Pokies :) « Singletrack Forum

Chat Forum

[closed]

Pokies :)

51 posts & 22 voices | Started 1 year ago by roper | Latest reply from roper

Tags:

No tags yet.

Pages: 12 Next »

roper - Member

This is my commune of Poecilotheria regalis. They are affectionately known as pokies and these are regalis.
P.regalis are native to Southern India and are one of the largest arboreal (tree living) species of tarantula. They grow to a little over 20cm or so with males slightly smaller. These are juveniles and are about 10 to 12 cm.

Unlike most spiders, these can live together as longs as the conditions are right and they are monitored. They also look after each other and will work together finding food.
These are all from the same egg sack and have always lived together. I did start with seven but now have five together.

This is a likely female

This will likely be a male

When mature they can be easily sexed by the colour of the strip of pattern along their opisthosoma (bum). The femal's will lighten while the male's will become darker.

A close up of a female

Posted 1 year ago #
Jamie - Member

Thread of the day.

Posted 1 year ago #
joolsburger - Member

My wife would leave me or more likely me and the spiders would be homeless.

Posted 1 year ago #
tails - Member

How many eyes does it have? If they escape do you panic? Would it eat a budgie or canary?

Posted 1 year ago #
deadlydarcy - Member

Another roper classic. You should be contracted to do one of these a week.

They also look after each other and will work together finding food.

This was my favourite bit.

Posted 1 year ago #
Pook - Member

Whereas my girlfriend sends me to do the shopping each week.

Posted 1 year ago #
roper - Member

LOL.
They have eight eyes and I would have to catch any escapees. They can eat small birds and would probably kill a cat. Their venom is potent but not too complex so no one has ever reportedly died by one (which is true for all tarantulas).
I do keep these locked up though as they are quite fast and are pretty defensive so will bite.

Posted 1 year ago #
ridethelakes - Member

What do you feed them?

Posted 1 year ago #
portlyone - Member

What do you feed them?

roadies?

Posted 1 year ago #
geoffj - Member

very cool, if not a little scary.

and would probably kill a cat.

You couldn't lend us one for an afternoon could you?

Posted 1 year ago #
Herman Shake - Member

"When mature they can be easily sexed"

Whatever floats your boat!

Posted 1 year ago #
emsz - Member

OMG I'm actually queasy looking at those pictures. 20cm? And quick? And bite? This is worse than the video of the blokes climbing the tower!

Posted 1 year ago #
thomthumb - Member

thanks roper. i love your spidey-threads.

how many creatures do you have?

Posted 1 year ago #
roper - Member

I'm pleased some of you like them.

I have about 60ish spiders, scorpions and centipedes all together with a few breeding pairs so hopefully more slings in pipe line. They are not all mature so some are very small and in small containers.

I also breed crickets which is their main diet, but they will eat meal worms, cockroaches, moths and flies too just to give them a balanced diet (I think that was the idave diet if memory serves?). In the wild they will eat birds, lizards or some species fish and frogs or even mice and rats, but that's going a bit far for me.

Posted 1 year ago #
deadlydarcy - Member

Possible stupid questions, but how does a spider catch a lizard? I would have thought the lizard would outrun the spider, no? Is it by subterfuge or all out attack by a group? How does their particular venom work? Is it only smaller spideys that have complex venom?

Posted 1 year ago #
roper - Member

As far as I know, tarantula venom is quite pure, does not have complex proteins, so as humans we just get the effects of the venom, which would be cramps, fever etcetera. The problems can occur to us when our immune systems start to fight foreign proteins from venom. Other insects like bee venom can kill people as there are complex proteins which the body tries to reject, which can cause the allergic reaction. There is research into tarantula venom and how our immune systems are ok with it to replace medical treatments which can be harsh such as some of those used in treating cancers.

They can catch faster animals like lizards by either camouflage, or stealth. Fast tarantulas are very quick at striking, some sp like these can do multiple times. As they bite down they also wrestle their prey with their legs. Regalis can corner prey which could be interpreted as hunting, as they don't eat each other and it seems to help, but I have also seen one watching over another while it moults, which is a very vulnerable time for them.

Posted 1 year ago #
roper - Member

Out of coincidence I've been reading this too..

http://www.emaxhealth.com/1020/39/34976/tarantula-venom-could-help-muscular-dystrophy-pain-and-more.html

The novel peptide from tarantula venom, labeled GsMTx4, is the only agent known to block specifically pores in cell membranes called mechanosensitive ion channels. "These are the transducers that turn mechanical stress into cellular signals," said Sachs. "They are familiar to us as the sensors for hearing and touch. However, they also have been implicated in biological functions as diverse as muscle coordination, blood pressure and volume regulation.

