I thought that the males didn't live as long as this sheet states but I have only ever had one male.
My New Little Fuzzy Butt...
- Thread starter abi88
- Start date
Oh and I used to handle my spider at least once a week. Try to keep handling to a minimum especially if you see him rubbing his legs on his cephelothorax.
Abby88, I love your tarantula. I think at last count we have 82 tarantulas. Hubby could probably tell you what species it is but he just went to work. I just wanted to mention a couple of things. Sand is not a good substrate for any tarantula, even if they are a desert species. Sand is very abrasive on their abdomen. Dry coco fibers are better. Also the cage is very tall. A tarantula can fall from even a small distant and fatally injure themselves. You can add more substrate to make it safer LB.
Maybe in time you will handle LB. We have an Oklahoma brown that is so docile. My husband can even flip her over on her back and she will stay there. You really don't need gloves to handle them if you are worried about the urticating hairs. I only got hairs once between my fingers. It only itched for a couple minutes. Now on the other hand hubby was looking at a molt and a couple minutes later rubbed his eye, his eye became puffy and itched for a couple of days. Let me tell you I laughed my butt off.
Kingearwig, you do have some excellent information. The one thing that is incorrect is that not all tarantulas have urticating hairs. This seems to be a trait that new world species have. Old world have other defences. Old world are a lot quicker and their bite is more medically significant then new world species. Avics will shot their feces at you and are quick as well.
I do agree that it does look like a male but it doesn't have tibial hooks on it's front legs. Not to say that next molt that it wont get it. When it does it is called an ultimate male and will not make it to another molt. Right now I have one hooked out male (Fluffy the rose hair) we had another one, but we sold it to someone who has a female they wanted to breed.
I would caution about breeding for someone who has never bred before. They can have hundreds of spider-lings. Make sure you make plans on how you will get rid of the slings before breeding.
Maybe in time you will handle LB. We have an Oklahoma brown that is so docile. My husband can even flip her over on her back and she will stay there. You really don't need gloves to handle them if you are worried about the urticating hairs. I only got hairs once between my fingers. It only itched for a couple minutes. Now on the other hand hubby was looking at a molt and a couple minutes later rubbed his eye, his eye became puffy and itched for a couple of days. Let me tell you I laughed my butt off.
Kingearwig, you do have some excellent information. The one thing that is incorrect is that not all tarantulas have urticating hairs. This seems to be a trait that new world species have. Old world have other defences. Old world are a lot quicker and their bite is more medically significant then new world species. Avics will shot their feces at you and are quick as well.
I do agree that it does look like a male but it doesn't have tibial hooks on it's front legs. Not to say that next molt that it wont get it. When it does it is called an ultimate male and will not make it to another molt. Right now I have one hooked out male (Fluffy the rose hair) we had another one, but we sold it to someone who has a female they wanted to breed.
I would caution about breeding for someone who has never bred before. They can have hundreds of spider-lings. Make sure you make plans on how you will get rid of the slings before breeding.
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glad someone with more experience chimed in. So how long can an ultimate male live after that last molt?
WOW!! thank you SOO much for your info!! That was great! I will be getting bark when I go to town!
Do you think it would be ok to just put a thick layer over the sand? I would hate to through it out.Oh and thank you all for your input into the handing...but my family is full of very high allergies to things bites/stingers/pricks so Im being even a little overly cautious!lol
I am hoping to get more pictures tomorrow...so Ill post them if/when I can!
I'm glad that I could help. Well abi88 I talked to hubby and he agreed that he thinks that it is an Aphonopelma hentzi or one common name The Oklahoma brown.
Like I said the sand is not a good substrate because it is abrasive. Temporary you could increase the height of the sand until you can get new substrate. There is a difference between bark and coco fiber (Eco earth, Forest Bedding are common names that you will find it at pet stores). Coco fiber can also be found at Home Depot and Menard's as Peat Eliminator for a lot cheaper. When you buy any of these products they come in a compressed brick and you are told to mix it with water. I found that you can break it apart and crumble it and if you want add a little water to help break it up, but if you mix it as directed it will be a soupy mess and the tarantula will hate you.
If you can get a picture of the underside it would be helpful in sexing. If it is an ultimate male it will have tibial hooks on the two front legs. When I looked at the pictures that you first posted again, I notice that the two front legs where not shown making it difficult to see if it was a mature male. An ultimate male can live 2 to 3 years after last molt.
The tarantulas are really hubby's. When he gets anything he researches the heck out of it and then he turned me to the creepy side with him. We have actually done a few shows with them with a local history museum.
Like I said the sand is not a good substrate because it is abrasive. Temporary you could increase the height of the sand until you can get new substrate. There is a difference between bark and coco fiber (Eco earth, Forest Bedding are common names that you will find it at pet stores). Coco fiber can also be found at Home Depot and Menard's as Peat Eliminator for a lot cheaper. When you buy any of these products they come in a compressed brick and you are told to mix it with water. I found that you can break it apart and crumble it and if you want add a little water to help break it up, but if you mix it as directed it will be a soupy mess and the tarantula will hate you.
If you can get a picture of the underside it would be helpful in sexing. If it is an ultimate male it will have tibial hooks on the two front legs. When I looked at the pictures that you first posted again, I notice that the two front legs where not shown making it difficult to see if it was a mature male. An ultimate male can live 2 to 3 years after last molt.
The tarantulas are really hubby's. When he gets anything he researches the heck out of it and then he turned me to the creepy side with him. We have actually done a few shows with them with a local history museum.
just the term "ultimate male" makes it a winner hehe. Very informative thread that I wandered into. Nice tarantula and Beau looks like a grumpy old man, I love it!
THANK you very much for all of your-and your husband's-info!
Thanks
And YES he is a grumpy old man! He is 11 and still getting use to the idea that there is a puppy in the house!lolThanks
And I also am excited about this info!Thanksi don't like spider,but hey there cool looking like yours
Thats pretty much what all of the people that I know who dont like spiders have said, aside for one...she said that she will remove me from her contact/mental friend list if I EVER even show her a picture!!LOL
