Day 6: Roaches and Burrows

I had to remove the nifty film cartridges from Tank and Serj’s jars. They both chose to burrow instead!!! Tank chose a burrow far enough into the center of the jar to where I can only see her abdomen. Serj, on the other hand, chose a burrow right next to the side of the jar where I can see her!

I gave Isis 1 dead, one live roach, and she seems to be ignoring both.

Tank got 2 semi live roaches, but when I put the flashlight on, I startled one of the roaches. It jumped into the burrow, and scared the hell out of Tank. Tank jumped out, and proceeded to climb up the side of her jar. OOPS!

Serj got 2 accidentally live roaches. I thought they were more incapacitated, so hopefully she will see them before they burrow. I may have to retry again after work today.

in other news:

Realizing what she’s done, Sid is staring at what remains of her web. Perhaps she will build a new one soon?

Jars and Societies

I have just relocated the slings again. This time, to sturdy jars. The deli cups seemed a bit flimsy when compared to the weight of my cat, Frank. Over the past couple of days he has taken a real interest in the desk where all of my tarantulas sit, and I didn’t want to take the chance that he would jump on top of them while I was at work. He did that to a few crickets a couple of weeks ago (squishing 2), but luckily I was home to save the rest.

The jars are made of glass, and the lids are made with thick clear plastic that I was able to make air holes in with a drill. I added a film cartridge to each jar (another fine use for this item), and 3 different levels of coconut substrate to suit each sling. Now, they are safe, easier to feed, and easier to peek in on. They seem to really like their film holders!!

My older T’s have sturdy lids on their tanks, and Nata is also covered with a book on spiders (fitting, right?)

I will attempt another feeding tomorrow, as Tank has definitely not eaten yet.

In other news, I am now officially a member of the American Tarantula Society!! I am stoked to be getting their magazine, and am waiting confirmation so I can post to their forums. Happiness!!

Day 5: Sid and the Web/Feeding Time

Sid’s web has been destroyed. I noticed it this morning during my daily Tarantula check. She has been hanging out on the sides of her tank for the past week or so, but I had no idea that she had destroyed her home!

EEEEK!! All this after I threw 3 deliciously plump crickets into her lair. Humph. She hasn’t been eating well, and has not seemed to care about the roaches i was trying to give her. She just molted, and isn’t due for another one for a couple of months. I guess I will wait and see what happens.

Isis, on the other hand, fully enjoyed a roach last night. I had the idea to use the nifty 35mm cartridge to rattle the roaches up a bit. (For some reason, this seems less horrible than cutting them up..)

Serj also seemed to notice her roach, but just sat by it for a while. I couldn’t tell if she had eaten it or not.

Tank-well……. no luck yet, as far as I saw. She just sits on the side of her cup. I think she is not liking the coconut fiber substrate. Oh well….it’s all we have for now.

I thought over the maggot food idea, and decided against the potential colony of flies. Nothing against flies, but my apartment is not suited for a bug room yet, nor do we have a shed.

For now, all 5 tarantulas are living on my desk in the livingroom. It is set into the wall, so they aren’t hit with constant bright lights. (They wouldn’t be, anyway, due to the fact that we live like cave dwellers as it is.)

Day 4: Thoughts About Naming, Feeding and Sling Keeping

So I have officially named my slings:

B. smithi (Isis)

A. unnamed (Tank)

A. Chalcodes (Serj)

Still no name for the female Hisser, Sorry little buddy!!

Now that the name game is over, I am still a little nervous about feeding. I have been looking across the web for ideas, and the term “Maggot” has come up quite a bit. Never thought I’d be googling maggots…but if they keep my little ones happy, so be it.

I just hope that they remain happy, healthy, and ALIVE. I am still a little sad over the loss of my male hisser.

Day 3: Picture Day!!

Well, if my camera worked the way it’s supposed to (Cannon AE-1) I will have some awesome shots of each sling, along with my older tarantulas.

The flashlight that I was using to light the deli cups seemed to really annoy the little ones (which I expected) so I had to get as many photos as I could, VERY quickly.

Sadly, when I went to photograph my Madagascars, I discovered that my male was deceased-and he stank to high hell!! Like rotting meat. Odd for an insect…not sure if that is normal for this kind….

I did at least manage to get some decent macros of the deceased, and the living hisser. I am pretty bummed about this though….

Sid was clinging to the side of (her) tank, so I did get some good shots of the iridescent coloring on her legs, as well as a few macros of her fangs. Nata, on the other hand preferred to stay camera shy. She remained huddled in the back of her Dibs container-turned burrow. I did get some pics of her back there, just nothing exciting.

