Updates and new bugs

After a trip on Thursday to GBU Enterprises, I came home with some new bugs, a creature I have never kept on the Desktop before, and a critter that was happily released right after I snapped it’s photo.

A turtle, obviously. Something I have NEVER kept before.

3 Madagascar hissing beetles! Yep, I am bringing them back to the zoo!!

A Black Widow and her brood. After photos, they were kindly released away from my home and back into the wild!

She had a few hundred in there, I think. Now, they will be ‘enjoyed’ by the folks of Stockton, CA.

A Pink Toed spiderling 1″ whom I am still trying to name. Sid IV, if you will.

A cool shot of the spiderlings backside, and as one of the forum members pointed out, the spiderling resembles a Green Bottle Blue, though I doubt GBU made that big of a mistake. I am quite certain this is an avic.

 

I had a great time interviewing one of the co-owners of GBU. and may even be volunteering there if I can get out of some engagements that will take up most of my time over the next month or so.  In the meantime I will be enjoying these new additions, and hopefully will acquire more to begin doing private bug-shows and maybe getting back into selling again.  Who knows!

IT’S A BOY!!!

Mitzy, my fuzzy Lasiodora parahybana (also acquired from GBU back in February) has turned out to be a boy.  I’m toying with renaming him, but may keep it the same just to throw people off.  Even though he will not (most likely) have the opportunity to reproduce, I will still enjoy watching him grow, and will  be keeping him as a personal pet, along with Serj, my A. chalcodes female.  Serj, who can live for up to 25ish years, will hopefully become a companion for my son when he goes to college.  He’s 1 now, so just 17 years to go!

 

 

 

 

 

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• Spider Bugs (a10com.wordpress.com)

New Video of A. insignis baby!

In addition to the tarantula spiderlings I got today, the owner of the Invert Shop gave me some baby A. insignis, along with a replacement male!!

This is one of the babies chowing on some lettuce.

Veggie Day!

Carrot crinkle cut slices-

I take one out, take a bite.

My piece, your piece.  Into Tara’s tank it goes.

I wondered if crickets would like carrots too.

Take one out, take a bite.

My piece your piece, into the cricket tank it goes.

Repeat with the feeder roaches, and everybody’s happy!

Turns out that bugs like pre-cut carrots, and tarantulas like bugs who have just eaten pre-cut carrots.

*In other news from the desktop*

I have been trying to spend time with my newest tarantula, the Chilean Rose I rescued from a pet store.

She was kept in a 10 gallon tank with a cross section of plexiglass that divided her from 2 other (MUCH LARGER) Chilean Roses.  When I went to select which one I would go home with, I noticed that one was extremely aggressive (due to starvation I later found out) and the other was very moody and flicked hairs all over the place.

The person who was showing me the spiders knew very little about them, and even had me hold one away from the tank-more than 3 feet up above the floor.  (BIG NO NO for terrestrial tarantulas.)

When he went to pick up the littlest one, she seemed rather frightened, and kept backing away.  We finally got her out of the tank, and once I got her in my hand, she calmed down and sat in my palm.

I guess I would be afraid too if the one’s I shared living quarters with were big and hungry enough to eat me!

I couldn’t bare to put her back in the tank, so I had the salesman grab a box, and home we went.

Every morning, before work, I try to hold her for a couple of minutes, and this evening I sat with her on the floor just letting her explore my hand, or sit there if she wanted to.  It was nice, and she seemed to be okay with me talking to her and holding her up to look closer at her.

The more I do this, the more I hope she gets comfortable with having human interaction.  I don’t normally hold my spiders, but she and Isis have been pre-chosen for education purposes.

Sarvashiva and Isis will go into schools at some point and teach little kids about biology and nature.

One thing I did manage to do at the pet store as I was buying her was educate a group of people (including the salesman) about her species, and New World tarantulas in general.

It was pretty awesome to have kids and their parents asking questions, and then asking if they too could pet the tarantula. Everyone was smiling. 😀

Sarva, you are well on your way! ❤

Molting and Digging

I woke up this morning, after a crappy sleep, and was thrilled to see that my Aeluropoda insignis had molted!  She was about 2 1/2″ before the molt, so I am hopefully going to get the chance to measure her new body after work.  Since I wasn’t expecting to get cockroaches when she was given to me, I know nothing about her- so, every little thing that signifies health and well being makes me grin REALLY BIG!

Since I am on the subject, if you know or have any decent care sheets on this little beauty, send them my way PLEASE!

I have browsed the net and come up with very little.  (Funny how I was just talking with another enthusiast about this very thing-a LACK of info on the net.

