Newest family member

[Lathis]

So my sister dumped her rose haired tarantula on me... Welcome to the family Tara Diddles!

Funny story: I texted my husband to tell him about our newest addition and autocorrect changed "tarantula" to "tara diddles"... So that's her new name.

This is her smiling... I think...

 

[laurie]

Congrats -- I think.

 

[Action Jackson]

Nice! I some advise though. You should remove the substrate, it with get wet, moldy and can breed bacteria. Also they should be housed in screen cages as they need good ventilation. Is that a water bowl in there? That is a big no no, they will poop in the water and.... Wait, that's a spider?? Never mind.

 

[Lathis]

Nice! I some advise though. You should remove the substrate, it with get wet, moldy and can breed bacteria. Also they should be housed in screen cages as they need good ventilation. Is that a water bowl in there? That is a big no no, they will poop in the water and.... Wait, that's a spider?? Never mind.

Hahahaha, you had me going for a second.

There are some improvements to her enclosure to make, but I will introduce things slowly. First I plan to increase the depth of the substrate. She seems to really want to burrow even though she has a hide.

I know absolutely nothing about tarantulas, so I am learning on the fly. If anyone does have any experience, I would be extremely grateful. I have been reading the resources on the arachnoboards, but I'd love to have any advice.

 

[FlChamMom]

Sweet Tiny Baby Jesus that thing is huge. There is no freaking way... My OCD would kick in and I'd end up checking the tank 1,000 times to make sure it was still escape proof. What does it eat- small children?!?

 

[Lathis]

She's pretty big. All stretched out, her leg diameter is almost 6 inches. Her fangs are like a 1/2-inch long. I'm not afraid of her exactly... I just have a healthy fear of being bitten

I don't plan on handling her anyway. I'm too afraid of hurting her.

So far, she has eaten a few crickets, so she is good for at least another week, maybe two. She looks like a grey color morph, so she's not the vivid copper color you sometimes see. Very pretty in a strange way. She's fun to watch but not nearly as exuberant as the frogs.

 

[junglefries]

Our friendship is done!

 

[zlew]

Duuuuuuudddeeeeeeeeeeee I could never have that in my house. That thing is evil. Eviiiiiillllllll

 

[zlew]

Nah, theyre cool. Just if I saw one in my house I'd probably have no house because I would have burned it down so...

 

[Lathis]

Our friendship is done!

Hey now, sometimes life gives you lemons and you have to make spiderade. I expect my friends to see me through both the good and spider-filled times.

 

[MelissaB]

Congratulations on the new addition. I like the little furry black jumping spiders, but I don't know if I could have a big girl like that in my house. I'd have a heck of a time making myself put my hands in there to clean her tank.

 

[Lathis]

She's pretty shy and skitters away from movement, so that helps. If she were cage aggressive, I would be nervous. When I clean I plan to put a bowl over her. I think that would cut down on her stress levels (and mine too, lol)

 

[absolutbill]

Good luck with your new addition. If she were in my house I'd always have the nightmare that I was Peter Brady in Hawaii waking up with her on my chest! And then I would poop my pants.

 

[RobSquared]

I think I will stick to Chameleons. HAHAHA...Our local pet store has a Bird Eating spider and the thing is huge and creeps me out. But they keep the Chameleons in the same room so I have to pass it everytime. Talk about the hair on the back of my head standing up. I always have heard that the rose hair's are really nice spiders and easy to take care of and handle as well. Congrats on you addition.

 

[Carlton]

Err, I may consider myself to be a fair-minded biologist who knows that all living creatures deserve equal treatment, but...no....I prefer giving tarantulas respect at a healthy distance thank you very much! Maybe if they didn't have those FANGS!

 

[Lathis]

The fangs are intimidating... .
So far, she has chowed down on two crickets and a couple of isopods. After a feast like that I don't expect her to eat for awhile. She's been tucked into a corner for the last two days... Staring at me... With those beady eyes... All 8 of them... /Shiver.

 

[lovelychams]

Beady eyes?! ewwwww!! Best of luck with her! Glad she is with you.

 

[FlChamMom]

Can she jump? I always see them moving slowly, but that could be a big ruse to put you off your guard.

 

[Lathis]

Can she jump? I always see them moving slowly, but that could be a big ruse to put you off your guard.

Yes... yes, she can. And it was an unpleasant surprise...

 

[leedragon]

I have the feeling of needing much more fire around me, lots of flamable stuff