Just bought 1st one ever

[Goatboy]

I just bought my 1st one, A Mexican Fireleg, right now he is in a small Critter keep hanging out in a lil T-Rex Repti Burrow. Everything seems to be going well. He/She already ate a cricket and was very active last night exploring the cage.
Im paying close attention to the Temp and Humidity.
MY best friend owns a gardening supply store so I got 1/4 Peat - 1/4 Topsoil - 1/4 vermiculite - 1/4 Sphagnum.

There is a 2nd cricket running around the tank, if it doesn't eat it by the end of today I will remove it.

Wish me luck

 

[sinflspeed]

Nice 1st addtion. Becareful you"ll have a room full before you know. It is a very addictive hobby.

 

[Miz]

Congrats! Welcome to the addiction...um....i mean hobby. :}

 

[jme]

Beautiful Tarantula to start with good luck and welcome to the forums

 

[JC50]

Very nice.Congrats and welcome.

 

[BCscorp]

Very cool first T.
Brachypelma boehmei is one of my favourites in my collection.

 

[Goatboy]

Thanks all I named him Spiderpig. I couldn't resist the bad pun name being a Simpson's fan and all lol

 

[Sky`Scorcher]

lol spiderpig

You'll have your room full with tanks, kk's, tupperwares with holes, acrylic cages, jars and film canisters in no time.

And nice starter species :clap:

 

[captainkork]

what they say is true......ive been on the stuff since i was thirteen. started with a 20 dollar rosea. now ive got an "investment" of well over a thousand dollars. well worth it!!

 

[jesters22]

just remember u dont need to kill this thing with food.. the more u feed it the quicker it will mature. and if its a male. then the quicker it will die.. id feed it only when the abdomen starts to look smaller then normal.

my chaco hasnt eaten in bout a month. and still looks fat fat fat.

 

[Goatboy]

just remember u dont need to kill this thing with food.. the more u feed it the quicker it will mature. and if its a male. then the quicker it will die.. id feed it only when the abdomen starts to look smaller then normal.

my chaco hasnt eaten in bout a month. and still looks fat fat fat.

Im not sure if its male or female yet I have been able to get a good pic of the under side, it has eaten about 5 crickets so far. I didn't know you could kill males by over feeding. Thanks for that. I don't think ill feed him till next week.
I have seen its under side myself and I have no clue what Im looking for to begin with, but it did have 2 orange spots on each side of the abdomen.
When it does eat it leave some debris, the the head and legs., but so far I have been putting single crickets in there. and it will eat almost as soon as it spots the cricket.

 

[syndicate]

haha welcome to the addiction!
Where in Connecticut are you located?

 

[joshuai]

you cant realy kill the males by over feeding they just mature faster so there over all life span is cut short because they die after maturity. and the orange spots are probly the book lungs if you look closer there is 4.

 

[Goatboy]

haha welcome to the addiction!
Where in Connecticut are you located?

in Easton, small town outside of Bridgeport.

you cant realy kill the males by over feeding they just mature faster so there over all life span is cut short because they die after maturity. and the orange spots are probly the book lungs if you look closer there is 4.

Yeah I just figured that out they were book lungs lol. such a noob to this I am, nut your all right its so addicting. I'm obsessed with this lil thing.

I think maybe in a week or so Im going to change his substrate and stuff. does this like over stress them out ?
as of now his tank looks like this




I want to remove the see him all day burrow, I dont think he likes it. or maybe I dont. maybe he/she is completly indifferent to it lol

 

[GiantVinegaroon]

Nice 1st addtion. Becareful you"ll have a room full before you know. It is a very addictive hobby.

It's no joke. I went from 0 to 4 in a week!

 

[snakebytes]

I think maybe in a week or so Im going to change his substrate and stuff. does this like over stress them out ?
as of now his tank looks like this

I can't see your pic, but it is unlikely that it already needs a substrate change. If you are cleaning out dead crickets every once in a while the substrate may not need to be changed for a long time.

Your tarantula is probably still getting used to its new environment. You don't want to change things up on it more than necessary.

 

[Steve Calceatum]

Simple Suggestions

I think maybe in a week or so Im going to change his substrate and stuff. does this like over stress them out ?

I want to remove the see him all day burrow, I dont think he likes it. or maybe I dont. maybe he/she is completly indifferent to it lol

Congrats, and welcome to the addiction!!! (A quick search will reveal most people in the "hobby" will refer to it as an addiction...and they're absolutely right!!!! )

These things stress easily, so the less you stress it out, the better off your new lil friend will be. Alot of new T owners will fret about their new pets, and use the only frame of reference they have (ie: keeping it as if it were a herp or other small animal). While no one is going to fault anyone for desiring to practice good husbandry, there is such thing as overdoing it. Remember: moderation, moderation, moderation......Keep the substrate dry, keep a water dish filled, and remove crickets within 24 hours (eaten or not.) You don't need to worry so much about temperature and humidity. If you keep your room above 65 degrees, but less than 80 degrees, and maintain a filled water dish, temp and humidity will take care of itself. During molting, you can seal off part of the ventilation, raise the ambient temp a bit, and LIGHTLY mist the substrate (avoid misting near your spydie, though.)

Burrows......I don't use them, myself, but I do know others who have them for those obligate burrowers ("pet-holes" like H. lividum) However, if you want to be able to handle it, or have fewer problems cleaning out the viv, don't let it burrow....in fact, remove the burrow and set up a half-log hide at the front of the viv to allow for easy access to the spyder on each end. It should look like this:

(My G. rosea's vivarium)

Hope all this info helps!!!