Sealed Off ∑ㅇㅁㅇ

[WolfSoon]

After a closer look I see they have yellow stripes and all over pink setae, just to correct myself. either way, pink is great.

To tell you the truth, my first unboxing was a lot more exciting than it really should've been The posting for the spiderlings had been up there for several months, and even though I knew they're docile slow growers I was 100% convinced that my sling would be huge and fast and prepared accordingly. Then, I opened it up and saw two vials and immediatey decided I had been given a freebie for NO reason It took longer than I'd like to admit to realize the extra had been provided as a home. In my defense, I hadn't slept at all that night!

I looked into those too! I was also considering the Hapalopus sp. Colombia, but they are very fast and grow just as quickly. It seems like a lot of the dwarf species are charming, and I'm sure I'll be getting more in the future :') I'm starting to get really interested in arboreals too. At first I didn't quite believe it, but this hobby really is addicting

Ah, haha that would be stressful to think you got a surprise freebie with your first tarantula! Lack of sleep can make your brain jump to conclusions like that for sure. I’m glad your unboxing wasn’t overly exciting as in a spider escape or something. Haha.

The Hapalopus looks amazing too. You’re right dwarves seem very charming. A lot of personality and beauty in a small package. So many cool arboreals too. I love my versicolor.
It is indeed a very addictive hobby!

 

[WolfSoon]

Woops, that first paragraph was a reply I started earlier about the E. campestratus. The website so kindly saved it for me. Haha.

 

[MeltDown]

After a closer look I see they have yellow stripes and all over pink setae, just to correct myself. either way, pink is great.


Ah, haha that would be stressful to think you got a surprise freebie with your first tarantula! Lack of sleep can make your brain jump to conclusions like that for sure. I’m glad your unboxing wasn’t overly exciting as in a spider escape or something. Haha.

The Hapalopus looks amazing too. You’re right dwarves seem very charming. A lot of personality and beauty in a small package. So many cool arboreals too. I love my versicolor.
It is indeed a very addictive hobby!

I'm looking forward to seeing how pink it looks in person, though that could take a looooong time Oh man, if Vivi had made a break for it I don't even know what I would have done! Slings are so tiny that I'd panic about losing it, but also worry it'd get hurt while being caught. I was already panicking about the idea of having an entirely unknown second tarantula too...

It's still funny to me that what's considered a small, "dwarf" tarantula is still so much larger than any true spider I've ever see :') They're all so unique! I'd love to have multiples of each and see all the individual personalities I'm thinking about getting an A. metallica for my first arboreal, although I'm not sure when. I love how colorful the Avicularia slings are! It's so cute Also, sorry about how much I type; I just get all worked up over Ts

 

[WolfSoon]

I'm looking forward to seeing how pink it looks in person, though that could take a looooong time Oh man, if Vivi had made a break for it I don't even know what I would have done! Slings are so tiny that I'd panic about losing it, but also worry it'd get hurt while being caught. I was already panicking about the idea of having an entirely unknown second tarantula too...

It's still funny to me that what's considered a small, "dwarf" tarantula is still so much larger than any true spider I've ever see :') They're all so unique! I'd love to have multiples of each and see all the individual personalities I'm thinking about getting an A. metallica for my first arboreal, although I'm not sure when. I love how colorful the Avicularia slings are! It's so cute Also, sorry about how much I type; I just get all worked up over Ts

Haha I see another, faster growing sling in your future to keep you occupied while those guys/gals take their time. Like the A. metallica, when you get one That sounds like the best first arboreal. I still want one in addition to my versicolor, but oddly enough they've been harder to find so far. Yeah, Avics are super cute! There are some great photo threads on here from members with Avic collections.

I actually had a moment of stupidity that resulted in an escaped sling I decided to try feeding a small pre-killed whole cricket instead of just a piece of larger cricket, but I didn't realize I had not completely killed it. When the sling touched the cricket it started jumping full height since the lid was still off. The poor sling couldn't handle it and ran down the side of its enclosure as I was focused on getting the cricket out of the way. The sling went for a leisurely stroll while I figured out how to safely put it back in its home. Luckily no harm came to it.

