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netr

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 18, 2012
Messages
158
I thought I'd start one of these threads, as the recent spike in my collection has resulted in a lot of enthusiastic documentation, and will continue to do so.

I've written most of this elsewhere so pardon the redundancy: a reunion with my Grammostola rosea who had been in my care for nine years stimulated a wider interest in this hobby that I've never felt before. It became a learning experience as I delved into more literature and became aware of the immense value of forums such as these. Trying my best not to get too carried away, I was nevertheless drawn to the world of spiderlings for economic reasons (plus a desire to see some tarantulas grow up). I've managed to accumulate quite a few new species in a short time; seven Cyclosternum fasciatum, fourteen Nhandu chromatus (originally five plus seventeen freebies, of which seven perished en route while one sadly escaped), two N. coloratovillosus, one Psalmopoeus pulcher and one Avicularia huriana. I've just agreed to trade five of the N. chromatus for two B. albopilosum and one P. irminia, and last of all will be purchasing a juvenile Poecilotheria formosa next week. And there I draw the line. That is ENOUGH. No more. I can feel the compulsive interest in new species becoming a troubling rather than fulfilling thing, something skirting the limits of control. Therefore it stops now. And at a highly handsome collection, if I may say so. I take comfort at least in the knowledge that by the time all these transactions are over I will have fewer spiders than currently; furthermore at least one C. fasicatum and N. chromatus are destined to go to a good friend when they are all sexed.

Anyway, enough exposition. On to the first batch of photos. I hope visitors to this thread enjoy the sights! Apologies for the varying sizes. I'll be more disciplined next time.


Shelf Clockwise: A. huriana, P. pulcher, x2 N. coloratovillosus, x 14 N. chromatus (within a larger escape-proof container because unfortunately I made the air holes slightly too big, and lack anything else in which to keep them), x 7 C. fasciatum, and lastly G. rosea in the terrarium



G. rosea. My dear Denise.



C. fasciatum. Perhaps they're really C. pentalore; I don't find it easy to tell at this stage, for the legs are still pretty dull. In any case I think these are among the most beautiful tarantulas, especially as adults. Looking forward to seeing deeper hues on mine.



C. faciatum, making itself at home.



A. huriana.



P. pulcher, during unboxing.



N. chromatus. I posted this and the following picture elsewhere, citing the dark areas as signs of pre-moult. I now know that to have been mistaken in itself. These forums really are a goldmine for a budding enthusiast, and I'm grateful for it.



N. coloratovillosus. The two I have are about two years old, and appear simply to resemble larger generic Nhandu slings at this stage. Very cute though. One of them is a prolific burrower, whom I now call Mole.



N. coloratovillosus, cowering in the tube in which it was posted.





That's about all I have for now. Should anybody wish to see more images of a particular individual I'd be more than happy to take some.

To finish, a brief feeding video featuring four of the N. chromatus spiderlings. Having suspected them to be in pre-moult until yesterday I didn't attempt to feed them, so they've been without food for at least a week and a half. Hence the generous portions they received today.

[YOUTUBE]SVBv8FeWmto[/YOUTUBE]

I intend to make future feeding videos more rewarding a) in terms of video quality, for at present I haven't any video editing software that can export HD files (anybody got any cheap/free recommendations?) and b) as an audiovisual experience: for my music and sound art projects I often use a pair of contact mics, which are capable of picking up quiet vibrations from surfaces. I hope next time I feed some of the larger spiders that viewers can expect all the substrate-rustling, chitin-squashing action you could wish to hear in a feeding vid.

Thanks for looking!
 
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MarkmD

Arachnoprince
Joined
Aug 9, 2012
Messages
1,835
Love The pics and nice T's, I use the exact same clear food tubs as you, I got mine from tesco and melted holes in the sides and top.
 

netr

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 18, 2012
Messages
158
Thanks. I'll bet they're cheaper in Tesco's than they are here! >__< Far more affordable than glass terraria of course, but still. I just paid about a tenner for a four-litre plastic container for the P. formosa.
 

Storm76

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 30, 2012
Messages
3,797
Thanks. I'll bet they're cheaper in Tesco's than they are here! >__< Far more affordable than glass terraria of course, but still. I just paid about a tenner for a four-litre plastic container for the P. formosa.
Great T's and pics. Let me guess "Lock'n Lock" boxes? The expensive ones going for 3.50 Eur for a 1l ? ;) Just got one today for my E. murinus lol :D
 

MarkmD

Arachnoprince
Joined
Aug 9, 2012
Messages
1,835
I paid £2.70 for a small tall-ish one for my Avic and a £6.50 for a large square one for my LP the pics are in my gallery. I agree alot cheaper than glass and very durable easy to clean, funny thing once they have a bunch of holes in them, hey are only good for future storage boxes lol.
 

netr

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 18, 2012
Messages
158
Let me guess "Lock'n Lock" boxes? The expensive ones going for 3.50 Eur for a 1l ? ;) Just got one today for my E. murinus lol :D
It's actually made by a company called Plast1, and lacks the clasps of my other containers that prevent it from being opened from the inside. Rather it has an airtight, high-friction rubber seal. Who knows if a tarantula is strong enough to push open such a lid... I'm definitely augmenting it with tape or some kind of band. My first pokie is the very last thing I want getting out.

