# By Popular Demand (Pic Heavy - And I mean heavy...)



## ph0bia (Feb 21, 2009)

I've finally done it. 

I've had numerous different requests, in comments, PMs, you name it. That said, this is far from conclusive, as I honestly couldn't be arsed to go through every enclosure in one go (having to move them from the bedroom to the sitting room to get decent lighting...) so, here's just a basic rundown of some spiders, some enclosures and some other bits and pieces.

Hope you enjoy and it answers the questions you've asked me 


Firstly, my Brachypelma auratum (Mexican flameknee) in her 30x30x30 ExoTerra. Note the doors are on the back and the substrate is piled high.










And here she is herself.










My little Brachypelma smithi (Mexican redknee) which I keep in an ExoTerra (Medium) Breeding Box. 










Next up, Aphonopelma seemanni (Costa Rican zebra). This is her enclosure. It's an ExoTerra Large Faunarium. I love these enclosures.










Though this is all she'd let me photo... She's camera-shy apparently.










Now for my Acanthoscurria geniculata (Brazilian Whiteknee) MM. He's a feisty little sod... had to be quick.









_*

NEXT POST - G.rosea and P.chordatus and slings.*_


----------



## GRB (Jan 24, 2008)

I'm surprised by the Flame Knee enclosure; usually you advocate shorter enclosures for risk of falling. 

I do like the exo flats, although I have trouble keeping the humidity up which is why I am liking acrylic tanks more and more. The flats are useful however, and a decent size.


----------



## ph0bia (Feb 21, 2009)

Continuing on, here is my Grammostola rosea (Chilean rose). She's a docile little thing, very rarely have any problems with her.










My G.rosea is also in an ExoTerra Faunarium. Most of my adults are, including my first spider, my wonderful Pterinochilus chordatus (Kilimanjaro mustard) shown below. Prolific webber.










Let's take a look at that from a slightly different angle, as I love this webbing.










As you can see, she's also dug a beautiful little burrow. I tickled her out for a couple of photos:










She has to be my favourite, possibly because she was my first, but also because I understand her. I can guide her around her tank, make her rear if I want her to (but not lunge), she handfeeds and takes the occasional pinkie.

Onto the slings now. Most of my slings are in the rearing jars that the Spider Shop sell. They're cheap, clear, easy to pierce for ventilation. Love 'em. Here we go.

Psalmopeus irminia (Suntiger)










I could not get a good shot of her, she kept cowering, bless her, so I left her alone. Maybe another day.

My pokies,

P.regalis (Indian ornamental)










Who cowered in his burrow...
And:

P.rufilata (Red slate ornamental)










This is a cereal container sold at ASDA, John Lewis, all over the place. Holes drilled in, substrate and cork bark added, voila.










When I took this, I could see her on the back there. Now I can't. Shame... 

My Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens (Greenbottle blue) enclosure:










Strangely, this was the first enclosure where I put the substrate through a sieve... it's so fine and fluffy ^_^

And here's the little lady herself (hoping it's going to turn out female )










People were asking how big my Lasiodora parahybana (Salmon pink) sling is... well...










It's even smaller than my Grammostola pulcheripes (Chaco goldenknee):










_*
Next, finishing it off with kit, projects and general layout!*_


----------



## ph0bia (Feb 21, 2009)

And here they are, all back on the shelves. 

Going clockwise around the picture from bottom left:










A.avicularia (Pinktoe), H.arizonensis (Desert hairy scorpion), on top of which is my P.murinus MM (Mombassa Starburst) on top of which is my P.parvula (Chile beauty), A.abberans (Casablanca Chestnut) on top of H.lividum (Cobalt Blue), H.albostriatum (Thai zebra) on top of S.dichromata (New Guinea Black femur).

Shelf 2:
Again, clockwise from bottom left:










Empty (due to be filled on the 17th ), A.seemanni (Costa rican zebra), P.chordatus (Kilimanjaro mustard), G.rosea (Chilean rose), A.geniculata MM (Brazilian whiteknee).

