Introduce Yourself

[coniontises]

You may soon find yourself with an incurable case of bug addiction.

Welcome!

 

[Just Matt]

Hello.

I'm Matt.

I'm not a hobbyist. I live in Southern Africa and I spend much of my free time scratching around in the bush.
I have been photographing arachnids for a few years in Southern Africa. I would like to know whether it would be okay to open a thread with some of my photos.
I would add them to the existing photo thread but I have a few too many for that, I think.
I have been sitting on my photos and I wonder if anyone would appreciate seeing some of our scorpions and spiders in their natural environments.

Thanks

 

[Krysta]

Thank you his fangs are starting to turn black and how I figure he was a boy cuz on his abdomen he has two circles and they say females have one I guess lol

Wait until the fangs turn black. If they are still red or brown, they are soft and are more likely to break.

These two threads contain helpful information:

• Avicularia Husbandry by @viper69
• Avicularia care by @Venom1080

If you have any other questions, feel free to start a thread in Tarantula Questions and Discussions.

Thank you

He’s loot so good I hope it’s a him
Cuz he has two spots on his adobmen

They say girls have one?

Is that the truth

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

Hello.

I'm Matt.

I'm not a hobbyist. I live in Southern Africa and I spend much of my free time scratching around in the bush.
I have been photographing arachnids for a few years in Southern Africa. I would like to know whether it would be okay to open a thread with some of my photos.
I would add them to the existing photo thread but I have a few too many for that, I think.
I have been sitting on my photos and I wonder if anyone would appreciate seeing some of our scorpions and spiders in their natural environments.

Thanks

There is a sub-forum for just that sort of thing. people would probably be interested in your pictures.

http://arachnoboards.com/forums/field-trips-natural-habitats.68/

 

[DanP]

Hello all. I need some help. I've never really used this forum before. I have had t's for about 9yrs'. I had a beautiful L. parybana female that was probably 8" in size, a G. Pulchra, a B. Smithi and a B. Boehmei. Long story short, we had a house fire back in October. All of my critters, as well as our bearded dragon, ball python and cornsnake of 9yrs perished in the fire. I was finally ready to restart my collection of pets and purchased a G. pulchra and a Mexican redknee, both slings, from a reputable online site. Well when I received them, my wife lost it. I guess her grief runs way deeper than I thought. She blames herself for the fire. I have to sell my slings as she isn't ready to start over. I know now I should have talked to her first, but I was hoping to surprise her. She has been into reptiles and arachnids much longer than me. I guess I don't post here enough to have the privilege to add to the classifieds. Does anyone have suggestions on where I may be able to sell my slings? I'm in Sacramento/Folsom area, and would prefer to not have to ship. Really bummed as I have been looking for a Pulchra for many months. :-(

 

[Ungoliant]

Well when I received them, my wife lost it. I guess her grief runs way deeper than I thought. She blames herself for the fire. I have to sell my slings as she isn't ready to start over. I know now I should have talked to her first, but I was hoping to surprise her. She has been into reptiles and arachnids much longer than me. I guess I don't post here enough to have the privilege to add to the classifieds. Does anyone have suggestions on where I may be able to sell my slings? I'm in Sacramento/Folsom area, and would prefer to not have to ship. Really bummed as I have been looking for a Pulchra for many months. :-(

Maybe she'll come around, but if not, you can purchase the Classifieds Access upgrade for $5. Be sure to set up a review page for yourself and read the terms before posting.

 

[miss moxie]

Hello all. I need some help. I've never really used this forum before. I have had t's for about 9yrs'. I had a beautiful L. parybana female that was probably 8" in size, a G. Pulchra, a B. Smithi and a B. Boehmei. Long story short, we had a house fire back in October. All of my critters, as well as our bearded dragon, ball python and cornsnake of 9yrs perished in the fire. I was finally ready to restart my collection of pets and purchased a G. pulchra and a Mexican redknee, both slings, from a reputable online site. Well when I received them, my wife lost it. I guess her grief runs way deeper than I thought. She blames herself for the fire. I have to sell my slings as she isn't ready to start over. I know now I should have talked to her first, but I was hoping to surprise her. She has been into reptiles and arachnids much longer than me. I guess I don't post here enough to have the privilege to add to the classifieds. Does anyone have suggestions on where I may be able to sell my slings? I'm in Sacramento/Folsom area, and would prefer to not have to ship. Really bummed as I have been looking for a Pulchra for many months. :-(

So sorry to hear about this, but if the sight of two new tarantula slings set your wife off so badly-- she should be in grief counseling. There are obviously some things she hasn't been able to work through and it won't just make her ready to get back into a hobby she obviously loved (which is therapeutic all on it's own really) but it will help her with this clearly traumatizing life-experience.

