wild tarantulas

[DPetsche]

Neat find!

The only interesting thing I found in my bushes was a 6-foot-long skin from a black snake.

See now that's an awesome find! When I saw the molt I was very very new to keeping so I didn't know at the time what EXACTLY it was (I knew it was a molt but not a mature male molt) but after thinking back to it, it most definitely was that. I don't even really see snakes around here at all. Our cats kill them before they have a chance to get too much bigger.

I havent seen very many since randomly becoming obsessed with tarantulas, so I never paid attention to the ones i found before. I feel silly now, because theres no telling what ive passed on. The one and only time ive made skin to skin (exo?) contact was with a wild A. hentzi id caught in a jar. Didnt know they could climb glass at the time so i didnt worry about covering it. Wasnt even paying attention to it and i felt something tickling my hand. Looked down and he was halfway out. Naturally, i proceeded to panic and dropped it. He was fine. Walked away. I knew nothing about them, i just wanted to show my dad. Oh, little 10 year old me. Where has the time gone? That scared me into not trying to catch em for a good long while.

Funnily enough, the first T I ever handled was a wild one. I tend to go straight up to them outside and pick them up because they're so so docile. I know how I shouldn't be as comfortable doing it as I am but oh well! I've only had one show me a defensive stance, it was an adult female that I caught and traded to a breeder who didn't get to see them as often as me.