Shelf 3:
Working left-to-right from the top:










G.rosea MM, sitting on top of P.chordatus MM, which is behind A.chalcodes (Desert blonde), which is on top of T.ockerti (Peruvian flamerump). A.avicularia, behind P.pulcher (Panama blonde), behind A.purpurea (Ecuadorian purple). G.rosea RCF A/F, behind a P.cambridgei (Trinidad chevron) sling.

Below is my Bearded Dragon viv. On top of it I keep the slings, my B.smithi and my B.auratum. Don't worry about heat rising, it doesn't rise that much (temperatures are monitored).









_*
Next post, Kit and Projects!*_


----------



## ph0bia (Feb 21, 2009)

Below is a picture of my tarantula supplies. I'll discuss these all individually.










Clockwise from top-left:

Call-cards - I use these as data sheets, monitoring when a spider arrives into our care, when they molt, and what size the molt is.

"The Box" - More on this later.

A set of 6" forceps, each with different uses. The hooked ones are great for crickets (and handfeeding slings), below are the springloaded, useful for spot-cleaning, the paddle-tips and standard forceps I use for exuvia manipulation.

A set of 12" forceps - Needed for spot-cleaning or feeding the more aggressive species 

Torches! - A maglite solitaire, invaluable personally for quick observation at night. Next to it is a UV Torch, just for showing off my scorpion at night, but also useful for mite spotting.

Now, back to "The Box", this is what's in it:










The Germolene stuff made its way in here for dealing with spider bites. I've been bitten twice, my girlfriend's been bitten once. Also, the antiseptic cream, used VERY sparingly, is great for the relief of urticating setae.

The little pots are misters I use for my slings, available from Muji.

The pipette and glycerin here are used for manipulating exuviae. Also, should a spider have a bad molt, the glycerin can be used to soften it and assist if absolutely required.










Hot glue gun from Hobbycraft! Perfect for securing cage decorations. Invaluable and very cheap. I also used it as the fastening for:










A cute little display that's monitoring my B.smithi and B.auratum's growth. The little display box was also bought from Hobbycraft for about £7. Molts are gently glued into place with a small sticker below each denoting size, species and date.

Finally, I thought I'd show a photo of officially the biggest spider we keep. It's very docile and totally handleable.










Lol.

Well, there we go! Hope you enjoyed! I realise it's a very long few posts, but... Heh. Thank you.


----------



## ph0bia (Feb 21, 2009)

GRB said:


> I'm surprised by the Flame Knee enclosure; usually you advocate shorter enclosures for risk of falling.
> 
> I do like the exo flats, although I have trouble keeping the humidity up which is why I am liking acrylic tanks more and more. The flats are useful however, and a decent size.


I am an advocate, indeed. The substrate is high enough that the distance between it and the lid is only a little more than 1.5x her legspan, as I've always advocated.  It doesn't look it in the photo, but it is about 8" (just under) and she's just over 5.5".

She rarely climbs now, but did a few times after I put her in there. She fell, but was fine every time. I worried a lot at first, but she did fall onto the water bowl, which I'd think the worst bit in there to land on. Most of the time she simply climbed up the top, across and then down the back again, but she's settled a lot more now.


----------



## Straight-Up (Jul 18, 2009)

I love Auratums! I wish they were more readily available!  I have to say though, I feel sorry for the T's that are so close to the others, they can barely be seen.


----------



## ph0bia (Feb 21, 2009)

Poor thing! I forgot my _Holothele incei_ (Trinidad olive)!!! (Which is one of the ones specifically requested!)

Here it is:



















As you can see, the webbing is not just across the floor, but from the first pic, it comes up about halfway into the enclosure too. Prolific webbers indeed! This sling is about the size of a 10 pence piece now.




