Friday 11 December 2009

And here are some pictures

So here are the pics I promised. A couple of my newest arrival, T.apophysis as well as my other new arrival T.blondi. Also chucked in a handful of my sub-adults that I took pictures of as well as an ever willing G.rosea and post-molt C.marshalli!

Theraphosa apophysis

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Theraphosa blondi

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Brachypelma smithi

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Brachypelma boehmi

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Grammostola rosea

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Ceratogyrus marshalli


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Another addition...

Ok, this is the last one! And I mean it this time.

However, I think you will all understand. A couple of weeks ago, a guy on RFUK was selling some Captive Bred Theraphosa apophysis spiderlings. Unfortunately I missed out on one because there was a huge demand for them, and he also wanted to keep a few for himself.

Since then, as mentioned in a previous blog post, I acquired a wild caught Theraphosa blondi, which molted not long after I bought it and it appears to be male.

Anyway, two days ago the guy who was selling the T.apophysis slings decided to put them back up for sale so I immediately messaged him and I purchased one, in the hope it would turn out to be female and by the time it gets big enough, the male T.blondi will be on its travels and I will have a spare 3ft tank again! Plus, it’s not every day that CB T.apophysis slings come onto the market!

Anyway, it has arrived this morning. It molted into a sling about four weeks ago apparently, so it is still very young. However, it is possibly the largest sling I have, measuring at about 1.5” leg span!

No pics yet, as I my camera has a dead battery and and I want to leave it settle in for a while.

Oh, and those other pictures are coming, I promise.

Monday 7 December 2009

A little update

Contrary to my last but one post stating that I was not going to be getting any more T’s, I have!

I have acquired a Theraphosa blondi (not a spiderling, about 5-6” leg span) and a Aphonopelma chalcodes (again, not a spiderling, perhaps 3-4” leg span). The former was my combined early birthday and Christmas present, although part payed for by me as I got rid of my Emperor Scorpions to help pay for it. The latter was a combined anniversary and Christmas present for my Dad!

On the spiderling front, I have had two moults recently. My H.lividum and C.marshalli have both moulted in the last two weeks or so. The H.lividum is living right at the bottom of its pot, so photo opportunities are completely impossible, and I have taken some pics of C.marshalli, which if I can find my camera I shall upload tomorrow! I’ve also been practicing some different methods of photo taking so there may be some other photos as well!

An interesting fact for you all though! Two of my slings, G.pulchra and E.vulpinus have not moulted now for five whole months! G.pulchra is just eating and eating and eating, and E.vulpinus has finally gone off its food so I’m hoping it has gone into pre-moult. I don’t really like all this waiting around for slings to moult!

Wednesday 18 November 2009

Rehoming done, first set of pics

So, after a very stressful day which started at 10am when I attempted to catch my first sling, till about 7pm when I caught my last (interrupted in between by a visit to my Nan's and Pets at Home), all my little T's have been re-tubbed.

Unfortunately, due to the majority of them taking up precarious positions either on the lid or right at the top of the pots, and the terrible weather we are having at the moment affecting light quality, I only managed to picture a handful of spiders.

As with my previous photos, you can click on them to enlarge them!

Brachypelma emilia
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Grammostola pulchra
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Brachypelma albiceps
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Cyclosternum fasciatum
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Grammostola rosea
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Nhandu chromatus
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B.emilia, C.fasciatum and N.chromatus are literally all freshly moulted and haven't been fed since, hence their somewhat underweight appearance!

Keep a look out in the following days as I will try my best to photo the rest.

Monday 16 November 2009

I'm back.... again...

Hey everyone.

It has been a very long time since I posted any sort of update.

Basically, not long after my last post I got a job which required me to get up very early in the morning and subsequently go to bed quite early. Any free time I had was spent keeping my T’s and other pets going and there really wasn’t any time for updates.

But unfortunately over the past few weeks I was made redundant and I have to decided to start work again on this blog. Hopefully when I get another job it won’t be so time consuming.

Anyway, since my last update I added two new additions to my collection, a Haplopelma lividum (Cobalt Blue) and a Brachypelma albopilosum (Curly Hair). I was quite content with my collection and decided to end my interest in acquiring any new ones.

However, a couple of weeks after I obtained my B.albopilosum I was asked if I would take a Poecilotheria regalis (Indian Ornamental) as the owner no longer wanted it. Not one to see unwanted animals kept, I said yes. I am now happy with my collection and will definitely not be adding to it, unless anything on my wishlist pops up (found to the right).

So far everything is eating well and growing nicely. In fact I have come to a stage now where I guess certain individuals are no longer spiderlings, they are in fact juveniles.

So, tomorrow I will be rehousing everybody (apart from H.lividum because it was rehoused recently) to upgrade to the next size pot / tank. So expect a picture-fest tomorrow at some stage!

Saturday 6 June 2009

Five moults, but one is proving elusive!

It's been a busy week down here, with five moults happening since my last update! So, get ready for a lot of pictures!


Avicularia purpurea
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Grammostola rosea

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Cyclosternum fasciatum
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Psalmopoeus irminia

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How cute is my C.fasciatum? :D

Unfortunately though I was unable to get any pictures of the fifth moult, the Ceratogyrus marshalli which like my OBT has webbed up the entire lid of the enclosure and very rarely ventures out into the open...

Monday 25 May 2009

Two more moults

Well, it seems everything in my care is coming round to moult! Today it was the turn of the Nhandu chromatus and Euathlus vulpinus.

Unfortunately the last moult of N.chromatus was practically destroyed as it had been under-ground for quite some time so I wasn't able to get any comparison shots. However I reckon it has at least doubled, if not trebled in size! Also, she had literally finished moulting around 20 minutes before I took the photos so she is very pale because her skin as not finished hardening up.


Euathlus vulpinus
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Nhandu chromatus
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Another new addition

That's right, I have another new addition to my collection, except this is one my dad will take off me when it grows a little bigger and can be housed in a 'proper' setup.

The lucky sling is an Avicularia sp. "Amazonica" (Amazon Giant Pink Toe). Not much is apparantly known about this species. Humidity requirements are much the same as other Avic's but neither I, or the Spider Shop has any idea on it's adult size, so if anyone reading this knows either leave a comment on this post or drop me an email at dg.toast@gmail.com.

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Saturday 23 May 2009

Two moults in the camp

Just when I got round to taking some pictures of the slings, two of them decide to get a new suit!

Both my Brachypelma emilia and Grammostola pulchra have moulted this week, within a day of each other. I was expecting the emilia to moult as she has refused her last three meals, whilst the pulchra refused her latest meal.

I've taken some pictures of their new suits, and put their moults on a tape measure, not that you can take any accurate measurements from them, but it seems the in thing to do at the moment! Also, I have taken a picture comparing their last moults.


Brachypelma emilia
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Grammostola pulchra
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The G.pulchra has already taken her first meal since moulting, but I decided not to feed B.emilia tonight because her fangs were still not black.

I'm guessing that we're going to be seeing a few moults in the coming days or weeks now!