# Hunting For Tarantulas



## magicianANG (Jul 27, 2009)

I have been on many tarantula hunting trips with my son, Andrew. Sometimes, Dr John ( who collects tarantulas and snakes in Thailand ) joins us on these trips. I will be posting photos of our trips. I will also be posting pictures of tarantulas in my collection.







This photo shows ( from left to right ) yours truly, Stuart, Dr John and Kate after a good hunting trip. Photo taken by Andrew.

Here are some of the things we caught.







Stuart trying to tease out a _Liphistius desultor._







This is the Trapdoor spider ( _Liphistius desultor_ )







A closer look at the spider. Some mud is still stuck on the legs.

That's all for now. Will be back soon.


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## jbm150 (Jul 27, 2009)

Awesome spider!  There's nothing for scale, how big is it?


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## BCscorp (Jul 27, 2009)

Thank you for posting these pics. Very interesting to see your collection and the natural environment there as well.
Hope to see more soon!


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## magicianANG (Jul 28, 2009)

jbm150 said:


> Awesome spider!  There's nothing for scale, how big is it?


Well, here's a photo of a very large specimen. It is not common. I think this is the maximum size of the Trapdoor Spider. I have yet to see larger ones. I will post some pictures of the ultimate MALES later on.







Bye for now. Do visit my new blog. http://tarantulasandothers.blogspot.com/


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## anikaisbff (Jul 28, 2009)

Im Sorry For Ur T Jbm150 I Wish I Could Help Im Sdrry 


R.i.p Pandora U Must Of Been A Really Great T And U R


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## willychon (Jul 28, 2009)

This is a great spider, and deserve to live in freedom, I am against depredate


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## AzJohn (Jul 28, 2009)

That is a great looking spider. I love Liphistius.


John


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## spiderfield (Jul 28, 2009)

That is one beautiful trapdoor!  Keep the pics coming! :worship:


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## Satellite Rob (Jul 30, 2009)

Thats a great trapdoor spider.Where were you collecting.That might be the biggest  TD i've ever seen.


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## Dr. John (Jul 30, 2009)

Satellite Rob said:


> Thats a great trapdoor spider.Where were you collecting.That might be the biggest  TD i've ever seen.


Hi Rob , 

I hope Tommy doesn't mind me giving it away . We found the trapdoor spiders and some tarantulas in hillside rainforests in West Malaysia . The trapdoors themselves are very difficult to spot as they are perfectly camouflaged to match the surroundings . 

Dr. John


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## Satellite Rob (Aug 1, 2009)

That's the biggest and the most colorful TD spider i've ever seem.I was wondering if you have any other pictures that you could post.


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## magicianANG (Aug 1, 2009)

Dr John is trying to ease out the Trapdoor Spider very, very delicately. It needs
a lot of patience and extreme delicate handling to bring them out so that they are in no way injured.







Wow!! What a fine specimen!!!







Awesome, isn't it?

Visit my new blog: http://tarantulasandothers.blogspot.com/


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## Krazy Kat (Aug 1, 2009)

That is a nice one.I'd love to have one of those.


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## Anthony Straus (Aug 1, 2009)

Beautiful Spider:worship:


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## magicianANG (Aug 3, 2009)

This is one of my Orange Baboon Tarantulas.






I'm warning you! Don't come any nearer!!


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## Sukai94 (Aug 3, 2009)

What an amazing spider! Thanks for sharing!


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## magicianANG (Aug 3, 2009)

Here's another one of my OBTs.

This photo ( below ) shows part of my Tarantula Room. The containers with the yellow labels on the right and the red baskets below them house all my OBTs. The red baskets are 4 levels high.






Bye for now. Visit my new blog: http://tarantulasandothers.blogspot.com/


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## lilmoonrabbit (Aug 5, 2009)

magicianANG said:


> Here's another one of my OBTs.
> 
> This photo ( below ) shows part of my Tarantula Room. The containers with the yellow labels on the right and the red baskets below them house all my OBTs. The red baskets are 4 levels high.
> 
> ...


OMG, your tarantula room is freaking amazing!!!!


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## syndicate (Aug 5, 2009)

Your room looks very nice and organized!Are those snakes in the left tank?
-Chris


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## Philth (Aug 5, 2009)

Very effective use of space I must say.  Im also interested in what the snakes are ?

later, Tom


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## TiberiuSahly (Aug 6, 2009)

If I'm not mistaking they look like Ahaetula or something from the Trimeresurus complex. Just a wild guess, let's see what the owner says!


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## micheldied (Aug 7, 2009)

sweet pics!
and very nice trapdoor.


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## magicianANG (Aug 10, 2009)

Some of our very large tarantulas are kept here.






