Freebies Dilemma

[SpiderZone2]

You have to choose from the list. He updates as often as he can but you must realize he has many T's to attend to, so he doesn't always update the site as for the freebies. You can ask if you want, or he may not have updated the list and has others he is giving away. I have never been disapointed from anything I have purchased from Kelly. So the freebies are another reason I keep going back. Then I can add other T's to my collection. Hope this helps! Happy Collecting!!!!

 

[phil jones]

you guys are lucky here in the uk no free (t) and you can buy a lot yet i never been given a free one well thats life -- phil

 

[mrbonzai211]

Follow-up Q

Thank you all for so much input! I've never dealt with a breeder before so I've been nervous about how to deal with one. Swift is by far the best, from what i've gathered, and i visit his site literally everyday drooling over all thee T's. I only have one more question though before i make my decision..... I've made up my mind that i want a vagans but I'm not thrilled about raising a sling that small while i'm interning over the summer. Do you think he'd be cool if i asked for a larger specimen and pay the couple dollars difference? My only other choice would be to go with the 1/2" Haitian Brown (P. cancerides) or the 3/4" Brazilian Salmon (L. parahybana). I'm nervous about these two T's because i dont have easy access to roaches and im extremely put off by the idea of feeding it pinkies (i know MANY people disagree with that but neither me, or my girlfriend, would be happy about it).

 

[KJE]

You don't have to feed them roaches or pinkies. They will eat crickets. You might have to give them a few at a time when they get big, but they will do fine on them.

Also, be careful with the P. cancerides if you get it because they can be pretty defensive. At least mine is.

 

[guitarlust]

personally, i would ask for a larger specimen if swift has one larger. i do not know what the status is on b. vagans and the sizes he has. feeding pinkies though is the last thing you want to feed a T because it would cause health problems from all the info i have read and such.

 

[fantasticp]

Not that it matters, but just because no one has said it yet: If you DON'T pick anything from the list, you usually get something pretty close to what you were already getting. Like 6 millipedes-free millipede. Once I got a free B. Emelia when I ordered a bunch of other Brachys. He's not going to send you something aggressive and unfriendly if you have nothing else like that in the order. I think the only reason that that pick list popped up in the first place was because of haggling complainers. I think really I have always gotten something better than on the list by saying nothing. That said, I agree with everyone on the "don't complain, it's free" campaign.

 

[Stylopidae]

I was wondering if anyone knows how often Swift's changes their freebie selections? I need to know if i should order the T i want now or if i should wait till spring because I want to get a freebie with it that i'm actually going to love and enjoy. There's a L. parahybana that looks interesting but i dont know much about it, or whether i should jump for that freebie T or wait for a better selection.

I'm going to take a different path here...it's not like he was demanding that swifty change his freebies especially for him. He's just simply not interested in any of the current choices and would like to know if the choices are set or if they change periodically. The post struck me as more curious than complaining.

Swifty posts here on arachnoboards under...well, swifty. Send him a PM and he will happily answer any questions for you.

Yeah, it's a gift...but if Swifty is giving you a choice of what spider you're going to get for free I don't think it's rude at all to ask about potential overstock or if he's planning to change his selection.

 

[mrbonzai211]

I'm going to take a different path here...it's not like he was demanding that swifty change his freebies especially for him. He's just simply not interested in any of the current choices and would like to know if the choices are set or if they change periodically. The post struck me as more curious than complaining.

Swifty posts here on arachnoboards under...well, swifty. Send him a PM and he will happily answer any questions for you.

Yeah, it's a gift...but if Swifty is giving you a choice of what spider you're going to get for free I don't think it's rude at all to ask about potential overstock or if he's planning to change his selection.

Thanks for the advice, and the clarification, lol. My thread was kind of car jacked by the debate of whether it's ok or not to ask for freebies. Hopefully people can come to an agreement on this subject. Maybe someone should talk with the breeders to find out what they think is polite behavior so we can have a template on good business relations with whoever we choose as our breeders. I think that this can help people interact better and make sure no one is taking advantage of. I'm saying all of this in response to some of the posts here as well as a thread i read the other day about some kid bragging about tricking pet stores so he can get expensive T's for next to nothing.

 

[Mc225]

I think a main issue, which many are failing to mention, is the size of the purchase. The bigger the order the more reasonable it is to negotiate. If you're placing a $20 order you probably should be happy that you get any freebie at all. However, if you're buying $200 worth of Ts absolutely it's no big deal to ask.

By the way, there are defenitely other excellent dealers out there. From personal experience of several orders Botar is thoroughly professional. I know this isn't the place for talking online dealers, just wanted to point out you have options.

