Another Molt Update!

Hi Guys!

So I have another molt update for you guys :D

The slings have finally started to molt one after the other.

I´m always happy when the slings are growing and doing well, some of them have finally begun to get some color to them.

My tiny Chilobrachys fimbriatus for example, after the molt the tiny stripes on the abdomen showed up, it has taken forever for this one to get some size to it.

It was basically a dot with legs when I got it :D

So these are the ones that have molted since the last time I posted an update:

• Pterinochilus murinus DCF Botswana 
• Brachypelma kahlenbergi
• Chilobrachys fimbriatus
• Acanthoscurria geniculata (sling)

I´m gonna try and get new photos of all of them but for now I will leave you with a 

photo of the Acanthoscurria geniculata :D

Take Care Guys!

YouTube Update - Tarantulas & Feeders

Hi Guys!

So here it is, the latest YouTube Video: Friday Feeding Frenzy: Tarantulas & Feeders

I get the question from time to time: "What do you feed your tarantulas?"

So I thought it would be a good idea to mix in some information with the feeding video.

I do want to add some more "info" to my videos, but I don´t always have the time to do that, so I hope you will enjoy this video :D

If you have any other questions or want me to talk about some other subject in a video feel free to drop a comment on my YouTube or my Instagram.

You could try to leave a comment on this post as well, but it seems like it does´t really work all the time.

But I always read all my comments on YouTube and on Instagram so it might be easier to get in touch with me there :D

Take Care!

Molt Updates

Hi Guys!

So this was my weekend off from work, so I decided to take a little break from the Internet and catch up on some things I needed to do at home.

But now I´m back :D

I had a few tarantulas molt over the weekend as well:

• Poecilotheria tigrinawesselli (one of the slings)
• Pterinochilus chordatus
• Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens

My Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens (Blue) molted into a mature male.

I always have mixed feelings when that happens.

On one hand I´m really happy cause he made it from a tiny little sling to a mature male in my care, and that´s awesome and it makes you feel great as a keeper.

But on the other hand, specially with Blue I feel a little sad.

Blue is one of my absolute favorite tarantulas, and I know that I now have limited time left with him.

But I try not to think too much about it.

There are never any guarantees when it comes to animals to be honest.

Things can always happen so to say that oh a female would have lived longer isn't always true.

I do know however that I need to get another GBB after Blue.

It´s such a beautiful and awesome species and I definitely don´t want to be without them.

The Pterinochilus chordatus, I´m fairly sure that it´s a female.

I haven't been able to check the molt yet.

I've had her since she was a tiny little sling as well, but she usually messes up her molt so badly that it´s hard to know for sure.

But the males of that species are usually pretty small when they mature out.

So either it´s a female or it will mature out in the next molt, so either way I´ll find out eventually :D

And last (and smallest) the Poecilotheria tigrinawesselli.

This is one of my most recent slings, I got two of them as a freebie from Frank at the Expo.

And I do suspect that one is a female and the other one (the one that molted) is a male.

The reason why I suspect this, or it´s more of a guess really comes down to a couple of reasons.

They are slightly different in color, their behavior is completely different.

One of them has dug a hole under the cork bark and hangs out in there and the other one sits out for most of the time.

And also this one has molted more frequently than the other one.

But again I´m only guessing, so don´t take my word for it.

We will find out soon enough :D

So this was all for now.

I have a few other things that I want to go over but that will have to wait until the next post :D

Take Care Guys!

How Far Would You Go?!

Hi Guys!

First of all, I´m sorry that I have been MIA for a couple of days.

I lost my little dwarf hamster a couple of days ago and I needed a little break.

So the title of this post "How Far Would You Go?" it´s really something that I have been thinking about over the past couple of days.

For me, posting videos and posting my thoughts here on the blog for you all to hear, that´s something I do cause I think it´s fun.

I think it´s important that we help each other and that we share our experiences.

I think that the animals will benefit from that.

So when it comes to the whole subscriber count on YouTube, that´s something I don´t really pay that much attention to.

I will keep making the videos I make regardless if I have 5 subs or 5000 subs.

But it has become more and more clear to me over the past month or so that not everyone share that view, for some people it seem to be a popularity race.

And some people will go so far as to cheat.

I have a hard time with people cheating to get the upper hand, you get what you deserve, it might take a while longer but if you put out quality videos the subs will follow.

It´s so obvious when people do decide to cheat, it´s like a pyramid game.

