Mike's Basic Tarantula

[Mariner1]

Hello fellow spider lovers,

I was looking for info on growth rates and went to this website, www.mikesbasictarantula.com and started reading. I was glad to see all this info. in one place for those of us who re still learning about Ts. There are a couple of things that caught my curiosity about this site. First, who is this Mike person? I clicked on the "about me" button and it said it was a work in progress:: The next thing I was hoping one of the readers could answer. On the care sheet page for A. geniculata, he stated that he feeds his T ten(10) adult crikets weekly. Is that right? I just thought that is a lot, even for a species known to be a vacuum cleaner. Personally, I like this website a lot, It was one of the few sites I knew about that had detailed info on the species I was planning on buying when I got tired of catching them. Native south Texas species that is, normally A.anax and A. hentzi.

 

[wil123]

I rilly dont know what to think of this guy look at what he says are a mature male and female you can see its flipped flopped along with other inconsistentes

 

[Beary Strange]

You know, I've come across this site quite a lot Googling info on unfamiliar species or double-checking myself. I tend to click away due to the appearance of the site; the few times I've scrolled down I see he recommends specific temps and humidity and then I really click away. I've never actually seen the main-facing site before...and now I'm a bit skeeved out so that's fun.
Looking through his care sheets more in depth he does seem to really overfeed his tarantulas. I can feed my A.versicolor adults A dubia and they're done for weeks. Two adult dubia a week is crazy. There's a lot of sites and videos out there but honestly, the best place to get info is here. I check these places out too, but I take everything they say with a grain of salt, especially if it flies in the face of the know-how found on here.

 

[MadMauC]

I have visited his site- I don't trust anyone that doesn't make an effort to write a specific report - there's a lot of copy and paste - I know most T's are kept at the same conditions - but I don't like "fast food" advice.


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[just1moreT]

He is a member of arachnoboards john 3:16 as for his care sheets well everybody has there way and it does say just basic

 

[dredrickt]

I used that site for pictures and what not, and getting a general idea for full grown sizes. But I always try to pull information from multiple sources to get a better idea of what works and what problems can arise with certain species.

 

[Poec54]

On the care sheet page for A. geniculata, he stated that he feeds his T ten(10) adult crikets weekly. Is that right? I just thought that is a lot, even for a species known to be a vacuum cleaner.

Rate of growth varies with the amount of food and temps, so it varies a lot throughout the hobby. Mike and I are in southern Florida, which has LONG, hot summers. The warmer you keep them, the higher their metabolism, the more they'll eat, and the more often they shed. Most of mine are 90 degrees daytime for 6 months; they're always hungry. Those kept at 70 degrees aren't going to eat as much or grow as fast. I bet I go thru a lot more crickets than someone who keeps their collection cool, and my spiders aren't fat. How much a T eats also depends on where it is in it's molt cycle. Recently-shed Genics, and other big NW tropical terrestrials can easily polish off 10 adult crickets, but as the spider puts on weight, it'll slow down.

Mike has some beautiful, healthy spiders and has posted excellent pics here. He knows what he's doing.

 

[tarantulagirl10]

He has some beautiful ts. I would trust his care sheets. He's done a great job on that site. I would not hesitate to refer people there for info.

 

[succinct]

I will say this. There is 1001 wrong ways to keep a tarantula and there is a 1001 right ways to keep a tarantula. I have been around this hobby to remember 10 gallon aquariums and soaking wet vermiculite for every cage. I remember when TKG changed the idea of larger is better. God I am old.

Bottomline.

"Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

- Mary Schmich, “Wear Sunscreen”

 

[telepatella]

He is a member of arachnoboards john 3:16 as for his care sheets well everybody has there way and it does say just basic

I love this site. I write him every once in a while and I always enjoy our correspondences. He's had a a lot T's for a long time. I think his site is a sound source of information, not to mention the sheer amount of work he put into it - for our enjoyment. I wish he still posted on here, I think he's a nice guy.

 

[just1moreT]

Me to always had pleasant buys and chats with him , he sends the last 2 molt records on slings even lol. that is detacation to the hobby


QUOTE=telepatella;2293294]I love this site. I write him every once in a while and I always enjoy our correspondences. He's had a a lot T's for a long time. I think his site is a sound source of information, not to mention the sheer amount of work he put into it - for our enjoyment. I wish he still posted on here, I think he's a nice guy.[/QUOTE]

 

[dredrickt]

Does he still update that website? The last time I was on it, he had quite a few of his T's up for sale. Not sure if he was just winding down, making room, or preparing to leave the hobby...

 

[just1moreT]

I believe I read where he was at stage in the hobby he wanted to do more with the OW terrestrials sp than NW sp pretty much all for sell is NW on his sight few poecs to though

 

[telepatella]

Does he still update that website? The last time I was on it, he had quite a few of his T's up for sale. Not sure if he was just winding down, making room, or preparing to leave the hobby...

Yes, he's going in for African T's now. He won't report on a species until he's had it for 5 years, so we'll have to wait

 

[dredrickt]

Yes, he's going in for African T's now. He won't report on a species until he's had it for 5 years, so we'll have to wait

Yeah I heard he wanted to focus on African species, but I did not know he waited 5 years before offering a report on them. Wow, you have to respect his dedication to accurate information.

 

[TLover007]

I remember from the begining when I had my first T that I read his care sheets and I never had a T die from incorrect Temp or humidity... okay but im really crazy about temps... I constantly check my temps when its winter here... but anyways like I said, i enjoy his care sheets...