WOOHOO!

[Aaron]

Nice on the TV!


So roommate and I went to a pet store here (well technically a town away, but really close) and they had spiders. They had fish both fresh water and salt water fish. And some birds. Then on the way out I noticed more cages and they had bunnies and other things, mice rats, hamsters. And they had spiders. They even had the kind that I want. (well a few of the kinds that i want.) And while their price wasn't as cheap as online, there wouldn't be any shipping charge (next day) so it works out to being the same price give or take a few bucks... They also had food for cheap, and little cages. All in all really easy set ups...

[Aaron]

7 days off. FUCK YES! 4 days till my folks come up. Which will be awesome to see them again.

[dee]

You got a tarantula? OMG!! What kind? Male or female? How old? I looove tarantulas. If you need any help, lemme know. After having had spiders for 25+ yrs, I can help with a thing or two.

Gratz on the TV's guys.

[Aaron]

Sadly not yet. BUT I do want to get one. Well I want a few, but I want to just get one to start with. And I figure I would get a B smithi or B boehmei first. The pet store had both. The smithi was like 2-3 inches, the boehmei was like 1 inch. Just a sling. Their prices were a bit more then online, however shipping would make them both about the same... I just need to figure out a way to keep them warm enough and not have to have my room hot as hell to... Well like 70-80 is their perfect temp...


I kinda want to see about getting a tote and cutting hella air holes in it and putting large heating mats on it... Then it's dark in there which they like, and warm which they need. Cuz I don't really want to have to spend that much more on power to keep my room that hot... Cuz well fuck that shit. I don't want it to be that hot...

[luna]

can you get a heat lamp like for reptiles? also I think Goose will agree that we should establish a no spider pictures rule right now

[Aaron]

I can, however they don't like the light. So it would freak them out and stress them out as well. Heating pads are also pretty much a no go as well since they cause the soil to heat up, and if the spider burrows into the ground it should be cooler not warmer. Which is why I'm thinking the tote idea might be a good idea. I saw a video of a guy with a out door lawn shed in his place (like the small plastic kinds) and he had a huge heater and a few air vents with fans. To keep them both warm and with good air flow.


Wait so Mike gets to post all his creepy crawlies but I don't    That's some bullshit right there. Look up this spider "gooty sapphire ornamental tree spider" that one is really pretty. All Blue, with some white colors as well. Really really pretty. The B smithi and B boehmei are also cool looking. Green bottle blue is another pretty one. Like I didn't know tarantulas could be that colorful or that pretty. 

[luna]

NO

my old hairdresser kept tarantulas and once I went to her house to get my hair cut, she asked it I wanted to see her new spider because it's so pretty, me: um no I freaking hate spiders, her: oh, don't look at that box on the table like 3 feet from where you're sitting then

seriously I know they can be pretty and I know they are not dangerous and they're more afraid of me than I am of them but I just plain don't like them at all

oh and I think we forbid Mike from posting any more creepy crawlie pictures

[Aaron]

Sigh. Party pooper. But ya. I understand people don't like them... I think they are cool as shit.  And some are pretty dangerous. Like they won't kill you if they bite you. but some have inch long fangs and just the fangs can mess you up. Never mind the venom... Like some will cause muscle spasms for hours on end... I'm not buying those kinds... Or at lest not for a long while... I don't really care if I can hold them or not. Just want to look at them. And watch them feed... And No worries I won't post pics. The last thing I need is for you to come down south just to kick my ass...

[dee]

Oh shoot, I can help you out a lot. Tomasa was a Chilean Rosehair (aka Chilean Red) and loved to burrow. I've also had several arboreal ones which are far more demanding in terms of temp and humidity, but it's good to start with the easy care ones first.

Firstly, you need a decent sized tank so they can burrow, or at least something for them to crawl into. Lachesis had a box that she preferred to use, but Tomasa had a 10 inch long burrow that was maybe 4-5inches deep. I used regular potting soil with a little peat moss tossed in to help stay moist. Those little tiny totes are terrible for anything other than bringing them home. A 5 gal is big enough for a small spider, but you might want to think of getting a 10 gal for an adult.

Second, heat rocks are the way to go. That way they can snuggle if they are cold, or leave it when they are warm enough. I had 2 in Tomasa's 55gal tank (Yes, 55gal. After Lachesis passed away, I spoiled my little girl rotten ) One next to her burrow entrance and one at the other end. I never had my room warmer than 65f and that was just to keep the mold at bay during the winters. If you think they are getting too cold, like the night my heater broke, just put a towel or blanket over the top of the tank to keep the cold air out. (I borrowed my sisters hair dryer to warm the tank up, put a blanket over it and voila! Toasty warm tarantula.)

