My First T Purchased!

[Andrea82]

They are up there in price, but they look so nice though. I don't know if this will be my only T (if not I don't plan to have more than 2 or 3 Ts) if this ends up being my only T, I would like a very nice display cage and I have not seen any better than hers.

2 or 3??!! suuuuuure
Read this post in like, six months from now, and you'll be laughing as hard as i am.
T-keeping isn't a hobby, it's an addiction

 

[Jeff23]

Congrats on your first T! I bought a E. Sp. Red a little while back from net-bug as well. This T is very docile and will definitely help you conquer any fears you might have of spiders.

If you plan to keep it in a vial that will work fine, but I recommend that you also eventually get yourself a larger condiment cup (4-6 oz) eventually just in case you ever need to travel and must leave the T alone for a couple days. You can get these small deli cups for free (or with food in it) at some restaurants or grocery stores. The larger cup makes it harder to enjoy seeing your T as a sling, but it works much better for controlling the moisture (allows use of a water bowl).

 

[cold blood]

They are up there in price, but they look so nice though. I don't know if this will be my only T (if not I don't plan to have more than 2 or 3 Ts) if this ends up being my only T, I would like a very nice display cage and I have not seen any better than hers.

Her adult enclosures are great...not so much the sling/juvie cages....deli cups are FAR superior to those expensive little things.

 

[louise f]

what's funny is as I was going down the list of post and came across the huge photo of your T, I jumped! lol.. still working on that fear of mine... but it's beautiful.

Hey there, first of all welcome to the hobby and this lovely forum. I really hope you will like it here.
Always a lot of help and nice people here to share their knowledge and help out the best way <3

And for second that fear you have you`ll soon get over that. I can only agree with @viper69 The Euathlus sp red is a real treat to own. They are IMO the best beginner species.
I promise you if you get one of those that fear of yours will vanish like a hand full of sand through your hands just like that.

I have been arachnophobic of the worst kind. LOL. At the beginning i used to use duct tape at nights because i was affraid they would get out to bite the crap out of me, but hey i got to know really fast that it was just my crazy head playing tricks on me And look at me now i got a living room full of spiders. I never regret that Ever!!

They are fantastic in every way and give you something no other animal can. Peace and quiet And a lot of other things. It is relaxing to sit and watch them eat or doing other crazy things that T`s does.

 

[Venom1080]

Her adult enclosures are great...not so much the sling/juvie cages....deli cups are FAR superior to those expensive little things.

if i want a nice acrylic display cage, i bet i could make my own for half the price.

 

[Venom1080]

I don't know if this will be my only T .

it wont be.
"better buy some shelves"-Eulersk

 

[babyjtwizt]

2 or 3??!! suuuuuure
Read this post in like, six months from now, and you'll be laughing as hard as i am.
T-keeping isn't a hobby, it's an addiction

Lol, i dont know... i doubt my husband would enjoy me having more than 3 tops. Honestly, i really dont want to have to deal with too many, especially if I have to start a whole colony of feeders to keep up with alot of Ts. That doesnt sound fun. My T should be here tomorrow and i have my paint brushes, my tongs, flightless flies that the petstore gave me for free... cuz half of em were dead i think lol... and i am just waiting for my T. Me and my husband decided to name it Blaze.

 

[babyjtwizt]

Her adult enclosures are great...not so much the sling/juvie cages....deli cups are FAR superior to those expensive little things.

What didnt you like about the sling cages? Too big or not secure enough? Im curious, because i still planned to buy one once my sling got a bit bigger

 

[babyjtwizt]

When you all got your slings (if you have had one)... did you keep them in the vial? Why or why not?

 

[babyjtwizt]

Hey there, first of all welcome to the hobby and this lovely forum. I really hope you will like it here.
Always a lot of help and nice people here to share their knowledge and help out the best way <3

And for second that fear you have you`ll soon get over that. I can only agree with @viper69 The Euathlus sp red is a real treat to own. They are IMO the best beginner species.
I promise you if you get one of those that fear of yours will vanish like a hand full of sand through your hands just like that.

I have been arachnophobic of the worst kind. LOL. At the beginning i used to use duct tape at nights because i was affraid they would get out to bite the crap out of me, but hey i got to know really fast that it was just my crazy head playing tricks on me And look at me now i got a living room full of spiders. I never regret that Ever!!

They are fantastic in every way and give you something no other animal can. Peace and quiet And a lot of other things. It is relaxing to sit and watch them eat or doing other crazy things that T`s does.

I am def ready to grow with my sling. I am watching tons of videos tryibg to figure out how to mist it with freaking it out or it escaping

 

[WeightedAbyss75]

When you all got your slings (if you have had one)... did you keep them in the vial? Why or why not?

