Creepy Crawlies (Tyrantula Remix)

tyrantuladub

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Feb 3, 2013
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100
Well, the time has finally come for me to abandon the threads pertaining to an individual invert. My collection has been growing at a decent rate; I seem to be acquiring at least one new addition every two weeks now which is pretty awesome. Hope you guys enjoy!

0.1.0 Grammastola rosea - "Alessa" postmolt:



Still as docile as ever ;)



No, that is not a bite on my hand, one of the many "battle scars" I've acquired from working in Walmart's Lawn & Garden Center. She is gorgeous in the natural light. The metallic pink on her carapace really shows, and her legs and abdomen are a nice champagne pink. Hopefully I can get some good natural light shots to show her off :D

0.1.0 suspect Ephebopus murinus - "Bones" new digs:




I keep about 2/3 of the screen top covered to retain humidity and the moss is helping. I'll be designing and having a nice acrylic lid cut soon since my dad works at a machine shop and they're always willing to do little stuff like that for free for me. She appears to really love her new setup and is out and about a lot, even during the day. But she wasn't really having the camera in her face today :/


What's that about E. murinus being super defensive again? :biggrin:


Seriously, she put up with this twice today. No threat posture, no skittishness. I gently coaxed her onto my hand with my brush, she walked between my hands for a few seconds, and then proceeded to chill upon me. It was awesome, and I certainly hope she stays this way. I mean, I was still a bit nervous but I just kept calm and just let her do her thing. I think I may have to change the "temperament" info on my tag. That and I accidentally capitalized "murinus" and it's driving my selective OCD absolutely crazy.

0.1.0? Grammastola rosea RCF? - "Orianthi" - Dad's T:



So yeah, my addiction kinda rubbed off on dad haha. He picked me up after work the other day (deer recently totaled my car, looking for a replacement) and had this girl with him. Looks female in person, also appears to be in premolt. She has eaten though, so if it is premolt it's probably very early. She is bigger than Alessa, measuring ~5 1/4" DLS.

Her digs:


Tame as a puppy:



He also wants to get a Brachypelma smithi and/or a Grammastola pulchra, but doesn't really want a T that he can't handle. He's of the "if you can't handle it, what's the point?" mentality :sarcasm:

Well, I also got another arachnid on friday. My invert fund is going to be very tight for the next few weeks as I search for a new car, and my grandparents were generous enough to lend me some money to help pay for what the insurance wouldn't, so I have to pay them back. I only had an extra $20 to spend this weekend, and I was going to go out with friends, but everyone was busy so I decided to just get a scorpion instead. Temporary housing for the time being, but is doing good so far. I have absolutely no idea how to sex scorpions and haven't been able to find very much haha. All I know is I like them and I think they're cool looking. Hopefully I'm doing everything right and somebody will yell at me otherwise haha.

0.0.1 Padinus imperator - "Mathayus" - If you get the reference, you get a cookie

I'm pretty much going off the basic P. imperator care sticky, so yeah. That heat mat I have will come in handy once I get a nice tank set up, which shouldn't be too much longer. The scorp is missing the last two segments on it's rear left leg, but there isn't anything leaking and it doesn't seem to impede movement at all. Scorps can regenerate limbs with a molt too, right? Anyways, that rock in the back right is where Mathayus likes to chill under. I had to temporarily "evict" him for the photo shoot. I hated to do so, but it'll live. I don't go poking and prodding on my arachnids most of the time, and when I do it is pretty minimal:


Needless to say, he wasn't too happy. And after seeing how he grabbed onto the paint brush I'm in no rush to handle. These things look like they really hurt:


And for the hell of it, if anyone that knows what they're doing wants to take a stab at sexing here's a pic:


That's all for now guys. Should be some new slings in the next couple weeks, 3rd instar Pterinochilus murinus and 2nd instar Poecilotheria regalis that I'm super stoked about! Only bad thing about working for Walmart is the bi-weekly pay period haha. Thanks for looking :D
 
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buddah4207

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Jan 18, 2013
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167
Nice collection and Im liking the Mathayus,the scorpion king, reference lol. I named my first scorpion Hanzo Hasashi after a game I love. And by the way your P imperator looks male to me
 
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tyrantuladub

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Feb 3, 2013
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Nice collection and Im liking the Mathayus,the scorpion king, reference lol. I named my first scorpion Hanzo Hasashi after a game I love. And by the way your P imperator looks male to me
Thanks! Haha, you may have a cookie. I'd been planning on getting a P. imperator for a while just so I could name it Mathayus. I wasn't really sure at all on the sex cause they're so much different than Ts. I also ordered a book on keeping scorps that came today, and it appears that, like Tarantulas, I'm not going to be able to stop at just one. Absolutely loving the looks of Hadogenes paucidens. I also like how death stalkers look, but I have no desire to keep hot scorps, nor will the parents allow it haha. Also, I ordered a copy of the TKG, but sadly it hasn't arrived yet.

