cats like tigers do NOT like humans very much, an will only eat them if some incapacitation (or old age) keeps them from catching faster prey. This is why maneating tigers are so feared, they are so unusual.

Is that spider really capable of eating birds? O_O (I’ve heard of huge bird-eating jungle spiders but always thought it was a myth.)

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Birdeaters are the larger South American species like the Goliath, Pinkfoot Goliath and the Salmon Pink. In theory, they could take down small birds like hummingbirds with no problems, but birds aren’t a major part of their natural diet. They are more likely to catch frogs, snakes, rodents and lizards instead of birds.

No tarantula is lethal, some of the more venomous Asian species will require a trip to the hospital at most for the pain and nausea/muscle cramps. Aside from that, there isin’t much to worry if you use common sense and learn to read a tarantula’s mood.

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The bird eating spiders generally eat baby birds that are still in the nest. But like DG said, I’d imagine that would be a small part of their diet.

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So you let go of your scorpions because they -surprise- did not behave much like a pet?

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As far as arachnid pets go, most scorpions tend to be a LOT more secretive in their activities.

So I’ve chosen to focus in tarantulas entirely for the time being, they don’t go into hiding as often (depends on species)

At any case, here is a quick update on my 5 spiders in my care.

Ok, so let’s go at em in order I got em.

First off, my beloved adult female G. rosea Fluffy. There she is just looking adorable as usual.

Not too surprisingly, her eating is already starting to slow down. Last week she only bothered to eat 2 of the 3 crickets I offered her. One died in the cage.

Next up is my juvi (?) B. boehmei Fireball. I got a ventral shot. It’s not quite clear, but I’m hoping female.

Now for my recently acquired slings. It’s been two weeks now since I got them and they seem to be doing quite well. Can’t wait to see molts at any case.

First up is my 1" C. darlingi named Darla. Yes I know, not very original but it works. Last week I offered a second small cricket and witnessed it grabbing it and killing it in its burrow. The cricket struggled for a good 10 seconds but it quickly stopped moving. It was amazing to watch !

Here we see its legs sticking out of the burrow entrance.

And here is a blurry shot of the burrow it made. It has been busy, made quite a bit of webbing and digging.

Next the 1/4" C. fasciatum named Pinky. I see a fairly large abdomen and a dark one at that. It will hopefully molt in the weeks to come.

Last but not least, my 1/4" L. parahybana named Dora. Like Pinky, its abdomen has got fairly fat and has gotten darker. Has to molt soon.

So that’s it with the pictures for the time being.

Now for some advice. I’ve begun to use mealworms to feed the 1/4" slings. Both seem to relish it. I basically cut the mealworm in half so no part gets wasted. I’ve removed the parts after 24 hours. Could I have left it a few days more ? I’d really like to avoid mold problems as much as possible.

I plan to feed them again over the weekend. I’d rather not “power-feed” them since if they turn out to be males I’d rather enjoy them as long as possible.

Thanks everyone !