I am def ready to grow with my sling. I am watching tons of videos tryibg to figure out how to mist it with freaking it out or it escaping

Personally, I never had any T below .75", but I never keep mine in pill bottles. I like very smell deli cups (gives them a little growing room). As for misting, don't mist unless there is no dish. For humidity, just pour some room temp water on half the sub. It freaks them out less

 

[babyjtwizt]

Personally, I never had any T below .75", but I never keep mine in pill bottles. I like very smell deli cups (gives them a little growing room). As for misting, don't mist unless there is no dish. For humidity, just pour some room temp water on half the sub. It freaks them out less

So in a small deli cup.. what do you use for a water dish? I have mainly seen bottle caps or bigger... but bottle caps seem way too big

 

[Venom1080]

So in a small deli cup.. what do you use for a water dish? I have mainly seen bottle caps or bigger... but bottle caps seem way too big

they cant drown. water bottle caps are fine.

 

[Brand fhp]

My first T was the G. Rosea and I love her to death I'm glad I got her as my first, congrats on the new T though!

 

[Vanessa]

I purchased two .25" spiderlings back in April and they are moulting every month like clockwork. They are now at about .5". Painfully slow growing... they are living in the same vials they came to me in. I trickle water down the sides for them. They seem to be doing very well with almost no maintenance.
If any species will help you get over your fear of spiders - it's this one. They are curious and very endearing. Bold, but in a curious way. The only con to them is the slow growth, but it does mean that you are going to have them for a long time.
This is a recent photo of one of my two...

 

[babyjtwizt]

I purchased two .25" spiderlings back in April and they are moulting every month like clockwork. They are now at about .5". Painfully slow growing... they are living in the same vials they came to me in. I trickle water down the sides for them. They seem to be doing very well with almost no maintenance.
If any species will help you get over your fear of spiders - it's this one. They are curious and very endearing. Bold, but in a curious way. The only con to them is the slow growth, but it does mean that you are going to have them for a long time.
This is a recent photo of one of my two...
View attachment 221775

NIIICE!!! Looks like its almost ready for a rehouse

 

[WeightedAbyss75]

they cant drown. water bottle caps are fine.

It's like Venom says, either they are so small and light they can float on the surface like a waterbug or big enough to get out of it. Just make sure it isn't a swimming pool (most of the time...)

 

[Trenor]

Here is a 4oz deli cup like @cold blood mentioned that I set up for a 1/4 inch M.balfouri sling. It's about half full of substrate. Originally, it used the leaf for a hide until it started burrowing and then later used it as part of the burrow. I used a cap off a small spray bottle trimmed down for the water dish (it's about 1/2 the size of a dime). I placed tiny air holes around the sides with a few (2 or 3) in the lid. Once it gets larger I'll be moving it to a 16oz deli and setting it back up the same way. Good luck.

 

[Screamingreenmachine]

You picked an awesome first T! I recently picked a .5inch E. Sp. Red up in an order of 5 slings (I just started this hobby with 2 sligns back in August and now I'm sitting with 7 after telling myself I wouldn't get more than 2), and I actually put it in a 16oz Ziploc container right from the beginning (as well as all of the others, which range from .5 to 1 inch) and it has dug an incredible amount, creating an awesome tunnel system in only 2 weeks! Even with the elaborate tunnels, I see it several times a day just chilling outside the entrance. Now as far as a water dish goes, if you think the bottle caps might be too big, you could always use the lid of the vile the T comes in (if you aren't using the vile as the home)! It might mean having to fill it up a bit more often but it's small. Anyways, awesome T! I love mine, and it has not refused a good old cricket drumstick yet

Now if only it'll grow a bit quicker

 

[cold blood]

For the size t you are getting, a vial or condiment cup are your best options. Ventilation can be tricky in vials and just a touch too much moisture can be an issue, I firmly believe that the condiment cup is more user friendly and much better for beginners to get things right with. As for the water dish, I don't add one until the enclosure is large enough to accommodate one...this can be a larger condiment cup or a deli cup. At your size a little damp moss will suffice. By about 3/4", maybe a little less you can upgrade to a little bigger cup and add a water dish. Trenor has a nice example of what you can do with a small enclosure with a little effort if you want to add a water dish straight away.

I don't like the ventilation on the sling enclosures at jamies...I detest mesh ventilation...it allows for too much air, tarsal claws can get stuck in them and a determined t can actually get through them with enough effort. A deli cup is also easier to open and close without disruption. A 16 or 32 oz deli cup is a better enclosure in every way IMO.

As for a colony of feeders, that's NEVER a necessity, people do that because its easy and they want to. There are people here like @Poec54 with massive collections that do not have feeder colonies. In fact, unless you have like over 50, its not even a little bit worth it...but many people end up actually enjoying their roach colonies as weird as that might sound...they're interesting little critters.

I will say though, that just going to the store for one single t, is literally no different than going to buy feeders for 5-10. Either way you're probably bringing home a dozen crickets, with a few more ts you just have less noisy crickets in the house for a few days. Or you could feed mealworms, which $2 worth would feed 10 ts for a month.