Hello, spider people

[jackys]

I've found that lining their kritter keeper with egg crates helps somewhat, because you can just replace it when it gets dirty. But inevitably some cricket waste will still end up underneath. Seems like they're just a giant mess no matter what (and I keep a lot fewer at a time than you guys!)

I also haven't found any food that helps them live any longer (yet??). Have heard stories about house crickets being kept as pets in some ancient Asian cultures... No idea how they did it without them dying constantly. Have resigned myself to being terrible at cricket husbandry and just buying as few as possible lol.

 

[Stacey Ryan]

I keep mine in the boxes they come in and just leave them. Sometimes I put a leaf in if I have any baby leaf salad, or young cauliflower or cabbage leaves but I don't think it helps keep them any longer. As I have 70+ Ts I usually get 2 feeds per T in the 2 weeks out of each box.

Think I'm do that next time.

In my house i have what I call a room in a room. That no one goes in and I was thinking it would be perfect as a spider room. But it has no windows.
Do Ts need daylight?

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[hickzuk1]

Both of mine just moulted about a month ago and a week ago and like your'e one it shut its self in its hide and i didn't see it for ages , i then decided to shine a light into the hide a saw some legs i gave them a tiny nudge and it didn't move and i though oh is it dead because i had just lost misty my big girl , so i then proceeded to remove the cover to her hide to get her out only to have her run out as fast as lighting and scare the poop out of me lol , my obt moulted in the fist few days of putting her in her new enclosure ,and yep same story removed the bit of bark only for it to run out like a mad man all over the place on the floor under the unit lol little buggers
I would just leave it a week or 2 then try to have a little tiny peak , always worrying at first

 

[Stacey Ryan]

Both of mine just moulted about a month ago and a week ago and like your'e one it shut its self in its hide and i didn't see it for ages , i then decided to shine a light into the hide a saw some legs i gave them a tiny nudge and it didn't move and i though oh is it dead because i had just lost misty my big girl , so i then proceeded to remove the cover to her hide to get her out only to have her run out as fast as lighting and scare the poop out of me lol , my obt moulted in the fist few days of putting her in her new enclosure ,and yep same story removed the bit of bark only for it to run out like a mad man all over the place on the floor under the unit lol little buggers
I would just leave it a week or 2 then try to have a little tiny peak , always worrying at first

Yeah I will wait but it's so hard. I've been looking at getting a T for weeks now and I finally got one and it won't come out lol.


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[Stacey Ryan]

I'm going to order another T at the weekend. And I've narrowed it down to 3 suspects.
GBB
Chaco golden knees
And a fire leg.
I just can't decide on which one and unfortunately I can't have them all just yet[emoji1]
So my question is which would be better suited to my experience?

 

[Stacey Ryan]

Both of mine just moulted about a month ago and a week ago and like your'e one it shut its self in its hide and i didn't see it for ages , i then decided to shine a light into the hide a saw some legs i gave them a tiny nudge and it didn't move and i though oh is it dead because i had just lost misty my big girl , so i then proceeded to remove the cover to her hide to get her out only to have her run out as fast as lighting and scare the poop out of me lol , my obt moulted in the fist few days of putting her in her new enclosure ,and yep same story removed the bit of bark only for it to run out like a mad man all over the place on the floor under the unit lol little buggers
I would just leave it a week or 2 then try to have a little tiny peak , always worrying at first

I still haven't seen him but he is definitely still alive as this morning when I woke up I had a look in his cage and he has made his wall a lot bigger lol.

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[hickzuk1]

lol and it wont be surprised if you dont see it for ages , i have had my 2 new ones for about 6 months now and i hardy see any of them

 

[jackys]

I'm going to order another T at the weekend. And I've narrowed it down to 3 suspects.
GBB
Chaco golden knees
And a fire leg.
I just can't decide on which one and unfortunately I can't have them all just yet[emoji1]
So my question is which would be better suited to my experience?

I think it's also a good idea to think about whether you're looking for anything in particular: a specific type of temperament, appearance, activity level, growth rate, etc.? There are characteristics that some species are "known" for... Of course they're just generalities and individual T's can differ from their species' stereotype, but it can help you decide.

 

[Stacey Ryan]

I think it's also a good idea to think about whether you're looking for anything in particular: a specific type of temperament, appearance, activity level, growth rate, etc.? There are characteristics that some species are "known" for... Of course they're just generalities and individual T's can differ from their species' stereotype, but it can help you decide.