Just got this set up a few hours ago:


The shelf with Bone's digs is set up to hold 10 gallon tanks turned on the side for arboreals. I'll be moving everyone around as the collection grows but it's nice to have a shelf specifically for my inverts, and to have my desk free again for Dubstep production! The sling cups are unfortunately empty at this time, but as stated earlier they should have inhabitants in roughly two weeks. I still need to print off some more tags...
 

tyrantuladub

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Feb 3, 2013
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Your E. murinus enclosure is beautiful! :)
Why thank you! :D She seems to really like it, and has been out A LOT, even during the day.

---------- Post added 04-03-2013 at 05:53 PM ----------

Also, my copy of The Tarantula Keeper's Guide just arrived as I was typing! :biggrin:
 

tyrantuladub

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Feb 3, 2013
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Thanks! Yeah, I do have quite a bit of space to fill, but I'll be working on that a little this sunday at the Cin City Reptile Show. There's gonna be at least one guy selling Ts and he will also have some Hadogenes paucidens for sale, so I've got at least one thing I'm going to definitely purchase. I should be ordering some slings later on this week as well :D
 

buddah4207

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Jan 18, 2013
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167
Nice. Keep in mind when getting a H paucidens they have a very slow growth rate, you best bet would be to get an adult so you will actually be able to view it.
 

tyrantuladub

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Yup, I actually planned on getting a larger subadult or an adult if he has one for sale. And since scorps don't have the age/gender difference like Ts do I'll probably get a male cause I like how the longer metasoma looks. Or, if I can afford it/don't find anything else that I'm interested in (which I doubt haha) I may just get a breeding pair ;)
 

buddah4207

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Jan 18, 2013
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Nice it would be cool to breed these. I personally like the female heavier build and bigger size, although male H paucindens have those nice long tails. Well good luck with any new additions you decide on.
 

tyrantuladub

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Feb 3, 2013
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Pterinochilus murinus 3rd instars!

These little guys just arrived from Ludedor24 - ordered 5 and he sent me an extra one for free! Thanks, Tom!

They're a bit faster than I expected haha, I was rehousing them in a plastic tub and one ended up on my hand. Couldn't pass up the opportunity for a pic:


In their new homes! Made little starter burrows for them:




My "OBT Motel" on the shelf:



Next will be some Poecilotheria regalis and a few others. Really getting my collection rolling now and it's awesome.

I'm still waiting on Bones to molt out, starting to get a little worried, but I guess she knows what she's doing. Thanks for looking, guys! :D
 

tyrantuladub

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Thank you! :biggrin: Yup, these guys are such cuties, hard to believe that they'll be planning my death in a few months haha. That little guy just did NOT want to go into his cup :laugh:
 

tyrantuladub

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Feb 3, 2013
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Birthday & Other Stuffs

Well, I wrote this meaning to post it yesterday and never got around to it. Didn't feel like editing the whole thing so here it is:

Hey guys, today is my birthday. And the most awesome thing happened that made me not even care that I have to work from 1-10 today. Yesterday I had birthday money and sold some Magic: the Gathering cards that I wasn't using and was able to get this girl yesterday - on my lunch break! I had to run and a willing friend allowed me to leave her at his place which is very quiet and peaceful for a couple of hours. I figured that would be less stressful than shipping a T overnight would. I bought that friend lunch on the way home and he even came over and checked out the collection. He's not a huge spider fan and said that he'd be there and he had a room that nobody would be using all day. Checked on it once to make sure it wasn't curling and he said it didn't move an inch. But after then I took her straight home and had her in a keeper in no time. She's doing good, and I say she because that's how I think it looks (well I'm hoping so anyways haha) any input would be greatly appreciated! I'm also new to this genus and was going to ask about the color of the urticating patch since it appears to be a little dark on the skin from where she's kicked. Well, without further adieu I'll introduce her:

0.1.0? Brachypelma boehmei - "Lola"



This is the beautiful girl I've mentioned a time or two from the LPS. They take amazing care of their animals and even had this one molt twice with them. I've gotten all four of the larger Ts thus far from them. They also had a new store open about 20 minutes away from the location I frequent. I checked it out... No T's :/ but a Padinus imperatorthat I wanna get and have in a 20 long communal with the other two I have.

Every time I went into the LPS I had to check on this girl. Had her out a few times but I've purchased other spiders from them so they know I'm good and always ask how they're doing. Not very often someone buys a tarantula! And then even less often that someone buys four in two months time! Makes you a little memorable :) I may see if they can order some stuff for me, they have really good prices as well. This girl cost me $138.44 and worth every single penny! Best birthday ever, I think so!

Her name actually came from another friend of mine the day before. I was going to get her on the 20th because I left work at six and they were open until nine. But they wouldn't take my starter check and that's all I had with me... So yeah, I wasn't happy. Anyways, after about 9:45 I was at a friend's house chilling. He likes to look at the spiders and just kinda watches the screen when I have my computer with me. But I was one his on here showing him a bunch of stuff. The username of his computer is shared with this beauty. I saw that and I said to myself "I like that, I'm going to use it." So I did and it's perfect. I wouldn't have been able to get her until thursday - maybe later if I hadn't gone today. And I even told one of my bosses about it. He's really cool and I've told him about my Ts alot. I often read the TKG at lunch and keep it within 20 feet of me most of the day. I knew I might be a few minutes late from lunch if I got her, explained the situation and asked if I could come back from lunch a few minutes late and stay the extra time on the clock. He said that was cool and I got back with only five minutes extra time! so at 7:05 I was at the clock and on my way to take home my birthday present to myself.

