I got my first T for my birthday...

Faunya

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 2, 2003
Messages
217
My husband decided to get me a T for my birthday after listening to me whine for months about not having one yet...So, we set out this afternoon to pick up a Costa Rican Zebra (A. Seemanni). Well, that's not what I came home with.

I ended up getting a little Cobalt Blue female (H. Lividium). Before you guys start, I know, I know, I know...not a beginner spider. In my defense, though, I surely couldnt give her any WORSE of a home than the one she had...1/2" bark substrate, way too big of a water dish, filled with visibly moldy moss, and nowhere to hide. She's also missing a leg.

The people at the store were kinda dingy, too...3 people tried to get her boxed up for me, then ended up letting me take home the container so I could do it myself. One lady said that she literally chased her across the table, fangs exposed. *LOL*

The hour car ride home settled her down, and by the time I had her new enclosure fixed up for her, she was pretty calm. I got some side shots of her (hopefully will post later), then put her in the fridge.

After 10 minutes in the fridge, she slid right into her new home. I'm hoping she'll settle down quite nicely.


Faunya
(One very excited new T mama!)
 

conipto

ArachnoPrincess
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 27, 2002
Messages
1,256
Well, congrats on your birthday gift, and good luck.

I don't know how much you know about Cobalt Blues, but if you know they aren't a typical starter species, that means you've atleast done some looking beforehand. Do you know that they generally like to spend most of their time in burrows? Obviously you know about the aggression most of them show. I'd recommend looking into this thread for some fantastic info on how to house them. I keep mine in a similar manner, only not quite as deep. Even if you rarely get to see it, you can be assured it will be much happier given the opportunity to burrow like it does in the wild.

That said, I think they are amazing animals, and once you get used to her, you'll really love her.

So, give us the details, how big, how are you keeping her, what's the next one gonna be :)

Bill
 

Faunya

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 2, 2003
Messages
217
Thanks, guys...I'm sure I'll be coming here for lots of support.

As for the details...I currently am housing her in a kritter keeper with a 3" wide, shallow water dish (open water, no crap in it). I've given her about 5-6" of potting soil to start with, and I pre-dug a burrow at the side, using a toilet paper roll as a sizing gauge. She's got a 1/2 clay pot over the opening of her burrow so she has some privacy, and so she won't be lunging straight out at me whenever I open the container.

What I have her in right now is temporary...as I mentioned before, I wasn't planning on a burrower so I opted for a fairly shallow kritter keeper (It' only 8" tall altogether, which makes me a little nervous getting in and out of her enclosure). I'll be switching her to a narrower, taller container once she's nice and settled, then I'll give her a bit more substrate to play with (probably a peat and vermiculite mix).

Until then, I just hope the potting soil I already had will be good enough for now (it's non-fertilized). It's taken her about 2 hours to come down off of the lid, and she's slowly creeping in the direction of the burrow I made for her...so far, so good =D

Oh, I almost forgot...She's about 3 1/2", and is showing nice, adult coloration...I'd have to guess she's recently moulted (probably how she lost her leg, but the pet store I bought her from had no idea).

Other than the missing leg, she seems to be in perfect health...

-Faunya
 

Faunya

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 2, 2003
Messages
217
conipto,

That thread is where I got the idea to pre-dig her burrow...thanks for pointing that one out, though... I found it really informative.

-Faunya
 

MrT

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 13, 2002
Messages
2,171
Faunya,
Heres the setup I made the other day, for my new Cobalt blue.
She's already webbed it up, so it getting hard to see her.
Just thought I'd show you. :)

Ernie
 

Attachments

Faunya

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 2, 2003
Messages
217
MrT,

It looks like you've got yours set up just about the same way I have mine, so I think I'm in good shape. Thanks for showing me!

-Faunya
 

conipto

ArachnoPrincess
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 27, 2002
Messages
1,256
Ernie, which one of you dug the horizontal portion? if it was you, how did you manage that?

Bill
 

Raveness

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 2, 2002
Messages
449
Congrats :) A.seemani's are great t's I want to get the pinkish or whatever form :) You will want more after 10 minutes with one of these. I know I did :D
 

Valael

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 19, 2002
Messages
756
Raveness, I don't think you read the post :p


She went in for an A. Seemani and came home with an H. Lividium
 

Raveness

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 2, 2002
Messages
449
LMAO!!!!!!!! That's me for ya!I read a little bit... hehehe... I have an H.lividum they kick!!!!!! well like I said once you get a one T a while later you'll want more!

Originally posted by Valael
Raveness, I don't think you read the post :p


She went in for an A. Seemani and came home with an H. Lividium
 

Faunya

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 2, 2003
Messages
217
I woke up this morning to see her snuggled into the burrow I made for her...looks like she's been digging a bit too, since there's substrate all over in her water dish now. I think she's really happy to get out of that crappy setup and into something that feels a little more like home.

This is the only moderately clear pic I got of her, just before I moved her into her new home.



-Faunya
 

Faunya

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 2, 2003
Messages
217
geez, I need to work on my digital photography skills!
 

Immortal_sin

Arachnotemptress
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 17, 2002
Messages
3,952
H lividums are really cool, but once she burrows, you'll only see her every so often :)
Here's one that I setup in a clear rubbermaid round container. She loves it, and I predug her burrow on the edge. I can see her pretty well wherever she is, if I pick up the container
 
Last edited:

Raveness

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 2, 2002
Messages
449
That's cute! Mine would hate that setup... she seemes to always want out of her XL kritter keeper. But it was worse the first week now she actually burrows behind a big rock.


Originally posted by Immortal_sin
here's a pic from the side.
 

MrT

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 13, 2002
Messages
2,171
Originally posted by conipto
Ernie, which one of you dug the horizontal portion? if it was you, how did you manage that?

Bill
Bill,
I'm a little late. What I did was drill a 1 1/2" hole in the side at the bottom and hot glued a ABS threaded clean out plug in it. Then pushed a closet rod through it, and added the substrate.
The next one I do, I'm going with the balloon method, I saw on a thread here.

Ernie
 
Top