Keep a plant mister handy for misting the tank regularly. Spritzing the heat rock helps with the humidity. They need more humidity than the books tend to tell you, especially when they are moulting. And trust me, moulting is VERY hard on them so any little thing you can do to assist helps them tremendously.

Get the larger one. The red-leg. Spiderlings are really hard to care for when you're a novice. They get out easily and are very, very susceptible to toxins. Like cigarette smoke. Pot smoke. Air fresheners. Carpet cleaners. Pest sprays. Cologne. Never, ever use chemicals to clean their tanks or anything near them. Always use organic. Vinegar and water is safe. with baking soda. Tarantulas have very simple lungs that don't filter toxins well, so even grown spiders need to be protected from anything potentially harmful.

That's the basic stuff I can think of off the top of my head. I've had 8 different spiders of various ages/species over the past 25 years. Had my Tomasa for 20 years. Her last moult didn't go well and she passed a month afterwards or I'd still have her.

Yeah, don't post pics. I nearly gave the poor Goose a heart attack when I posted Tomasa hanging on her tank lid. I still feel bad for that.

Oh! Check out the Martinique Tree Spider. They are a gorgeous teal when they are spiderlings, then they turn amethyst and ruby when they mature.

[Goose]

Please feel free to post pics, but just do it by link with a warning for the squeemish/arachnophobic.  Imgur is a pretty good image host if you need one.

[Aaron]

Dee thanks. Never thought about heat rocks. (didn't really know about them I guess.) And ya, I have been watching a lot of youtube vids on how to care for T's. Like the humidity and what not. They said to get a plant mister. (I might when I get a lot of spiders or when they need a huge tank... Until then I will just use a little spray bottle...


Goose no worries. I will make sure to put warning on the pics. And I do in fact need a new host, I think I had photobucket. But I lost that shit ages ago. (like password and username. And I didn't care about it enough to get it back.)

[Aaron]

My folks are here WOOO! Haven't seen them since last July.

Gona head up north to see my aunt and uncle (dad's sister and brother in law.) They live pretty far north of Seattle. A bit north of the half way point from Seattle to Canada land. Should be fun to see them...

[Aaron]

Saw my Uncle and Aunts place. REALLY nice house. And their view of the bay was amazing. We could see one of the ferries land. And other random boats as well. We drove around the island they live on.  (It's not really that islandy... Like it's just a bridge to get to it. Not boat/plane only...) They even have a really nice couch for me when I move out of this place. Which I plan on...

My dad gave me cab fair which kinda cracks me up a bit. (not so much cuz he doesn't want me walking, but cuz there is crazy people... ) My mom has allergies to cats (and dogs well long hair ones, short hair dogs don't bother her much.) But both noticed and complained (nicely) about the smell. But my mom was a lot more vocal about it to my roommate about cleaning and shit. It was awesome. My dad also commented about me getting a new place on my own/new roommate. (AKA one with out the cats) I talked to my other Seattle friend about helping me move and he said he was willing. And since everything I have will fit in to a Uhaul really easy I just asked him. My dad said he would be willing to help me move with his truck. So that is sahweet.


I had a great time with them. Gona be sad they are leaving tomorrow. BUT oh well.... I really did miss them though. (And not just all the free dinners they provided...)

Also one of my friends said she would resticker my 7x7 for me. (I really was planning on just buying a new one to break in and then change the stickers slowly) She will be done tomorrow night. Which is SUPER SAHWEEEEEEET! 

Also my resume should be done tomorrow so I can get that back and change/fix what I need to on it. So I can start applying for better jobs. (REALLY hoping Amazon Warehouse hires me. Like that would make my fucking year. More pay and more work. Like right now my job is fucking cake walk easy, but boring, and while I make enough to live on... It's not that much more... And the work is boring... I really don't mind working hard and being busy all the time since it makes time go by soooo much faster...)

[Aaron]

So got my resume back today. Not that big of a deal to me. I want to get a new job soon, BUT I don't mind waiting a bit for my friend...

I also bought new stickers for a lot of my cubes (2x2,3x3,5x5, and 7x7.) I did all the restickering my self but not the 7x7. My friend did that for me. (I could have, but she did it with out tweezers and she has tiny hands... SO way better at it then me.) And it looks great! The colors are way better (I got a different set of colors. Like the same but they are all brighter) So as payment I bought her dinner tonight. (not as a date or anything.) But I had a blast, I really can't wait to start solving it again. I want to be getting sub 6 by the end of the year...

[r00]

wifey got me this shirt for the Hallmark holiday!