Straight-Up said:


> I love Auratums! I wish they were more readily available!  I have to say though, I feel sorry for the T's that are so close to the others, they can barely be seen.


Hehe, don't worry, they all receive the same amount of love


----------



## perthchickie (Mar 15, 2008)

Fantastic pics:no1:


----------



## joeyboy (Jul 19, 2008)

loving the mixture of different substrates! is that grass actually growing now then? Is watering it without making it overly humid problematic? I think I'll have to post pics of mine next week if we have at least some sun, my camera is good but really needs light, I'd rather not use flash so I'll probably take the enclosures(ugh and the exo) outside.


----------



## ph0bia (Feb 21, 2009)

joeyboy said:


> loving the mixture of different substrates! is that grass actually growing now then? Is watering it without making it overly humid problematic? I think I'll have to post pics of mine next week if we have at least some sun, my camera is good but really needs light, I'd rather not use flash so I'll probably take the enclosures(ugh and the exo) outside.


It's all fake plants, except a small amount of grass growing in the fake grass of the B.auratum. Humidity is no problem with any as they're all stacked or stored in such a way that ventilation is cut down if it needs to be or greater if it should be dryer.

As for substrates, I'm careful to mix different substrates for each spider to attempt to mimic the natural environment. Each has a varied ratio of peat, moss, orchid bark (non-toxic to inverts), vermiculite, coir and sand.


----------



## dinan (Jan 18, 2009)

very nice collection u have there love the way the tanks are decorated and a nice large collection with all the essential supplies there u could add a few small paintbrushs to the box of supplies to apply the glycerine in case of a fall


----------



## joeyboy (Jul 19, 2008)

ph0bia said:


> It's all fake plants, except a small amount of grass growing in the fake grass of the B.auratum. Humidity is no problem with any as they're all stacked or stored in such a way that ventilation is cut down if it needs to be or greater if it should be dryer.
> 
> As for substrates, I'm careful to mix different substrates for each spider to attempt to mimic the natural environment. Each has a varied ratio of peat, moss, orchid bark (non-toxic to inverts), vermiculite, coir and sand.


it's weird though cos I was under the impression orchid bark is bark from the fir tree..which I thought was toxic. But obviously it isn't as it's sold as a substrate.

here it says fir tree anyway: http://www.easyorchids.co.uk/shop/ORCHID-BARK-and-COMPOST/


----------



## ph0bia (Feb 21, 2009)

Fir doesn't necessarily seem to be toxic. Cedar and pine are.

I'm also adding pics of my H.lividum set-up here, just a front and back view this time 




















More info on this setup can be found here.




dinan said:


> very nice collection u have there love the way the tanks are decorated and a nice large collection with all the essential supplies there u could add a few small paintbrushs to the box of supplies to apply the glycerine in case of a fall


Actually, I'd not even realised the artists brush was missing. We have a couple of 12" wooden ones with soft bristles that we use. Best thing to use in case of a fall is kept in my modelling draw, not here... cyanoacrylate, it's brilliant for just gently brushing onto wounds and sealing them up.

Cyanoacrylate, by the way, is superglue


----------



## ginna (Jun 2, 2009)

i like the idea of sticking your t's sheds in a frame it looks realy good ,where did you get the frame


----------



## samroyal2 (Oct 8, 2006)

ph0bia said:


> my wonderful Pterinochilus chordatus (Kilimanjaro mustard) shown below. Prolific webber.
> 
> image
> 
> ...


This has to be the best out of the lot very nice setup, webbing and spider. Whats there temperement like in general? also what substrate do you use in your tanks? its not the usual coco fibre which i personally so not like.


----------



## joeyboy (Jul 19, 2008)

samroyal2 said:


> This has to be the best out of the lot very nice setup, webbing and spider. Whats there temperement like in general? also what substrate do you use in your tanks? its not the usual coco fibre which i personally so not like.


he says at the top of this page each t's enclosure is a mix of peat, sand, orchid bark, moss, vermiculite and coir(which may be coco fibre.). The ratio changes depending on where it's from, he's trying to replicate their substrate.

