Change of Species

[Simon Norfolk]

The tank I keep my Rosie in is 12" high 12" deep and about 24" across...she loves it. She's got a couple of little obstacles to clamber over and a little cave. She doesnt wander too much but her large confines certainly don't seem to be any detriment to her. And when I put the crickets in she usually finds them no problemo.

[Colin D Wilson]

I find that you can put spiders in a larger than "whats considered" normal tank as long as there's lots of decor (rocks, logs, multiple hides etc) to offer a really tactile environment.

[Andrew Ferguson]

Simon, any chance of any pics? I like the idea of that, as well as the way Colin has described a "larger than waht's considered" setup sounds very interesting and visully stunning. Perhaps in a new thread maybe? Its stuff like that that can give a newby some inspiration for future projects.

[Richard Shah]

Yo Rich Behave yourself
you cant go feeding hamsters to your "T"
My Lasiodora parahybana Brazilian (Salmon pink birdeater) would struggle with a hamster (not that i would risk it) and she is 7-8 inches across now and will probably grow in excess of 10 inches over the next few years
It takes a pretty darn big spider to tackle an active mouse even

just think of the public outcry. I can imagine the newspaper headlines Schoolboy feeds cute pet hamster to very large hairy killer Spider,
grannies all over london would never leave home for fear of this monster lurking in dark corners,the infrastructure of our capital would crumble etc etc te-he

And as jason mentioned in an earlier post its illegal in the UK if you want to feed your "T" a pinkie mouse they come dead as a doornail and frozen so you just defrost one and leave it for your spider to find and munch on

I dont think your B smithi is going to grow quite that big
if she does you would have a serious beast on your hands

On a more serious note I hope you enjoy your smithi when he / she arrives Im sure you will cope perfectly well with no problems, its good to see someone do so much research before going into something, us oldies are very quick to have a pop at the "youth of today" but you are a credit

Keep on researching you will never get bored with spiders once you have the first one they are all so different in looks and personalities

All the best

Clint

LMFAO! Thank you - I like to think I'm a credit too lol! Yes I may jst get a frozen one then lol! Of course I would want to do research for mine and the spiders sake, but a lot of kids wouldn't! Wow the L. Parybhana is a beast! I do not think I could handle one!
Thanks a lot Clinton, you been a great help,
Rich!

I think we should leave that to Freddie Starr.

Seriously, I would stick to crickets, meal worms and the occasional cube of raw steak. Rodents have large sharp teeth, including hamsters.
You also need to be aware that not everyone who views these boards are happy about having large, hairy and potentially dangerous tropical spiders in captivity in peoples homes. In fact there are a lot pf people that don't like seeing animals in anything but their natural environment. Actions such as feeding live rodents will only help fuel their cause. And some of them are very radical. What I may have done in the past, when I was a child, cannot be excused, but I've grown up a lot since then. Feeding live rodents is probably more for your benefit, entertainment wise, than it is for your tarantula, who will be more than happy with crickets. If you do feed your tarantula live rodents, be prepared to loose your spider. Don't publicise it, don't Youtube it. I'm sure dog owners don't feed them live rabbits or the like.

My smithi juvenile will be arriving shortly from the tarantula shop on Thursday. I'll be sure to post a comment or two on Thursday evening or Friday. So if you want to wait till then, you can, but the feedback from the forum seems to say you should have no worries or issues.

Kindest regards

Andrew

Hey Andrew,
Yeah there are a lot of dumb people (in my opinion) who go publicising what they do - crazy! Like you said, it's for MY benefit, but if I do feed it mice, I'll have them prekilled from the store!
Thanks a lot Andrew,
Rich!

Hi Andrew I was thinking along those lines but it may be a little before rich's time

Clint

Definitely!

Live rodents quite simply is not a good idea, there are far more humane ways of feeding your Ts. Currently there is a body against exotic pet keeping and this kind of feeding can only attract negative attention as well as fuel the argument.
As Colin suggests let get back to topic.
Richard, have you looked at other alternatives worth considering. You might want to do a search on Yell.com for exotic pet shops in your area.

Way ahead of you! I searched NW, and found a possible one in Cricklewood. My english teacher was telling me about this shop in Camden I should go to (completely unrelated from tarantulas), but I might as well go check out that and the pet store down there some time soon!

Thanks Peter, appreciated



Good idea, although where abouts are you Richard?, i'm sure there will be someone on here that will poiint you in the right direction from their own good experiences. (if you've mentioned where you are already, ignore me ...i'm an idiot )

Lol... I will ignore what your last instruction was and repeat the answer to the question - Colindale. Though Peter already remembered that lol!

The tank I keep my Rosie in is 12" high 12" deep and about 24" across...she loves it. She's got a couple of little obstacles to clamber over and a little cave. She doesnt wander too much but her large confines certainly don't seem to be any detriment to her. And when I put the crickets in she usually finds them no problemo.

Kl man; I think I'll set it up like that. BTW what are the 'obstacles' you use?
Cheers,
Rich

I find that you can put spiders in a larger than "whats considered" normal tank as long as there's lots of decor (rocks, logs, multiple hides etc) to offer a really tactile environment.

