Butterworms!

I just arrived home from the pet shop with some juicy butterworms for the Ts. I fed Mustapha the last cricket last night but it was just a small one. I figured I'd feed them both butterworms right away. They have never had before and I was giddy with excitement to see if they would enjoy them.

I fed Smithy the biggest one since she did not eat last night and it was so cute. The worms are these yellow and orange fat things and they just kind of wiggle around. Being the lazy spider that she is, she most likely appreciated not having to chase the thing around the terrarium. She simply walked up, tapped it, and sunk her fangs in. I was surprised that the worm gave quite the struggle. There was venom dripping all over it by the end and it's thrashing caused a hole in the substrate.

Mustapha's smaller worm gave him no trouble and he is happily feasting right now too! Yay, feeding success.

I feel good about offering them variety. They are too big now for the moth larvae I was feeding them last summer and unfortunately their diet over the course of the past six months has been strictly crickets.

Now I have to figure out how to keep the third, smallest butterworm alive for a few days until they are hungry again. I also have a brand new tub of crickets but I suspect many of them will be freed. The tarantulas should be almost ready for another fast and molt.

The pet store today was busy but I always get the same guy to get me bugs. He has tarantulas too and has helped me in the past to pick out cork bark and way long ago, pinhead crickets. I actually look forward to my visits now to discuss our Ts and to get recommendations on bugs and accessories.

There was a girl picking up some fish with her Dad and she was fascinated by the butterworms and wanted to check them out. When I told her they were for tarantulas she covered her mouth and gasped. Then she had a bunch of questions for me. She asked me if I'd eat a butterworm for $1000 and I said no, I'm a vegetarian. She said she would and she's vegan, slapped me on the shoulder and left the store..Lol.

Live with tarantulas is grand : )

Spiders are FUN! + FAQs

Both have been out of their hides, active and VISIBLE for the past couple of weeks. They're making tarantula keeping a lot of fun.

I never know if I should pick up more bugs when they're almost out. I don't want crickets stinking up my kitchen while they fast, molt and recover for a month. I mean, sure I can free them outside but even going to the pet store for them is a hassle. I guess I'll have to see how it goes!

Having my ts for 8 months now has prompted a lot of questions. Granted, friends and family are curious so even though the questions seem kind of silly to a tarantula enthusiast,
they're common amongst the majority of the population, who are usually just a little weirded out!

Tarantula FAQs

Q. When do tarantulas get their venom?
F. They always have it.

Q. Can't you get them devemonized?

F. No, and we wouldn't want to! Don't want a pet with claws, don't get a cat. Don't want a smelly pet, don't get a dog or ferret. don't want a venomous bug, don't get a tarantula!

Q. When do you put them together?
F. Never. I have two different species.

Q. Don't they get lonely?
F. Lol, no. They live like that in the wild.

Q. Aren't you afraid they will escape?
F. Yes. More afraid for their safety and the other pets rather than my own though.

I hope that clears things up!

Picture Post!

The tarantulas have been active! We took them out to play the other day and finally captured some decent pics! However, we almost found out the hard way that Mustapha doesn't like to play. He nearly flicked on us!

The first two are of the notoriously unphotogenic Mustapha. The pics do him no justice. He's twice the size of Smithy, hairy and quite the spectacular specimen. The rest are of Smithy, our eight legged golden retriever:)

Playtime!

We decided that it was time to dig a little hole under each of the spider's hides because they are growing so quickly and we are trying to prolong the process of getting them a permanent terrarium by making them a bit more room. Mostly because we don't want to buy a 5 gallon, only to have to replace it in a few months with a 10 and then 15.

We wanted to see if Mustapha wanted to play first. He didn't. Actually he looked very close to flicking hairs on us! He's not very photogenic either:/ Still to this day we don't have a decent pic of him! We are thinking now that he is actually a she. The name Mustapha really suits him/her. I've been calling her Staphie. H/she's very active and looking absolutely magnificent! If he does end up being a look-no-touch spider, I can definitely live with that.

Smithy on the other hand is so adorable. We took her out, took pics and played with her for a bit. We also happened to get great pics, which I promise to post VERY soon. Not that anybody reads this except me and whoever finds the link on Facebook!

