Tarantula owners? Pic links! (Don't be scared!)

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Turbo Audi · #1 Post by **Turbo Audi** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:42 pm

Odd topic I know!! I just picked up my first T. last week. It is a Chilean Rose (Grammastola rosea). It is a very docile species, thus easy to handle and care for. My entire life I was petrified at the smallest spider, now I am 26. My friend has the same species I have. I first saw it over a year ago and have been somewhat interested ever since. I am very happy! Not at all scared of my lil guy! His name is The Shadow (After the 1930s-40s radio show/comic book). I have no very good pics yet, but here a few of what I have so far. enjoy!

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b284/ ... conlog.jpg
On his log!

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b284/ ... CT0060.jpg
He spent 24 hours straight in this log this weekend.

christopher_wolf · #2 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:46 pm

Awesome.

I haven't had a Tarantula as a pet, but I have had some pretty exotic ones, including cellular slime molds (great pets).

What do you plan on feeding Shadow?

Turbo Audi · #3 Post by **Turbo Audi** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:59 pm

Hey thanks for the interest! I feed him crickets from the pet store. At about $.09 a piece, it is not only what he is supposed to eat, but is easy on my college budget! I have been reading much on feeding of the species (each differs for the most part), and about 2-4 crickets a week is more than enough. However, they can go weeks without eating.

dsigma6 · #4 Post by **dsigma6** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 4:18 pm

2-4 crickets a week?? [censored], I need to ditch my (girlfriends) guinea pig. He requires more attention than she does..

JHEM · #5 Post by **JHEM** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 4:44 pm

dsigma6 wrote:[censored], I need to ditch my (girlfriends) guinea pig.

Trade him in for a couple of Gerbils.

There's more white meat on them!

James

dsigma6 · #6 Post by **dsigma6** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 5:55 pm

I actually wanted gerbils, as I find them to be amusing little buggers...But she didn't realize that they're basically mice until we got to the pe(s)t store.

#7 Post by **rkawakami** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 6:04 pm

dsigma6 wrote:But she didn't realize that they're basically mice until we got to the pe(s)t store.

Don't tell her that guinea pigs are classified as rodents! They're basically huge rats without (much of) a tail.

#8 Post by **AlphaKilo470** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 6:23 pm

After battling a major rat infestation in my attic last year (the outdoor cat population in my neighborhood has decreased in the past few years, my house is under some trees and until new gutters were installed there were some hidden holes and that all essentially spells rodent problem), I can't justify paying even a dime for a rodent unless it's on a rat trap.

JHEM · #9 Post by **JHEM** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 7:01 pm

rkawakami wrote:Don't tell her that guinea pigs are classified as rodents! They're basically huge rats without (much of) a tail.

They're also a major source of protein in portions of South America, as well as being venerated for use in rituals.

James

#10 Post by **Kyocera** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 7:07 pm

This is kind of appropriate for Halloween

What's your buddies name?

christopher_wolf · #11 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 7:49 pm

After dealing with Mice and Rats in the Lab, I am *not* going to advise getting them as pets. The ones I have dealt with have either had strange behavioural patterns or are, simply, crazy.

Turbo Audi · #12 Post by **Turbo Audi** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 10:39 pm

Kyocera wrote:This is kind of appropriate for Halloween What's your buddies name?

Shadow.

NS · #13 Post by NS » Wed Nov 01, 2006 6:09 am

Is that spider poisonous?

Nice pics you have there, buddy...

#14 Post by **BillMorrow** » Thu Nov 02, 2006 12:09 am

when i was in high school, i camped out one night on mt. hamilton with some amateur astronomer friends..

i went to sleep sometime after midnight and in the morning i had company in my sleeping bag..

a basic brown tarantula (local species)..

i took him home to san francisco and put him in an aquarium with a piece of glass covering the top..
and a cigarbox full of heavy nuts and bolts..

two points:
1. when my mother saw him for the first time, my room suddenly was my PRIVATE space..

2. i came in one day and found him picking up the top glass, box of bolts and all, by hooking his fangs over the aquarium edge and lifting with at least two of his legs..

not wanting a repeat of my night on bald ... .. uhmm, mount hamilton, i gave him to the junior museum in SF..

so much for big spiders..

Thinkpaddict · #15 Post by **Thinkpaddict** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 12:22 am

Cool tarantulas! My wife has arachnophobia, and she just left the room.

Turbo Audi · #16 Post by **Turbo Audi** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 11:57 pm

NS wrote:Is that spider poisonous?

Nice pics you have there, buddy...

NS, all tarantulas have a certain amount of poison. However, it is said that no tarantula of any species has ever killed a human. True spiders are what can kill humans (black widow and the like). Tarantula venom is potent enough to kill small prey; mice, lizards, crickets etc.
Symptoms of tarantula bites can include: Rapid heart beat, slow heart beat, local pain, dizziness/nausea/fever etc. depending on the species. Some hurt more than others.

