New Tarantula Owner/Pink Zebra Beauty

[LeadGuitarist]

Hi Everyone,

I am a new Tarantula owner of a female Pink Zebra Beauty that I bought about a week ago.

I have named her twinkletoes. After I saw how fast see can chase crickets, that name seemed quit fitting. She is about 3.5"

I have her housed in a large plastic spider container with the trap door in the top center. I have fed her 5 crickets a few days ago which she nailed very quickly.

I need to now clean up the remains, but I am not yet real comfortable with taking the top of her home because she is a climber.

I saw that other people had indicated that these use long tweezers to clean their spider's home. I was wondering where you purchase these.

Also, I was curious about how I would work on trying to let her come near my hand without getting bitten.

Last, I would like to her what types of water containers would be recommended for a spiders of this size as well as an tips that Pink Zebra Beauty owners might have.

Thanks,
-John-

 

[SpiderTwin]

You should be able to get the cricket remains out during the day time, your PZB should be fairly inactive. She also won't move too fast, but they do move faster when they know food is present.

Long tweezers are good to have for many things when taking care of tarantulas. Check you local pet store, they may have them.

If you do stick your hand in the container, let the T know you are there first by touching it's hind end with something like a paint brush first. You shouldn't have to worry about a PZB biting.

For water, get a shallow dish, the ones I use are about 1" deep and 2.5-3" around. But do this for a larger T only, if it is a spiderling, don't use a water dish just yet.

My only other question is, do you have a place for the T to hide, they need somewhere they can go and feel safe, if they dosen't it can stress them out.

Hope this helps.

 

[chuck]

i use the tops of peanut butter jars. good ol' skippy honey roasted peanut butter.

a lot of the suppliers sell the 12" long tweezers, but theyll charge you for the shipping. many pet shops have the 6" tweezers which are small and daunting when having to clean an agressive T's cage. maybe you could put tape on the end of a pencil and try to collect the remains that way.

i never handle my Ts, even the most docile. but if you wanted to, place your palm on the substrate and gently guide the T to your hand. never give it a chance to fall and die. dont panick if it runs up your arm and down your shirt.

my red knee also brushes her ab with her back legs but theres no bald spot, maybe she has smaller hairs that i cant see. but then again, im sure my allergies would have acted up if she caught me with the hairs.

 

[LeadGuitarist]

Thanks Everyone For The Quick Replies,

I will go and get some long tweezers to remove the food remains.

I would appreciate some suggestions regarding a good hiding object to put in the PZB's home.

I cut up an athletic type of water bottle (halved-it); however, she will not go in it.

Thank you again for your assistance,
-John-

 

[Valael]

Personally, I'd look around in other stores before going to a petstore to buy tweasers. Check pharmacies or something first. If you buy them in a department store, they'll be cheap. If you go to a petstore and get them, they'll cost you anywhere from $15 to $25.



Personally, I'd just buy a small pair for now. Even with the more defensive species, you really don't have to worry much unless it's a deep arboreal enclosure. Atleast that's my experience.



And you don't have to worry about your Pink Zebra Beauty. Mine are only slings, but from everything I've heard, they're one of the most docile tarantulas around.

 

[stu]

I use cork bark for hides for my T's. You could also use a small plant pot half buried in the substrate.

I guess anything like that would do as long as it isnt clear.

welcome to the boards

Stu

 

[chuck]

i use 2" diameter PVC pipes. i burry them in the dirt with one end sticking out of the dirt and the other pressed up against the wall so i can always look in. if you dont want to bother her that much by removing her just to add the pipe, you can always use the halved flower pot method, push it into the dirt so a little space is opened for her to get in and dig. some Ts like being out in the open. or maybe shes just getting used to the new home.

 

[LPacker79]

I got my tweezers off Ebay. A set of 3 (6", 10", and 12") for $12.00.

 

[Bry]

What I use for my 2 1/4" G. pulchra is a lid off of a Snapple bottle. Not too big or deep for that size. For my 4" B. albopilosum, I use the lid from a spaghetti sauce jar. As for hides, I use clay pots buried halfway in the substrate. Not very naturalistic-looking, but they work just fine. Both Ts have dug all the substrate out of the pots for more privacy.

Bry

 

[Kristen]

We got a pair of fishing tongs (not sure what they're really called) at Walmart in the sporting section for $8. They're about 6". You can order larger tweezers or forceps through a medical supply store, some can get costly though! Good luck with your new T.

Kristen

 

[LeadGuitarist]

Thanks everyone for all of your replies and assistance. You people are the best.

My T and I thank you all.
-John-

 

[Shiloah Matheny]

Pink Zebra

In order for you to clean out the remains of food, you will have to eventually put your hand in the cage with her. You will have to establish a trust with her. Have you tried to pick her up yet? The best way to do that is to coax her over to the side of the cage and then walk her up the wall of it and onto your hand. After that, it's all down hill from there. You will get used to feeling her and she will get used to being handled. I currently have a full grown female and that is the way it has worked for us. I also have 14 other tarantulas that I handle the same way and it seems to work.
For her water dish, the best thing to use is a small bowl with a sponge in it soaked with the water. Make sure to check on it every other day for cricket parts and cleaning. If you don't, it could grow mold and then you would have to throw the sponge away and replace it. It is a good idea to replace the sponge every few months anyway. If you have any other questions, feel free to write me.

Shiloah

 

[Aschamne]

Petco sell 12" bamboo tweezers for $2.99

 

[LimaMikeSquared]

Don't use a sponge in the water bowl they can harbour bacteria. If the bowl is alittle big I put some small clean stones in to make it a bit shallower. If the T is very small don't use one to begin with, just mist the sides of the tank with a water sprayer periodically. The T will also get water from the food it eats. My pink zebra beauty would not bite, but was prone to spooking and would zoom off on occasions, so if you take the lid off the tank or hold her just make sure it won't fall and injure its self, so sit on the floor or put the tank down somewhere safe.

 

[Thoth]

Out of curiosity do you guys know you posted to a 4 year old thread.

 

[sweetmisery]

Lmao!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[LimaMikeSquared]

LOL. I didn't even look at the original date, I wonder which page Shiloah dug it up from.

 

[Aunt Ant]

For some reason..
the date's the first thing I check :?
That's just me

 

[Paulie B]

You need not worry about a bite from your Pink Beauty either. There are as easy going as a Sunday morning. Lovely T indeed, very docile.

 

[Zoltan]

We should do a contest on who digs up the oldest thread in the forum.