This week everyone in that particular "circle" will go and subscribe to a few different channels.

And it´s enough that you take one look in the comment section and you will understand that those subs and comments are not "real"

But this way small channels can double their subscriber count in no time.

You need the "view time" on YouTube though and those subscribers won´t stay around to watch your videos, so you´re only fooling yourself in the end.

And you will lose the respect from other people once they figure out that you cheated.

Personally I will never have any respect for you if you cheat.

So yeah this was pretty much everything that I wanted to get off my chest.

With that said I think I´m gonna try and find a few new photos to show you guys.

Check out the "Pictures" tab to see photos of some of my tarantulas :D

Okay guys now I have to go.

Take Care!

Friday Feeding Frenzy

So here it is, the latest Feeding Video - YouTube


I wanted to feature more of the tarantulas, but I just didn't have the time to record it.
I´m still struggling a bit with all the new changes and I haven't really figured out how to manage everything with the time I have now.
But I will get there.

The most important is that all the tarantulas got food and water.
Filming is secondary to that.
At least I got a couple of good clips, my big Theraphosa stirmi was finally ready to eat again :D

She is a gentle giant but when she wants food then she will show you just how fast she can move.

So I hope you will enjoy the latest video :D

Take Care Guys!

FAQ #1 - What´s a Good Beginner Tarantula?

FAQ #1 

What´s a Good Beginner Tarantula?

So, I get this question from time to time and I always address it when asked, but I thought that I could elaborate a bit further here :)

So what qualifies a tarantula to be called a good beginner species?

For me it´s a couple of things:

• Temperament
• Requirements 
• Speed (in some cases)

So for me when I got my first tarantula I was still really afraid of spiders and I wanted to get a tarantula to get over my fears, along with the fact that I found them to be absolutely fascinating.

That´s where temperament came in, I didn't want to get a super skittish tarantula that would possibly freak me out even more when it bolted away.

This is also why I wrote "speed, in some cases", for me it was a lot easier to start out with a tarantula that had a calmer disposition.

I also wanted a tarantula that sat out in the open a lot to allow me to "interact" with it on a daily basis as a part of getting over my fear.  

And with requirements I mean that some tarantulas are more "basic" and some are very sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity
Now if you have previous experience with reptile, frogs and such then you might be more used to what it takes to upkeep humidity and temperature and so on.
So you might feel that you can get a more advanced tarantula as a beginner tarantula.

I would say that the most important thing to think about when you´re getting a tarantula, or any pet for that matter is - find a pet that match your knowledge and comfort level.
In the end it´s you that will be responsible for the pet you buy :)

But I´m still gonna go over a few species that I feel are great beginner species.
But remember these are just my opinions :D


Grammostola pulchra:

The Grammostola pulchra or the Brazilian Black as it´s commonly called is a stunning species.
They are very easy to care for, they are docile and friendly.
They are good eaters, mine only refuse food when she´s close to a molt.

Now the downside to the Grammostola pulchra is that they can be very expensive and not everyone wants to start out with an expensive tarantula.


Brachypelma hamorii:

This was my beginner tarantula but back then they were sold as Brachypelma smithi (this was long before the revision).
Anyway, the Brachypelma hamorii is a fairly large species, mine sits out in the open for the most part.
I've never gotten a threat posture from this tarantula, she´s always docile and friendly.
The food response is great unless they are close to a molt.

The Brachypelma species are usually pretty easy to come by and they are not that expensive as slings/juveniles.


Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens:

If you want a colorful tarantula that build beautiful webs, this is definitely the tarantula for you.
The Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens is fairly easy to maintain, they are friendly but they can be a bit skittish and fast moving at times, so that´s something to take into consideration.

They have an amazing food response and they usually hunt after their prey which is a pretty amazing sight.
Mine spends most of his time out in his web so I definitely get to admire him a lot.


Avicularia avicularia:

So maybe you want to start out with an arboreal (tree living) tarantula.
The Avicularia avicularia is a great choice, now they can be a bit sensitive as slings so I would definitely recommend that you study up on their husbandry before you decide to get one.

But they are extremely cute, they are out in the open a lot, they have a really good food response as well.
Now they can however move really fast (when they want to).


Grammostola rosea/porteri:

So what about the rose hairs?
The Grammostola rosea and Grammostola porteri used to be among the most common beginner tarantulas in the hobby.

