Loss and a Molting Rose Hair

Well, the zoo is still on the floor of the new apartment, but I have been pricing some shelving units that will look fantastic in my living room.  Hopefully sometime in the next few weeks I will be scheduling zoo visits with some local children, allowing them to explore the fascinating world of invertebrate keeping.

Molts:

Tonight, I had one molt that was VERY unexpected.  Sarva, my smaller Rose Hair, did the deed after 4 months of barely eating.  She looks beautiful, and the best part is that I am almost certain that she is a GIRL!  YAY!!  I measured her through the enclosure, and I am putting her at around 3 1/2″.  She gained an entire inch!!

Sad news 😦

Raven, my moody Lasidora parahybana sling died yesterday.  I noticed it in the death curl, and moved it into a film container with no lid just to be sure.  I am certain that she has passed, and sadly, I don’t know why.  Once again I believe that the recent molt might have been at fault, but because it was less than an inch, I am unable to give a definite reason.  If you have been following this blog, you will recall that the zoo just lost an Aphonopelma sp- Davis Mountain Rusty under the same circumstances.  Humidity levels have been closely monitored, as have feeding practices.  I am still looking into ways to prevent future losses.

As mentioned earlier, I am looking at shelving units to nicely display the tanks and jars, as well as provide functionality for lighting and heating (we have a gecko here too.)  A camera is in the works so as soon as we are fully settled into the new apartment, I will be posting pictures.

I am looking for photos and set up ideas, so if you have any tips or photos of your own “zoo” displays, send them to me at 8 pink toes at g mail dot com, and I will post them here!

(BTW- If you read the last blog, Aphrodite is doing well, and is her same old self. 🙂

KEN THE BUG GUY’S NEW SHOW!!!!

BUGGING OUT

Care sheets updates

A few months back I made some quick care sheets for various species using photos and info from around the web.  Now that I have acquired a few new slings, I decided it was time to update the care sheets using my own photos and some information relevant to my critters to give you a quick overview of the desktop.

To see these updated sheets, just visit this link HERE.

The site BUGGYZOO will now host the “Meet the Zoo” page as well.

I see a lot of searches for the Cyclosternum fasciatum and Nhandu chromatus, so I will be sure to keep these pages updated frequently.

Each care sheet now has my critter’s LS, name, common name, and photo- as well as information on temperament and housing etc.

I have been promising these updates, so finally, here they are!

 

PICTURE TIME! and NEW ADDITIONS! and MOLTING!!

First of all, here is something you might like, a lot:

and maybe even this:

and for good measure, how ’bout one more:

 

 

The first picture is of one of the two new additions to the desktop.  It came in the mail yesterday.  I would have blogged about this then, but Ms. Blue Fang was a bit bigger than expected, and was also able to run fast and jump.  Thank God I was not recording the unpacking of this spider. 😐

The 2nd picture is of Isis, after her molt this morning.  After losing Tank this week, I thought for sure that the lack of motion for hours was a sign that Isis wasn’t making it.  All the arachnid forums said to leave her alone (well… based on q and a’s from other users..) so I did as advised and she came out okay.  I am guessing she is between 1 1/2″ -2″ LS now.  Cool huh?

The third photo is of Athene, my beautiful Nhandu chromatus. She molted yesterday afternoon, so this is also a post molt pic!  WHOO!!

Now, I did mention that Blue Fang spiderling was one of two additions….  unfortunately the P. subfusca was hiding during picture time…and well….has been hiding since I got it in the new jar.  As soon as I find it (gulp!) I will be posting pictures.  I am guessing that it is about 1/2″ and it really has beautiful markings.  This is my first Pokie, and my first old world species, so prepare for my newbieness in these areas…..

Names? Hmmmm…

Poecilotheria subfusca (Ivory Ornamental) Poe, Edgar Allan. (Poe)

Ephebopus cyanognathus (Skeleton Blue Fang) Osiris or Iris.

These 2 were freebies from the facebook stranger.  I guess it does pay to network, and if you are new to keeping, I would highly recommend using as many forums, social nets and blogs as possible to meet other experienced keepers (and newbies.)  It will save you and your collection massive heartache in the future!  THANK YOU SO MUCH TO JOE FOR THE SPIDERLINGS!!! AND THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR BLOGS, ARTICLES, BOOKS, SOCIAL NETWORKING PROFILES, YOU TUBE VIDEOS, PHOTOS, CARE SHEETS, and EXPERIENCE! Over the past year I have gone from newbie to almost somewhat experienced keeper because of you, and plan to continue my journey as an invert keeper.

Someday, I will meet a newbie, and give them something the size of a quarter, hairy, fast, and terrifying (while it is running away from the box it was shipped in) so it too can make someone’s desktop a little bit happier.

 

More Newbie Tools

Lets talk about more “Newbie Tools.”

