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How old is my Tarantula and is the animal male or female?

octanejunkie

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It was fascinating because it was the first time I'd actually seen the sling strike. Poor cricket... at least it was quick.
I try to get slings on live prey as soon as possible, which means tiny feeders... hence why many of us raise roaches, lol
 

BenTarantula

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Location
Wisconsin
This is how I'm housing my pinhead crickets. The last batch was excellent. This batch is mostly dead (I think I crushed them?). I give them Fluker's gel drink and dry food.
 

BenTarantula

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Location
Wisconsin
Cricket enclosure
 

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octanejunkie

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You can keep them on substrate to provide reasonable humidity but I don't bother...

I don't have great luck keeping crickets alive for long so I just feed em out same day.
 

BenTarantula

Member
Messages
35
Location
Wisconsin
My concern with adding substrate was that they're so tiny I wouldn't be able to find them (when they weren't on the egg carton). The last group was great - 95% survived and I noted that they grew much larger than when they were purchased. I hear heat mats aid the speed of growth. I don't think that's neccesary because I'm only interested in keeping them for a few weeks, feeding the spider two per week.
 

CritterKeeper79

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Midwest
As an aside, as of late, I am obsessed with The Dark Den YouTube channel.
I watch his videos, pretty good content. Felix is the star though, I think? Someone recommended Dave’s Little Beasties and can’t get enough of his content. Just comes across as a completely genuine guy. He does what’s best for the tarantula and not views. Him and Tom Moran are at the top of my Tarantula youtuber list.
 
Messages
54
Location
Malaysia, Nilai
Please excuse me, but I feel the need to rant and rave a little here.

Whoever labelled that tarantula committed a whole string of sins. Namely:

1) The scientific name, even if it's just the genus name (e.g., Aphonopelma here) is supposed to be underlined or italicized.

2) While the Mexican state if probably correct, they misspelled it. It's "Tamaulipas." (BTW, I'm currently camped in Zapata, Texas, directly across the Rio Grande River/Falcon Reservoir from the panhandle of Tamaulipas.)

3) That name is highly suspect because its not a "well known" common name (think Mexican redknee or Tucson blond here). On this side of the Rio Grande River (less than a half-mile away from Tamaulipas) the two dominant species are Aphonopelma anax (Texas tan tarantula) and A. moderatum (Rio Grande gold tarantula). I've attached several photos of adults for your enjoyment. While it is entirely possible that "Aphonopelma sp. Tamalipas rose-hair" is a new species, it is at least equally probable that it's one of the two kinds mentioned above. While the Mississippi River is apparently a major obstacle to eastward tarantula migration in North America, the Rio Grand River between the USA and Old Mexico (often little more than a large creek), not so much.

4) A common mistake among collectors, newbies, and enthusiasts alike is to name their tarantulas as somethingoranother-hair. Be advised that tarantulas do not possess hair. Mammals such as humans, whales, pangolins, opossums, dogs, and donkeys have hair. It's a diagnostic feature to help in identifying whether the thing that has your finger firmly impaled with its teeth is a mammal or not! Try very hard to not use the term "hair" with respect to tarantulas.

Now that you've been told this, you've been elevated to the next higher level of sophistication, and will be held accountable if you violate that dictum! <roflmao>

And the fact that whoever labeled that carton violated all four rules/conventions leads me to think that they don't know what they're talking about, that they're just guessing. Or worse yet, copying someone else's errors. There's also a fair probability that it's merely more commercial hogwash intended to separate you from your cash.

If indeed it turns out to be A. anax, you indeed have a "primo" spider. They're long lived (15 to 25 years for a female), hardy, docile creatures, even if they're not incredibly flashy. You can postpone the neon-glow, bitey things for later. This one is a far better choice as a newbie's pet.

Note: To the rank enthusiast A. anax and another tarantula, A. hentzi (Texas brown tarantula) are nearly indistinguishable. I separate them by their geographic origin: A. anax is native principally to southern Texas, especially the Lower Rio Grande Valley and some distance inland, while A. hentzi is found more towards north Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and a few neighboring states. As far as pets are concerned, they're both exceptional tarantulas.

If it turns out to be a Rio Grande gold tarantula (RGG), it's not a complete washout though. RGGs are a smaller sized tarantula with an attitude problem. They don't live quite as long, (12 to 15 years, perhaps), but are much prettier. A friend of mine who got one was ecstatic over his, even though it bit him every second time he touched it. It seems his first tarantula was a Haitian brown (Phormictopus cancerides) that bit him literally EVERY time he touched it! But, RGGs make interesting cage pets that can teach you a lot about tarantulas anyway.

All three species of tarantula are kept in the traditional fashion as babies. After they've developed a prominent suit of bristles (NOT hair!), especially with an obvious patch of urticating bristles, they may gradually (over 2 or 3 molts) be switched to living in a generic, arid species cage and care regimen. In fact, the default technique for caring for adult tarantulas in general is more or less based on these species' care.

Enjoy your newfound little buddy!

(The RGG pictured here is a very young male. Adults will commonly have 4" DLS.)


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Hi Stan. It was a good comment and was professionally been addressed. Should we really love in this Tarantula petting and hobby, and for it's sustainability...together we should maintain this ethics, standard and mind set. I enjoy reading reading this kind of comment and advice and it's truly knowledgeable and elevating you to another level height. Thanks mate and keep posting.
 

BenTarantula

Member
Messages
35
Location
Wisconsin
I'm less concerned about whether the genus name was italiziced - with a permanent marker on the sling's enclosure - than I am about the sling's wellbeing. I am a newbie, but I trust the source of my spider.
 

CritterKeeper79

Well-Known Member
Messages
174
Location
Midwest
Hi Stan. It was a good comment and was professionally been addressed. Should we really love in this Tarantula petting and hobby, and for it's sustainability...together we should maintain this ethics, standard and mind set. I enjoy reading reading this kind of comment and advice and it's truly knowledgeable and elevating you to another level height. Thanks mate and keep posting.
For a second there I thought this was going to be an Eminem parody. :)
 

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