Smithy Molted.

Omg it's been ages since I have posted in this blog and this one will be short too.

I checked in on Smithy this morning and found her molting! She has since gone to hide so I haven't actually seen the result. I also want to check back in this blog to see how long it has been. Probably a pretty long time! now that she has molted again I really do need to set her up with her substrate and a better hide.

Mustapha. *Sigh* He's a very unhappy spider. Ever since we changed his home months ago he has hardly ate anything...If at all. He climbs the tank everyday and has lost all of his abdomen hairs. I keep thinking he is going to molt but it has happened yet. He used to be so content. I swear tarantulas are the most counter-intuitive animal in the world. I thought since he's growing, and is going to be so big, that he's need a bigger hide. Well apparently that has caused him terrible grief.

Well, I guess that's all for now.

Little Update

Smithy's molt went without incident and she's already eating. Her legs have grown! I don't know what's going on with Mustapha. He's been webbed away in his cave for what seems like ages. I thought he was eating until I noticed a couple of crickets jumping around in his terrarium. Oops, I hope they haven't been sucking his eyeball juices or doing anything like some of the horror stories I've heard about leaving crickets in with vulnerable, molting tarantulas.

It's so strange how tarantulas are both hardy and delicate. They can live for a year without food, and survive all types of shoddy conditions but at the same time they can bust if they fall.

I've almost had the Ts for 2 years now! I kind of can't believe that it's been so long already! I think I'm doing a good job so far at being a spider Mom.

Now that Smithy is molted, fed and finally has her abdomen hairs back, I want to take her out to play and take pictures. I haven't freaked out my friends and family on Facebook in quite some time!

Smithy Molted!

She's not molting very often anymore. It must be 4-6 months in between them. It also took her a lot longer to get out of the skin this time around. She's resting and doing well. I haven't seen her stretched out yet so I don't know just how much of a difference the molt made but I AM happy that the bald spot on her butt is all gone now. That means I'll be taking some pics soon!

I think Mustapha has molted too but there's so much web that I can't even see into his cave. He only comes out to eat and drink anyway so like last time, I'll just see him make an appearance one day and be like, OMFG he's huge AHHHH!"

Tarantulas are awesome

Smithy Is Going to Molt!

Well her nasty bad patch has turned black and she's been denying food for over a week. Yay, molt time!

Mustapha is still eating well and oh so big. He's taken to webbing like, everything in the terrarium. He just wants to make himself an even scarier and creepier spider.

Not sure if I mentioned but I picked up some fake plants for their terrariums. I know that quite frankly, tarantulas don't give a rat's ass about decoration but I think it looks nice. Hey, I have two big tanks in my living room. They're gonna look nice!

I think I need to buy new crickets tomorrow. The chirping has stopped.

That's it for now.

WTF Smithy?

I know that tarantulas have a difficult time adjusting to new homes but I'm very concerned about Smithy. Since the pictures in the last post (note her beautiful big bottom) she has kicked off like, almost all of the hairs on her abdomen. She looks gross! She keeps climbing up the side of the terrarium and falling. Mustapha also has a tall tank (I know, they should be shorter) and he has never climbed at all!

When I had her in the old home she climbed for a bit at first and then became bored, and grew content with just sticking low to the side. She reminds me of one of those Garfield car window decals, with the suction cups on the hands and feet. Anyway, every time she goes tank climbing I really stress. I'm not sure if this is the cause of her naked backside, or what?

I think Mustapha molted. He's been refusing food and I haven't seen him out of the hide in a few weeks. I peeked in yesterday during my food and drink delivery rounds and saw a very bulbous rump. More so than usual.

Sometimes I think the crickets require more upkeep then the Ts. They have to be fed and watered more often, cleaned up etc. Plus they're loud and smelly. Funny how that works out.

Well I'm outta here to get my workday over with and then YAY Friday night.

Peace out T fans.

Surprise Mom and Dad, I MOLTED AGAIN!

This Mustapha is full of surprises. True, I noticed he was refusing crickets but I didn't think it was that time yet. I woke early this morning to find him drinking from his dish, and his abdomen pretty much doubled in size! He has 2 or 3 old suits in his cave now and I donno how to get them out without disturbing him. Smithy on the other hand, drags hers out for me to discard on her behalf. Lol.

