MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
It's been a while so here's a few recent pictures
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This is my female E murinus "Skeleton Tarantula" who has completely webbed her enclosure up as you can see in the next picture. She hides in her tunnel but does come out once she's fed to spin more web.
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Here is my Theraphosa stirmi female, or Goliath Birdeater. She's just short of a 9" leg span but will grow more as she gets older
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This is my female Haplopelma minax sp "Big Black" who is a bit feisty, hence the posture of threat shown here
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Have to show my stunning Poecilotheria metallica and her lovely blue colours. These are very sought after in the hobby but the prices have dropped now to about £90-100 for an adult female
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This though is my star in my collection as they are rare and also expensive. The colours and patterns as adults are stunning and is my favourite arboreal spider. It's a P everetti and one day I'd like to breed them.
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Last but not least is my big female Haplopelma doriae who is incredibly stocky and heavy bodied. She's what we call a "pet hole" as you rarely see them as they burrow down and stay there but sometimes they bless us with an appearance. This was taken as I was rehoming her
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Are they from Mars though?
As always with your spiders just wow!
No way on this earth they'd be allowed in our house nor would I have the brave to look after them but they are really incredible.
Good photo's but,
Your'e not roight, in the head.
I've got a big ****er in my shed & it's going up the vacuum cleaner.
They are immense !
So if they bite you will you die, how long will you have what is the antidote, you mad.
This is my female M balfouri. These are amazing spiders as they live communally. The females will breed and when the eggs hatch they continue to live with their parents. Some keepers have even introduced spiders from different sacs with success and to see a big commune all webbed up with loads of beautiful blue spiders is incredible.
I've just finished building a nice set up for her and she will be introduced when it's dried out a bit
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My female A geniculata "Giant White Knee" munching on an adult locust
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Bl**dy hell they're big, could've sworn the last one moved on my screen so just tucked my socks into my trousers.
Not sure my hoover (or the cat) would be man enough, leaf blower on suck mode would be my weapon of choice, would probably have to move as well if I found one of them in the house.
Had a guided day in Nevada desert a few years back, guide kept pointing out tarantulas that would come out of their burrows to vibrations of bike wheels and do the front legs up, fangs out thing, never ridden so fast for so long.
Don't mind snakes can we have pics of those instead please
No, if they bite you won't die. They are venomous but it won't kill you. Some spiders from Asia like the doriae above have nasty venom that will give you a lot of pain but only unless your allergic will you be in serious trouble.
I like the skeleton, lovely! I've got a smithi and she's a grumpy wee bugger! Hopefully as she gets bigger she'll start to chill out, I say she but I don't know!
All females. Am I right in understanding they eat the males?
This is the Internet. Only cute cat and dog pics allowed I'm afraid.
Brilliant, thanks.
Spiders! BIG spiders!
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They creep me out so much but I can't help looking at the them even though they really really really do make my skin crawl
Have you got any of the ones that hunt in packs? I'm sure roper had some - did he call them pokies or something?
The pics are of females as I try only buy sexed females so eventually I can breed with them. Sadly yes, some males do get eaten but not every time they are introduced to a female. Some males will mate many many times until they can no longer go on and then a female may decide it's an easy meal to help raise her brood.
Yes I've got loads of "pokies" in fact the very blue one above is one. They do feed on their prey at the same time and I've had a few that live together.
You know, these photos unnerve me but I'm not arachnophobic so much as ignorant. I guess keeping big spiders is like keeping rats, they're furry and cuddly and lovable if you 'get' them, and scary and icky if you don't? I think I'd quite like to learn more about them.
She's just short of a 9" leg span but will grow more as she gets older
Holy crap!
Have to show my stunning Poecilotheria metallica and her lovely blue colours.
TBF that's incredible colouring, absolutely beautiful.
No thankyou 😯
Brilliant!
More photos please.
My P cancerides "Haitian Brown" who is very feisty and loves to strike out at any passing shadow
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My Ornithoctinus sp Silver/Grey female. She's a dwarf tarantula and only grows to about 4 inches. The "sp" is just an abbreviation of "species" and basically means it's not been placed taxonomicaly yet and studies are still ongoing
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My Mexican Fireleg who has the urticating hairs that make you itch like crazy. She's foul and doesn't hesitate to produce a cloud of them when disturbed and she's tagged me a few times. Hence her name Flick
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A female O aureotibialis "Orange Fringe" another burrowing T which is very nasty and doesn't hesitate to strike out when disturbed
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One of my favs, a Haplopelma albostriatium. Another burrowing species who never leaves her burrow. Luckily she's made it against the side of her enclosure so I get to see her that way. This pic was taken when I had to rehouse her.
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I try only buy sexed females so eventually I can breed with them.
Boundaries man, boundaries.
Absolutely stunning Hadge, wonderful pictures.
Cheers for the kind comments. I'll pop some more pictures up tonight
Wow, absolutely brilliant shots. How do you house them all? Do they need different levels of humidity and temps?
Do they know there are other spiders 'about'?
shes tagged me a few times
😯 😯 what, like, BITTEN??? Don't know if I could handle that 😯 😯
Beautiful pictures Hadge, what facinating creatures they are.
How many have you got exactly?
or do you not know "exactly"? 😆
That's a lot of legs! How much space do they take up? Do you have a favourite? What does Mrs Hadge think of them?
Humidity and temps are basically the same but some require a dry environment and some more humid. We control that with misting frequently or not, keeping the substrate dry or damp. Some are very hardy and require no heat but you keep your room at a temperature that's comfortable for you.
Space, well a big arboreal spider with a 10" span will be happy in something 16" high. Tiny spiderlings only require very small pots, like a sample pot. A big terrestrial spider like the Goliath needs a lot of room and nine lives in a 55ltr plastic RUB - Really Useful Box.
When I said tagged, no not bitten but her hairs landed on me and they stick in your skin and then you itch - like mad. If they get in your eyes it's very nasty. Luckily not all spiders don't have the urticating hairs, those that don't generally have very nasty venom instead.
I have about 80 different species in total with some having pairs or multiples too. And yeah I know exactly where they all are as I have a dog and they're lethal to her. So I'm very careful and cautious when feeding, watering or tending to them.
Great collection. You have a lot of potentially very angry spiders there! You just need an OBT and a Cobalt Blue now...
I'm quite arachnophobic, but (slow) tarantulas just aren't as scary as the big wolf spiders you get in the shed/garage. I think it's the speed and skinny legs that get me worked up...
I had a Mexican Red Leg that we called Pac because the marking on her back looked like pacman. Unfortunately she died mid-shed about a year ago. 🙁 Also lost a Columbian Giant a few years before that.
Just have Didget left now, she's a Rose Hair that I've had for 10 years. She was a wild caught adult when I got her, so who know how old she is...
Still have the two empty tanks in the spare room, always thinking about getting them set up again...
I have OBT's, both RCF (Red Colour Form) and TCF (True Colour Form) and Cobalt Blues. The pictures are just some of my collection.