Organizing your collection

Sana

Arachnoprince
Joined
Oct 26, 2014
Messages
1,139
It has recent become a curiosity to me how others organize their collections. Size of the T? Temp/humidity requirements? Do you quarantine your new arrivals? My collection started out being a mixed up mess of things wherever they would fit, but I'm currently working on creating a shelf specifically for slings above my cricket incubator where the temperature stays at a constant 80 F. From there I plan to group them by general husbandry requirements. Am I the only one out there putting too much thought into organizing containers of spiders?
 

ARACHNO-SMACK48

Arachnoknight
Joined
Oct 29, 2013
Messages
284
I put several labels on my enclosures. Species OW or NW and occasionally gender. I also label my T's with potent venom as "Hot".
 

Sam_Peanuts

Arachnobaron
Joined
Apr 21, 2010
Messages
408
I put all my slings near the bottom of my shelf so I can sit on the floor to feed them since they take longer due to their number and the rest is in no particular order other than I keep the same species grouped together and I keep the same size enclosure togethers for the bigger ones.

I haven't used any labels yet since I know who everyone is very easily still, even at 40 Ts but will definitely start doing it when it might get confusing.

My temp is the same in all the room, even for my crickets(except when the noise bother me, then I move them in another room).
The humidity is set with the size the water bowl/bowls so no point in grouping them and I want to start quarantining new arrivals, but I need to find some space for it first.
 

Ellenantula

Arachnoking
Joined
Sep 14, 2014
Messages
2,009
Don't have enough to organize -- but I do think labeling could be beneficial. Especially similar looking slings, put something in wrong place one day and it might be anyone's guess which is which.

If something, heaven forbid, should happen to me; be nice if someone going though my estate would know what is what. I guess if I liked my family less, I could put a "cuddly -- prefers to be fed by hand" sticker on the OBT enclosure. But I guess I like them too much for that.

Accurate latin names, gender, and warnings "fast/defensive/biter" might help someone sort through.
Then again, my family would probably consult an expert anyway, due to my parrots (whom most fear though they are sweethearts overall).
 

Sana

Arachnoprince
Joined
Oct 26, 2014
Messages
1,139
I've only just started labeling mine, another step of organization that I thought might be making me appear more insane than usual.
 

eldondominicano

Arachnobaron
Joined
Dec 8, 2014
Messages
421
I've only just started labeling mine, another step of organization that I thought might be making me appear more insane than usual.
I started labeling about a month ago lol. Its a great way of seeing how many per genus and/or species I have, so keep up the good work!
 

Poec54

Arachnoemperor
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Mar 26, 2013
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4,745
I try to keep my spiders on shelf units according to geographic region, makes it easier for me to find them. I have the slings at the front of the shelves at chest level so I can monitor them better.
 

eldondominicano

Arachnobaron
Joined
Dec 8, 2014
Messages
421
I also have an inventory worksheet, organized by genus and subfamily. The more you see these names, the more you understand their relationships.
Something that I should try seeing as this relationship you speak of can get very confusing to me when trying to see the correlations in genus' particularly for Lampropelma and Cyriopagopus.. Different genus but seem so similar.But that's for another thread.
 

Poec54

Arachnoemperor
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Mar 26, 2013
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Something that I should try seeing as this relationship you speak of can get very confusing to me when trying to see the correlations in genus' particularly for Lampropelma and Cyriopagopus.. Different genus but seem so similar.But that's for another thread.
Check out 'Eight, a Site About Tarantulas'. It has a listing of species by subfamily, which is a big help to visualize all this. Some of the taxonomy has changed in the meantime, but there's a lot of good info there.
 

eldondominicano

Arachnobaron
Joined
Dec 8, 2014
Messages
421
Check out 'Eight, a Site About Tarantulas'. It has a listing of species by subfamily, which is a big help to visualize all this. Some of the taxonomy has changed in the meantime, but there's a lot of good info there.
Alright currently looking this up, thanks.
 

cold blood

Moderator
Staff member
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Jan 19, 2014
Messages
13,223
I also have an inventory worksheet, organized by genus and subfamily. The more you see these names, the more you understand their relationships.
I have a sheet on every t I keep, both for my records and for someone else should I not be with them till the end for whatever reason...I do this even though I have never sold a spider for any reason yet.

I find scientific names significantly easier to remember than common names...probably don't even know all the common names of the ones I have...but I know where they are all from...that should also be documented now that its been brought up, good idea Rick.