Poor Smithy, she needs a bigger home now. And we're way overdue a photo session. I've been so busy lately I've barely had time to even sleep. This will be my last full weekend off for about six weeks. I should get her set up!

Chris was saying the other day how Mustapha's personality has changed. It sure has. He's no longer skittish. I bet he doesn't run away because he knows that he's big and scary. Of course, he ran away this morning when I tried to get a picture but that was probably because Chris was closing the front door on his way to work and it's right under the terrarium. It was more likely the vibrations than my measly presence!

I need new bugs too. I'm still considering breeding but I'm not sure I want the noise, hassle or smell.

Chris wakes up with his alarm set to the sound of crickets. Just train the real ones to sing on cue already! :P

Hungry Tarantulas

Smithy is finished with her post-molt fast and now bother her and Mustapha are back to being eating machines!

Right before New Years Eve I went into the pet store to stock up on crickets for the long weekend. They were all out. *Enter panic mode* Mustapha hadn't eaten since Christmas day. I know they can live for a year without food but I do like to feed them as often a they like. I mean, what else do tarantulas do for fun if not hunt and feed?

Chris went down to the pet store in the beaches. They are way more expensive (old in a container) and small but this time they were a good size. I figure I can save the container in case on the Tarantulas ever needs a temp home for relocation or travel.

I really need to get on some pics. I know I keep saying that but I truly mean it this time!

Smithy FINALLY Molted!

She went into her hide yesterday and came out today looking MUCH MUCH bigger. She hasn't even dried yet but it looks like she's nearly twice her size! Someone is going to need a new home now.

The last time she molted was in the summer, I think. This was definitely the longest time in between suit changes.

It seems there were no problems. No skin still attached, no limbs missing or wonky.

Yay! Congrats to Smithy and her new skin!

Molt?

I haven't seen Mustapha out of his hide in eons. I think that I saw a glimpse of molt skin in there with him, and I found a dead cricket in the tank. If he did molt, I have no idea when that would have been, and I like to know these things. Vexing.

I hope he makes an appearance soon. He hasn't gone on a little hiatus like this since we first received him in the mail, and put him in the vile. Oh my goodness, the days of Mustapha being in a pill vile are so long passed.

I remember when he disappeared for a few weeks back then I was worried sick that he was either dead, buried alive, or lost in one of the tunnels he had made. Right before he surfaced I was just about ready to dig him out. Man, he wouldn't have liked that. It's a good thing he came out on his own!

We haven't had the chance to take Smithy out since her last molt but I so badly want to. She's been eating well and her colouring in really turning out to be quite stunning!

I love my Ts! <3

Smithy's New Suit + Mustapha Scares Us!

Smithy's molt went very well...Apparently. That's after I thought her molt was her corpse..lol. She's bigger and her colours look incredible. I can't wait until her first feed in a couple of days!

Mustapha =OMFG. I went in to get his water dish yesterday and he lunged at me. That's nothing new, I'm used to it. I have a pair of chopsticks handy. I tried to grab the dish with them but he stood over the dish. I tried to nudge him off by lightly brushing his back leg with the stick.

Do you know what he did? He not only attacked the stick but he held on to it TIGHT, like he was swinging off a freakin' vine. Holy crapola! I can't put the dish full of water in with the sticks so I had to go in by hand. Fortunately he didn't get me! I gave him a bug for bothering him, a day after eating a huge one. He doesn't waste any time. I don't think he's ever turned down food. Even a day before a molt. Is that normal??

Chris found a terrarium at Value Village for $10 with a screen and everything! The screen itself would cost 30 new. We already have 2 tanks but this one is better suited for a tarantula. It's a little wider and shorter. I'm going to give it a good scrubbing and re-home Mustapha next week! We may even make a video because we're still receiving amused comments from viewers of our original You Tube video when we "opened" our new T's over a year ago.

I'm excited about the new set-up! I can't wait to take pics too.

I'm an Idiot! Smithy Molted!