But I agree it's nice. I don't like coco fibre, one because expanding the bricks annoys me and also because it's terrible at holding water IMO, compared to say peat or other organic composting substrates. Also when you water it often it seems to start to..break apart, goes all straggly n nasty.


----------



## samroyal2 (Oct 8, 2006)

joeyboy said:


> he says at the top of this page each t's enclosure is a mix of peat, sand, orchid bark, moss, vermiculite and coir(which may be coco fibre.). The ratio changes depending on where it's from, he's trying to replicate their substrate.
> 
> But I agree it's nice. I don't like coco fibre, one because expanding the bricks annoys me and also because it's terrible at holding water IMO, compared to say pear or other organic composting substrates. Also when you water it often it seems to start to..break apart, goes all straggly n nasty.


Guess i should learn to read properly lol but yes i find the same problem i don't like the stringy bits that seem to be in it.


----------



## ph0bia (Feb 21, 2009)

samroyal2 said:


> This has to be the best out of the lot very nice setup, webbing and spider. Whats there temperement like in general? also what substrate do you use in your tanks? its not the usual coco fibre which i personally so not like.


Thank you!

Their temperament is like any Pterinochilus (P.murinus is OBT), they're extremely defensive if you back them into a corner, can be very fast and will not hesitate to bite... which is considered a nasty one.

Unlike other Pterinochilus (and other old worlds actually), in my dealing with her, she can rear, and she uncurls her fangs in doing so, but she's generally quite slow. She doesn't ever make a dash towards me, only ever away, which is usually what she does if I disturb the tank. Perhaps one day I'll get a video.

I can usually tease her out by gently tapping her webbing, she's usually very receptive.

As for substrates, for her it's about a 70/20/10 of dry peat, orchid bark and vermiculite. Damp when I put it in, pressed down firmly. I began the start of the burrow, she took it on and finished it then webbed everything up.


----------



## joeyboy (Jul 19, 2008)

samroyal2 said:


> Guess i should learn to read properly lol but yes i find the same problem i don't like the stringy bits that seem to be in it.


yeah. I was looking online for peat, there seems to be Irish sphagnum moss peat, canadian sphagnum peat and sedge peat. The Irish one is the one which isn't good for the environment to be taken really.


----------



## samroyal2 (Oct 8, 2006)

joeyboy said:


> yeah. I was looking online for peat, there seems to be Irish sphagnum moss peat, canadian sphagnum peat and sedge peat. The Irish one is the one which isn't good for the environment to be taken really.


Not looked into those the sub i have started to use is a organic peat free compost you can see what its like in the last thread i made and have found it looks better and even when lose it seems better at supporting furnishings if that makes sense.



ph0bia said:


> Thank you!
> 
> Their temperament is like any Pterinochilus (P.murinus is OBT), they're extremely defensive if you back them into a corner, can be very fast and will not hesitate to bite... which is considered a nasty one.
> 
> ...


No worries cheers for the info. Any worse then a pokie lol? Think i would leave it a while either way if i was to get one haven't long had the pokie so think it might be a idea to see how it goes with it for a while before getting any other "nasty" spiders.


----------



## mythicdawn07 (Jun 18, 2009)

thanks to this i now know my first T was an Acanthoscurria geniculata, i always thought it was a redknee but white lol.

Whats the temperment on these like because i used to handle mine daily and my mates was a total bitch.


----------



## joeyboy (Jul 19, 2008)

samroyal2 said:


> Not looked into those the sub i have started to use is a organic peat free compost you can see what its like in the last thread i made and have found it looks better and even when lose it seems better at supporting furnishings if that makes sense.



is it a certain brand? I was trying to find one I know for sure doesn't contain fertilizers n such, I imagine organic doesn't.

I've used wilkos own so far, not organic but the two of my T's which are on it have been for over 6 months now and so it would seem it's fine.