*Enthusiasts, hobbyists, professional breeders and the like- PLEASE start putting your experiences out there! People  like me wind up with critters that would benefit from accurate and accessible care sheets! If you have a blog or website dedicated to the invert hobby, let me know so that I can link it-  not just for me, but for other enthusiasts!)

Pics coming soon of my roach molt!

Now, on to the subject of digging-

I had the privilege of digging out Tank yesterday.  She had been MIA for about a week, and so I sat with her jar, a spoon, the nifty film container, a new jar and the gift box lid.  I dug for about 10 minutes(a very tedious and delicate process) and finally found Tank buried about 3/4 of the way down in the center of the jar.  I see no signs of any molting, but she is now visible in a shallower jar, with a roach or 2 to feast on…if she EVER eats

Pardon the rambling, but again I slept like crap, and am in need of another gallon of coffee before the day gets rolling.

When I get time, I will also be posting pics of the elusive Tank, my reclusive Aphonopelma sp. “Davis Mountain Rusty”.

STOOOPID ROACHES :|

I fed the spiderlings this morning, and it seems that while I have had pretty good luck with the food cooperating with me, this morning proved to be different.

All 3 times that I tried to gather roaches with the film container, at least 2 tried to escape!  The mother, who is humongous, was the first to make the daring attempt!  I had to scoop her into a temporary container while I gathered the other escapees and fed them to the slings.

This is why I always use a long gift box bottom to handle my bugs in.

SidNata-1

Roaches-0.

Feeding Chart*

Isis-3

Tank (Darwin)-3

Serj-4(accidentally)

Stoopid Roaches.

Making Some Changes/Slings and Things

Sid is still not quite acting normal.  I checked for mites, possible leftover crickets (that have soured) and other outside influences that could be causing her odd behavior.

So, yesterday I spent some time adding and subtracting some things from her tank, along with removing the remains of her tattered web.  I added in a piece of driftwood that runs the length of the 10 gallon tank, (which thankfully is shaped well, to run from the bottom of the tank to the top, one side to the other at a slant) I have also placed another piece that runs the width of the tank directly under the upward part of the long driftwood…if that makes any sense.)

Sid is sitting by the shorter piece now, on the side of the tank, but has been all over the place.  I hope the pacing stops soon.  She has fresh water, new things to climb, and perfect humidity.  In a little while I will go to the market and try to feed her some crickets.

Nata on the other hand, has been pigging out since yesterday, and I think she might be on her 3rd cricket this week.  She is fascinating to watch, and is quite lively!

SLINGS*

Serj is taking on an ENORMOUS feeder roach right now.  This is her 2nd in the last 24 hours.   She is very active, and I enjoy watching her continually dig in her burrow.

Tank (AKA- Darwin as she has been dubbed) has also been actively burrowing, but I am noticing that the black spot on her abdomen is getting rather dull in color.  This may explain the lack of feeding, as these are both signs of an upcoming molt.  Her burrow is about 2 times as deep as Serj’s, and appears to be molded inward towards the center of the jar, making her difficult to see at times.  It looks like she is making various chambers.

Isis is looking a lot larger than she did a week ago.  I don’t know if it has to do with the added visibility of her jar (compared to her deli cup) but she too looks dull like Tank.  The difference is that she seems to eat readily, and has had at least 2 roaches that I am aware of in the last week.

Sharing a Banana With Tara

I eat a banana or 2 almost every day.  I love them!  They are awesome for the quick sugar pick me up, as I am very prone to hypo-glycemia.  This morning shows no exception, and as I went to the bunch that I have sitting by my coffee pot, I remembered that there were some other folks in the house that might also enjoy a banana with me.

The first thing I did was pick out a medium sized banana.  I didn’t want to eat a big one, so a medium one worked well.  I then went to the cutting board to slice my banana, and made 2 small cuts at the tip (after I had taken a bite, of course.)  I took both slices and cut them into quarters.  One of the quartered pieces went onto a napkin, and the others I just carried by hand.

The little ones in the deli cup got the napkin slices, and Tara, my remaining female hisser, got the free slices.

Tara hasn’t eaten at all since I brought her and her mate home.  I am very thankful that she didn’t eat the orange I placed in their tank, as I think that’s what killed my male.  (I forgot to wash the fruit before I put it in the tank :*(  The male went to town on it, but Tara ignored it.

I am hoping to have more success with the banana.

On another note:

Tank (my A. unnamed sling) has become even more anti-social, and has dug deeper into her jar.  The really cool thing is that the burrow is by the glass so I can see her!  Serj is also still visible in her jar.  I almost feel like I have an ant farm with spiderlings!

I have been taking suggestions from various forums that I post on, on how to feed the slings.  Using tweezers is the latest suggestion, so I will try it this weekend.

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 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……

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.