# NeVeN's Tarantulas



## NeVeN (Jun 7, 2008)

Hello all! These are my lovely pets. I dont have all of them in pictures, but I will make sure that I do, and will post it here, as well as other updates for each and every one of them..
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*PLEASE be so kind and leave a comment and/or suggestion on something you see "wrong" or dangerous or not suitable for my tarantulas, as I accept and believe that there are far more experienced T-keepers than me out there! *
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_Acanthoscurria geniculata (Giant Whiteknee)_



_Brachypelma albiceps ruhnaui (Amula Redrump)_


_Brachypelma boehmei (Mexican Fireleg)_



_Brachypelma emilia (Mexican Redleg)_


_Grammastola rosea (Chilean Rose)_ _- my small one_


_Haplopelma hainanum (Black Earth Tiger)_



_Haplopelma lividum (Cobalt Blue)_


_Haplopelma lividum, (Malaysia, dark colour form)_


_Haplopelma schmidti (Chinese Golden Earth Tiger)_














_King baboon_


_Lasiodora parahybana (Goliath Salmon Pink)_



_Nhandu vulpinus_


_Ornithoctonus aureotibialis_ - #1


_Ornithoctonus aureotibialis_ - #2


_Poecilotheria pederseni(es)_ (two in the same tank - soon to be three!)


Plus a peaceful fight those two had recently: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9_H7D42l0Q


I will post my few others plus my soon-newly arrived Ts pretty soon. Damn imageshack takes some time....!
edit: ok fixed pictures to be clickable.

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My main "tools" for keeping my beloved ones are:

My mini spray bottle (not the real one shown here) unbinds my hands when i want to raise the humidity of any tank needed, quick and easy.


Ofcourse I need water supplies for the dishes and for watering the subtract of each terrarium. at the moment about 1.5 bottle is sufficient every week, as all my tanks are open on top and humidity is hard to keep.


Water gels are excellent to avoid water dishes, as I believe (and seen) T's can clear their thirst by "eating" small bits that i leave in their terrarium.


As for food I mainly use mealworms and larvae (for my bigger T's) as I find crickets hard to keep alive, though lately I see the difficulty of feeding my pokies, as all worms tend to immediately burrow and cant be found.


Comments are much welcome! thanx!


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## bio teacher (Jun 7, 2008)

I see almost all of those pictures have wood chips in the enclosures. You need to get new substrate in those enclosures. Wood chips is very bad for tarantulas. I use 100% peat moss in my enclosures and it is very cheap at local plant nurseries. I believe I pay $3 a bag for it.


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## NeVeN (Jun 7, 2008)

bio teacher said:


> I see almost all of those pictures have wood chips in the enclosures. You need to get new substrate in those enclosures. Wood chips is very bad for tarantulas. I use 100% peat moss in my enclosures and it is very cheap at local plant nurseries. I believe I pay $3 a bag for it.


OMG are you serious? if this is the case I need to make lots of changes! 
I use forest bark from exo terra as seen here: http://207.106.112.198/90734204_lg.jpg
and in some tanks i have repti-bark ( http://pet.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pPETS-3756835t400.jpg )
beneath it so i can keep more humid environment!


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## seanbond (Jun 7, 2008)

lord GOD please change that substrate like RIGHT NOW.


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## NeVeN (Jun 7, 2008)

seanbond said:


> lord GOD please change that substrate like RIGHT NOW.


Damn! you got me frightened! I 've seen pet stores keeping T's in this substrate many many times! It'll have to wait for monday now..


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## seanbond (Jun 7, 2008)

petstores shouldnt even be allowed to carry t's. plenty of info on this site for you to redo the right way.


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## NeVeN (Jun 7, 2008)

seanbond said:


> petstores shouldnt even be allowed to carry t's. plenty of info on this site for you to redo the right way.


Dont worry its on my first to do list now. I sure do have work to do now.
Btw, _bio teacher_ suggested peat moss from local plant stores. Wouldnt that have like fertilizers or chemicals in it?