----------



## samroyal2 (Oct 8, 2006)

joeyboy said:


> is it a certain brand? I was trying to find one I know for sure doesn't contain fertilizers n such, I imagine organic doesn't.
> 
> I've used wilkos own so far, not organic but the two of my T's which are on it have been for over 6 months now and so it would seem it's fine.


Its mircale-gro organic peat free compost 100% chemical free is what it said been using it a month now and no problems so far both P Regalis and GBB are on it. All it is is rotted down natural materials heres what it looks like. More natural i think.







.


----------



## joeyboy (Jul 19, 2008)

samroyal2 said:


> Its mircale-gro organic peat free compost 100% chemical free is what it said been using it a month now and no problems so far both P Regalis and GBB are on it. All it is is rotted down natural materials heres what it looks like. More natural i think.
> image.


so this stuff?

Miracle Gro Organic Peat Free All Purpose Compost 50ltr | Miracle Gro Organic Peat Free Growing Compost | Miracle Gro Natural All Purpose Compost | CPL Creative Garden Ideas

Not a bad price either, cheaper then coco fibre and not much more then wilkos(and I;d feel better using something I know is 100% natural)


----------



## samroyal2 (Oct 8, 2006)

joeyboy said:


> so this stuff?
> 
> Miracle Gro Organic Peat Free All Purpose Compost 50ltr | Miracle Gro Organic Peat Free Growing Compost | Miracle Gro Natural All Purpose Compost | CPL Creative Garden Ideas
> 
> Not a bad price either, cheaper then coco fibre and not much more then wilkos(and I;d feel better using something I know is 100% natural)


Thats the one heres a little tip when buying it also a example is the really small bags you will find a different place to main bags of compost for this reason.
there are three sizes at our prices are:
8 litres 3.99
20 litres 3.49
50 or 56 litres 5.99

So have a look before buying as thew really small bags have a higher mark up because of the more mangeble size.


----------



## Captainmatt29 (Feb 28, 2009)

Some really nice pics there and the setups look fantastic


----------



## sparkle (Mar 21, 2007)

messengermatt said:


> Some really nice pics there and the setups look fantastic


 thought u werent coming back LOL

that was the fastest dissapearing act on RFUk


----------



## joeyboy (Jul 19, 2008)

sparkle said:


> thought u werent coming back LOL
> 
> that was the fastest dissapearing act on RFUk


haha! Seriously Matt don't go though, forums can be a load of crap sometimes since everyone thinks their big and anonymous online, but we love you!!:blush:


----------



## ph0bia (Feb 21, 2009)

ginna said:


> i like the idea of sticking your t's sheds in a frame it looks realy good ,where did you get the frame


From Hobbycraft. Less than £10 



samroyal2 said:


> No worries cheers for the info. Any worse then a pokie lol? Think i would leave it a while either way if i was to get one haven't long had the pokie so think it might be a idea to see how it goes with it for a while before getting any other "nasty" spiders.


As I said, she tends to be a little more reserved and certainly more predictable than a pokie. The pokies I have, if you knock their tank they scuttle about in random directions then lie still hoping to camouflage. She either darts into her burrow or sits there. As long as I'm not an idiot with her, she's very well behaved. I'll try and get a video sometime.

As for her webbing, when I first got her, I kept her in a container with very little substrate. They show semi-arboreal tendencies, so web a lot and make webbed tunnels as a retreat. She did this. After molting, I thought I'd give her a more 'obligate burrow' setup, she burrowed, and then a few months later, she now spends her entire time in the webbed 'forecourt'. 



mythicdawn07 said:


> thanks to this i now know my first T was an Acanthoscurria geniculata, i always thought it was a redknee but white lol.
> 
> Whats the temperment on these like because i used to handle mine daily and my mates was a total bitch.