I know some people can get really defensive when therapy is brought up, but you should still talk to her about it. It might also help to talk to her yourself. If you didn't know that new slings would set her off, then what else could she be keeping to herself? Just remember to be as understanding and gentle as you can. And if she's still not ready, that's okay. October was less than six months ago. All wounds need time to heal, and psychological ones take the longest.

Good luck, and as @Ungoliant said you can upgrade to a classifieds user, but you can also become an active member to post to classifieds for free. You still need to make yourself a review page and familiarize yourself with the terms either way.

 

[Anaximandre]

Hey there,

I'm Pierre, and I live in Australia! I'm not a hobbyist and I don't currently own any animal but I'm starting to look into it as I'm quite fond of tarantulas! I've already read plenty of tips on this forum, so I figured it'd be good to join.

 

[RoryC76]

Hello, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Doug and recently got into tarantula keeping. I completely adore these little guys and had no idea they are so cute. I have a juvenile curly hair named Peaches and an adult pink toe named Noodles. Both molted this month and, I got to say, it was quite fascinating. Like something from a science fiction film. They both made it and are doing great. Though this is my first post, I've been able to find many answers to many questions on this forum. I also bought the the TKG for assistance. I hope to be more active on this forum and will upload some pics soon as well as an avatar. Thanks.

 

[DanP]

So sorry to hear about this, but if the sight of two new tarantula slings set your wife off so badly-- she should be in grief counseling. There are obviously some things she hasn't been able to work through and it won't just make her ready to get back into a hobby she obviously loved (which is therapeutic all on it's own really) but it will help her with this clearly traumatizing life-experience.

I know some people can get really defensive when therapy is brought up, but you should still talk to her about it. It might also help to talk to her yourself. If you didn't know that new slings would set her off, then what else could she be keeping to herself? Just remember to be as understanding and gentle as you can. And if she's still not ready, that's okay. October was less than six months ago. All wounds need time to heal, and psychological ones take the longest.

Good luck, and as @Ungoliant said you can upgrade to a classifieds user, but you can also become an active member to post to classifieds for free. You still need to make yourself a review page and familiarize yourself with the terms either way.

Thanks for the tip. She is part of a grief counseling group online. I guess she had just been doing a good job hiding the extent of the guilt. The only reason I moved forward is that she said she would be happy to pay for my t's when I found some, though I had no intent of letting her do that. It was an accident, and I feel terrible that she is so guilt ridden. I appreciate your words.

 

[ghostly]

Hello!
I'm a hobbyist from Vienna/Austria. I've been interested in tarantulas for a long time and finally got my first b. hamorii 3 years ago. A dream came true that day, honestly. - sadly he molted into a mature male shortly after (was purchased as a female) and passed away after a few months. RIP Richard, you started it all!
Since then I've been building a tiny "collection" of new world terrestrials, successfully raised my first two slings and totally fell in love with the hobby. I can't imagine my life without my eight-legged roommates anymore. I'm currently planning on getting my first arboreal sling and I'm all excited and happy and scared i might do something wrong since I'm stepping out of my comfort zone with this. I joined the forum to do some more research and hopefully meet people who understand me and my obsession, since nobody in real life does.
I also love photography and really wanna share some pictures of my Ts

 

[Callysplace101]

Hi, I'm Caz from Yorkshire in England. I met a wonderful man who kept Tarantulas and I have slowly become besotted with them.
I have snakes, Royals and Corns and plan on adding to the tribe with a couple of cali Kings and Mexican black.
I've have also started with a few NW T's of my own, after watching an Obt escape and having to catch the little terror from my partners back I'm happy to wait before venturing down the OW path!