Bracketing this possible issue, it's the perfect container. Roomy, glass-clear from all angles. Can't find a picture of it online, but I'll post some images once its intended occupant has moved in!
 

Alltheworld601

Arachnoangel
Joined
Jul 27, 2012
Messages
791
they are beautiful, and those slings are ADORABLE. I love watching them try to figure out whether or not what they have is food. ;)
 

netr

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 18, 2012
Messages
158
they are beautiful, and those slings are ADORABLE. I love watching them try to figure out whether or not what they have is food. ;)
Thanks! And I love to watch that too, the gradual approaches and tentative gropes. On a related note, I recorded a feeding video of some of the Cyclosternum on Friday, this time managing to upload in sort-of HD! I haven't experimented enough with low-level sound recording in this context yet, so there isn't much of interest to hear. I added a subdued soundtrack instead.

[youtube]Vv90SUBA0J0[/youtube]
 

netr

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 18, 2012
Messages
158
For a number of reasons including quality of light, limited photographic skills, distortion caused by shooting through the plastic container walls and the restless behaviour of this spider when it actually leaves its hide (to say nothing of its skittish disposition), I've had a lot of trouble getting any representative photos of my Poecilotheria formosa. However with the aid of a paper backing I was able at least to capture it thus last night:



The colours are not quite as dull as they seem. I love this little spider. I nicknamed it Prowler after its habit of wandering extensively in the evenings in that lithe arboreal way.
 

famish

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 13, 2012
Messages
27
Congratulations. Very nice. I look forward to future posts and growth photos.
 

netr

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 18, 2012
Messages
158
And there I draw the line. That is ENOUGH. No more. I can feel the compulsive interest in new species becoming a troubling rather than fulfilling thing, something skirting the limits of control. Therefore it stops now.
Yeah. Things didn't go quite as planned. I was just at an exotics expo, where there were some exceptionally good deals to be had (for instance I bought an M. balfouri sling and received another free of charge; similarly I bought two G. pulchripes and got a third for free). All in all I came home with twelve spiderlings and one juvenile female Brachypelma boehmei, newly moulted and irresistable. I'll call her Jaffa, after the similarly orange and similarly irresistable snack. After a quick go with her:







Will need to learn a lot more about lighting, and about getting the subjects onto some more suitable surfaces. Didn't feel like bothering her this time - she's very nervous.
 

Storm76

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 30, 2012
Messages
3,797
So much for the "no more - it stops NOW", hu? ;) :D

Congrats on the new additions!
 

netr

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 18, 2012
Messages
158
So much for the "no more - it stops NOW", hu? ;) :D
I know... :liar: Now that I've actually run out of space and deli cups and more than completed my wishlist (except for G. pulchra), I'm confident I won't be tempted into getting any more. Now the plan has to be to raise these numerous slings to adulthood, sex and sell/give away unwanted duplicates and enjoy learning more about them as I go along. Oh, and make some entertaining feeding videos.
 

Storm76

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 30, 2012
Messages
3,797
I know... :liar: Now that I've actually run out of space and deli cups and more than completed my wishlist (except for G. pulchra), I'm confident I won't be tempted into getting any more. Now the plan has to be to raise these numerous slings to adulthood, sex and sell/give away unwanted duplicates and enjoy learning more about them as I go along. Oh, and make some entertaining feeding videos.
Let's see how long that thought lasts -this- time ;)

JFB told me very directly, that I won't be able to keep my collection to, let's say 50 Ts when I started. I'm now at 38 I think (~26 or so different species) and I have some left on my wishlist. I think one of the problems is, that a lot of us opt for a breeding pair when buying slings, so you get 2-x slings per order, just to make sure of that. I'll trade off two T's probably some time next year for example, as I have obviously 2 GBB males which both will be send on their merry way to serve as entertainment for the females of a breeder I get most of my T's from. But I'm sure it'll reach 45 or so at some point. So far, I've kept my collection "in order" as I just don't see a point in getting all T's available. Just those you REALLY crave to have in your collection ;)
 

netr

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 18, 2012
Messages
158
So far, I've kept my collection "in order" as I just don't see a point in getting all T's available. Just those you REALLY crave to have in your collection ;)
Despite a couple of tentative, impulsive purchases this is also the case for me. The spiders I have now are all more or less the kinds I was relishing the chance to have - GBB, B. smithi, M. balfouri and so on. Really very few species remain that I would like. As mentioned, there is G. pulchripes but nothing else comes to mind. A. seemani and P. cambridgei perhaps.

This is quite an exciting update - I discovered my camera can shoot at 50fps. I tested it out on Jaffa, and although her attack isn't very fast, watching this in slow motion is pretty fun. I'm looking forward to using this a lot more in the future. For now, here is Jaffa getting a mealworm, in HD and at 50% speed. It doesn't really look like it's playing at half speed, but it is. No sound, alas.

[YOUTUBE]UO2HNiaRuy0[/YOUTUBE]
 
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netr

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 18, 2012
Messages
158
Quick update. In descending order: Avicularia huriana spiderling, tucking into a rather substantial snack*; Cyclosternum fasicatum, "Hveps"; G. rosea, "Denise" and finally Denise's foot (given the popularity of foot/telotarsus photos on here I thought I'd give it a try).









*I filmed this feeding as part of a planned bumper edition feeding vid once I've collected footage of each spider.
 
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