Day 4 - AM Observations

My first thought this morning was of the spiders, Smithy in particular. She ate two little crickets last night. She's the ideal spider, so far. However, I'm a little concerned. She is clinging to the side of her container. I'm reading online that this either means she is unhappy with her surroundings, or hungry. HUNGRY? I wouldn't be surprised. I hope its not the substrate. I'm using what basically amounts to "Eco-Earth." It's not wet, or dry. I figured it was just about right.

I'm probably just being paranoid. Within the the first year of acquiring my tiel "Baby," she visited the vet about three times. Only once, for a good reason. She's turning 9 at the end of the summer. Even though I made my share of newb mistakes, she turned out healthy and happy. Both birds are sitting on me now, demanding head scratches!

Speaking of novice mistakes, I was trying to feed Smithy her crickets last night, and I accidentally knocked her container. Oops! She ran and dove in to her burrow! I felt so bad but it was kind of cool to see her run. As soon as dinner was served she was back out again, gobbling up her third and fourth meal.

GOOD NEWS! I have decided to name the Brazilian Black and White "Mustapha." For some reason, it suits him. That, and my boyfriend Chris, and I have an inside joke concerning the name. It was mentioned last night, and there you have it.

Mustapha has burrowed. I haven't seen him for about 12 hours. It's a little concerning! He still hasn't eaten anything. We were reading that the Nhandu coloratovillosus is a shy, reclusive species. This is turning out to be very true, even for a wee spiderling. They are also suppose to be very hungry. I know they can live weeks without food but I'd feel a lot better if he'd eat!

For the record, I'm going to assume Smithy is a girl and Mustapha is a boy, until proven otherwise.