_
A.geniculata_? Well, the jury really is out of their temperaments. When this one first arrived, I handled him frequently, he was no problem, then one day he started rearing at me, and lunging and now, if I open the tank at all he moves straight towards me and rears, as if trying to push me away.

I'd suggest their one of those species that, if handled from a young age, might grow accustomed to it (_there's been one very good example of someone doing this with their_ P.regalis), or it may just be a case of individuals. I've experienced similar, some claim there's is docile as they come, others are evil.

I think the best way to describe an _A.genics_ temperament is "moody". Sometimes they're fine, but others, they just don't want to know.



messengermatt said:


> Some really nice pics there and the setups look fantastic


Thank you. I'll try and add more pics today of some of the other setups.


Oh, a comment I received in PM, I thought I'd share.
Yes, my H.lividum's enclosure is kept very dry, there's also no water bowl. Without fail, whenever I put a waterbowl in there, it is completely burried that night. You can see it in the pic, I use a Lucozade bottle cap, it's red. And every time I fill it up, I wake up the next morning and it's burried.

So, what I do (and this takes some getting used to) is I dump half a pint to a pint of lukewarm water over the substrate once every two months. Most of this is absorbed by the substrate, raking up humidity, the rest pools in the burrow below for drinking, before it evaporates (which it does quite quickly).


----------



## Becky (Mar 26, 2007)

That male doesn't look geniculata to me... looks more Nhandu colloratovillosus! Infact i'm 99.9% sure it is


----------



## ph0bia (Feb 21, 2009)

Could very well be. The guy we got it off was a bit of a... yeah...

Basically, he came into the store where my girlfriend works ranting and raving at how it had been sold him as a female and as a docile species! Now it was male and really aggressive, he wanted his money back and to get rid of the spider because it was more than he could cope with.

Yes, seriously.

He bought it as a sling from the store, who are supplied by Go-Gaia (ie, SpiderShop). They did not identify it's sex at all.

Needless to say, when my girlfriend came home from work and told me about it (it had quite upset her how rude he'd been) I said "Sure, give him £20 and I'll take it.".

It was sold as an _A.geniculata_ sling, but... could very well be an _Nhandu coloratovillosus_. I'm just going by what it's always been sold as 
Also, my camera is terrible, so... *shrug* 

I'll take a look into it though, I've never doubted it, but now I'm intrigued.


----------



## ph0bia (Feb 21, 2009)

*And continuing...*

*On with the show!*

Firstly, my_ Avicularia avicularia_ (Pinktoe). She's lovely and docile and takes food directly from the tweezers.

She's kept in a cereal container (as sold by ASDA, John Lewis, BHS etc...).










The decorations are secured to the side using hotglue. This is non-toxic to the tarantulas, and means if the cage is knocked, then the cork won't fall and possibly crush and kill her.

It also means I can put the waterbowl up at her height. Yes, she's been seen drinking from it:










Sadly, this is the best I could get as a photo of her...










Next up, my _Pterinochilus murinus_ MM. (Mombassa Starburst)
This is the little one who bit me. The enclosure is nothing overly special, as (forgive me) I don't want to go to effort and expense to house a (albeit beautiful) spider that may die any day. I love this little guy, he was a rescue, and as my first bite, well, he holds a place in my heart.










And here he is:












I showed my_ B.smithi_ enclosure earlier, I love the ExoTerra breeding boxes. They're a brilliant size, secure lids and they have doors on the side for feeding.










That's my _Paraphysa parvula_ enclosure (Chile Gold Burst). She's incredibly docile, and stunning colours.










As for a picture of her... bless her, I couldn't tease her out.

Finally, there's more info on this one in my other topic (directly on it), but here's my _Selenocosmia dichromata_ (New Guinea Black Femur) enclosure:










And here she is in it, sorry that there's no better image. It's all I could get.