 

[Skep]

Whats up
I'm Matt from Illinois. I've been wanting to get into tarantulas for awhile and I'm mostly here to buy/trade with people. I have had a passion in animals for my entire life and I've had many amphibians and reptiles throughout my years. My two current animals are both juvenile crested geckos and I cant wait to watch them grow. In tarantulas, I am drawn to dwarf/smaller species as they can have so much personality in such a small body. Overall I'm glad to be here to share my experiences with you guys as I progress in the tarantula hobby. Any guidance around this site would be great! (I'm kinda lost here )

 

[P4RK]

Hi all , literally just joined and have had my first ever T since last Monday. A juvie B . Hamorii . Already feel the need for another !

 

[JeremyRay75]

My name is Jeremy, i'm form Kansas city, Missouri. my T collection includes a A. seemmani (stripped knee), C. lividum (colbalt blue), A. avicularia (pinktoe) and on Tuesday will be adding B. vagans (mexican redrump),C. cyaneopubescens (Greenbottle Blue),L. parahybana (salmon pink bird eater),N. chromatus (Brazilian red and white),B. cabocla (brazilian redhead),B. hamorii (ex smithi) (mexican red knee).

after getting my first T my wife went from "if it gets out I'll stomp it" to now owning her own 5 as well.
I also have a vield chameleon, 2 whites tree frogs, a bearded dragon, cat and dog,

 

[Orionoid]

I'm Sawyer. I don't currently have any Ts but I've been obsessed with inverts for years and I'm currently in the process of securing a G. pulchra. I've been lurking here long enough I figured I should make an account.

 

[Ungoliant]

I'm Sawyer. I don't currently have any Ts but I've been obsessed with inverts for years and I'm currently in the process of securing a G. pulchra. I've been lurking here long enough I figured I should make an account.

Welcome! Grammostola pulchra is an excellent first tarantula. (The only downside is that they can be expensive and/or hard to find.)

 

[PeteParker240]

Hello All,

I have been doing research to purchase my first T and the knowledge I have gotten from this site has been VERY helpful. That is the reason I chose to finally join. I am a bit of an arachniphobe...not really scared, but not comfortable either. It seems thats how a lot of hobbyist get started.

After all the research I have settled on getting a G. Pulchra sub-adult to get use to a big spider but also have a more docile slow species and a B. Smithi sling to get use to raising T's. Just from the research I know I will be a lifelong hobbyist and eventually get to OW ownership (A long time from now, lol). Going with these two...but worried about speed in the future as both are relatively slow. Do not plan on handling them except for transfers and cleaning. My newbie question is do any experienced T handlers have a suggested regimen of promoting from beginner to intermediate to advanced?

 

[Ungoliant]

My newbie question is do any experienced T handlers have a suggested regimen of promoting from beginner to intermediate to advanced?

Most experienced keepers here do not recommend handling.

Unlike other pets, tarantulas do not enjoy being handled. At best, they may tolerate being handled. However, their temperament can change over time, and being wild animals, their behavior can be unpredictable.

Most of us recommend not handling due to the potential for injury to your tarantula. A tarantula -- especially a bulky terrestrial species -- can die from a ruptured abdomen if it falls even a short distance, particularly onto a hard surface. Moreover, if your tarantula bit you, you might reflexively fling it to its death.

If you decide to handle anyway, it is best to limit the frequency of handling and never to do so more than a few inches above a soft surface.

If you have any other questions, feel free to start a new thread on Tarantula Questions & Discussions or Tarantula Chat.

 

[PeteParker240]

Most experienced keepers here do not recommend handling.

Unlike other pets, tarantulas do not enjoy being handled. At best, they may tolerate being handled. However, their temperament can change over time, and being wild animals, their behavior can be unpredictable.

Most of us recommend not handling due to the potential for injury to your tarantula. A tarantula -- especially a bulky terrestrial species -- can die from a ruptured abdomen if it falls even a short distance, particularly onto a hard surface. Moreover, if your tarantula bit you, you might reflexively fling it to its death.

If you decide to handle anyway, it is best to limit the frequency of handling and never to do so more than a few inches above a soft surface.

If you have any other questions, feel free to start a new thread on Tarantula Questions & Discussions or Tarantula Chat.

Thank you much for the response. I did not want to get into handing but figured at some point it would be inevitable...so may as well get comfortable with it in case of emergency. Catch 22...dont want to handle but want to be good at the same time, lol. If I can collect, learn, and sometimes breed without ever having a T in my hand that would be ideal...I want to be comfortable with the T's but respect their ability to deal damage as well.