The top row houses many Asian Forest Scorpions ( fully matured ones ). The middle row houses 
the rare Trapdoors and the bottom the Chilobrachys sp.






Extremely large tarantulas and snakes are kept here.

And finally, to answer the question about the snake. It is a Pope's Pit Viper
(_Trimeresurus popeorum_)  You guys are so fantasic. From a photo that doesn't 
show a clear image ( of the snake ) and you can name it!!!!

This is the snake we are talking about. ( photo below ) - Photo by Andrew Ang.






And here's another one.






Will be back soon. Warmest regards to all of you.


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## lilmoonrabbit (Aug 10, 2009)

wow, your tarantula room is amazing!!!


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## micheldied (Aug 10, 2009)

i love the snake.


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## TiberiuSahly (Aug 11, 2009)

Nice species! A friend of mine had a Trimeresurus popeiorum (Popeia popeiorum) some time ago. Truly fascinating, it was a real jewl! Unfortunatelly, it died of some sort of respiratory infection or that is what we could make of it . 
It kept holding its mouth open before it eventually died. Guess there were problems with cage ventilation...
Best wishes for your animals, you have a huge collection! Hope to see more!

Regards!


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## magicianANG (Aug 14, 2009)

*Liphistius desultor*

You're right about the respiratory problems,TiberiuSahly. And it is quite difficult to treat them. 
Here's another picture of a Wragler's Pit Viper. I caught it 
while hunting for tarantulas in the tropical rainforest.






Now let's get back to spider hunting.
This is a typical view of the forest. We are still on the edge of the forest 
and we'll be going deep into it soon. 
That's Dr John taking the lead.






Dr John is checking out a Chilobrachys sp. burrow. ( Photo below )






Along the way we came across this - a trapdoor. 
If you don't look very carefully, you'll miss it. 
The _Liphistius desultor_ is a master of the art of camouflage. 
The 'door' blends in perfectly with the surrounding landscape






More coming soon. Warmest regards.
Tommy Ang


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## micheldied (Aug 14, 2009)

magicianANG said:


> You're right about the respiratory problems,TiberiuSahly. And it is quite difficult to treat them.
> Here's another picture of a Wragler's Pit Viper. I caught it
> while hunting for tarantulas in the tropical rainforest.
> 
> ...


nice pics.
i see the door...i think...is the spider in the pic?


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## magicianANG (Aug 14, 2009)

_"i see the door...i think...is the spider in the pic?" - micheldied_

The door is right in the middle of the photo. If you look carefully, you'll see trip lines radiating from the edge of "the door" outwards. These trip lines allow the spider to sense vibrations of anything that crosses them and the spider can know whether it is food or a threat. I know because I've tried putting my fingers on these lines and nothing happens. When an insect walks across it - ZAP!!!! - the insect is gone. Liphistius desultor are very fast creatures.

Here's another photo of the trapdoor. Can you see the trip lines?






Imagine you are facing a wall and you are about 6 feet away from it.
Try to see if you can spot the trapdoor.






Now we walk a little bit closer. Can you see it?






This is it.






By for now.
Tommy Ang


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## barabootom (Aug 14, 2009)

I love the habitat photos.  Great fun.  Thanks for sharing.


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## jbm150 (Aug 15, 2009)

magicianANG said:


> _"i see the door...i think...is the spider in the pic?" - micheldied_
> 
> The door is right in the middle of the photo. If you look carefully, you'll see trip lines radiating from the edge of "the door" outwards. These trip lines allow the spider to sense vibrations of anything that crosses them and the spider can know whether it is food or a threat. I know because I've tried putting my fingers on these lines and nothing happens. When an insect walks across it - ZAP!!!! - the insect is gone. Liphistius desultor are very fast creatures.
> 
> ...


Very cool.  You might try a piece of grass, I used to use that as a kid.  Seemed to fool 'em well  

Whats really striking is how almost perfectly circular the web lines are.  Thanks for the pics!


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## micheldied (Aug 15, 2009)

amazingly well hidden.


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## magicianANG (Aug 18, 2009)

*Liphistius desultor*

Look at this "trapdoor". It was found in very harsh conditions. The area where it was found was sandy, dry and rocky.






And here's a MALE _Liphistius desultor._






And here's a new addition to my collection.


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## jreb29 (Aug 18, 2009)

very cool pics!


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## magicianANG (Aug 23, 2009)

Thanks, jreb29.

Today we are going to open a "door" of the _Liphistius desultor._

Photo 1 shows the actual trapdoor in the wild.






Photo 2 shows yours truly slowly and delicately opening the flap of the door.