In other good news, Smithy fixed up her bad molt and is eating steadily again. Staphie has seriously outgrown her. Now I have to wonder if she's a he! At least the name will still work but I must admit I would be a little sad over the fact that he wouldn't live as long.

I guess that's it 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!

It's been a while since the last post...

WELL that's because TARANTULAS ARE BORING! Lol, no they're not but out of two of them I haven't seen much except a leg sticking out of their hides here and there for the past few weeks.

This evening we finally spotted a fully out and about Mustapha. He molted recently and man is he getting big! Especially considering that in July he was only a little speck. They grow up so quickly *sniffles* it's precious, really.

I'm getting very tempted to lift Smithy's coconut shell to see if she's okay because I haven't seen so much as a stitch of leg lately and I'm getting worried.

The Ts stress me out still. Not nearly as much as they used to when they first arrived but enough to make me realize that they are very different than anything I'm used to!

They're Settled In!

Since my last post I have seen plenty of tarantula sightings. The two little darlings have been out and about. Smithy has been back to her usual self, clinging onto the side of the terrarium and Mustapha likes to sit outside his hide and then scurry back in as soon as he sees me come near:P

This evening after work it will be spider feeding and maintenance day. I have to pick through their leftovers, fill the water dishes and offer some bugs.

Chris and I are hoping that Smithy will be out, and that we'll be able to handle her. I'm not one for picking their hide up to get to them. If they don't feel safe in their homes, where will they?

My brother gave me a coffee grinder. I don't grind coffee so I'm using it to grind up cat food for the crickets. This will be the spider's first feed with the healthier crickets.

On Sunday we fed the Ts and Mustapha, who never wastes any time, tackled a rather large bug and they wrestled around the terrarium. Unfortunately, I missed that one but Chris said that their brawl actually made noise as they tumbled into the sides of the container.

Bottom line of this post, tarantulas are awesome. I'm still in love!

Come out and Play with Me.

Ever since the terrarium change + new hides, I haven't seen the little guys! I guess I knew this day would come. I had heard that once tarantulas were given nice hides they tend to prefer them over sitting out in the open. I miss my spiders!

Now I'll throw a bug in and they just disappear. No more seeing them hunt, eat and spin. Waaah.

I'm hopeful that they will come out and explore their homes soon and maybe even chill out on the side, or on the substrate once in a while. *crosses fingers*

Another Molt and ReHoming

Mustapha molted a few days later, on the 1st of January. So much for clockwork. I didn't think he'd be due for 2 weeks to a month later. Actually, he ate about 3 days before!

I *thought* Smithy had finally gained some growth ground on him after her last suit change but man oh man, he's huge! Considering he's nearly a year younger than her, he's definitely living up to fast growing reputation of the Brazilian Black and White.

So, I had to set them up with new houses, for the third time in six months. They're in (basically) Critter Keepers now. The next step will be a 5 gallon tank, so I hope they can at least have the new house for 4 to 6 months or so.

I'm currently using coconut husk bedding, slightly moistened. Smithy has a coconut shell hide and a pop bottle cap water dish. Mustapha has a split (half) log and a piece of cork bark on the other end of his home for decor. Also, a pop cap dish.

I want to add a piece of bark to Smithy's habitat but the coconut shell takes up a lot of room. I don't want to crowd her.

Getting Smithy into her new crib was easy and fun. We simply picked her up, played for a few minutes and stuck her in. Mustapha, being the shy guy that he is, hid in his container and I had to use a paintbrush to slowly scoop old (nasty) substrate out until he just went for it and run out.

Tarantulas are so counter intuitive. Most creatures run AWAY when they're scared. T's run toward you! So when he started running at me, needless to say, I turned into Flinchy McFlincherson.

I'll get used to their antics one day...Maybe:P

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!

New Smithy Picture

The spiders have been eating regularly, are more active than usual.

Not much more to report other than that. So I'll leave you with a recent picture of Smithy. It's too bad these little guys are so unphotogenic...Well at least to my abilities.

It's been nearly 5 months of being a spider Mom. I'm still fascinated. Will the novelty ever wear off? I hope not!