They are easy to find, they are not expensive and they are very easy to care for.

Now personally I have never had any issue at all with my Grammostola porteri, she is super friendly and docile.
Not every keeper would agree with me though, some rosea/porteri´s can be quite moody but that´s not something I have experienced myself.

The one thing to think about with these species is that they can refuse food for a long time!
Mine went over a year without eating, but this is common and absolutely nothing to worry about.


** Last but definitely not least, let´s add one of the giants to the mix **

Lasiodora parahybana:

So what if you want to start out with one of the larger species of tarantulas?

I would say go with the Lasiodora parahybana.
The T. stirmi and T. blondi are absolutely gorgeous, but they are both a lot more expensive and a bit harder to care for.

The Lasiodora parahybana gets massive as well, but it´s very easy to care for.
They can be a bit moody when they are younger but they will calm down with age.
My large mature male is truly a gentle giant.

And there´s something special with seeing a tarantula that size taking off after their prey.

But this might not be the best choice if you are like I was in the beginning, a bit wary of spiders in general.

---------------------------

So these where just a few of the species that I would consider good beginner species.
There are plenty others that are easy to care for as well, but I though I could give you a few examples of what you might want to look out for when choosing a tarantula.

I will add more information and care guides to all the species I keep on this site as soon as I get some spare time to do so.

Until then if you have any questions feel free to ask :D


Take Care Guys!

My First Expo Experience - YouTube Video

Here´s the latest YouTube Video - Story Time: Remembering My First Expo


I have had plans to do this video for a couple of months now, but things kept coming in between.
Then I spoke to one of my subscribers a couple of days ago.
She was going to an expo and she had a few questions regarding that, so I felt that it was the right time to make this video.

Going to the expos as a beginner can be quite confusing to be honest, and that´s one of the things I talk about in this video :D

So if you want to hear more about my first experience going to an expo just follow the link over to YouTube and check it out! - YouTube

Take Care!

Bad Tarantula Keepers

Hi Guys!

As much as I dislike making posts like this, sometimes I feel that it´s necessary.

Recently a Video was sent to me featuring a girl mishandling her tarantulas.

Now let´s me start off with saying this, I´m Not gonna write her name here or share her channel.

It´s bad enough that she has gotten a lot of attention over the past couple of days as it is.

Now it´s extremely rare that I complain over someone else´s husbandry, cause to be honest we all have different preferences when it comes to decorating our enclosures.

What a tarantula need is pretty basic:

• Substrate (That´s suitable for a tarantula)
• Hide
• Water bowl

That´s the 3 most important things that a tarantula will need.

Now personally I´m not okay with keeping it at just the bare basics, I like for my enclosures to look nice and some might say that´s just for your own viewing pleasure.

And yes, that´s partially true.

I do think it looks much nicer.

The best you can do is research where your tarantulas natural habitat is located and try to replicate that if you want.

I´m not saying that´s right and that´s wrong, personally I notice that my tarantulas are a lot calmer when they have plenty of things to hide behind/under or whatever.

 Anyway back to the topic.

This video that was shared with me showed a person that in my opinion is not suited to keep tarantulas or probably any animals at all.

The husbandry is so bad, keeping tarantulas on cedar wood is a huge no no!

Cedar wood is a natural pesticide and it´s very toxic to your tarantulas and can/will end up killing them.

A block of coco fiber cost almost nothing at all, so there is absolutely no excuse not to use it.

Secondly to handle or not to handle your tarantulas is something that I will leave up to you.

But if you do decide to handle them, be responsible.

Do NOT let them run around on your arm while you are standing up, a fall from that height can potentially kill your tarantula, their abdomens can rupture really easy.

If you feel that you have to handle them, do so on the floor or on your bed.

This girl was holding her tarantulas, restricting their movement, dropping them on the floor several times, it was truly a nightmare to watch.

I know that sadly there are a few people out there that loves to watch a train wreck, and they will continue watching her videos and hoping to see her get bit when she "play" around with her Cobalt blue.

But I´m begging you, Please think of the tarantula instead.

This is causing them so much stress!!

If you come across this person you will for sure know who I was talking about, but again please do not encourage this behavior.

Don´t believe a words she´s saying about tarantulas.

They are not reptiles, they are not poisonous (they have venom), you do not need to wear a mouth guard to enter a room where a tarantula is.

I can go on with all the craziness but I´m not going to.

If you ever have any questions at all please ask me and I will answer you.