If something, heaven forbid, should happen to me; be nice if someone going though my estate would know what is what. I guess if I liked my family less, I could put a "cuddly -- prefers to be fed by hand" sticker on the OBT enclosure. But I guess I like them too much for that.
I don't label things for myself, but like ellen, I label everything just in case a tragedy occurs. I don't want a room full of unknown spiders that would at the very best not be able to be bred, or worse never identified as t's aren't exactly popular in Wisconsin.
 

pyro fiend

Arachnoprince
Joined
Dec 29, 2013
Messages
1,216
well.. where to start here.. QT is a MUST in my house.. i keep herps and last thing i want is infected animals infesting my main ones...

i kinda do as arachno smack.. i label everyone.. the QT dont get a label at first because im lazy XD but once they enter the room.. it kinda depends.. i have all labeled by species with a little chunk of painters tape.[so can be moved with rehouses and NO STICKY RESIDUE! *party for no residue remaining* ] as well as if they get a name and what they end up being [m/f] also i do keep records in a notebook as well as some do have a 'note' about the T [ie skittish, MM or kicker] incase anyone was to be messed with them without me present [im sure id label them hot or ow id do same..]

organizing... not so much.. tho mine are in stacker boxes on a shelf mainly.. top of the shelf if snakes [couldnt see the T so woudnlt put mine there] 2nd which sits at eye level is my lizard. who has 2 enclosures on top of him [dirts weight keeps lid weighted down] beside it is stacked enclosures.. now mine are kinda misorganized for a reason.. i like the mix and match of size and personality.. my ld sits on top of my lp. in the back. just because hes a kicker lately it puts it out of sight so he dont go naked.. also so hes only messed with when the lp is fed which he is also being fed so dont bother him usually... now beside them in the back is my MM gbb. who was super shy so kept in back for the same reason. and above him is a 1ish inch B. boehmei [because it fits above him, i cant stack 3 high, and hes kinda shy too] in front of them is my B. smithi whos pretty kool and a vicious eater so i love feeding her and my n. chromatus who is a tunneler. and is fun to see his excavations.
below them on shelf 2 i have a g. rosea in a 10g going long ways twards me[tho has room behind it but i dont wana move her in premolt] and a scorpion facing back against the wall
below them is a set of 5gals.. again more room behind them but i kinda like them as is i can see gbb fem and a. genic being their gangster selvs...lol
on the bottom is my roaches...
beside my tank to the right is a 35 xt fish tank with my axies.. between the lamp and the light i have lil peice of hush mat. and some of my T's [almost all arboreals] sit acrost the aquarium "hood" to avoid confusion of my psalmos my cambs are stacked. and my irminia are beside each other [all 32oz atm may soon change with our empending move and 2 being almost 3"]

and acrost the room i have my mm rosea and mf rosea in boxes on a dif desk.... not much organization.. but not quite chaos
 

catfishrod69

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
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Oct 1, 2010
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4,401
I stack them wherever they will stack. Everyone has a label with the scientific name, and sex, if known.
 

BossRoss

Arachnosquire
Joined
Sep 18, 2014
Messages
74
I try keep the same genus together. Pokies together, Avics together where they get the best cross breeze. Then my brachypelmas and lasiodora and the other random ones together...Essentially stacking them where their living conditions should be similar as this helps with maintenance for me.

I have the application, created by a user on this forum, called "Tarantulas" URL:http://www.tarantulas.p3kb.com or its on the play store too now. With the picture of the T and enclosure I can easily identify species I have more than one of. I only have 35 Ts at the moment...
 

TsunamiSpike

Arachnosquire
Joined
Nov 8, 2012
Messages
86
Only having two Ts makes organising kinda pointless, but I'm going with the labeling system. When I get more, and have more space to organise into I'll probably look into some sort of system besides labelling... Arboreals, Terrestrial...NW/OW etc.
 

Zigana

Arachnosquire
Joined
Apr 8, 2014
Messages
93
I have a lot of slings from eggsacs so organization is mandatory. All slings are put into 2oz. cups with lids and numbered. Molt dates are put on each cup as the slings molt. I do this for slings, juvies and adults. If I have a sling that needs to be watched I put a label saying so on it's cup. I keep my slings in their individual cups in a large container, A. hentzi in one and G. porteri in another container. This takes up less room and they can be easily moved all at once if I choose another location. This is handy for feeding time and cup maintenance that I do on a large table. When I rehouse I transfer previous labels or make new ones with the previous information. For any of the slings or juvies that I want to keep I simply give them a name that I write on their cup, the ones with no name on cup are ones for release in native area, while others like the porteri will be sold.With this system I have no need for a computer app to keep track, which to me would be more time consuming entering data for each tarantula plus info stored on a computer can easily disappear for various reasons unless the info is backed up elsewhere.
 
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