#17 Post by **KristianJ** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 7:09 am

My girlfriend's sister and her husband own a couple of Queensland bird eating spiders (which are part of the tarantula family, hence applicable to this thread

) Nice looking things - a few weeks ago I was totally entranced by one of them and how she walked on her 8 legs.

Pics from her Xanga blog:

http://photo.xanga.com/asleep_in_the_cl ... photo.html
http://photo.xanga.com/asleep_in_the_cl ... photo.html

The first one's name is Sasha...can't recall the name of the second one.

Turbo Audi · #18 Post by **Turbo Audi** » Sun Dec 24, 2006 11:50 pm

Guess I'll keep this going, just picked up another the other night. Its a Psalmopoeus irminia (Venezuelan Sun Tiger). It is very fast and very aggressive at only 3". Nice orange "swooshes" on its legs. The body is black, but a deep green when the flash goes off. Very pretty spider.

Temetka · #19 Post by **Temetka** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 4:14 pm

I'd love to get a tarantula. They are really cool. However I do believe my wife would harm the little guy while I was off at work. So I will sit here and wait for more people to post pics, as it seems that is the closest I will ever come to owning one.

They are really cool. I'd either want a tarantula or a chameleon. Both are very intriguing to me.

Turbo Audi · #20 Post by **Turbo Audi** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 12:50 am

Temetka wrote:I'd love to get a tarantula. They are really cool. However I do believe my wife would harm the little guy while I was off at work. So I will sit here and wait for more people to post pics, as it seems that is the closest I will ever come to owning one.

They are really cool. I'd either want a tarantula or a chameleon. Both are very intriguing to me.

Yes, they are very cool. All you basically have to do is feed it a cricket or two a week, which are $0.08 a piece at any pet store. Cheaper than a dog! Check out Arachnoboards, its the best.

www.Arachnoboards.com

Turbo Audi · #21 Post by **Turbo Audi** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 9:43 am

Bumping my old thread due to discussion in this recent thread:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=44651

underclocker, Bill, ryengineer,

...Oh yes, many species. By my count there are 60 Genus of theraphosid spider, with many species. I have:

P. irminia: Lightning fast, from the Venezuelan rain forest. Turns green in light, black the rest of the time with orange stripes. Aggressive little freek. I don't even like going near it.

B/ auratam: Calm lil Mexican guy. Called a flame knee. Fantastic, very handleable.

G. rosea: Basic calm Chiliean feller. 5"+

If anyone wants pic links let me know.

Purcy · #22 Post by **Purcy** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 9:54 am

Pete these are great, congratulations on your new pets. So do you keep the two segregated, as your say the sun Tiger is aggressive?

I'm a snake lover myself, spiders give the me creeps. Probably due to working those years in pest control and dealing with people bitten by Brown Recluses.

Turbo Audi · #23 Post by **Turbo Audi** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 10:15 am

Hey Purcy your still around! Yes must keep them separated, spiders in their sub adult/adult life are cannibalistic by nature.

Purcy · #24 Post by **Purcy** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 10:32 am

Oh yes, I'm still hanging around, never left

I didn't know the male spiders were cannibalistic, I thought only the females. Very interesting. Hope you have a nice strong lid on those tanks

#25 Post by **ryengineer** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 2:30 pm

The most extreme (imho) pets I have owned of such nature were ladybugs in my early teens. I think most insects are cannibalistic as I had once put two ladybugs in a jar just to find out one of them dead and the other big, fat and more red the following day.

I like Xenesthis immanis that Pete told me about.

Tholek · #26 Post by **Tholek** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 5:10 pm

Aren't there some vegetarian tarantulas that exist? Are they available as pets? I'd hate feeding live animals to other live animals.

Turbo Audi · #27 Post by **Turbo Audi** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 5:33 pm

Tholek wrote:Aren't there some vegetarian tarantulas that exist? Are they available as pets? I'd hate feeding live animals to other live animals.

Oh no....no such thing! They eat mice too, its great to watch. Gross, but great.

Tholek · #28 Post by **Tholek** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 6:08 am

Turbo Audi wrote:
Tholek wrote:Aren't there some vegetarian tarantulas that exist? Are they available as pets? I'd hate feeding live animals to other live animals.
Oh no....no such thing! They eat mice too, its great to watch. Gross, but great.

Ugh.

I could've swore there was some species that ate fruit, and only killed their mates (like all females are supposed to do).

Purcy · #29 Post by **Purcy** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 7:28 am

Tholek wrote:
I could've swore there was some species that ate fruit, and only killed their mates (like all females are supposed to do).

Is that why there is such an over-abundance of women to men in this country, much to the disdain of the female dating population??

Just for the record, there are no dead bodies lying in my wake.

Tarantula owners? Pic links! (Don't be scared!)

Tarantula owners? Pic links! (Don't be scared!)

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