I don't plan on holding my T so they don't have to be nice. And appearance wise, I'm not too fussed, growth also not bothered but I would like the T to be active cz I like to watch.

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[Stacey Ryan]

It's huge. Why would he of made the wall bigger?
And I don't think my q was answered about whether or not Ts need daylight, do they?

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[jackys]

Wow, he REALLY walled himself in there! Still don't think it's unusual... My B. hamorii loves moving substrate around, though she actually did the opposite and completely dug out the half-buried log I gave her initially. It's been a couple months and she's only recently started to slow down on the dirt-moving (I guess she finally arranged things the way she likes them).

Not seeing your spider since you got him sounds super frustrating None of my 3 girls have done that so far, so best guesses are either an upcoming molt, or he's just trying to redecorate his new home and it's still a work in progress. Maybe both? They do a lot of stuff that doesn't seem to make sense in human terms. On the bright side, at least you know he's alive as long as he's moving stuff!

As for whether they require daylight: I learned from "The Tarantula Keeper's Guide" that they do benefit from seeing the light change between day and night. The author even suggests that wild-caught rosehairs might be really sensitive to it if they can't tell the seasons are changing (shorter days in winter, longer in summer). So I probably wouldn't keep them in a place that always has the same lighting... But I don't know if it's cool to substitute ALL artificial light for sunlight. I have mine in a room that gets both sunlight and artificial light during the day and dark at night, though the T's are never in *direct* sunlight because that's supposed to be bad for them too.

TKG is a really great book and I often flip through it when I find myself wondering "why are they doing that???" lol You should definitely pick it up if you can find a copy.

I don't have any of the species on your "next T's" wishlist myself, but based on what I've heard here and from my friend who has one I *think* the GBB would be the most active? Watching them web up the enclosure sounds very cool for sure. But there are other good "beginner" species that can be pretty active too. For example, @Enn49 suggested N. chromatus to me as a more active species (someday I'll have one of my own!). Have also heard A. seemani can be pretty active, but again no experience with them.

 

[Stacey Ryan]

He really did lol. It wasn't that big last night. It is very frustrating but I am so thankful he is still alive.

I was meant to have a book come in my starter kit but turned out wasn't in stock so will definitely look online for the one you suggested.

And wow the N. chromatus looks cool, I like the look of those. I

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[Stacey Ryan]

So I've just brought my 2nd T I went for Brachypelma albopilosum 1cm sling. Ik most ppl don't recommend a sling for a newbie but I've read that it's such a great joy having a curly hair from a sling as they are so active. It should be coming on Tuesday. Anyone have any tips on raising a sling of that size? I've ordered a 16oz cup of sorts, will that be too large?

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[Stacey Ryan]

So I've just brought my 2nd T I went for Brachypelma albopilosum 1cm sling. Ik most ppl don't recommend a sling for a newbie but I've read that it's such a great joy having a curly hair from a sling as they are so active. It should be coming on Tuesday. Anyone have any tips on raising a sling of that size? I've ordered a 16oz cup of sorts, will that be too large?

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It was the 12oz and 16oz that I ordered. Are those ok?

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[Stacey Ryan]

UPDATE

He knocked his wall down! Yay!
I can see legs. Not sure if he has moulted as I can't see very well down the hole. But yay.

Been waiting for what felt like a year, when really it's been about 7 weeks lol. But in the mean time I have acquired 5 more Ts

Bobbie - Grammostola pulchra 4cm

Joffery - Grammostola pulchripes 5cm

Annabelle - Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens 6cm

Curly Sue - Brachypelma albopilosum 1cm

Voldo - Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens 2.5cm (recently molted[emoji4])

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[Stacey Ryan]

Do you think I should feed him today?

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[PanzoN88]

Do you think I should feed him today?

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How long has it been since he molted?

 

[Stacey Ryan]

How long has it been since he molted?

I don't know. He has been in his hide for 7 weeks. He knocked down his wall and came out yesterday.

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[PanzoN88]

I don't know. He has been in his hide for 7 weeks. He knocked down his wall and came out yesterday.

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If his fangs are black, yes you can feed him:

 

[Stacey Ryan]

If his fangs are black, yes you can feed him:

Thank you

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