I had an experience today that I wanted to share with you. It came about at around noon when I was sitting with my husband on our couch, each of us exploring our own virtual domains via separate laptops.  I was lost in Pogo Games playing Poppit!, and he was browsing Craigslist for things we cannot afford.

He named off some pianos, a guitar, and some other musical equipment, when I finally told him to get out of there (that site) and quit torturing himself.

I then rattled off (while almost completely absorbed in Poppit!) that I hate Craigslist when I am broke, because I always find stuff like fish tanks on there when I have no money.  I then somehow made the sentence: I always use Craigslist to get fish tanks for the zoo; Hell, I got half the tanks for free that way!

That was the sound of the turn of my Sunday.

My husband (what seemed like seconds later…I don’t know…I was lost in that stupid game!) suddenly turned his laptop towards me, and told me to look.  I was startled awake from the game coma, and saw the words “20 gal fish tank and 5 gal fish tank” meet my eyes, followed by a local phone number,

I told him to quit torturing me with stuff I can’t afford, when he gladly pointed out that this was listed in the FREE section.  I WAS ON IT!

Visions of only needing a new tank for one of the L parahybanas came about, and Isis! Oh how Isis would love the Kritter Keeper while Zero would get all the leg room of a 5 gallon!!

I called the number, and left a message.  The number called me back a minute or so later, and I heard the voice on the other end say that they only had 2 small tanks left.

I was still happy to come and get them, because that would mean that Zero, Isis AND the crickets would get a cool tank!! (I am picturing 2 5 gallons now…GLORIOUS SUNDAY!!)

Picture now my face when I got to the house of the tank giver-away-er and was greeted by a 10 gallon that was very dirty, sitting on this strangers porch.  He then insisted that my husband and I go into his house, (as we were followed by another guy ALL creepy) to be met with

(my 5 gallon??)

No.

Sitting on this gentleman’s kitchen counter was an even filthier 10 gallon tank complete with RIVER MINNOWS!

(Oh God, I don’t want fish!)

When he saw my face, and that of my husbands, he offered to dump some of the water down his sink, and the fish too if we didn’t want them.

His wife then came out and added that there was a clam in there somewhere too!!

(Gulp!)

So, just a few minutes later we were back in our car with one very filthy tank in the trunk, and one 1/4 filled tank riding in my lap with Minnows.

(Did I mention the tank was green?  The water too?  How bout the sides?)

When we got home, the green tank went to the porch.

and the trunk tank….

was filled with kitty litter, some type of lid piece that looked melted, a broken glass, (not broken glass, but A broken glass,) a cordless phone….and yes, the charger too.

I tossed the contents of the kitty litter tank and got out the bleach!

Why people would not include the words “kitty litter” in their Craigslist ad was beyond me.

They seem to have forgotten to include a fish net too, so I sat down a few minutes later with a tea strainer and fished out the 6 little minnows, and the one surviving clam. (It seems there were 2 in the ichy murk….

(Did I mention it was crayola green?)

and I placed the living things in a tupperware container intended for Zero.

I am just praying that I can get the fish to eat crickets!

(And what the hell do fresh water clams eat??)

So, in conclusion, Craigslist is one of the many cool newbie tools to have, and if you should ever find something free on there-like fish tanks- you might want to make sure that the fish and the owners kitty litter (and house phone) is NOT included in the deal.

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Another Day, another 1/4″.

Today is Wednesday, which in my world is feeding day (As is Saturday and sometimes Sunday.) All the little spiderlings are brought down to the floor in their jars, deli cups, and now a kritter keeper.  I stack my 2 small roach keepers, and place an empty potato salad cup on top.  I bring down all my tools: Metal and plastic tweezers, empty film container, paint brush, flash light etc.

One by one, each tiny deli cup (2 L. parahybana slings and 1 B. boehmei sling) is placed in the larger potato salad cup so that when I open the lid for feeding, the spiderlings can’t escape far if they get out. I then retrieve a small cricket from the small cricket tank, and put it in the film container.   I gently crack open each lid (one at a time) and lay it on top of its container.  I then grab the isolated cricket with the tweezers, and plop it into the opened spiderling deli cup.

Tonight I found that one of my L. parahybana had molted.  It was Raven, and I have been expecting this for about 2 weeks now.  FINALLY!!

She has also grown from a tiny 1/8″ to a monstrous 1/4″!!  WHOOOO!!

As for the rest of the feeding process, the other spiderlings are in jars so I am able to keep their lids off during feeding.  Serj (A. chalcodes) looks a lot like my Nhandu sp. since yesterdays molt, but I am fairly certain that she will get her Arizona blond markings soon enough.

Tank (Aphonopelma sp.) has not been eating, so I expect his gummy physique to molt out as well in the next week or 2.