---and OPEN SESAME!!!!
The door is finally open. The burrow is some 20 inches deep. 
It is finely lined with a layer of web and it is very smooth.






Bye. 
Visit my blog:http://tarantulasandothers.blogspot.com/


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## micheldied (Aug 23, 2009)

did you get the spider out?


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## seanbond (Aug 24, 2009)

wheres the asian earth tigers, halpopelma's, ornithoctonus sp?


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## magicianANG (Aug 28, 2009)

*Cobalt Blue Tarantula*

*"did you get the spider out? - micheldied"*

The Liphistius desultor was never taken out because it's one of the very few big ones around in the wild. It must be given a chance to propagate.

And now let's look at some of the Ts in my collection, starting with the Cobalt Blue Tarantula ( Haplopelma lividum ). This T digs a deep and almost vertical burrow and stays at the bottom most of the time. It makes its appearance during the night when all is quiet. All my 14 Cobalt Blues behave in the same way. The only way to photograph them is to relocate them to some manageable surroundings. If you like Ts which you seldom see but you know it is there, then _*Haplopelma lividum*_ should be in your collection.


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## micheldied (Aug 29, 2009)

magicianANG said:


> *"did you get the spider out? - micheldied"*
> 
> The Liphistius desultor was never taken out because it's one of the very few big ones around in the wild. It must be given a chance to propagate.
> 
> And now let's look at some of the Ts in my collection, starting with the Cobalt Blue Tarantula ( Haplopelma lividum ). This T digs a deep and almost vertical burrow and stays at the bottom most of the time. It makes its appearance during the night when all is quiet. All my 14 Cobalt Blues behave in the same way. The only way to photograph them is to relocate them to some manageable surroundings. If you like Ts which you seldom see but you know it is there, then _*Haplopelma lividum*_ should be in your collection.


very nice pics.
my H lividum doesnt even come out of his burrow at night...:wall: 
i have stick food into the burrow and then theyre pulled down the the dirty depths...


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## magicianANG (Sep 5, 2009)

Here are some photos of our Malaysian Earth Tiger.






This specimen has a leg-span of 7 inches.

Now for a closer look.













More photos coming up soon. Bye.
Visit my blog: http://tarantulasandothers.blogspot.com/


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## seanbond (Sep 6, 2009)

WOW!!!!
shes a monster malaysian earth tiger!


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## TiberiuSahly (Sep 6, 2009)

Sweet!!! Hope mine gets that big too! First I really hope it is a female, of course!
Great pics!


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## ZergFront (Sep 6, 2009)

Very cool! Do you live there?

 I never knew trapdoors were such armored tanks!


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## T-REX (Sep 7, 2009)

Beatiful Tiger...


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## Redneck (Sep 15, 2009)

I just got done looking throught the whole thread and all I can say is WOW!! I would love to be able to go on a hunt like that that looks amazing out there.. You have an awesome collection.. Cant wait till mine get just a little bigger..


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## rochin (Sep 15, 2009)

this thread is amazing.. more pictures pleasee!!:}


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## magicianANG (Sep 17, 2009)

*Bitten by an OBT!!! 3 times!!!!*

The Orange Baboon Tarantula (_ Pterinochilius murinus _) is a very beautiful tarantula to keep. The deep orange colour is very striking especially after a moult. 







But one must be VERY, VERY CAREFUL when handling them. They readily give a threat display when disturbed. The photo below illustrates what I mean.







Let's take a closer look at those fangs! ( Photo below )






During the last 2 months, I have been bitten by an OBT on 3 occasions.For a detailed bite report, please go to my blog: http://tarantulasandothers.blogspot.com/

These photos shows the result on my left ankle after it was bitten by a 3 inch Orange Baboon Tarantula.


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## micheldied (Sep 18, 2009)

nice pics!
i would hold any of my Ts or pedes before holding my tiny OBT.
shes a monster.
threat displays when i touch her cage....


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## Leetplayer (Oct 23, 2009)

This is one of our MET moult sequence (from start to finish) pictures. It took more then 4 hour to complete. 


























Moult measuring 6.5 inches legspan.






Best regards,
   Andrew Ang.


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## tin man (Oct 23, 2009)

wow great species. That ankle of yours was really swollen, you can probably fool someone by telling them you broke your ankle


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## Mattyb (Oct 23, 2009)

Great pics. keep them coming.


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## TiberiuSahly (Oct 23, 2009)

Nice molting sequence! Hope you post some pics of her after molt .

Regards!


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## seanbond (Oct 23, 2009)

wheres the female now?


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## MissChelly (Oct 23, 2009)

WOW! Fantastic pictures. I love the Where's Waldo trapdoor version pics!  Very amazing... and your tarantulas are lovely.


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