Kl! I may well do that!!! Do you think I can do that with a 24Lx8.5W inches tank for a juvenile B. Smithi???
Thanks,
Rich

Simon, any chance of any pics? I like the idea of that, as well as the way Colin has described a "larger than waht's considered" setup sounds very interesting and visully stunning. Perhaps in a new thread maybe? Its stuff like that that can give a newby some inspiration for future projects.

Sure can!

[Simon Norfolk]

Pics wise I'll get right on it and set up a new thread...so watch this space! I've just worked out that makes molly's house a 54 litre tank- for those of you who deal in litres (about 14 Gallons)

[Tom Forman]

so it's illegal to have your pet kill a mouse but it is legal to breed a mouse, drown it and then feed it to your pet.

Now that is a law that makes sense if you ask me.

[jason holland]

i dont think ud be able to kill them yourselves, u prob need a special licence to do it... and dont forget the topic lol...

i too have a 12" x 12" x24" does that make sense? 24 inches long..... and my b.smithi (even tho its not fully grown) is fine in there, and when its eating... lol finds her food fine as well, i have plastic leaves, small plastic bushy type stuff, and its cave / climbing object

[Peter Lacey]

Its down to killing an animal humanely which should involve the least amount of suffering to the animal. I think that covers both the law and the moral argument.

[Colin D Wilson]

I think that covers both the law and the moral argument.

Precisely....Nuff said.

[Nicola Dolby]

I would have thought a tarantula bite is a pretty quick way to kill a mouse, but at the end of the day there's always locusts, crickets, or the next door neighbour's cat!

[Richard Shah]

i dont think ud be able to kill them yourselves, u prob need a special licence to do it... and dont forget the topic lol...

i too have a 12" x 12" x24" does that make sense? 24 inches long..... and my b.smithi (even tho its not fully grown) is fine in there, and when its eating... lol finds her food fine as well, i have plastic leaves, small plastic bushy type stuff, and its cave / climbing object

Why woudln't it make sense lol?
As for the tank size - that's really good! What is your T.s legspan?
Rich

Its down to killing an animal humanely which should involve the least amount of suffering to the animal. I think that covers both the law and the moral argument.

A tarantula does kill it humenly though... one bite and they are pralyzed and then dead!

I would have thought a tarantula bite is a pretty quick way to kill a mouse, but at the end of the day there's always locusts, crickets, or the next door neighbour's cat!

Lol! I wonder if it cud kill a cat - I have a cat, his name's Timber!
And about the bite; I agree wid u!

Rich

[jason holland]

Why woudln't it make sense lol?
As for the tank size - that's really good! What is your T.s legspan?
Rich

well ... bit of a tricky one. i havnt managed to get a good measurment of her recently, but id say 3.5 to 4 ish... so not huge. grew around an inch from the lastmoult. i know shes quite small really for a tank this size, but this means i dont need to get a bigger tank.

this is her tank by the way. (it has changed slightly since then, and im planning on increasing the amound of substrate as well. but for now, its fine

[Peter Lacey]

Richard the reference to humanely killed concerns whether a food item, namely the mouse, suffers stress due to being in an environment thats at odds with its living conditions. In a tarantula tank its hunted and under attack. The death isnt instant, tarantula venom isn't instant death or paralysis. So to act within the law and to give it a humane death we cut the hunting scene from the scenario and feed the T de-frosted mice. I'll guess you haven't considered that the mouse might bite the T before the venom takes its course, a bite which might eventually kill the T. So, in short its not a forgone conclusion nor instant.
I suggest if you really feel compelled to watch tarantula v rodent you restrict yourself to YouTube rather than make assumptions.

[Andrew Ferguson]

Rodents have large sharp teeth, including hamsters.

If you do feed your tarantula live rodents, be prepared to loose your spider.

Just a quick reminder from an earlier post.

[Richard Shah]

Richard the reference to humanely killed concerns whether a food item, namely the mouse, suffers stress due to being in an environment thats at odds with its living conditions. In a tarantula tank its hunted and under attack. The death isnt instant, tarantula venom isn't instant death or paralysis. So to act within the law and to give it a humane death we cut the hunting scene from the scenario and feed the T de-frosted mice. I'll guess you haven't considered that the mouse might bite the T before the venom takes its course, a bite which might eventually kill the T. So, in short its not a forgone conclusion nor instant.
I suggest if you really feel compelled to watch tarantula v rodent you restrict yourself to YouTube rather than make assumptions.

That's the first thing I considered; I always knew that there is no such thing as 'just dropping it in' and it would die so suddenly - I've always considered it a risk to the tarantula too. The reason I brought the subject up again is becuz it is just one that interests me - that's all. I will stick with prekilled mice!
Thank you,
Rich

well ... bit of a tricky one. i havnt managed to get a good measurment of her recently, but id say 3.5 to 4 ish... so not huge. grew around an inch from the lastmoult. i know shes quite small really for a tank this size, but this means i dont need to get a bigger tank.

this is her tank by the way. (it has changed slightly since then, and im planning on increasing the amound of substrate as well. but for now, its fine

Pretty naturalistic (except the waterbowl lol!). I wanna do this when my T. moves tanks. BTW I take that your measurement is in inches?

I plan that when my tarantula reaches 1.5 inches, I'll move him/her into the 8x8x24" tank, and then buy another tank when he/she is around four inches big.
BTW is that guide a good read? I would've thought that the BTS forums is all that is needed!
I praise all of you here!

Rich