New to tarantulas

Brownie82

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 13, 2016
Messages
5
Im.new to tarantulas. I have a brachypelma emilia and it's very small but growing. It just had it first molt on the 9th of Sept. I know to wait at least 3 days if not longer because it's fangs need to harden. I bought some dubia nymphs for food and u put 1 inside. I want to start my own dubia colony because out here in California there are not alot of sources for good feeders in the area I live. Let me know why u think
I've done ton of research on everything.
 

Kodi

Title Master
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 27, 2012
Messages
315
Im.new to tarantulas. I have a brachypelma emilia and it's very small but growing. It just had it first molt on the 9th of Sept. I know to wait at least 3 days if not longer because it's fangs need to harden. I bought some dubia nymphs for food and u put 1 inside. I want to start my own dubia colony because out here in California there are not alot of sources for good feeders in the area I live. Let me know why u think
I've done ton of research on everything.
Welcome to the hobby and the forum!
Slings take less time to harden than adults so I think you gave him enough time. If he doesn't eat it within 24 hours remove it and try again in a couple days. If you have a pet shop nearby you can just get some pinhead crickets and those will do just fine. Unless you have other animals you could feed with the dubia colony I wouldn't bother starting a whole colony to feed one little spider.

Oh and we love pictures, so feel free to add some of the little guy and his enclosure so we can make suggestions on how to keep him content.
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,851
Im.new to tarantulas. I have a brachypelma emilia and it's very small but growing. It just had it first molt on the 9th of Sept. I know to wait at least 3 days if not longer because it's fangs need to harden. I bought some dubia nymphs for food and u put 1 inside. I want to start my own dubia colony because out here in California there are not alot of sources for good feeders in the area I live. Let me know why u think
I've done ton of research on everything.
For Ts, you feed when the fangs are black. They go from WHITE to RED to BLACK. Anything less than black may cause your T to lose a fang/s and likely die of starvation.

If you own 1 tarantula don't start a roach colony or grow crickets unless you intend upon selling all the insects. One T can't go through that many insects.
 

shawno821

Arachno Pimp
Joined
Dec 31, 2013
Messages
172
Welcome to the hobby! Good choice for a first spider.It's going to grow very slowly,though.Sometimes you can get bored waiting for these little guys to grow.If you find yourself in need of something you can watch get to 4"+ in a year or so,you may go for an L.p. or Salmon Pink Birdeater as they're called.Good second T,there are other fast growers as well,but L.p.'s are cheap and readily available,and can be stunning adults.
 

ratluvr76

Arachnodemon
Active Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2014
Messages
759
Since you are new to the hobby, you may not know what L.p means... Lasiadora parahybana is the scientific name for the Salmon Pink and they really are a great beginner T Like shawno said. That being said, B. emilia is also a great beginner! I echo Kodi's sentiments here too though, we'd all love to see your little one. :) As far as a roach colony goes, I'm not sure it would be worth it for you for one little spider. You could purchase several the size you need and have a few weeks worth of food on hand with just a couple of them. Alternatively, you could try using meal worms to feed him. They are even easier to keep. You could buy like, 50 or a hundred for a little bit of nothing really and you'll have food for months probably. If you don't want them to breed (the meal worms that is) keep them in the warmest part of your refrigerator. Once a week, take them out of the fridge and put a chunk of potato or carrot in then, roughly 24 hours later, take the carrot/potato out and pop them back in the fridge. :)

That being said, if you did decide on a roach colony, you could probably sell the extras you produce to other people in your area if, as you say, there are no good sources for feeder insects in your area. You could be the go to gal.. haha.

dubias are great feeders for fish, lizards, frogs, arachnids, birds, etc etc. ;)

Welcome to the boards, and welcome to the hobby. :)
 

magicmed

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jun 4, 2016
Messages
404
Welcome to the hobby and forum!

I love little man's shirt I'm your avatar! Go niners!
 
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