----------



## ph0bia (Feb 21, 2009)

Becky said:


> That male doesn't look geniculata to me... looks more Nhandu colloratovillosus! Infact i'm 99.9% sure it is


I see why you're suggesting a_ Nhandu coloratovillosus_, it's because of the faded colouration? I can confirm that's happened over time, when we first got him he was a light more vibrant (the black darker and the white lighter). If that's what the ID was basing on, then I'd say it is an _Acanthoscurria geniculata_.

I'd not complain if it where an _N.coloratovillosus_ to be honest though, it increases the number of individual species we own, and also means that we don't have two _A.geniculata_ (I have a sling _A.genic_ also ).


----------



## samroyal2 (Oct 8, 2006)

ph0bia said:


> From Hobbycraft. Less than £10
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Cheers for the info and again for the rest of the thread also nice setups and T's sorry is it seemed like abit of a hijack when talling about substrate last night.


----------



## ph0bia (Feb 21, 2009)

Nah, it's cool, it's still on topic 

As it goes, do feel free to ask any questions about these set-ups and the spiders, just please refrain from "Lol you should do this". Assume I have a reason for doing each bit of the enclosures


----------



## ChrisNE (Jul 13, 2008)

Great collection mate! Very jealous! :mf_dribble::notworthy:


----------



## ph0bia (Feb 21, 2009)

All this has been acquired in less than a year, and only a couple I'd consider "tricky to get", nothing in there is incredibly difficult (_except the _Selenocosmia_, which are very limited as they're wild-caught not captive bred yet - as far as I'm aware, __plenty on TSS atm though__ - and the _B.auratum_, _A.abberans (_which I think is quite new to the hobby_)_ and the _T.ockerti, _not pictured yet_) to get hold of.

I guess I got lucky in some senses, but also having an inability to say no helped


----------



## ph0bia (Feb 21, 2009)

And, on that note, let's continue with what would be described as "my girlfriends spiders". A lot of these I got her as gifts or were acquired to her by different means. We generally refer to the spiders as "ours", the lizards and snakes, however, she's much more protective of in regards to ownership 

Without further ado, introducing her _Thrixopelma ockerti_ (Peruvian Flamerump). Semi-arboreal and stunning, if a bit hyperactive and moody.


















Her first spider was a beautiful _Heteroscodra maculata_ (Togo Starburst), a species often demonized and certainly never recommended a beginner, but, alas, she was in love with it. Honestly, we've never had any problems with her, despite her being a pet webbed hole... Guess where she settled 










Next up, the most evil _Avicularia avicularia_ (Pinktoe) you will ever meet. This little one has bitten my girlfriend, and refuses any food we introduce. She attacks the cricket, often completely freaking out and falling from the sides of the enclosure to the bottom where she stands in a threat display. We think she thinks she's a _Haplopelma_...










She's stunning as far as A.avic's go, but absolutely mental...










On the other end of the spectrum, we have the _Aphonopelma chalcodes _(Desert blonde). This one was sent free from SpiderShop when my girlfriend last did the spider order for the store she works at. It's also the one that 'chewed' my finger after I handled her, unaware that she was still eating...

I can forgive her that though, shes gorgeous and incredibly docile. Any more docile and I think she'd slip into a coma...










She's only a juve, and fits wonderfully in an ExoTerra (Medium) BreedingBox.

On the subject of docility, she was also given the following spider free. Essentially, her previous owner has had to move into much smaller accomodation, is unable to look after the spider anymore and we've come to own her. 










Her previous owner was very sad that she had to go, but we will be giving her back should his situation improves. He was given her by a friend, and so we are all completely unsure of the species.

My best guess is simply a _Grammostola rosea_ A/F RCF. I could easily be wrong.

Next to her, we have the hyperactive and moody MM G.rosea.










Sadly, can't get a better pic as removing that lid is offering him a chance to sprint across the room again...

Much as this little one does too, her MM _Pterinochilus chordatus_ (Kilimanjaro mustard). We considered breeding her MM with my A/F, but we have nowhere to put the slings after, currently, so decided it would be a bad idea.










