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Go online and search phorids. While many are scavengers, a number are parasitic on a variety of insects. I found nothing directly implicating them in tarantula deaths, but I asked my question here on Arachnoboards after recalling a National Geographic show about Theraphosa blondi and their...

Recently (within the past six months) my roach colony and cricket purchases seem to be attracting an undue number of Phorids - those pesky "fruit fly" critters. I don't mind losing some roaches or crickets, but my six-year-old G. pulchra female went off-feed four or five months ago, has been...

Sorry about your millipede. I really like AGB's and so do the kids at school. From your pics, you appear to have a bad infestation of parasitic mites that are, in fact, draining the life out of your AGB. Are your cleaner mites (the fast-moving large ones) still present? That would be a good...

I appreciate the water dish suggestion. The 5 gallon upright enclosure gets misted at least weekly, though, and includes a filled water dish along with her cork-tube home. I try to keep it all clear of boluses, so housekeeping shouldn't be an issue.

This is a four year old female that should have at least another ten years. A couple of years ago there was a thread here on dyskinetic syndrome - tarantulas with the herky-jerkies that couldn't move in a coordinated fashion. Several people had ideas about causes. I don't want it to spread...

I have a mature female P. regalis that guarded an infertile egg sac a couple of years ago. Up until this summer, she has been in great shape, a voracious eater, and a great display animal. However, all of this has changed. She will not eat. She displays symptoms of diskinetic syndrome. She...

I've been looking for a good centipede to add to my collection of arthropods. I have over 100 tarantulas, seven scorpions, some millipedes (and even crawdads in a tank at school), but I have no centipedes. Botar has two "unidentified" centipedes that look like subspecies of Scolopendra...

To find out why Scott says this about B. smithi, why don't you e-mail Scott? Our opinions don't explain anything about his assessment. They are just our opinions.

Set up your H. lividum in a medium to large Kritter Keeper. For substrate for burrowers, I mix a bit of cypress mulch with a lot of cheap topsoil and some peat moss. This gives you a substrate that will retain moisture and that has some structure to support the burrow. In the middle of the...

My youngest son's fifth grade science teacher retired and gave him an adult female B. emilia "for his dad," who had come to school with critters and pitched a few reptile classes. That was sixteen years ago. She lasted for twelve years. Currently I'm down to 117 tarantulas. My wife still...

I've had several of both and prefer A. geniculata because it seems the more calm of the two. Also, they are huge eating machines that stay out where they can be seen more so than the Nhandu coloratovillosus. That being said, I still keep both and would hate to be without either. Buy two of...

I'm down to 114 (from 189 less than six months ago). But I'm feeling awfully anxious. And only eight are in vials. I think I need a sling fix, but I'm trying to hold off until next fall. (We will have moved by then, and I'll have MY ROOM for tarantulas.) One day at a time.....

I had a P. ornata that lost both front legs on the right side. She molted again sooner than normal and replaced them just fine. During her time without the normal complement of legs, she ate well, though she did move funny. Make sure the tarantula has access to water and feed at normal...

Both of those species are hardy, voracious, and just plain fun to have. Give them a day or so to settle in and they should tackle anything they can grab. With slings, it is important to maintain adequate humidity. With my itty bitty ones, I'll often pre-kill or pull the hind legs off of the...

My P. murinus female is defensive when she feels threatened, aggressive when prey is present (only toward the prey), and hidden in her web when nothing is going on around her. When she emerges to take crickets or roaches, she is gorgeous. And when it comes to husbandry, these tarantulas are...

Look at the second photo again. The large mass to the right of the photo appears to be a maggot of some sort while the smaller white nematodes are clustered around it. It looks like a case of dual parasitism, with one species possibly being opportunistic, taking advantage of the spider's...

As slings, they are both Christmas trees. As adults, they will be very different. Have faith. If you ordered from a reputable dealer, you have two different species.

Check your sexing diagrams again. Sexing from an exuvium is the only sure way to sex an immature tarantula. (It is not too difficult to use the epiandrous fusillae either if you have several specimens for comparison.) I wouldn't take for granted that I had a female based on age unless the...

All of my B. vagans dug as slings, but my large adult female excavates very little and normally doesn't use her hide. If you WANT your tarantula to dig a burrow, fill a 10 gallon tank 3/4 full of well-compacted substrate and take out whatever substrate is removed by the tarantula during the...

The picture looks like one of my tarantulas, a beauty also sold to me as A. caniceps. It is not a G. pulchra, nor a B. vagans. I've never had B. schroederi, though, and for all I know they could be synonyms. The genus is a mess.