 

[bushbuster]

Yeah, I received a L. parahybana from Swift I chose as a freebie that came with a M. robustum I purchased. He even sent some crickets along the deal, all neatly packaged and labeled. I agree, take what the guy offers, and don't press your luck, he's a real pro.

 

[Drachenjager]

You don't have to feed them roaches or pinkies. They will eat crickets. You might have to give them a few at a time when they get big, but they will do fine on them.

Also, be careful with the P. cancerides if you get it because they can be pretty defensive. At least mine is.

i got a sling P. cancerides not shown any defensivness toward me but man that thing eats ! its is a cricketicidal maniac lol i messed up and dropped a cricket that fell in its container and it was on it like lightening. the cricket was bigger than it was lol poor thing had to eat it wiht onle one side of its legs on the ground lol

 

[Drachenjager]

Not that it matters, but just because no one has said it yet: If you DON'T pick anything from the list, you usually get something pretty close to what you were already getting. Like 6 millipedes-free millipede. Once I got a free B. Emelia when I ordered a bunch of other Brachys. He's not going to send you something aggressive and unfriendly if you have nothing else like that in the order. I think the only reason that that pick list popped up in the first place was because of haggling complainers. I think really I have always gotten something better than on the list by saying nothing. That said, I agree with everyone on the "don't complain, it's free" campaign.

AHHh that sounds right to me , i got a couple spiders from a someone who got them from swifts.... long story he paid for a t. blondi and got a P. cancerides as a freebie...it was really tiny lol

 

[mrbonzai211]

I think I've settled on the T I want! When school lets out in the spring, I'm buying my girlfriend an A. minatrix because she loves arboreals and this one is especially beautiful. Also, this is going to be the first summer we've spent apart and I'm going to miss her very very much so I thought I would get her something special to make her a little extra anxious for the summer to be over and see me again (lol)....... Moving on though, i'm going to order from Swift cuz he's the best dealer I've seen (head and shoulders too, his website is amazing!). I've been trying to figure out what freebie i want from the order i'm going to place in the spring and i've been all over the place trying to decide on which one i want, but now i think i've got it! I think i'm going to go all out and break through my fear of BIG aggresive T's and get a L.parahybana. This guy seems like he'll be a good conversation starter when people come over and he comes delivered at just under an inch, which is good for me because I'm going to be interning over the summer and i'm concerned about keeping too small of a sling at a time where i may not have the time to give it the care it would most likely need.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

he comes delivered at just under an inch, which is good for me because I'm going to be interning over the summer and i'm concerned about keeping too small of a sling at a time where i may not have the time to give it the care it would most likely need.

Don't worry, L. parahybana are pretty tough as slings go. Water one corner of the enclosure once or twice a week, toss it a cricket once a week. I fed mine on pre-killed adult crickets because I couldn't get pinheads, it's amazing what they can put away when you let them. It's finally starting to refuse dead prey, though, so I guess I'm gonna have to stop being lazy and just keeping a tupperware of crix in the freezer. Time to go to the petstore more often!

 

[mrbonzai211]

Don't worry, L. parahybana are pretty tough as slings go. Water one corner of the enclosure once or twice a week, toss it a cricket once a week. I fed mine on pre-killed adult crickets because I couldn't get pinheads, it's amazing what they can put away when you let them. It's finally starting to refuse dead prey, though, so I guess I'm gonna have to stop being lazy and just keeping a tupperware of crix in the freezer. Time to go to the petstore more often!

How fast will the L. parahybana grow and what size tank should i start with if i get on at 3/4 inch (note that i do want a little extra room for him to grow into if he is a fast grower). Thanks!!!!

 

[Mushroom Spore]

How fast will the L. parahybana grow and what size tank should i start with if i get on at 3/4 inch (note that i do want a little extra room for him to grow into if he is a fast grower). Thanks!!!!

A lot of it is up to chance and genetics. Mine did fast for like a month and a half at one point very early on, decided to take a long nap in its tunnel (which was up against the side of the cup, so I could still see it), so I'm sure that also put growth on pause for a while. Otherwise, depending also on how warm your house is (my housemates kept it on the cool side until the last couple months when I got my own place), if you give yours the same feeding schedule as mine, I'd say it'll probably be a couple inches after a year.

They seem to gain 50% or more in mass per molt or two sometimes, which isn't too terribly dramatic when they're teeny. But once they start getting up around an inch, inch and a half, you'll notice it more.

Beyond that, I can't say. I imagine mine will be approaching the full 9-10" in another two years at most.