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## crpy (Jun 7, 2008)

NeVeN said:


> Dont worry its on my first to do list now. I sure do have work to do now.
> Btw, _bio teacher_ suggested peat moss from local plant stores. Wouldnt that have like fertilizers or chemicals in it?


There are some good substrait threads here ,just search 

Pure peat moss from any place thats sells plants. But there is also coco husk bedding at most pet stores, it comes in a brick and covers a large area.

Terrestrial "T"s dig allot so bark sucks for them.


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## Zoltan (Jun 7, 2008)

May I add that it is recommended to sterilize the substrate (I use peat and potting soil mixture by the way) before putting it into the terrarium, f.e. "cooking" it in the microwave oven for a bit. Bark chips are not good for substrate (although it's ok if you mix a few bits into a proper substrate, but make sure it doesn't contain poisonous oil like cedar), because terrestrial can't burrow in it (especially awkward for a H. lividum), and I think it is not stable enough for T's. To be honest it's a bit suprising for me that you have quite a few T's and you use a bad substrate with them, but it's not like you bought your first T two days ago and completely new to the hobby. Not meaning to be rude here, but it looks like that some more research about our eight-legged friends could be beneficial for both you and your tarantulas. Good luck with the "renovation"! 

EDIT: check out this thread, it might give you some ideas about suitable substrates: http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=22249


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## clearlysaid (Jun 7, 2008)

And just to add something else, tarantulas can't use "water gels."  They need actual water sources... ie water dishes.


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## NeVeN (Jun 7, 2008)

Eraisuithon said:


> May I add that it is recommended to sterilize the substrate (I use peat and potting soil mixture by the way) before putting it into the terrarium, f.e. "cooking" it in the microwave oven for a bit. Bark chips are not good for substrate (although it's ok if you mix a few bits into a proper substrate, but make sure it doesn't contain poisonous oil like cedar), because terrestrial can't burrow in it (especially awkward for a H. lividum), and I think it is not stable enough for T's. To be honest it's a bit suprising for me that you have quite a few T's and you use a bad substrate with them, but it's not like you bought your first T two days ago and completely new to the hobby. Not meaning to be rude here, but it looks like that some more research about our eight-legged friends could be beneficial for both you and your tarantulas. Good luck with the "renovation"!
> 
> EDIT: check out this thread, it might give you some ideas about suitable substrates: http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=22249



Its not "rudeness"! Its advice and help and I'm here just for that!! I'm using this substrate long time now cause of the wrong "advice" i was getting through local pet stores. Btw many burrowers managed the cork barks pretty well... I will check the thread, straight away. And about the cooking, I used to do that as well in the past but for common soil substrate - it also smelled nice in the microwave (lol). And yes.. I do have quite some work to do now!! 




clearlysaid said:


> And just to add something else, tarantulas can't use "water gels."  They need actual water sources... ie water dishes.


I've seen my rose hair sunk her teeth in a big chunk of water gel quite a few times! And I try to combine both gel and water dish in every tank just to be sure! thanx though


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## Zoltan (Jun 7, 2008)

Okay then. 
Pet stores are not a reliable source of advice. There are some good sites listed here. We are always happy to help!  That is what this site is for.


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## clearlysaid (Jun 7, 2008)

NeVeN said:


> I've seen my rose hair sunk her teeth in a big chunk of water gel quite a few times! And I try to combine both gel and water dish in every tank just to be sure! thanx though


Well, from my experience tarantulas can't actually "eat" the stuff... she may try to get water from the gel but she probably isn't actually able to.  You can also check out this recent thread about water crystals.  It's good that you keep actual water in the dish along with the crystals, though.


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## NeVeN (Jun 7, 2008)

clearlysaid said:


> Well, from my experience tarantulas can't actually "eat" the stuff... she may try to get water from the gel but she probably isn't actually able to.  You can also check out this recent thread about water crystals.  It's good that you keep actual water in the dish along with the crystals, though.


Went through the entire thread and it really got me thinking.........:? 
Good help on that too. thank you man.