Yesterday afternoon I checked in on the Tarantulas after getting in. I panicked at first (I'm always worried) when first noticing a crumpled spider. I know, I know, a year later and you WOULD THINK I'd know what a molting tarantula looks like! Well I noticed the double leg look (at one point in a molt, it can look like a tarantula has 16 legs!) before having an emotional breakdown, and then I was happy. Yay, Smithy is molting.

Cue hours later...

OH.MY.GOD. She's still in the same position, I think she's stuck in her molt....*goes online to research* If she's like that in the morning, I'm going to cut in and help her out of the old skin.

*goes to bed, wakes up, and runs down to the terrariums*

OHFUCKOHFUCK. *Grabs tank off bookshelf, tears off lid, and is ready to play Dr. Tarantula*

....Then I realized I had been looking at a molt folded IN HALF the whole time. She was probably already out even before the very first time I noticed her "molting." The skin, being in the back end of the tank and folded slightly over gave the appearance of a molt in progress, but she was already safe and drying in her hide! D'oh. I'm so relieved though! I can't wait to see the new suit!

At least I would have went in to help her out with tweezers and all that jazz. :P

So while I was in there, I cleaned up her tank a bit. It's starting to smell funky:/ I gave her and Mustapha water, fished a cricket out of her tank (she won't be needing it after a molt!) and fed it to Mustapha.

Oh and the whole time I was checking in on Smithy yesterday, Mustapha was half on his glass looking quite spectacular. What a show! I love that guy!

I'm going to pics of them both soon!

Molt!

Jeez, almost another month again.

Unfortunately I'm having somewhat of a bad, cranky week. Since my spiders love me and wanted to cheer me up, Smithy surprised me this morning with a molt! Ever since she arrived last July I have witnessed every molt, except one, which was a bad one. She didn't fully escape her exoskeleton and then hid for about a month.

I woke up this morning and checked on them, as per our usual routine. To my utter delight she was writhing in the substrate on her back, fresh out of her skin! Ahhh the new suit is fabulous and oh my, has she grown up! I don't think she has changed suits since January! This one is definitely noticeable. I'm very excited to see how much bigger she'll become after she hardens.

Mustapha is magnificent as usual. I can't believe when he arrived as a freebie I considered giving him away. I picked up some superworms last weekend for a change of pace. He likey! I'll put one in, turn my back and hear a thud against the side of his terrarium. That would be him going in for the kill. He's an extremely enthusiastic eater! He's also incredibly big, hyper and gorgeous. For a spider he has a lot of personality.

One more thing I wanted to mention: A couple of weeks ago Smithy went into fast and I hadn't realized this, so I kept putting crickets in with her that hid, and were not eaten. Eventually she had about three in with her and so I had to take her terrarium off the bookshelf, to fish them out. She didn't like that one bit. She flicked hairs at me. Luckily I didn't get hit but it made me really nervous. I mean, we have birds in the same room and cats that wander everywhere in the house. I knew that was a risk when I decided to keep tarantulas but now it's real, and I'm nervous.

I'll have to do some research on this matter. It's too bad there is not a whole lot of tarantula keeping information out there, aside from the basics.

Anyway, hopefully I'll write again soon with updates!

Has it really been a month?

I guess my work stuff has become busy. That's spring/summer for a fitness trainer for ya!

Anyway, much has happened:

Mustapha molted! Yup, last Wednesday and oh boy, he sure has grown again. I fed him the biggest cricket that I have yesterday and he wasted no time at all! I also had to reorganize his terrarium to make a little more room.

I found a terrarium down the street from me and carried it home one morning. It's in good condition. Of course, first thing I did with it was throw it in the tub and bleach the hell out of it. Then I rinsed and rinsed and rinsed again. A few weeks later someone was selling a used 5.5 gallon for $10 so I had friends pick it up for me. Sooo I have 2 terrariums now ready to go for permanent homes, that is, if Mustapha doesn't grow any bigger. I'm not sure what size the one I found is but I hear Brazilian Black and Whites need a 10 or 15! Smithy will be okay with at least one of those but I guess we'll see about the big guy.

Smithy is doing very well! They aren't kidding about Redknees being slow growers. She hasn't molted in a long time now and is still happily feasting her round little butt off. I wait patiently!

Well that's pretty much the update for this past month. One molt, two homes and a bunch of crickets I always feel bad for.