For a 3/4 inch, my advice is this. Go to the deli section of your local grocery store and get one of those little clear plastic dishes with lids. Some places sell fudge squares in them, others you might find it for macaroni or other side dishes, or maybe candy. You'll want one maybe 4-5 inches across. It doesn't have to be clear, but it'll make it a lot easier to check up on your tiny T if you don't have to open the enclosure every time.

Fill it HIGH with peat moss, with maybe an inch of open space below the lip of the cup. You'll want one that isn't too shallow, as parahybana usually needs to burrow when tiny, to feel safe. Otherwise it will freak out and run in any direction to get away from you, even if that means launching itself out of the cup. Use a needle to poke some holes in the lid, but it's better to err on the side of making them too small. Slings can fit through any space their carapace/head will fit through.

Yours will almost certainly burrow; if you put some paper against the plastic or keep it in a dark place, it'll probably burrow up against the side of the enclosure, because the plastic is a free sturdy wall for the tunnel. When watering, water the dirt on the far side from the tunnel so you don't flood the little guy, it'll go get a drink when it wants it. When feeding, just put a dead adult cricket by the burrow entrance, it'll come out if it wants it. (If you see toes poking out, that's a good sign yours is hungry. ) Just be sure to clean up any leftovers, though paras don't leave much behind.

By the time a deli cup gets to be too crowded, it should be ready for the smallest size of critter keeper, which is like 6 inches by four inches or so. (Again, you just need to be sure it can't get out through the ventilation slits, so better to err on the side of *not* moving it the very minute you think it's big enough. Let it get just a little bigger to be safe.) Keep in mind the fact that, while these do grow quickly, you also need to keep the peat moss fairly high (dirt to ceiling = legspan rule) to avoid injury if they fall. If the dirt-to-ceiling ends up being less than their legspan very quickly, that's fine, so long as they still have enough floor space to do their thing.

Mine's in one of those right now. When it outgrows this, I have a 10" diameter, 5" high round "Herp Haven" which is basically a critter keeper. By the time it outgrows that, it should be ready to go on into the 10g tank that will be its final home.

BE WARNED. Once these guys get enough size that their fangs can actually affect the plastic, they can be chewers. If you're still using fairly flimsy plastic deli cups by the time it gets up around 1.5"-2" in size, you'll need to watch and listen for signs of this. I just had a pretty hilarious thread not too long ago, when I was housing my sling in a larger deli cup before moving it to the critter keeper it has now: http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=82265&highlight=parahybana+enclosure+eating

And when they get big enough to go into a glass tank, you need to mind what you use for a lid. Big Ts can chew through most kinds of screen.

 

[Selenops]

Swift is stand-up and a good guy. I plan to order from him in the near future. And his website is outstanding. Easy to navigate and has pics galore.

But he isn't the only dealer I am choosing to conduct business with. Botar, Southern Spider Works, Tarantulas Inc, etc, etc all have something I want. Read the reviews. I just placed another order with Brandon of Reptist.

I love the hobby now compared to the earliest Y2K years (a utopic hegemony compared to the buyers remorse dilemna visited around then-- "bad" guys are gone). Kelly Swift is top A grade dealer. A good guy.

Moderators feel free to delete content if it is not applicable.

 

[Stylopidae]

love the hobby now compared to the earliest Y2K years (a utopic hegemony compared to the buyers remorse dilemna visited around then-- "bad" guys are gone). Kelly Swift is top A grade dealer. A good guy.

I'm not familiar with the particular situation you're referring to in your post, but there are always going to be bad people in the hobby no matter what.

Look in the buyer/seller inquiries and there's some scandal going on with Kraken of this site.

However, I do some business...(not as much as some) with hobbiests here and I can honestly say that I've never had any major problems.

 

[Midnightrdr456]

something little off from the main topic, but there is no proof that feeding pinkies has caused health problems. On that note, even the biggest tarantula can live its whole life on only crickets, it will just take more crickets.

 

[Selenops]

I'm not familiar with the particular situation you're referring to in your post, but there are always going to be bad people in the hobby no matter what.

Look in the buyer/seller inquiries and there's some scandal going on with Kraken of this site.

However, I do some business...(not as much as some) with hobbiests here and I can honestly say that I've never had any major problems.

There was a couple (ahem maybe a few) bad apples that amounted to either morons or mean greedy fellas. But yes there will always be bad dealers in the pet trade, in this one or another. Yet, there breeders and dealers people here patron appear to be by a overwhelming large majority very very good folks to deal with. I'd would not hesitate to buy from any or all of them.