[Closed] Roper! Give us another arachnid update!

+1

I always feel the arbitrary nature in their appearance is part of the charm.

So requests like this should be frowned upon.

*frowns at Bullheart*

😉

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I'll give you my two penneth worth for now as Pete might be busy. I've just set a commue of these little babies - they're called [i]Poecilotheria striat[/i] and are one of the few tarantula's that can be kept together altthough it doesn't always work and they can turn cannabilistic. I've got 7 of them together in a small little enclosure shown below the spider picture
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My other recent addition is this called [i]Poecilotheria metallica[/i] and these are incredibly expensive and a tiny 2cm baby sells for £70 and an adult female can sell for anything over £300! They are stunning when adult, with bright blues and yellows but are difficult to breed so hence the high price. Mine is a girl but I doubt I'll have the skill to get them breed but who knows and I may gove it a go. Only problem is getting a male as sometimes she ends up eating him even before they get to mate so most owners are reluctant to part with them so I may have to get my own. Here's mine munching on a cricket - sorry for the poor photot but shes incredibly photosensitive and almost impossible get any pictures of
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This is waht she will look like when she's an adult
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I've just orderd 4 more of the [i]Poecilotheria[/i] species but here's my first I bought - it's called an [i]ornata[/i] and it shows just how good it's camoflague is against some cork bark. They have a very potent venom and they are definitely not to be handled.
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And lastly for now is one of my spiders who hides away so much that to get this picture was an achivement - it's a [i]Nhandu chromatus[/i] and is one of the "birdeaters" but they don't eat birds. He's about 5 inches at the moment so not that big yet.
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Your turn now Pete 😀

Child hiding behind sofa watching Dr Who in fascinated fear = me reading these threads.....

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Want.

Mine are just slings Jamie at the moment but it's brilliant to watch them together. I do hope I end up with a nice commune and not just one fat spider lol

Ahhhhhh spiders. 🙂

I have been meaning to post some more photos but just waiting for the eggs to hatch. The new ones aren't tarantulas ([i]Theraphosidae[/i]) but are [i]Lycosidae[/i] or wolf spider family. These particular ones are from the same family of the original "tarantula" spiders and are quite striking in temperament as well as markings and behaviour. I'll post once mum has finished looking after the egg sack.

Nice one hadge. Going by the webbing it looks like your striata have all settled in together well. It looks like a great set up and a good hide.

I did post some photos of my own pokie set up a while ago. I recently had to rearrange the decor but did it with them all in the tank.
I thought I had five in there but once I'd removed all of the fittings it turned out I had 6 🙂
Here are some photos from that.

This is the empty tank and the spids as a safe distance.
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The biggest has a leg span of about 15cm now and they are always out and active.

a male
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and this is the extra one
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I also recently took some photos of a [i]Buthus[/i] sp under ultraviolet light.

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Roper do spiders live happily together? Is it true that all spidey chicks eat the boys after coitus?

I think if I had the choice of a trip to Willy Wonka's factory or a trip to Ropers', it would be Ropers.....followed up by Hadges' for tea and tarantulas.

Invites please 8)

Most spiders are cannibalistic but some like the pokies hadge and I have posted can live OK. Some species will tolerate each other but pokies do live quite well together. Mine are [i]P.regalis[/i] and are all from the same egg sack so have always lived together. I think hadges striata are all related too?
I do have a dominant female who is the main boss but they don't fight. When they moult they are very vulnerable for a few days while they wait for their exoskeleton to harden. When one of mine moults more often than not another will be next to it. This could be to protect it but no-one knows.They can also hunt together.

With most spiders the female will try to eat the male but not always. with some the male with co-habit for several weeks without being eaten. Males do live a much shorter time though and once they have reached their adult moult they won't moult again while the female can keep doing so after maturity for several years.

They are very easy to look after Jamie. You could always get a small one of your own.
Failing that a magnifying glass as there are some fantastic arachnids in the UK, but not as big, just in case anyone is worried 🙂

That's one superb commune you have Pete and I had to laugh at the comment about the photo from a safe distance haha. Yeah mine have webbed up well and made a nice little burrow and they soon retreat when disturbed. The speed they move at is incredible and today was the first day my daughther saw them out and she was taken back by how quick they moved. I can't wait until I have to re-house them 😕
Love the scorpion and I take it that's one that is a DWA species here in the UK? Not sure I'll ever have one but we aren't as lucky you by having them on our doorstep! Besides I've got to get some Baboons one day lol. I have a commune (well 2) of Pterinochilus murinus too and I'll post some pics up as soon as I can - they've webbed up so much it's amazing. Hope they stay as a pair and don't end up as one. I've already got a small juvenile male so maybe a breeding programme at a later date.

OOh a [i]Pterinochilus murinus[/i] commune!! That should be good. I've seen some video footage of young juves and they seemed OK. I would have never thought baboons could live together, but it appears so. I hope yours work out and would be interested to see how they come along. I am waiting for a delivery of an AF [i]C.darlingi[/i]( I finally got one ordered) so fingers crossed I could have some slings. They should have between 100 and 150. My male is active every night now webbing and looking for a mate so hopefully I can get them together.
That scorp photo is a DWA but doesn't have a life threatening venom. The whole Buthus family are banned as some are deadly. They are very interesting though and not very defensive.

i like the tiny jumpy zebra striped spiders that i get in my house (you can tell i am well versed in arachnoid creatures 😉 that purple/blue tarantula was beautiful (never thought i'd say that about a tarantula 🙂

Here's my female [i]Euthalus "Blue Femur"[/i] and I've got a male being loaned to me so hopefully we can get some babies off her. In the right light she's absolutely stunning and the blue on her is just ace. It'll be the first spiders I've bred so I'm hoping she behaves and doesn't dine for one as she is a little skittish. If I'm succesful I'll definitely save you some Pete and post them to you when they're big enough
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So have you done any spider artwork? Much demand for that sort of thing?