Ciao for now!

An Update...Finally!

Wow I'm making posts like once a month now. Oops! I swear, I haven't lost interest in my tarantulas:P

Some good and bad news:

I'll start with the bad. Smithy had a bad molt. It's definitely not as bad as some pictures I've seen of Ts with their legs stuck together but she does have some old exoskeleton attacked to her abdomen and back. About a week ago Chris and I decided that it had been way too long since we had seen her come out of her hide. So we lifted it. I think she's depressed. I'm not going to do anything about it because it's not effecting her movement. We saw her come out of her hide the other day for some water and I'm pretty sure she has been eating again. It should be okay. I'm going to have to spray her terrarium more often.

The Good news. Mustapha has been out a lot, eating like a madman (or woman?), and growing like crazy! He's getting so badass. It completely fascinates me that 8 mos ago he was just a little speck, not even as big as my baby fingernail! Now he must have a diameter of 2 inches! He's outgrown Smithy by far!

Maybe I'm just being paranoid but I wonder if he's out so much because his hide is getting too small for him. No doubt, he will need a 5 gallon soon at a minimum!

I definitely have to get pictures now that he's more active. He climbed up his piece of cork bark earlier and now he's chillin' out on his substrate.

It would be good to get him a new home, and then the crickets can also move into a bigger habitat. Right now they live in a plastic container and holy crap, do they ever stink. Phooey!

Smithy is Molting...Right Now!

Woke up a little while ago to Smithy on her back. I don't see any skin peeling away yet and she's fully on her back this time, oppose to her side.

I meant to mist her container last night because I'm convinced that it's not humid enough in there. D'oh. So I did that as soon as I saw what's going on.

Oh this is always so scary! I hope she pulls through alright! If I didn't know better I'd think she's dead. I hate the way they look when they molt!

This T is like clockwork! Every 2 months almost on the dot since August.

PIX and Updates

We handled Smithy again and took a great picture! I love it! I wish Mustapha could he held but he runs away over the slightest vibration. :( Booo. I'm hoping he'll be less timid as he grows. I'd be scared too if I were so little! It's just that if he doesn't shake the fear soon I'm going to lose my nerve. I can't exactly start handling him when he reaches an 8 inch leg span!

Mustapha is an amazing spider. He's so active and interesting. When I rehoused him I simply put his baby vile into the new terrarium, hoping he would burrow in the new substrate but alas, he made the vile his hide. I should have known. The other day he was making it bigger for his ever growing body and dug and dragged the dirt out. It was really cool to watch. Now if you look behind the vile you can always see him camped out back there.

Smithy started refusing food on Monday. Over the weekend we picked up a new bookshelf and put them on it, complete with some Mexican art I brought back from vacation last year for Chris as their background, plus a houseplant. Yup, they get a whole shelf to themselves. We were even thinking that eventually, that shelf could be the right spot for one of their permanent homes.

Anyway, I don't know if she's not eating because the move scared her, or if she's going to molt again. On the 27th of December it will be 2 months since her last suit change. She's been molting pretty steady every two months since July but I know at some point, that's going to change and the gap will widen. She also seems to fast for about 2 weeks before the molt so I have to wonder if it's almost time? Lol, in this picture you can see Mustapha. He's on the right.

I gave Smithy's rejected cricket to Mustapha and I'm sure he was glad for it because it sure didn't last long in there!

I have to buy bugs tomorrow or Friday. They ran out again. Hungry little monsters they are!

Mustapha Molted!

I knew it! I'm getting much better at recognizing the signs now. The fasting, the darker complexion, the lethargy...I noticed yesterday evening that he was pale, BIGGER and still a little folded up.

I have to go in there later. I want his skin! He usually molts in his burrow and I haven't been able to grab one since the very first molt.

I noticed it had happened because I went to feed Smithy. I looked over to him, looked back at her, and she had already caught the bug...D'oh! I wanted to see!

So right now, everything with the spiders is just dandy!

P.S. I think Mustapha is big enough for a water dish now!

SMITHY MOLTED + Mustapha has a new home!

