More slings!!!!!!

So, with the BTS show finally arriving yesterday, I was on the hunt for some more spiderlings!

I was on the look out for Haplopelma lividum (Cobalt Blue), Poecilotheria metallica (Gooty Ornamental), Theraphosa blondi (Goliath Birdeater), Brachypelma ruhnaui (Golden Red Rump), Psalmopoeus irminia (Venezuelan Suntiger) and Pterinochulus murinus (Orange Baboon).

I managed to find three of what I wanted, and went ahead and purchased them! There were also some T.blondi slings there too, but they were a little out of my price range!

Anyway, here are the pics of my new additions!


Brachypelma ruhnaui(albiceps)


Psalmopoeus irminia


Pterinochilus murinus


Apologies for the poor picture of P.irminia but it has been sitting on the wrong side of the cork bark all day and taking pictures through plastic doesn't seem to work! But you can just make it out... Oh, and the OBT is insane!!!!!!! Luckily it is the Orange Colour Form too, so hopefully I should have a very colourful spider in a few years!

My dad also added a new spider to his own collection, a Brachypelma auratum (Mexican Flame Knee). She is a very big kicker of hairs though, as you can see by her bald patch!

Brachypelma auratum

My first non-sling!

Look what the Easter Bunny bought me!!

The Tarantula


The Setup


She (I hope) is a Grammostola rosea. Not sure on the age, but I think she maybe has 1 or 2 moults left before maturing. She's a bit skittish which my mum isn't too impressed about because she only agreed to let me have her because I said she could handle her!! I've had her out once or twice and she seems fine, although she does rear up quite a bit at her food!

She is also my first non-sling. You see, my dad and myself keep separate collections despite living in the same house!

She has been put in an 18"x10" setup.

Some new pictures!

Well, here is the first of my major updates! The pictures I promised you ages ago of the original eight slings.

With both C.marshalli and C.fasciatum living underground for the past month, I hadn't been able to get pictures which is why I was holding off. But I had to dig them out yesterday as I was cleaning everything out because of my new additions (more on that later, I want to build the suspense up!!). I had also found that both of them had moulted, but obviously I didn't know when, but checking their feeding records suggest they both moulted around 20th April.

The C.fasciatum is already showing the tiger stripe markings on her abdomen, which I am really surprised at. I wasn't expecting any adult colours for a good few months!

As always, click the images to view them in full size!


Avicularia purpurea


Brachypelma emilia


Ceratogyrus marshalli


Cyclosternum fasciatum



Euathlus vulpinus


Grammostola pulchra


Grammostola rosea


Nhandu chromatus


You will notice that I have added a climbing area for E.vulpinus. They are in fact semi-arboreal which coincides with the fact it never goes on the floor. Still, it looks happy enough on the cork bark now!

If you want to compare them to how they looked in the last batch of pictures, then check out the older photos here! here!

Sorry!!

Sorry guys and girls but I have been mega busy the past few weeks so I have not really had any time to post! Also nothing interesting has happened at all with my collection, so there really hasn't been anything to post! However, I have some news so I am working on a big post with updated pics and new additions to my collection!

Keep your eyes peeled!

What a day!

So I was doing my feeding rounds this evening and I have found three more moults! Although in truth it wasn't as easy as that!

My G.rosea's moult was easy enough to find, although it had taken me a little bit by surprise because she never seemed to go through the pre-moult phase; she hasn't been off her food and she hadn't really changed colour.

Then I came to my A.purpurea, and noticed that she was a lot more 'shiny' and a lot bigger. After a lot of rooting round, I found her moult, tucked away nicely on the bit of greenery I have in for her. This one I was really chuffed about though, because Avic's need really high humidity, around 80% to be able to survive and obviously its hard to monitor that in such a small setup.

With all that behind me, and nearly everyone given a cricket, I decided to have a root around in my three slings that like living underground; my C.marshalli, N.chromatus and C.fasciatum.

First up was the Nhandu, and Jesus did she give me a scare! After around a minute of very light digging around and removing of substrate, I came across some legs which were not moving, and slowly digging away I found what looked like a dead sling! As you can imagine, my heart sank a little but I wanted to make sure. Thankfully though after a little bit more digging I could see some movement and there she popped out, making it my third successful moult today! Ofcourse, I don't know when she moulted, but I guess it was within the last week as she is still quite pale.

Anyway, I then proceeded to dig out the other two, and both of them are massive! I dug them both out completely but could find no trace of a moult, so I'm guessing they're now both in pre-moult, which would tie in nicely with their feeding records; the C.fasciatum hasn't eaten now for a whole week!

Kurt out.

I will get pictures, I promise

Managed to get some pictures of the B.emilia, but I have misplaced my USB cable so can't upload them. My G.pulchra seems to like life under ground, and my E.vulpinus insists on climbing which is making photo opportunities difficult!

I will get some though, i promise!

Another day, another moult!

Well I had a great day out today. I went with my mum to West Midland Safari Park which was excellent. They have an excellent variety of animals in the safari park itself, and for £4 extra you can get driven around in a mini bus with a guided tour, and you get taken up close and personal with the animals.

But what is really worth mentioning is the Reptile House. They have a brilliant collection including Reticulated Pythons, Green Anacondas, Alligators, Crocodiles, Rattlesnakes and Cobras. But what is even more impressive is their enclosures, they were first class.

They also have a Goliath (Theraphosa blondi) there, but unfortunately it was hidden away so I only got to see its back legs! :(

Anyway, back on track.

When I came home I found that another one of my slings had moulted! This time, it was my Euathlus vulpinus (Chile Occelated). The moult itself was in excellent condition (perhaps my G.pulchra should take note!), and I managed to fool my parents that I had got the sling out for a play, so that was a bonus.

I'm also thinking that my Cyclosternum Fasciatum and Avicularia purpurea have entered pre-moult. Both of them are reliable eaters, but neither has eaten in the past two attempts.

I'll be getting pics up tomorrow of the three recently moulted slings; B.emilia, G.pulchra and E.vulpinus.