I'm scared of spiders but fine with harvestmen. Shows how rational this whole arachnophobia business is. 🙂

Those pokeys...they're the ones that hunt in teams aren't they? 😯

There's one guy who does proper spider tattoo's if that's what you mean by artwork.
Your not on your own about having a fear of them - it's all those legs and the speed at which they can move. I, with a lot of spider owners have lots of respect for them as we know what they're capable of whether it's the venom or their urticating hairs. Spiders from the Old World - as in Africa, the Far East & Australia have very potent venom and so should never be handled although some people do. New World which is South America for instance have urticating - or stinging hairs which they flick at you or any animal that threatens them as a defence and some spiders have worse hairs than others. If they get in your eye it is exceptionally painful and they can and do cause long term problems. They are also free-floating and so they can be in your room where you keep the spiders so you have to be careful with any spider that does like to flick a lot. I have a [i]Brachypelma boehmei[/i] or Mexican Fireleg as it's called that loves to flick it's hairs - even at it's own shadow so I have to be careful when working in it's enclosure. Here's a picture of him - "Flick" as he's known lol
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Roper.

Hadge.

I love you like family.

Jamie - Leave it man. I need my fix, I just can't do cold turkey.... 😉

Good luck with your [i]Euthalus[/i] "Blue Femur" breeding Paul. I would be interested in one or two slings too 🙂 i will return the favour if I am lucky with my [i]darlingi[/i]. How long have you had the male and when do you plan on introducing him?

Mr Agreeable if you were asking me, the only spider I have drawn is this life size study of a [i]Macrothele calpeiana[/i](Spanish funnel web).
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bullheart, I can put you in touch with a decent breeder or seller in the Uk if you would like to try keeping one. Hadge and I could give you enough info on what to do and how best to care for it 🙂

My most colourful tarantula is probably my female [i]Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens[/i] though T's do come in all shapes and sizes.
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This is a dwarf tarantula called [i]Phlogiellus inermis[/i]. They have a leg span of just 3cm or 4cm.
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On the other hand this baby [i]Theraphosa apophysis[/i] already has a leg span of 6cm or 7cm but could grow up to 30cm.
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Others like this [i]Citharischilus crawshayi[/i] which has now been renamed [i]Pelinobius muticus[/i] is always underground in elaborate tunnels and rooms it has made.
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but my [i]Brachypelma smithi[/i] is always out on display.
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others like this Avicularia sp "peru purple" is never on the ground.
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I recognise the one second from bottom - didn't he used to be on The Really Wild Show?

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just wanted to put up a wiki link to the small jumpy zebra striped spiders that i see around my house (i know it's not a tarantula) cute little critters (can't believe i just said that 🙂 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra_spider

You are all FREAKS. End of.

(phinbob who has read this thread with morbid fasciation as he has an entirely irrational and unjustifiable fear of spiders). 🙂

Mr Agreeable, mine is a female and they can live 35+ years so it that on could still be doing the rounds.
racefaceec90 jumping spiders are amazing. THey all belong to the [i]Salticidae[/i]family and have fantastic eye sight. THey live all over the world, some as large as 3cm but are harmless to us. A few have spectacular camouflage and patterns too.

Still waiting to see someones pet Brazilian Wandering Spider....

roper,is it true that we have funnel web spiders in uk now.i think i remember a bbc breakfast report about some that were making a home on one of london's bridges (i think?) sorry i'll shut up now. 🙂

Jamie - Leave it man. I need my fix, I just can't do cold turkey....

Even when I was frowning I was secretly hoping Roper/Hadge would post.

....and they did!

*squeals like a girl*

Well it's nice we can all enjoy our eight legged friends from time to time 🙂

¡dave- I do know of someone selling some [i]Phoneutria fera[/i]Brazilian Wandering Spiders, but wouldn't recommend them as your first. 😉

racefaceec90- I've not seen them in the UK. The only funnel webs in Europe are Macrothele calpeiana which are common in Andalucía in Spain and Gibraltar, which they are named after. They would have to have been released into the wild, as they don't travel far.I would'nt have thought they could survive the cold but you never know. They are not dangerous to us though and their venom is not any worse than a bee sting apparently.

roper,

I would love a spider.

My wife would not love a spider.

My wife would not love me.
😐

According to Wikipedia, one of the side effects of a Wandering Spider bite is severe priapism.

*shudder*

I made myself look at this by way of therapy but its not worked I'm still scared silly 🙁

That's an amazing collection, definitely an acquired taste! I'm itching all over and all i can think of is this...

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That Green Bottle Blue is stunning Pete and I see why they are sought after. I love those Baboons you have - I do hope one day to maybe get a couple more but we shall see.
Tarantula's are fine if you careful and know what your doing but I undestand other peoples fears. I mean this little baby with it's baby teeth wouldn't hurt at all I'm sure - not.
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