Also, unlike our other specimens, this guy isn't living in an ExoTerra product. He's in a plastic fishtank, same make as my _Haplopelma albostriatum_ (Thai Zebra) is in (_currently the only unphoto'd tank as she needs some serious work. At the moment, it's a block of dirt with a burrow_). Notice that even after maturing, he still keeps and uses his burrow...











_*Next post - we're nearly done now! Just my girlfriends slings to go, and maybe my Thai Zebra!*_


----------



## ph0bia (Feb 21, 2009)

On to my girlfriends slings.

First up, a gorgeous _Avicularia purpurea_ (Ecuadorian purple). She's stunning, lovely colouration, hand-feeds and has made a lovely little sock. Sadly, my camera seems not to be working as well as it did yesterday, and we're getting a bit of blur.










Again, she's in one of the SpiderShops rearing jars. I love these jars to pieces (_I got this sling same time as my GBB and pokie, then decided that after her last Pinktoe turned out to be a psycho, I'd let her look after this one_ ) and can't recommend them highly enough.

Here's the sock and her herself if you can make it out. She's also viewable in the picture above, the little furry cluster of legs behind the webbing in the upper-right hand side.










There's a lot of glare in the picture, but I hope you can still just make it out.

Notice the Chinese Water Dragon vivs in the background 

Next, the _Psalmopeus species_ 










Firstly, her _Psalmopoeus cambridgei_ (Trinidad chevron), a present to mark our arrival at our new flat (_our first place together_). This little one has webbed really nicely, you can see a foot in the photo, very bottom of the top of the enclosure, coming down from the leaf.

Next, the _Psalmopoeus pulcher_ (Panama blonde). These appeared on the SpiderShop website one morning and were gone by time she was home from work. I'd snapped her up one as I know she's wanted one for a long time.










It's the cutest bundle of fluff I've ever seen! :flrt:









We just need a _Psalmopeus redunchus_ and we have the whole lot 

Actually, I did get chance to buy one, but chose the _Holothele incei_ (Trinidad Olive) instead as _I'd_ wanted one for ages.

Hope you enjoyed, maybe a few more photos to come.


----------



## ph0bia (Feb 21, 2009)

Finally!

Here's my current _Haplopelma albostriatum_ (Thai Zebra) setup.










Hopefully you see why I hate it. It's tiny, it has a vibrant lid and it just looks really bad.










The dryness is fine, as I stated with the _H.lividum_, I dump water on it every 2 months. Not quite that time yet 

The enclosure, I'll confess is shoddy. She buried most of the decor (_it's in there somewhere_) then made a huge turretted burrow, then destroyed the turret. That's what the webbed mass in the middle is.

Still, she seems happy enough in there. She's burrowed well, she feeds vigorously... I just haven't seen her in (literally) 6 months.

I will update this enclosure soon. I just need a new one to put her in.



*EDIT:* Managed to get a photo of my _Paraphysa parvula_ (Chile gold burst). She came out for a walk.


----------



## ph0bia (Feb 21, 2009)

I am well aware that people probably stopped caring about this topic a few pages back, but I'm going to finish it, dammit!

I realised I'd forgotten four of my tarantulas, three slings and one juve. Couldn't get sling pictures, that'll be tomorrow, but here's the juve.

_Aphonopelma abberans_ (Casablanca Chestnut) - Relatively new to the hobby and despite essentially being brown, they're gorgeous.










It doesn't show in the picture, but the carapace has a wonderful shimmer and the legs remind me of chocolate. Temperamentally, they're typical of _Aphonopelma_, they don't rear or kick, but they do run away quickly. They're pretty skittish. Kept like a Chile Rose in this enclosure:










Interestingly, it's the only enclosure I have that uses live plants...

Tomorrow, I'm sure you'll all be glad to hear, I'll have this topic done and dusted!
_*
Next post! - The last three slings, just to round it off nicely!*_


----------

