Recent content by testdasi

There's nothing stereotypical about it. Those are objective comments based on actual keeping experience with comparison against other tarantula species. Here are the details behind my comments: OBT is among the fastest of all tarantula species. There's just no denying it. I already refrained...

Correction: 4 characteristics Because it's too hot and my brain is too fried to count.

That's a difficult to answer. The 3 key characteristics of an OBT are: Very fast Unpredictable Bite-first-think-later Web a lot (2) and (3) are easily mitigated by a tongs-on-hands-off approach. (4) is just enclosure setup (I recommend you to not have a water dish because it will be webbed...

Love the bonus Pokie pic. :p

Which tarantula are you looking to get and what size? If it's a typical terrestrial NW species then you should not have mites problem, especially in England. Those enclosures are never wet enough to sustain a mite population (and even if there are mites, just drying it out should be harmless to...

There are many factors to consider. For terrestrials / fossorials (except Theraphosa, see below), fish tanks are perfect. You just have to make sure to get a moulded mesh top + a good set of clips to lock the top to the tank. To be honest, you don't even need moulded mesh but many people are...

Possible? Sure, it's possible and has happened before. But it's in the same category of freak accidents like having the bookshelf collapsing on top of the enclosure, that sorta thing. Strictly speaking, tarantulas main water intake is from preys and they only use other water sources as a sort...

Just to make it more reassuring, I have experimented with Lasiodora parahybana of various sizes and found out that feeding a prey about the same size as the abdomen per day has no negative impact. The T's just grew faster and would stop eating if it was too full (i.e. not pre-moult related)...

Room temperature surely. The 80 F is a pet shop favourite because it sells more heating equipment without being outright lies. Yes, 80 F is a decent assumption of temperature of the giant vinegaroon native habitat. They just conveniently ignore (a) it burrows so rarely ever exposes itself to...

This is the somewhat unfortunate part of tarantula keeping and no matter how long you keep them, it always worries you when the T locks itself up with no sign of life. (this is one of the reasons I don't like fossorials and slings - too much stress on the keeper :confused:) Rest assured 99% of...

Don't leave live crickets in with the sling. Pre-kill it first, leave it in the enclosure and remove it if it's not eaten in 24 hours (mainly to prevent mould). The sling, if hungry, will go out and hunt but only if it's completely dark and calm (i.e. your picking up the enclosure likely means...

When in doubt, pothos! :p

Would be fun to watch what happens but chances are it doesn't make any diff. It's probably just coincidental. The T's naturally pick the most comfy place to set up shop and that general area of the shelf was the most comfy when they tried to set up shop.

A family member recently developed an allergy to my LP out of the blue. He just sat at my work desk (about an adult arm length from the LP enclosure on the tarantula bookshelf), under my supervision so I'm sure he didn't touch any tool or the enclosure etc. Mostly just sat there whining about...

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