BABIES

[Sparky]

Well...baby tarantulas. Don't click if you don't like spidey pics.

Went to the reptile show in Sacramento today; that's where I got my first tarantula, a Tucson Blond, last year. I got my second t a few weeks back, an unidentified-but-probably-hentzi Aphonopelma. Finally ready to get some more spideys, I decided to get some babies. So I got:

Antilles Pinktoe

He's super-teeny!

Brazilian Red and White

Lol, I didn't even realise this was a birdeater until I got online and looked up the scientific name...oh well big spiders are awesome.

I'm going to be setting up a "Tarantula Table" soon so I can get all these little guys organised. Oh and, dealing with teensy crickets is annoying. -_-

[jekylljuice]

Lovely collection you have there, Sparky.

Forgive the largely spider-ignorant jj, but does the antilles pinktoe, as his name suggests, actually have pink feet? Sounds very stylish if so.

[Nyo]

Aww, cute! Raise 'em well!

[pitbulllady]

Good luck with those little 'slings(for those of you who aren't into arachnids, a "'sling" is short for "spiderling"), especially that Avicularia versicolor, since they can be fragile little things! They are beautiful, though; they always remind me of little sapphires, with that electric blue coloration. As adults they will be absolutely stunning, even though they look totally different. I'm still wanting to get an Acanthascuria geniculata myself, though I'd rather get a larger one, since I can't get the small crickets here and have to breed fruit flies to feed the little spideys. I could still kick myself for passing up a five-inch female several years ago, that was for sale by the same guy I bought my Grammostola pulchra female from. I HAD a Nhandu chromatus, but mine turned out to be a male, which matured soon after I bought him, and of course, he didn't last too long after that. He had a nasty disposition, though, very quick to throw a threat display, so he was a "look but don't touch" spider.

There is a reptile show coming up nearby in Columbia the first weekend of November, and I can hardly wait for that one. Trouble is, there isn't always a good selection of arachnids at these shows, and you don't ever know who'll be there until you get there.

And yes, Jekylljuice, most of the Avicularia genus of tarantulas, known as "Pink Toes" in the pet trade, DO have pink or salmon-colored footsies, though the Antilles actually is one that doesn't. Some taxonomists now are debating whether it should even be classed with that genus, and recommend placing it in another, since this species also has a feature not found in other Avicularias-a shiny, highly-reflective patch of hair on the abdomen called a "mirror patch".

pitbulllady

[Sparky]

I actually got this shot of the avic later last night: Clicky

I thought it was cool.

I spent today reorganising the spider area, now they have their own table, covered with a spiderweb tablecloth lol. I collect spider-themed Halloween decor every year.

[Pawbah]

Your babies are adorable Sparky. I want to make them little shirts that say "we love our mommy"... Little shirts with 8 arm holes....

[Bloonan]

Cute, creepy, and cool! Me likes the taranchillas! I'm actually afraid of spiders, but I find those cool!

[Carlaz]

Originally Posted by Sparky

Aw! That's awesome, lol.

How are your baby spideys doing? Do your spiders live in separate quarters or can they live as a community?

Originally Posted by pitbulllady

Tarantulas really are great pets, and are very easy to care for(most of 'em, anyway). While they aren't affectionate like a dog or cat(and some folks will argue that those don't show affection, either, but either submission or food-begging), they DO have distinct personalities and some interesting and often-funny behavior. It's neat to see them do things that we do normally associate with "higher" animals, like washing themselves or carrying around an empty water dish as if to provide you with a strong hint, hint!

pitbulllady

This is most interesting! I'm not afraid of spiders (but snakes I'm like Indianna Jones here!). I didn't know they would show these characteristics. Thank you for your reply. My 8 yo really needs a pet tarantula now after I read this to her.

[pitbulllady]

Originally Posted by Carlaz

How are your baby spideys doing? Do your spiders live in separate quarters or can they live as a community?

This is most interesting! I'm not afraid of spiders (but snakes I'm like Indianna Jones here!). I didn't know they would show these characteristics. Thank you for your reply. My 8 yo really needs a pet tarantula now after I read this to her.

I can answer that first one: most spiders, regardless of size, do not "play well with others", to put it mildly. They are highly cannibalistic(or is that "cannonballistic", as according to Eduardo?)by nature, and bigger ones will almost always eat smaller ones, even of the same species. Only a few species of spider are communal, and even among those, they recognize members of their colony and will attack outsiders that intrude, like wolves in a pack will kill wolves from another pack. A few species of tarantula will tolerate same-size members of their own species, as long as everyone is well-fed, but once somebody gets hungry, any of their living companions will be fair game! For this reason, tarantulas and other spiders are best kept separately, each with his/her own enclosure.

pitbulllady

[Sparky]

Originally Posted by Carlaz

How are your baby spideys doing? Do your spiders live in separate quarters or can they live as a community?

Like pbl said, the simple answer is no. Don't ever house them together. I don't even know how filmmakers shot scenes like that one in Something Wicked This Way Comes where a slew of tarantulas swarm all over the one kid's bedroom - there must have been a lot of "spidercide" on the set...

The babies are good so far. The chromatus is one fat little toddler, I could probably stand to feed him a little less. He drinks like a sponge; he was more likely than not deprived of water for a good while prior to the reptile show, though his abdomen wasn't shriveled. He's too young to tell his gender just yet, he needs to get a bit bigger. But I can't wait to know. The teeny one has webbed up his vial like mad and seems good. I did find out after I got him that the species has demanding humidity and temp needs, like my snake, which worried me because it is VERY dry here. I hope he does okay.

Originally Posted by Carlaz

My 8 yo really needs a pet tarantula now after I read this to her.

Just be sure to do your homework! Arachnoboards is a good place to start, and if you get a common G. rosea ("rosie") there's a whole section just on taking care of them properly, as they are the common pet store tarantulas that are so often sold by pet stores who don't know anything about t's to customers who don't know anything about t's. Anyways, you can find pbl there (as pitbulllady) and me too (NeitherSparky).