So, tonight marked the 3rd molt of September, and everyone was fed pretty well.  Sid (my A. avicularia) tried to climb out of his tank while I grabbed a cricket!  It was pretty cool watching those little pink toes come up over the edge!  I managed to toss him a cricket, which appeared to land right in his fangs. Way to fetch Sid!!  He’s a good boy 🙂

I even updated everyone’s note cards with acquisition dates, molt dates and LS”.  All 12 have cards now, and I am exhausted.  Luckily for me though, not everyone needed to be fed.  Besides the newly molted, I busted Isis with a giant B. dubia roach in her mouth last night.  It was one of the left overs that lives in her soil from my deceased colony. I have a few left in some of the jars, and even catch them from time to time eating the remains of crickets not consumed by the spiderlings.  They must be eating well because this sucker was bigger than the snacker herself!!  (Her abdomen at least) and I know it wasn’t that big when I put it in there several months ago!

Feeding day was a success, and even though I am tired from a long day at work, and then an hour of feeding/record keeping/blogging, I am happy to finally be getting the rhythm of this invertebrate keeping down.  Spider checks in the morning, and in the evening, with Giant Cockroach checks at some point after work.

I am now ready for bed.

Related Articles

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Official Facebook Page!!

Here is the brand new page for the desktop!!

Please add us here: Sid and Nata on Facebook

A Video Worth Watching!

I found this video on youtube while taking a break from cleaning.  If you have, or are thinking about getting a tarantula, WATCH THIS VIDEO!!  I have it favorited now for anyone who happens upon my pages.  Good Stuff!!

Holding a spiderling

Aphrodite is the first tarantula spiderling I got from my wish list.  I have had her for about a month, and she is a rather tiny 1/4″.  Since I got her, she has refused all food, but I thought I would give it another go this evening.  I figured that I would try a near dying cricket, as opposed to the freshly killed ones I usually give my spiderlings.  I found, however, that this particular cricket was not as near dead as I had hoped, and that it was a little bit bigger than I had anticipated.

So, I opened the deli cup once more, and when the cricket finally jumped out, Aphrodite went missing!  I panicked A LOT on the inside, but remained physically calm, eyeballing the container in which all small deli cups sit when being opened for feeding ( a practice I use for cases like this…)

I slowly turned my hand over, and there was my precious Boehmei, sitting right in my palm! I stared at her for a few minutes, and gently coerced her back into her deli cup with the butt end of a pair of tweezers.  She is absolutely beautiful, and safe with a very dead cricket.

Newbie Tools- Things I have been learning…

Here is a short list of things I use, or have learned over the past few months as a newbie keeper.

1- Naming is important if you don’t want to say proper names over and over again:  EXA- Cyclosternum fasciatum, Brachypelma boehmei (which I had been mispronouncing for weeks!), Aphonopelma (unnamed sp.) “Davis Mountain Rusty” etc…..  Zero, Aphrodite, and Tank are much easier to say, and much easier for my husband to pronounce when he is talking to me.  It is the common place in which he can understand the language that I am speaking…all else leaves him utterly confused….

2-Film containers are the gifts of GODS!!  They can be used for scooping, digging, hiding, transporting and subduing prey.  They are also great for dead cricket removal!

3-A DIG KIT IS NECESSARY!  My dig kit contains the above mentioned film container, a paintbrush, the bottom of a sweater gift box (The kind that lazy people like me use to give sweaters at christmas ’cause I am too lazy to wrap OR get a better gift!) I also have a flashlight on hand at all times, and a spoon.

4-Dig Kits Are Necessary when someone like me wanted a better view of my spiderlings and put them in jars with too much soil. (and then a week or so of NOT seeing my spiderlings at all!,  10 minutes with the jar and a dig kit, and you may  find your spiderling somewhere in the big brown soil void.  I like to use my dig kit on the bed.  My husband likes to sit on the couch at these times.

5-Holding a tarantula in bed is fun- unless your husband is eating. Apearantly he does NOT want to see Sarva, no matter how sweet she is!

6-Tarantulas are a great way to spend the money you saved from quitting smoking!  If your husband does not want the tarantulas, offer to take up smoking again.  Chances are, you will be a master keeper in no time!

7- Tarantulas dance.  I call it the “I Got Food” dance.

8-Forums are useful!  You may look like a newbie, but little do those people know, you are only asking stupid questions so that real newbies won’t have to be embarrassed when they go to ask them!

9- 3 cool tarantulas beat your neighbor’s froofy Bischon poodle yappy thing in the pet department hands down. Your dog wears T- Shirts?  My tarantula does the “I got food” dance.- a 10cents cricket is well worth the spending! …..no Cesar Milan video necessary.

10- Crickets are for quick feeding, or you will surely pack up and leave your home from the stench.

I have many more newbie thoughts…and these are in no random order.  I will keep the list running, and if you have a newbie thought, please share!  Real newbies would hate to feel alone and retarded when it comes to keeping…