YAY! I was getting worried there, as usual. Last night against my instinct, I started to panic and gave Smithy a cricket because it has been nearly 3 weeks since she has had a bite to eat. She wasn't impressed and ran to the top of her container and clung there, right above her water dish. I was so scared for her, but by this morning she was on the substrate again, so I got that bug outta there in a hurry.

Around 1pm I went to check in on her and she was half on the side of her hide molting! I saw it happen throughout the next hour or so. I can't believe I finally witnessed a molt! I wonder if she always molts on her side?! Even right now she is not completely finished. She still has to stretch her legs but she's already looking bigger and better than ever. I LOVE her colours. She's a real jewel :D

Now Mustapha had himself transferred in to a new home yesterday. He LOVES to burrow and he outgrew his original vial so I bought him a bigger Tupperware that has the same floor space as Smithy's house, but much deeper. Fortunately his original vial fits in the new home so it was a very stress free move. I placed the vial on its side, in the new house and within an hour he was poking his head out of the old burrow. I started a new burrow for him outside of the old container, and by this morning he was poking his head out from it! Lol. The new burrow looks more developed then what I started him out with so I guess he was very busy throughout the night digging. In a couple of days I'm going to take away the old home. I want to give him a chance to adjust to his new place, and be able to escape back to the old home, if something scares him.

My crickets have grown too quickly again. I'm picking up little ones tomorrow.

Loads of News!

Wow, figures when a whole bunch of REALLY cool stuff happens, I'm swamped with writing deadlines, work and extracurriculars. Boourns!

First of all, Mustapha molted. He definitely has his little routines. He started refusing food a little over a week ago. Last weekend he retreated in to his burrow, and by about Tuesday, he surfaced to sport his new suit. Although his body is still quite a bit smaller than Smithy, his legs are about the same size. He's going to outgrow her in no time!

Secondly, I HANDLED SMITHY! This is the biggest news of all. Frankly, her house was getting gross. Given her species, I'm sure she wasn't appreciating the moldy, stagnant conditions. She has also started refusing food and by my calculations, she should molt too within the next few weeks. So I rehoused her in to a bigger container, complete with a little pop bottle water dish, and a hide.

I figured this was as good a time than any to try putting her on my hand, since I had to get her from one house to the other. At first, it was really hard to get her out of the container because its so small. Chris suggested we "spoon her out." It worked like a charm. She ran up my hand and arm. We were surprised by how heavy she is for such a little thing. She's also fleshy and sticky. Not hard and scratchy like we would have guessed!

The only problem was afterward, my arm burned! I think I'm going to be sensitive to all of their poisons. Lame! I guess I'll just have to be extra cautious and wash really well.

It was so much fun though that it's hard to articulate. She's just so easy going and cute! I'm super happy about this. Right now she's stuck to underside of her new hide. Rehousing is stressful for them, and I feel bad:( No more playing with her until she has adjusted and eats.

Mustapha has to move into a new house as well. He's so skittish and anti social that I think I'll use the spoon method on him, but not handle him. With Smithy, I've been watching her movements for nearly three months and at this point, she's predictable. Mustapha is not. Maybe I'll try when he's bigger. I'm going to make the transfer once he's eaten. It's been a while due to the molt, and I doubt he'll want to eat anything for a while, after making the move.

I really want to get some pictures and video happening on here. I'm pretty lazy about it for one thing. The other is that as a newish T keeper, I feel like it's challenging enough to say, handle the spider safely without trying to do multiple things at once. I really do want the best for the little guys. I'm not treating them like some kind of novelty to parade around the internet, you know? However, I want pics to remember them by once they're all grown up so I'll get on that soon enough!

I'm also birdsitting "Belle," the budgie, for the next 12 days. It's a zoo in here right now! I'm housing five animals in one room alone. Then there are the cats roaming around too. Lol.

Found Mustapha

I try to not move their homes around too much, but I was really curious as to where my boy got to! I lifted up the container and found him! He's burrowed right to the bottom of the vile! What a weirdo!

He looked quite fleshy too, so I wonder if he has molted. He's only about 3 months old, so he's probably about due again. I kind of hope he didn't because I want the old skin. I'm collecting them! Lol.

I can't wait until the molts gets bigger. Prank time!

So, I'm relieved again.

Oh and btw, Smithy looks purdy in her new skin:)