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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ems" data-source="post: 93243" data-attributes="member: 11242">Hey there! This is kind of a long post, but none of my friends like spiders very much so I'm just gonna let it all out. I have a few questions as well. (skip the next three paragraphs if you don't wanna hear my life story.)I've always been fascinated with spiders, but they still used to freak me out. The way I overcame my fear and developed an admiration was pretty weird. Back when I was about 19, I was laying in my bed, browsing the internet in the dark when suddenly I saw these tiny blue specs moving beside my pillow. I turned on the flashlight and a few inches away from my head was this huge, hairy spider. It immediately bolted, so I flipped out and wound up sleeping on the couch for a few days until I finally sucked it up, searched for it and found it under a sock. It was a wolf spider just sitting there, missing a leg, and I felt bad for it. We had a long talk (ok, so it was mostly me), and I told it that we could live together as long as they stayed on the other side of the room (which it did from then on). I named him Ash after Bruce Campbell's character from The Evil Dead since he was also missing an arm, and we coexisted for a few months until it disappeared.Oddly enough, when I moved out soon after and roomed with a friend, I swear I once counted SIX wolf spiders in our living room at the same time. They never messed with us and there was no way to get rid of them all, so we would just leave them alone (plus they killed the pesky roaches). I'd overcome my fear and developed this intense admiration for them. (they're very fun to photograph, too.) Even brown recluses don't make me flinch now (though they aren't allowed to room with me, haha).I'd been considering getting a tarantula for several years, but I wanted to make sure I was ready to care for it. Finally went ahead and got an a. avic two days ago, and I'm in love. I named her Charlotte for obvious reasons. Only handled her once when moving her from the container to her terrarium (first time handling a t in fact, so it was mostly to gain experience and confidence, 'cuz if I'm gonna be sticking my hand in there to change the water, I wanna be darn sure I won't freak out if she touches me), and she immediately crawled up my arm and awkwardly stayed on the back of my neck for a minute before finally moving onto the couch, haha. Despite all of the research and videos, being a newb and all, her skittishness made me a bit nervous (ahhh she's so fast she's gonna bite whaddo I doooo!), but she was still pretty cooperative and didn't mind crawling back onto my hand and into the terrarium. Though holding a tarantula for the first time was an amazing experience, I know it wasn't terribly enjoyable for Charlotte, so I'm just gonna leave her be and admire her through the glass from now on.Anyway, I'll post a few pictures of my terrarium (and one or two of Ash just for the hell of it, hehe). Charlotte hasn't eaten or explored much since I got her and she's mainly been staying on the glass in the corner, so I'm a little worried that she doesn't care for her environment. The substrate is coconut fiber, with some cork and fake plants. Do you think I put in too many? Is there enough space on the ground? (Somebody suggested this tank model on a video, but I fear it might be too small.) Also, we prefer to keep our house on the colder side, so I wonder what the proper heating method would be. I'm skeptical about getting a light or heating pad since I don't want it getting TOO hot, so I've just kept the thermostat higher than usual until I get some direct advice from somebody who knows what they're talking about since a lot of care sheets for pink toes contradict each other (ex: "keep it at room temperature/keep a heating pad under the tank/NEVER keep a heating pad under the tank" "thoroughly mist it several times a week/lightly mist it once a week/NEVER mist it") A lot of this paranoia is probably due to the fact that this is my first t, but I want to be safe and get everything cleared up.Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Don't be afraid to be harsh, because I want my little lady to be as comfy as possible. So excited to finally be able to talk to others who love spiders too!</blockquote>

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