I also put a section of this page dedicated to other Tarantula YouTubers and there are some amazing people on there already that could give you awesome advice!    

I´m sorry about the long rant but her videos make me so upset that I felt I had to get this off my chest.

Once again be a responsible tarantula keeper!

Animal cruelty is never something that should be laughed at!

If you made it to the end of this post I just want to say Thank You for reading it all!

Take Care Guys!

Aphonopelma seemanni: Maintenance & Feeding

Hi Guys!

Here is my latest YouTube video - Aphonopelma seemanni: Maintenance & Feeding

I needed to do some maintenance on the enclosure for my Aphonopelma seemanni, she had made a complete mess of her home.

She´s in a standard Exo-Terra (cube), which allow you to fill up on substrate, this little lady likes to dig, so I´ve placed her cork tube on an angle down into the substrate.

That´s usually where she likes to spend her time, and it allows her to burrow further down if she would like to do that.

Other than that it´s just a simple setup with some extra cork bark in the back to create a dark and nice retreat for her, some plants and of course a water dish.

I keep reading from time to time that tarantulas don´t need water bowls, NEVER believe that this is the truth.

Tarantulas need fluids to be able to function properly.

And it helps with keeping the humidity up in their enclosures.

I guess this was all for now :D

Take Care Guys!

Tarantula Molt Updates

Tarantula Molts

As some of you might already know a lot of my tarantulas has been in pre-molt for the past couple of months.

Which is always nice cause that means your tarantula is healthy and growing and all that, but it has made me struggle a bit when it comes to the Feeding Videos :P

But Finally many of them has molted and a few are really close to a molt.

So I thought I would update you guys a bit on how it´s going :D

Molts January 29th:

• Psalmopoeus cambridgei
• Brachypelma verdezi
• Davus pentalores
• Nhandu chromatus
  

Molts February 6th:

• Ceratogyrus marshalli (Mature Male)
• Pelinobius muticus
• Nhandu coloratovillosus

Hopefully more of them will molt soon.

The Pelinobius muticus is still just a sling but her colors changed a lot with this molt, she´s absolutely gorgeous :D

And my little C. marshalli molted into a mature male, the males are so tiny and cute.

I will be rehousing him into a slightly larger permanent home as soon as he hardens up a bit after the molt.

I guess that was all for now.

Tomorrow I´m going to start filming the video for Friday.

I´m thinking about filming a different take on the Friday Feeding Frenzy this time, but we´ll see.

Well until next time,

Take Care Guys!

New Video on Youtube - Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens

New Video!!

So here´s the latest YouTube video, it´s another requested video.
This time featuring my Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens - Blue

I really do enjoy making these requested videos, so if you have any other suggestions for me just leave a comment here, on YouTube or on Instagram and I will do my best to make that video happen :D

Take Care Guys!

Today I rehoused my Lampropelma nigerrimum

Hi Guys!

So today I finally managed to rehouse my Lampropelma nigerrimum.

It was way over due, I tried to rehouse her last week as well but she refused to leave the old enclosure, and I didn't want to mess around with her too much.

But when I checked on her today I saw that her substrate was looking really nasty so it was definitely time to get her out of there.

It took a while but I managed to get her into the catch cup without any major drama, getting her out of the catch cup and into the new enclosure was a whole other story.

I always use a piece of bent wire to gently poke them in the direction I want them to move, but she didn't like that one bit and started to strike at the wire.

But I want to make it clear that this was not an act of aggression, she was just really scared.

And that´s why I always use the catch cup method with the more skittish species.

It´s safer for them and safer for me as well.

So last but not least I thought I would show you a little picture of my beautiful Lampropelma :D

Friday Feeding Video

Here is is, the newest feeding video - Friday Feeding Frenzy


For this video I decided to feature FT again along with my Assassin Bugs.
I still have so many slings/juveniles that are in pre-molt or just recently molted.

For next weeks feeding video it´s finally time to give the Theraphosa stirmi some food again.
She should be really hungry and ready to eat by then.
She´s still stretching a lot after her molt so I wanted to give her a couple days more to get ready.


So what else is new?
Work is crazy and I´m constantly tired so that makes things a lot less interesting.
I do have a couple of collab videos coming up and a few projects on my own, but I´m not gonna reveal them just yet :P

You will just have to stick around for the new updates :D

Well now I have to run off to work..
Talk to you soon again.

Take Care Guys!!