That's true, dwarf species are still huge compared to true spiders, at least the ones here. For some reason it surprises me how flashy dwarves are, with their intricate patterns and/or wild colors. I agree about observing their different personalities. It seems like a communal set up would be the ultimate experience, getting to observe their interactions.

Oh no, don't worry about typing too much. It's fun to gush about Ts with someone else getting into the hobby! Plus I've just typed a whole bunch. haha.

 

[MeltDown]

Haha I see another, faster growing sling in your future to keep you occupied while those guys/gals take their time. Like the A. metallica, when you get one That sounds like the best first arboreal. I still want one in addition to my versicolor, but oddly enough they've been harder to find so far. Yeah, Avics are super cute! There are some great photo threads on here from members with Avic collections.

I actually had a moment of stupidity that resulted in an escaped sling I decided to try feeding a small pre-killed whole cricket instead of just a piece of larger cricket, but I didn't realize I had not completely killed it. When the sling touched the cricket it started jumping full height since the lid was still off. The poor sling couldn't handle it and ran down the side of its enclosure as I was focused on getting the cricket out of the way. The sling went for a leisurely stroll while I figured out how to safely put it back in its home. Luckily no harm came to it.

That's true, dwarf species are still huge compared to true spiders, at least the ones here. For some reason it surprises me how flashy dwarves are, with their intricate patterns and/or wild colors. I agree about observing their different personalities. It seems like a communal set up would be the ultimate experience, getting to observe their interactions.

Oh no, don't worry about typing too much. It's fun to gush about Ts with someone else getting into the hobby! Plus I've just typed a whole bunch. haha.

Once I'm sure I have everything I need to take care of it, I'm positive your prediction will be correct :') It's good to hear that the A. metallica would be nice for a beginner!! I was actually thinking about getting it this time, but I couldn't find a place selling slings that I knew enough about to trust. If I find one in the future I'll have to make sure to pick one up (figuratively)! Also, now I NEED to see those pictures....

Oh man I would have flipped!!! That sounds beyond stressful, having to wrangle two frightened insects at once! I'm so glad to hear everything turned out okay In all honesty, I am terrible with crickets. Just all around terrible. They're one of the rare insects that I don't like, and I have no idea why as I like other jumping insects just fine 【・_・?】 So I freeze mine and thaw them out! I find that for my sling, it makes things safer and easier for us both :') I've always wondered, how do you remove the crickets one at a time?? Back when I kept true spiders it seemed like a bunch would want to slip out all at once.

I live in NC, and particularly live near a small wooded area. We have the biggest wolf spiders in the country, I think? They can get massive (compared to other true spiders), and we also have the dark fishing spider, which is equally large and somehow equally likely to find its way into my house I recently had a very unpleasant encounter with one in my shower (no biting, just hard to catch). But they're all legs, and colored plainly, so seeing something like D. diamantinensis is incredible! I love seeing all the color and patterns and watching the way the dwarf tarantuals move. And hold on, are you telling me they can live communally?! If so I know what I eventually have to do

Sorry, ended up gushing again I'm still getting used to having a place to talk about spiders without someone immediately telling me to kill them or burn my house down __(」∠ ､ﾝ､)__

 

[WolfSoon]

Once I'm sure I have everything I need to take care of it, I'm positive your prediction will be correct :') It's good to hear that the A. metallica would be nice for a beginner!! I was actually thinking about getting it this time, but I couldn't find a place selling slings that I knew enough about to trust. If I find one in the future I'll have to make sure to pick one up (figuratively)! Also, now I NEED to see those pictures....

