Recent content by Eighth Eye Blind

For ants I've become fond of diatomaceous earth. Not as quick as traps but seems to get the job done after a few days.

More arboreal T's. Fewer enclosures. Problem solved. Sarcasm aside, fly paper and electric bug zappers are your only safe bets. There are also UV light/fly paper combo things that are a best-of-both-worlds solution. Stay away from chemicals. Some insecticides are 10,000X more toxic to spiders...

Interesting! I just always assumed that breeders would mark what they've sent you so you know when you open the package. Never considered that some would just leave it up to you to figure it out. Not sure how I feel about that one, actually.

That's an interesting problem to have. Just out of curiosity, how did you get slings without knowing where/what they came from? It's not often in the UK that a random tarantula just wanders into the house, is it?

So my wife and I just had the following discussion about tarantula husbandry: Wife: Uh, what's that? Me: (Staring in amazement at freshly escaped adult A. seemanni crawling under wife's piano.) "Oh wow. That's Rosalind." Wife: "#$@#!#*#&%#^#%@^# . . . I told you a million times . . ...

All species of Poecilotheria are considered threatened or endangered. Because of this, they're covered by an international conservation treaty known as CITES that prohibits unregulated trade of those species between pretty much every country on the planet. You can't legally import or export a...

I'm so sorry for your loss. It's never easy . . . especially when it's a critically endangered species. Thanks for taking such good care of her while she was with you. Don't blame yourself for this. Those temps are just fine. It's going to vary from species to species, but we know for a hard...

It's simple! Just get a degree in invertebrate zoology. Joking aside, there's no truly good comprehensive references about tarantula biology. There are a lot of books written for hobbyists but in my experience all of them are about 70% correct and useful info and 30% total BS. There's quite a...

Juvi G. pulchra just can't get enough belly rubs.

The answer, like so much in biology, is "it depends". The new cuticle is hardened through an interaction of proteins, sugars (mostly chitin), and chemicals called catecholamines. These ingredients get linked together in a fairly complex chemical reaction that also removes water from the new...

Just lost my juvi GBB to a bad molt. She didn't manage to get two opposing legs free and was too weak to make it even after I got her unstuck. RIP Kate. She was a good girl.

Most new world tarantulas laugh at what Europeans call "hot". A lot of Brachypelma species live quite happily in areas with daytime temps above 35°C in the summer. I grew up with Aphonopelma species that came out and walked around when it was >42°C outside. If she gets really hot she'll just...

I just checked, and mine decided to pop her hatch today in celebration of Orlando's new friend. Here's Portia trying on her new fit.

What Trooper said. In the wild, G. pulchripes lives in a wide, wide range of habitats. The Chaco region is a mix of tropical and subtropical areas that go through cycles of wet and dry seasons with lots of varying eco-regions and micro-climates scattered about. This T is found pretty much...

I absolutely agree, but we are at least slowing down the wheel quite a bit. There are now licensed private breeding facilities in Mexico for Brachypelma spp. that have blanket CITES export permits from the Mexican government. Those facilities have practically wiped out illegal trade in some...