Noob with 4 new T’s!!! Need advice!!!

[ladyratri]

Wow just sending out random freebies (especially anything hot) is wild. Is that normal in the states??

Seems to be standard practice in the spider realm, that's for sure. A few places have that manual selection model, but if you DON'T select anything, they seem to just send stuff anyways....up to, & including hots...in my case, anyways (I seem to recall someone else here receiving a surprise poecilotheria, too).

I'm also still kind of surprised at how this seems to be normal. Even if not something specifically "hot", sometimes they're just a total misfit choice -- when I made my second-ever spider order of three arboreals (to go with the two arboreals I already had at the time) they sent me a free... V. chromatus ...

My more recent set, at least, the freebie was very well-selected to be similar "level", disposition, care etc as the rest of my order. That made it feel MUCH more like a pleasant surprise, rather than "yikes, I don't have the right housing for any stage of this thing's life and I have no idea how to manage a big flicky beast" lol.

I’m concerned OP would have no idea what to do with an egg sack.

Beyond concerned here...it was nerve-wracking when my MF irminia proved her MF-ness by laying a phantom sac after I got her but before she had molted with me, and I didn't know for certain whether it could be fertile or not. They sold OP one heck of a Schrodinger's spider there...who knows, might open up the box one day and there will be a couple hundred of them.

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

I'm also still kind of surprised at how this seems to be normal. Even if not something specifically "hot", sometimes they're just a total misfit choice -- when I made my second-ever spider order of three arboreals (to go with the two arboreals I already had at the time) they sent me a free... V. chromatus ...

My more recent set, at least, the freebie was very well-selected to be similar "level", disposition, care etc as the rest of my order. That made it feel MUCH more like a pleasant surprise, rather than "yikes, I don't have the right housing for any stage of this thing's life and I have no idea how to manage a big flicky beast" lol.


Beyond concerned here...it was nerve-wracking when my MF irminia proved her MF-ness by laying a phantom sac after I got her but before she had molted with me, and I didn't know for certain whether it could be fertile or not. They sold OP one heck of a Schrodinger's spider there...who knows, might open up the box one day and there will be a couple hundred of them.

I think the surprise freebee idea is just bad all the way around. Last thing I want is a fire drill to make another enclosure that I didn’t know I needed and a T I haven’t researched. Also, I have limited space, so unplanned arrivals wouldn’t be a happy thing unless it just happened to be one already on my list.
I don’t get how someone could sell a paired spider not knowing if the buyer had any idea what to do with that. Was it, “We paired her, she dropped a sac, but just in case she double clutches, you know what’s up!”? You’re going to need a whole lotta condiment cups!

 

[Tentacle Toast]

...Even if not something specifically "hot", sometimes they're just a total misfit choice..

Same here...I've received EXCLUSIVELY terrestrials, despite ordering EXCLUSIVELY arboreals, LoL. Like YouTube trying to expand my musical horizons, but with spiders, & on auto play.. or... something, LoL

...Last thing I want is a fire drill to make another enclosure that I didn’t know I needed...

I had to leave one in the container it was shipped in for almost 30 hours, because I had nothing suitable for it, & a prior obligation.


I'd love to know where he placed his order from. Sending him a ticking time bomb with a potentially paired female is WAYYY worse that sending a hot, in my opinion. Took me real time & effort to re-home what, a dozen prime terrestrials in nice enclosures, that were feeding on readily available crickets,I can't fathom that task with a bunch of little specks in tiny vials feeding on specialty bugs & worm guts.

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

I have only had a T shipped once and even that was just a couple hours ride. I prefer to get mine in person, either at one of my non-chain LPS’ or an expo. The one freebee I’ve gotten was at an expo (thank you, Joe!) where the vendor took the time to ask what I had and offered one I didn’t have that fit with my group. Of course as I was there in person, I could have politely declined. I really think it’s irresponsible to toss random T’s at collectors. They aren’t those little eggs with toys inside you get in a vending machine.

 

[Matt Man]

Crazy buying a potentially gravid Steindachneri, crazier if it was a freebie. Yes, the photos of a T on a lid over a log and skull is making us all cringe "death trap", So as others have said more substrate, That's the problem with tall cages and terrestrials, they typically wind up fall threats.
Your Ts probably aren't eating because they are still adjusting from travel and / or rehousing. The Steindachneri may not be eating because she is gravid and adjusting to that (though it doesn't look so, her opithsoma should be bigger) As for the chalcodes DO NOT OVERFEED
as otherwise it will just wind up going on a long fast.
HTH