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## NeVeN (Jun 8, 2008)

I went to a plant store today to look for turf to replace the subtrate in my terrariums, but they told me there were only pre-fertilized turf available.
Dont know it this is any good or bad to be honest... what u guys think?


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## crpy (Jun 8, 2008)

NeVeN said:


> I went to a plant store today to look for turf to replace the subtrate in my terrariums, but they told me there were only pre-fertilized turf available.
> Dont know it this is any good or bad to be honest... what u guys think?


Id stick to Peat Moss, surely they have peat moss.

They have the break down on those bags but  I cant see it.

Where do you live?


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## AlainL (Jun 8, 2008)

NeVeN said:


> I went to a plant store today to look for turf to replace the subtrate in my terrariums, but they told me there were only pre-fertilized turf available.
> Dont know it this is any good or bad to be honest... what u guys think?


you have to use something 100% organic, no chemical.

Use coco fiber or peat moss.


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## NeVeN (Jun 8, 2008)

@ crpy, what other details cant you see? there isnt much more left other what is visible in the pictures. I live in Greece.

@carpetpython, Unfortuntely i have to wait for an online order for me to get coco fiber. too bad i cant use this.


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## crpy (Jun 8, 2008)

NeVeN said:


> @ crpy, what other details cant you see? there isnt much more left other what is visible in the pictures. I live in Greece.
> 
> @carpetpython, Unfortuntely i have to wait for an online order for me to get coco fiber. too bad i cant use this.


Yeah if there is any question on ingredients dont use it to be safe.

I cant see the ingredients

This might be a stupid question but here goes,do you have coconut palm trees in Greece?


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## NeVeN (Jun 8, 2008)

crpy said:


> Yeah if there is any question on ingredients dont use it to be safe.
> 
> I cant see the ingredients
> 
> This might be a stupid question but here goes,do you have coconut palm trees in Greece?


Uhmmm its on the pics!
_Composition (-ingredients): 
- 30% White Peat / 70% Black Peat
- pH value: 5-7
- EC value: 1-2
- Organic matter: min 75%-99%
- Moisture content: max:65%_

..and coconut palm trees can be found here but not where i live (north Greece). Even then these are man-planted trees, not grown by their own..


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## crpy (Jun 8, 2008)

NeVeN said:


> Uhmmm its on the pics!
> _Composition (-ingredients):
> - 30% White Peat / 70% Black Peat
> - pH value: 5-7
> ...


Yes, I know its on the pics, but I cant make out the writing, my eyes suck.

Im not sure what the white peat is from. I'd wait for the coc husk


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## NeVeN (Jun 8, 2008)

I went ahead and experiment with my small chilean. The soil is very humid right off the bag, and she kinda looks she likes it. I left her for a few hours to see whats she'll do - stay in the plastic cap or not. 

When I came back 4 hours later to check her out, she had all the place webbed, which is rare at least for my chilean. She never webbed that much in her previous tank.

Tell me what you think.


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## Zoltan (Jun 8, 2008)

Looks like your T likes it. Otherwise she wouldn't have webbed it in such a short time. Did she stay on the ground all the time? That's another good sign. T's that are not satisfied with the substrate tend to away standing on it, by moving onto other surfaces the enclosure has (such as top of the hiding place or something) and being on the glass a lot of time.


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## NeVeN (Jun 8, 2008)

No no! She climbed the glass for only a brief time, and that was when I put her in the new tank! She never went in or on to the plastic glass I've put in there, at least not when I was watching. 

She still lies at the same place as the picture above. I guess she must be feeling exposed for not having something to go under it. Other than that, I also think she likes it!


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## NeVeN (Jun 9, 2008)

*Brachypelma emilia re-housing.*

Ok this is my second experiment on changing the substrate with my turf. 
I went for my _Brachypelma emilia_, which is a juvie and quite nervous.
After living her for about two hours on her new home, I cant say she liked it very much, 
and this is maybe cause she is extremely shy and might need more of a hiding place. 