"....Stretch-sensitive channels probably are involved in many normal tissue functions that involve changes in mechanical stress, such as bladder filling, heart and circulatory-system responses to changes in blood pressure, and fluid balance," he said. "They also are involved in pathologies such as cardiac arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, the elevated calcium levels in muscular dystrophy and the growth of brain tumors."....

Posted 1 year ago #
Skippy - Member

Roper - are the centipedes venomous. We were staying in a house in spain and kept seeing them in the lounge, think they got in through a gap in the door. I didn't sleep very well after that...

Posted 1 year ago #
roper - Member

This one skippy?

They are Scolopendra cingulata they are venomous but nothing worse than a bee sting, unless you have an allergy to it. Some Scolopendra sp are quite dangerous to humans but non in Europe.

Posted 1 year ago #
deadlydarcy - Member

Lol, I love spideys but I'm not too keen on the 'pedes.

Posted 1 year ago #
Skippy - Member

Sorry Roper that really gives me the creeps and brings back the bad memories, yes it was like that and moved quite fast as well.

Posted 1 year ago #
Hadge - Member

Stunning spiders Pete and I'm so jealous you have a colony of them. I'm just setting my P Ornata's new home up and I'll email you some pics when it's done. I've a long way go to catch your 60 up but I'm on 11 so who knows hehe
As for being venomous it's always best knowing what you buy

Posted 1 year ago #
piha - Member

Great post Roper, I always enjoy these threads but a 20 cm spider, not round here thanks.

Posted 1 year ago #
Hadge - Member

Pete, just waiting to hear off a guy with a juvenile Metallica - I might have missed out though but he's a local lad to me so if he's worried about posting it I may, just may be in luck. It's going cheapish too

Posted 1 year ago #
Elfinsafety - Member

'Orange Bitey Thing'

Excellent.

Top thread once again Roper. And new spidey drawings?

Posted 1 year ago #
roper - Member

Nice one hadge, I would love to see some photos. Have you been ableto sex it yet?
Good luck with the P.metalica too, for those that don't know they are quite sort after in the hobby. They are stunning too and look like this.

( not my photo or spider)
If you get one look for posts by Danhalan on spider forums. He has bread them and very informed about them.

No new spider drawings at the moment Fred, but do have a few I need to photograph.

Posted 1 year ago #
duntmatter - Member

A spider called Metallica? \m/(>.<)\m/

Posted 1 year ago #
Adam_85 - Member

My B. Smithi shed yesterday he/she's starting to look pretty cool!

Posted 1 year ago #
Hadge - Member

I haven't been able to determine the sex of the Ornata as it well and truly crumpled the skin so I will wait for the next one. It's still a juvenile as it's made a burrow at the base of the corkbark. It's nearly 4 inch leg span but they are sooooooooo long lol. I'll defo check up on the info you've just said if I get the Metallica.

Nice one Adam - the Smithi's are stunning spiders and my female is getting ready to shed again.

Posted 1 year ago #
brakes - Member

used to hate spiders as a kid and learned to deal with them by killing every one I saw - now I really like them and like to handle them... once kept a big house spider in a jar and fed it crumbs until my mate liberated it...
... but a 20cm spider would scare the crap out of me, I think I'd have to put a bell round it's neck so I knew if it was coming, and some sort of exploding collar/ implant with a remote detonator so if it escaped I could save the human race with the touch of a button
they do look very cool though roper, and I love the faux-tree you've got them living in

Posted 1 year ago #
Hadge - Member

Brakes, you take them for what they are. Some are exceptionally docile and will calmly walk over you and don't mind being handled but I still like to just look and rarely touch. My C Rosea and my Red Knee are fine but they can still flick hairs which irritate your skin. I'd never handle a New World Tarantula as they have venom that can do some damage and cause serious problems so I'm always very careful when cleaning their homes etc. My kids have grown up with them and so they've no worries at all and they've no fear wih snakes either. I guess even when I was a very young kid, I never had any fear with spiders but as for centipede's - no - they really do get to me, especially those bloody huge 12" long ones!

Posted 1 year ago #
petefromearth - Member

wow really interesting! i am a complete wimp when it comes to seeing big spiders in the flesh let alone handling them, but they are fascinating creatures. i bet people ask you constant questions about spiders in the pub?!!

gives me an idea for some elaborate revenge - i am currently being done in the ass by a claims lawyer!!

(just kidding, or rather, fantasising)

Posted 1 year ago #
kaesae - Member

Very interesting!

Posted 1 year ago #
Adam_85 - Member

I've got one of these as well

IMG_3067 by aj.sheldrick, on Flickr

Posted 1 year ago #
Hadge - Member

You can't just say "got one of these" hehe. You've got to say what it is - I would have said - er guessed at H Lividum but doesn't seem blue enough. Looks friendly haha

Posted 1 year ago #