Hopefully I will have the roll developed this week. I am praying to the Canon 35mm gods that the camera worked.

We shall see……

Day 2: 2 Girls, one Deli Cup (Ea.)

I don’t know their individual sexes yet, but I am hoping they are female.

I did manage to get 2 of my slings into larger deli cups, but one of them- the Davis Mountain Rusty (Aphonopelma un-named) managed to hold onto my finger mid transfer, and was quite adamant about NOT going into her new cup. I had to coerce her in with the nifty camera film holder- the same one that scoops mini feeder roaches with ease.

I gave each relocated sling 2 feeders. I am unsure of what was eaten yesterday as feeder roaches apparently like to burrow. $:\$

My A. Chalcodes (Arizona Blonde) was left in her mini cup, as she is still too tiny to be moved. I also have no idea if she ate her feeder roach yesterday. I will give her a single roach in a little while, just in case.

Feeding Time

I just realized an amazing thing that camera film holders are good for: FEEDING.

I used this nifty device to feed all 3 of the new slings. Since I am new to using feeder roaches, I thought this would be the simplest way to scoop them out and hold enough feeders for each sling.

Davis M. Rusty Sling- 1 small roach
Arizona Blonde Sling- 1 small roach
Mexican Red Knee Sling- 2 small roaches

*NOTE* While feeding the Red Knee, I noticed that he grabbed a roach before it hit the ground of his condiment cup. I saw an old molt lying there and boldly went to remove it. Red Knee immediately dropped his meal and lunged to guard his molt from my fingers. Odd behavior, but perhaps he was just startled.

Neither of the 2 smaller slings seemed to notice their meals as of yet.

New Spiderlings! (and some other goodies too!!)

Today I brought home 3 new slings! An Aphonopelma (unnamed) “Davis Mountain Rusty”~who sits at a stunning 1/2″, an Alphonopelma Chalcodes (Arizona Blonde) who measured in at a whopping 1/4″, and last but not least, a Brachypelma smithi that comes in first place at an extraordinary 3/4″!!!!!

Now, these may not seem like very big tarantulas, but rest assured, they are certainly larger than the 1/8” slings I saw huddled in a cup at The Invert Shop.

David, the owner/keeper/feeder/breeder/builder/handler/temperature moderator/roach shipper and egg sack baby sitter was kind enough to spend a couple of hours going over his various species, and many roles as an online invertebrate dealer. I had the privilege to see his shed-errr…shop full of critters that make up his hobby.

Everywhere I looked there were boxes and keepers and tubs and tanks and cups full of invertebrates lazily awaiting their next meal of captive bred cockroaches and other crawling goodness.

Looking at his shop almost made me embarrassed as I nervously went over the various species I had at home. “An avicularia-Pink Toe, and a G. Rosea.” 2 Tarantulas, 2 tanks. No need to label, as they look nothing alike-and no need to devote a whole room to them as their 10 gallon tanks take up little more than 3/4 of my livingroom desk.

I felt more like a wishful-thinker, instead of a full blown hobbyist.

After about 2 hours with David, all that changed and I am now a bit richer in knowledge, and a whole lot more excited as there is an experienced keeper not far from my home. I am sure there will be many trips to the Invert Shop in the near future, or at least a few emails with progressive Tarantula photos, and the occasional plea for help.

I am now up 3 tarantulas, 2 Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, and a colony of feeders.

I am pretty confident in my ability to keep 3″ tarantulas alive…. so now what am I supposed to do with slings????

I guess that I will be figuring it out as I grow right along with them.

Tomorrow’s challenge:

FROM ONE CUP TO ANOTHER-WITHOUT LOSING A SLING

My new little one’s are in need of a bit more space, so we will see how it goes.

Sid and Nata

Siddhartha and Nataraja are the first tarantulas that I have ever owned. Each resides in their own aquarium, as A. avacularias and G. Rosea should never live under the same roof- so to speak. I have only been in the hobby for about a year now, and with that comes my experience as a new keeper.

I love my tarantulas, and even though the idea of keeping one was strictly for photography, I have grown to love and treasure my “newbie” collection.

Today, Sid and Nata officially became the cornerstones of an expanding family in this household, as 3 spiderlings (and a couple of cockroaches) are now a fixture here.

These are my trials, thoughts and successes as a new keeper, and if Sid and Nata can bare with me, eventually they will make it to town. At that time, their tolerance of my clumsiness and ignorance will pay off in the gratitude and education of many. (GULP!)