Figuratively, haha. Good I know what you mean about the A. avic search. So far I've only seen some suspect reptile dealers with them in stock. Definitely want to avoid those.
About the photos, there are a lot of good ones if you search for avicularia in the gallery, but this was my favorite photo thread.
http://arachnoboards.com/threads/cecs-picture-thread.275165/

Thanks It was a bit stressful but taught me some lessons, mainly that crickets are hardier than I thought. haha. If you dislike crickets that story must have stressed you out though. Have you tried mealworms (with heads crushed) for your sling? I've read that freezing prey removes some of the nutrients, so you might want to try a different feeder if available.
Getting one cricket out at a time can definitely be a battle. I have a little cricket home with removable tunnels, so usually I luck out getting one in there, or if not I dump one into a catch cup. Definitely a lot of cricket fails, but if they escape my cats get them.

I looked up dark fishing spider - those look way bigger than anything I've seen here. I wouldn't want to wrangle one in the shower either!
I believe only certain species can be kept communally, and from what I've read on here, M. balfouri is the only species that truly thrives communally. There are some really cool videos of balfouri communals on youtube.

No problem! I know what you mean, and that response of "kill it with fire" or whatever is really annoying. It is really nice to have a place to talk about this stuff! Most people I chat with are pretty tolerant but not at all passionate about spiders like people on here.

 

[MeltDown]

Figuratively, haha. Good I know what you mean about the A. avic search. So far I've only seen some suspect reptile dealers with them in stock. Definitely want to avoid those.
About the photos, there are a lot of good ones if you search for avicularia in the gallery, but this was my favorite photo thread.
http://arachnoboards.com/threads/cecs-picture-thread.275165/

Thanks It was a bit stressful but taught me some lessons, mainly that crickets are hardier than I thought. haha. If you dislike crickets that story must have stressed you out though. Have you tried mealworms (with heads crushed) for your sling? I've read that freezing prey removes some of the nutrients, so you might want to try a different feeder if available.
Getting one cricket out at a time can definitely be a battle. I have a little cricket home with removable tunnels, so usually I luck out getting one in there, or if not I dump one into a catch cup. Definitely a lot of cricket fails, but if they escape my cats get them.

I looked up dark fishing spider - those look way bigger than anything I've seen here. I wouldn't want to wrangle one in the shower either!
I believe only certain species can be kept communally, and from what I've read on here, M. balfouri is the only species that truly thrives communally. There are some really cool videos of balfouri communals on youtube.

No problem! I know what you mean, and that response of "kill it with fire" or whatever is really annoying. It is really nice to have a place to talk about this stuff! Most people I chat with are pretty tolerant but not at all passionate about spiders like people on here.

Ahhhh those pics were all so good!!!! I didn't even know there were that many different species There's still so much I need to learn.... Also, there's this "pink toe" being sold at a petsmart near me and it's so hard to resist buying it just to get it out of there They've got it in this tiny critter keeper on paper towel and may or may not have a sponge in the bowl... It hurts my heart to see it that way. Ever since I saw it it's been bothering me; I'm a "bleeding heart" _´□`」 ∠):_

Oh no, I never knew that freezing them could have that effect D: Maybe I should stop... There are some of those tube ones near me! I might try getting one of those. The only problem is that I have cat allergies, so there isn't anything to nab escapees! I also feed mealies, usually cut into smaller pieces. So far Vivi seems to like crickets better, though? Not sure why ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Yeah, to say that shower got postponed would be an understatement. This was around three AM; I opened the curtain, immediately stepped into a spider web and flipped out (never found the spider responsible :') ), then found two camel crickets, THEN found the fishing spider hiding near the top of the curtain. By the time I managed to safely catch everything it was around 4. Now I check the entire shower every time! I heard about M. balfouri! They're so beautiful, thanks for sending the link I'm gonna check it out now!