Here's a vent pic if you guys wanna lend a hand:


And as always, just to give you guys a good idea of how big she is:


She sure is flicky though. Super calm otherwise but flicks a lot more than Alessa. But I've read that's just a Brachy being a Brachy. Fortunately however, I don't seem to react to the hairs at all, period. Guess I'm just one of the lucky ones :D

The second most recent addition is a lot of fun already. I'd been wanting to get some slings for a while, even before I got my first T. I had an Animal Planet book on Ts and read it cover to cover like twice and looked at the pictures of Ts I wanted all of the time from it and on the internet. I even hatched a batch of pinheads about a week before I started feeding them!

0.0.6 Pterinochilus murinus - "One," "Two," "Three," "Four," "Five," and "Six"

These guys are the first slings I've ever had, and they're awesome. They're very curious in how they choose to live however. One, how is the smallest of the bunch seems to have chosen to be terrestrial, and is always out in the open just sitting there chilling. I haven't seen him in his burrow since day one. Hasn't webbed a whole lot either, maybe he's planning some elaborate OBT construct? Haha :laugh:



Two and Four have decided that they are arboreal, preferring to web up in the top around the rim of the lid of their cups. I'm not sure what to do when feeding them and misting. I'm feeding the crew two pinheads each every other day and misting once every three to four days to provide water and I just hate to destroy their webs like that. I'm not really sure what to do. I also have a deep plastic tub that I am doing feeding in just in case somebody decides they don't want to be in their cup anymore. No problems thus far. I don't disturb them more than is necessary.




And now for the majority vote, Three, Five and Six have chosen a fossorial lifestyle. They're usually in their starter burrows during the day, and sitting out around the mouth of the burrow at night. I have seen Six eat, pounced on a pinhead and then darted back into his burrow - absolutely adorable! Also have some really interesting web structure going on from these guys as well!





I'm really enjoying having slings. Everyone was expecting them to be bigger but I knew they would be small as 3rd instars. Most people think "tarantula" and thing HUGE but are surprised at how small babies are. I'm excited to get some more slings on Wednesday as well. I've got the day off and nothing to do but wait on the post office to call! They usually get things in around 11:00 a.m. or so and then I have the rest of the day after I pick them up, which is a 10 minute drive both ways. A day for just the arachnids :D Then Thursday I get paid and I'm off then as well! There's a small Centruroides gracilis at the LPS that I may pick up as well, they only want $15 for it and I can definitely swing that. Still debating it though.

I'm getting some Poecilotheria regalis and a few surprises :D I'm super excited to finaly get Pokies, especially as these guys are the T that got me into Ts.

Not gonna to tell what's going in here just yet, but here's a little spoiler for you:


All the "keepers" are going to get finished 10 gallon tanks like the ones I've done so far when they are large enough to be housed in one comfortably. I've gotten myself into a bit of a hobby-within-a-hobby. I already have plans for Lola, but I'm thinking about getting a 5.5 gallon for her for the time being. Probably won't plant it, but I'll sculpt the substrate for her so she has something more permanent. I'm eventually going to get some smaller species and I can always use that tank over when Lola gets bigger.

But yep, in short I have had the best birthday since I can remember. With my most favorite thing. The Dubstep production got me into the Ts and now I like the Ts just a little bit more than producing! I pride myself in taking premium care of my collection and make it a habit. But then again they're my babies and I love them so I don't mind at all haha.

Thanks for looking everyone!
 

catfishrod69

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Oct 1, 2010
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Totally awesome stuff man! Glad you are getting more into it! I suck at ventral, but your Brachy sure looks female to me. Im 50% positive :).
 

tyrantuladub

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Feb 3, 2013
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Thanks! I had looked at her a couple times in the store, and got the flashlight out last night; pretty sure I can even see an opening :D

I'm glad to be expanding my collection. Unfortunately, I'm only going to be able to make a few more purchases before I have to lay off buying things for a while. I have one big purchase lined up and then I'm getting the two scorps, probably only be able to get one more thing and then take a break for a month or two :/ But hey, at least I'll have a lot to enjoy :biggrin:
 

catfishrod69

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I sure hope its a she!

Yeah good luck with that :). I quickly went from like 13 to 300 lol. Most ive had so far has been close to 700, that's including slings that were hatched out though. I figure once I aquire females of all the species im wanting ill be around 400-500. Not too bad.
 

tyrantuladub

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Feb 3, 2013
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Me too! She's a beautiful little thing and I'm so glad that she's finally on my shelf ^_^

HOLY CRAP that's a TON of Ts! Yeah haha, I'll probably still buy things, but probably nothing over like $50 for a while once I get the few things I'm looking at. I also have to get a setup done for the Padinus imperator communal, and thinking about getting Lola a larger enclosure.
 
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