I found her on the glass which isnt a good sign, but when i gave her a push, she went straight to her "coconut-cave". 
Check out the pictures:


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## NeVeN (Jun 11, 2008)

*Brachypelma Schroederi re-housed*

Today was my Schroederi's turn to move to a new place. What was my way of thinking, is to fill the bottom with water gel (since its not that of drinkable or eatable as another AB thread) so to keep more of humid place for my T. Then I added the substrate which I made a "canal" in the middle so there is a hiding place already made for my Scroederi. I loved when she reacts normal I touch or push her around, but as soon as I dropped a mealworm next to her, she showed her appetite and sunk her teeth in. Does that shows she can tell a finger form a worm? I think it does. lol. 









By the time I typed to here, she already did quite some webbing work done.


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## NeVeN (Jun 12, 2008)

*Big Red-Legged Trapdoor Spider [New arrival]*

Ok i have only a few minutes so here goes: I got my new redlegged trapdoor today. She's an adult female, with fully shaved  body (lol). Just made her this terrarium, with lots of subtrate to sink in and start tunneling. To give her a head-start I made a hole in the middle of it, which after a few pushes, burrowed in. Welcome home.


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## crpy (Jun 12, 2008)

nice, nice, sexy spidey as well


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## Ice Cold Milk (Jun 12, 2008)

Nice, would love to see more pics of the trapdoor spider.  Scientific name?
-=ICM=-


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## NeVeN (Jun 12, 2008)

Uhmm...sorry to disapoint you my friends. I didn't have time to take more pictures of her. I do not know her sci-name, but have already mailed the guy that sold her to me, and awaiting for an answer. I will let you guys know about it.

As far as her behaviour, she was quite nervous, and pretty fast. Being a tru spider though and not a tarantula, she was unable to climb the glass of her terrarium!! Didn't know that, and was quite amazed.

Thats it for now. Will post more about my new P.regalis communities soon!


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## crpy (Jun 12, 2008)

NeVeN said:


> Uhmm...sorry to disapoint you my friends. I didn't have time to take more pictures of her. I do not know her sci-name, but have already mailed the guy that sold her to me, and awaiting for an answer. I will let you guys know about it.
> 
> As far as her behaviour, she was quite nervous, and pretty fast. Being a tru spider though and not a tarantula, she was unable to climb the glass of her terrarium!! Didn't know that, and was quite amazed.
> 
> Thats it for now. Will post more about my new P.regalis communities soon!


shes not a true spider, shes a ctenizidae. still a primitive, a form of mygalomorph.
True spiders have one set of book lungs and a tracheal spiricle,


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## NeVeN (Jun 12, 2008)

crpy said:


> shes not a true spider, shes a ctenizidae. still a primitive, a form of mygalomorph



I wonder why u ask then... lol u know much more than me. thanx on the info!


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## crpy (Jun 12, 2008)

NeVeN said:


> I wonder why u ask then... lol u know much more than me. thanx on the info!


lol, I did'nt ask im mostly lookin


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## NeVeN (Jun 12, 2008)

*Cyriopagopus spec. blue* - New arrival
Right out of the box  . This little thing is SO DAMN FAST!! It gave me a run when i scared it, but fortunately managed to capture it before it went "invisible" to me. 


*Holothele incei* - New arrival
Another fast little sling here. Currently and temporary place in a small plastic box, until it grows a bit.


*H. Hainanum *having a snack 


*Brachypelma boehmei* freshly molted, and obiously quite skinny, having a mealworm. I must start the fatting-program soon.. 


*Brachypelma Smithi* also freshly molted, having a mealworm.


*Brachypelma Emilia* which was recently re-housed, and still kinda hating it, had no shame of grabing a mealworm I gave her.


thanx 4 watching :worship:

Forgot! amongst new arrivals, I got 11 new poecilotheria regalis and my 3rd poecilotheria pederseni.

Third pederseni:


11 x P. Regalis: I used two plastic tubes that used to come with the water gel I bought the other day. I devided the slings to 6 and 5, so I can keep a closer look at them. Fast little things!


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