It's the same for me; people are willing to listen to me ramble, but that doesn't mean they're interested :/

 

[WolfSoon]

Ahhhh those pics were all so good!!!! I didn't even know there were that many different species There's still so much I need to learn.... Also, there's this "pink toe" being sold at a petsmart near me and it's so hard to resist buying it just to get it out of there They've got it in this tiny critter keeper on paper towel and may or may not have a sponge in the bowl... It hurts my heart to see it that way. Ever since I saw it it's been bothering me; I'm a "bleeding heart" _´□`」 ∠):_

Oh no, I never knew that freezing them could have that effect D: Maybe I should stop... There are some of those tube ones near me! I might try getting one of those. The only problem is that I have cat allergies, so there isn't anything to nab escapees! I also feed mealies, usually cut into smaller pieces. So far Vivi seems to like crickets better, though? Not sure why ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Yeah, to say that shower got postponed would be an understatement. This was around three AM; I opened the curtain, immediately stepped into a spider web and flipped out (never found the spider responsible :') ), then found two camel crickets, THEN found the fishing spider hiding near the top of the curtain. By the time I managed to safely catch everything it was around 4. Now I check the entire shower every time! I heard about M. balfouri! They're so beautiful, thanks for sending the link I'm gonna check it out now!

It's the same for me; people are willing to listen to me ramble, but that doesn't mean they're interested :/

Sorry for my late reply! How is Vivi doing, still sealed off?

That’s sad about the Petsmart pink toe. Paper towel, ugh! It is hard when you see animals in such poor conditions. I’m sure something will come along from a trusted breeder eventually. Is there a tarantula season? I don’t even know.

Aw, bummer about the cat allergies! In my experience escaped crickets like to hide in dark corners, so you might be safe from running into escapees anyway. I prefer feeding mealworms because I don’t mind cutting them up for some reason. I actually enjoy keeping crickets and don’t like killing them myself, even though they’re stinky and can be annoying. I can’t tell if my slings prefer one or the other.

Wow, there was a bug party in your shower! Haha. Kudos for catching them all. When I lived more out in the country I had a lot of shower companions too but nothing too crazy. ^^

Haha yeah, sometimes I see people’s eyes gloss over if they ask about the tarantulas and I really get talking..

 

[MeltDown]

Sorry for my late reply! How is Vivi doing, still sealed off?

That’s sad about the Petsmart pink toe. Paper towel, ugh! It is hard when you see animals in such poor conditions. I’m sure something will come along from a trusted breeder eventually. Is there a tarantula season? I don’t even know.

Aw, bummer about the cat allergies! In my experience escaped crickets like to hide in dark corners, so you might be safe from running into escapees anyway. I prefer feeding mealworms because I don’t mind cutting them up for some reason. I actually enjoy keeping crickets and don’t like killing them myself, even though they’re stinky and can be annoying. I can’t tell if my slings prefer one or the other.

Wow, there was a bug party in your shower! Haha. Kudos for catching them all. When I lived more out in the country I had a lot of shower companions too but nothing too crazy. ^^

Haha yeah, sometimes I see people’s eyes gloss over if they ask about the tarantulas and I really get talking..

No worries! The burrow is still completely sealed but I'm trickling water down through the dirt every couple of days and Vivi always heads to it so I think it's fine for now... I'm wondering if maybe temperature has to do with all this? It's gotten colder in my room specifically and we can't figure out why Both me and my Ts prefer it warmer.

Last time I went in there had been improvements! The critter keeper is larger and there's no sponge, but the water dish was empty, the cage was set up for a terrestrial, and there were crickets everywhere. I like raising slings, so I'll wait until some are available I recently found a jellybean container that would be good for a smaller arboreal!

Any crickets that escaped would probably never be found :') I already find enough camel crickets now, who even knows how they're getting in I'm the same, the mealworms don't really bother me. I also recently got some waxworms so I'll see how they do! Keeping any kind of insect is usually really fascinating! I used to do "catch and release" where I'd take care of them for a while and then let them go. Praying mantises were always fun

Luckily that doesn't happen very often I don't think I could handle doing that every time! Haha, yeah, I recently visited my distant relatives and told them about it and they were not interested. One of them kind of was until I mentioned photos :')