To Essex meet Sun March 30th

[matthew spooner]

thats ok peter, i know what you mean about having the time though. i am actually trying to start some sort ofmembership scheme via our website, which would enable members to come on our social events. will keep you updated as and when anything happens

[Peter Lacey]

If anyone decides last minute to come along plz tel me on xxxx xxxxxx

Remember folks, clocks go forward Saturday night

[James Box]

well that was a great day out!
Sylvi, her daughter Julie, Peter and my incredibly patient mum had a lot of fun.
Peter did some delicious food for us, i was given a Haplopelma albostriata and picked up a Selenobrachys philippinus and B vagans...and that was before even getting to the shops!
Peter's Chinese water dragon Jaws was my favourite there, though...such a nice animal and beautiful to look at, too. will definitely get one some day.
at the first shop i got a Chaetopelma gracile sling, obviously one of Martin Goss' stock...he must supply both the shops in that area as saw some of his in both.
the second shop was Cold Blooded. definitely the best shop of the day and always a treat to visit due to it doubling as a zoo, with some massive snakes, a crocodile, a snapping turtle and many more.
we also met Peter Roach here as well as Paul, obviously, as he runs the shop.
he gave us really good deals, too dropped nearly 50% off the price of what i bought aside from the metallica...and even that he dropped £15 and sold it for 20...which made it impossible to turn down.
Peter L and his family made us all feel welcome,
and Sylvi and Julie were great to hang out with as well. was great to meet you all!
thanks for organising a fantastic day, Peter!

[matthew spooner]

sounds like a good day out, wish it was a bit closer to me so i coud have gone

[James Box]

yeah, too bad, mate...
i'd love to get down to Invicta, but it's quite aways out as well for me. it may be do-able someday though.

[SylviRigden]

Hi, YES!!! what a great day it was , we had so much fun!! Thanks very much Peter and Nicky for organising it and for doing the lovely food. It was great meeting James and his mum - Angela? have I got it right?. She's over from Canada and is so interesting to talk to, and James is great company. I picked up 3 P subfuscas at Peters, they were a pressie for Julie, and then at Cold Blooded I got an OBT! I have been wanting one of these for ages but always put it off due to all the horror reports for it. I was just deciding which pink toe to buy when Paul rummaged under the counter and out came the OBT....... well I had to buy it didn't I. Julie bought a beautiful Leopard Gecko. We had quite a discount too - we had the adult male hypo carrot tail Gecko, lg KK, OBT, small KK, ministat, and a tub of crickets for £85! Then we all went back to Peters for a chat and a drink before heading home. A great day, thank you every one, and I hope we'll all catch up again at the BTS show in May.

Ps. Peter, putting the OBT into its KK was the most uneventful occasion of the weekend. I just cut a hole in the end of the cricket tub, stuffed the end of the tub in the hatch of the KK, stuffed loo roll in the gaps and left it in a dark corner. 10 mins later the OBT was in his new tank on the shelf.

[Peter Lacey]

Thanks to all who came, I really enjoyed myself and finally found some people who like to talk about spiders as much as I do, Peter Roach being the only exception. It was great to have so many laughs and give our thoughts on the "SCaRy sPiDeRs" with everyone confirming things aren't as bad as most make out. Silvi, perhaps that had some influence on your Orange Bitey Thing purchase. Don't think I've seen that before but I'm rather glad another myth has been exposed, albeit temporarily LOL. Please keep me updated and remember the suit of armour.
James's Mum showed much patience, I'm sure she'd have been happy enough for us to leave her with that large Iguana at Jungle Phase, she seemed to fall in love with it. I can't believe how much James bought, he was a kid in a sweet shop and couldn't help but laugh at his mum coming to the rescue with her purse, some things never change. Frogs, newts, crickets and spiders and it wouldn't surprise me if I missed him grabbing one of those scorps or centi's too. And thanks James for bringing your pets for us to ooooooohgle at.
I thank you once again Sylvi for the Regalis, got my first look this morning when I caught it fully out the cork tube. At the moment she's legs out the top as if hanging her stripey socks out to dry. Bigger than I thought and very elegant. I was given a slapped wrist by Nicki for not returning the gesture with some curly slings and the King baboon. My apologies I was too busy listening and not busy thinking. Infact I nearly got away with not buying anything all day but I guess that was too much to expect with A. metallica's at knock down prices. I also think I'll be back for that A. pissii. And having given James the B. vagans I've decided to order another today, just couldn't resist that either.
Julie was an inspiration, very well clued up and a joy to watch and talk to. I was so glad she got her gecko, I know that's now on my list too, and I'm pleased to see she got so much for that price, Paul kept to his word. I'm sure Julie will read this so great to meet you Julie and hope I get the pleasure again. Did you finally figure out the sex of the boehmei? and have you managed to see all the subs yet? They're little darlings.
Thanks to all of you for coming and hopefully meet up again at BTS when we can burn each others ears off again LOL

[SylviRigden]

Hi Peter , Julie wasn't sure about the boehmei as it's small ( I have to use a magnifying glass even on the adults lol ), but she was leaning towards female. No she hasn't seen the subs yet. She is well pleased with her Gecko, and we both say that if money wasn't an object we would have bought all those hog nosed turtles. I'm glad you like the regalis, do you think it's female? It is lovely. I didn't want anything in return for her as I was trying to free up some space for bigger tanks for my alticeps....... and then I bought the OBT! Still, that can live off heat which will keep its growth down a bit if it's a male.

[Peter Lacey]

soz I thought you said the regalis was female, I really need to get a new head, tiredness was beating me that weekend what with the gas getting turned off during the week - hence the exposed pipes in the cloakroom - and unexpected visits from my brother and his entourage on Fri/Sat nights. Whatever she turns out to be the name Sweeney Todd is sticking LOL and now Corrin wants to call one Jack the Ripper, oh such innocent minds!
Glad Julie likes the Gecko, you really can't fail to like them and I can see how people get so many.

[James Box]

lol Sweeney Todd...what a character!
did the H albostriata have a name? still haven't seen it
i think my Avicularia sp "metallica" may be male, but was hard to tell. the exuvia is very small, and i have no magnification devices as of yet.
my mum's name is Sheila, Sylvi lol don't worry, i get names wrong all the time
Peter, i did pay her back but that's a funny image lol! i do get that crazed MUST BUY EVERYTHING state of mind in pet shops or at shows
really proud i kept myself down to what i got, though i could've had several more toads
glad the OBT transfer went ok...they really are cowards deep down - albeit fast ones. i'd not mess with an adult, but i have my young OBT's in cricket tubs for now, and they're fully aware of me lifting the lids. they don't challenge me at all, just run off down into the webbing or hide...only if they're backed into a corner do i get a threat!

[SylviRigden]

Hi, we think the regalis is female but we are not sure, she is very brightly marked for a male we thought. She was named Todd - as in Sweeny Todd the butcher regalis of Church Road due to the fact that she slaughtered the other 2 in the communal. The Haplopelma has no name yet (it probably would have been labelled 'soup dragon' because it lives in a hole and now I am showing my age! ) and funnily enough I haven't seen it above ground since I got it about a year ago, I've only ever seen it vaguely through the plastic in its burrow.
The OBT is all snugged up in his cork tube and behaving much like the rest of the arachnids here, so put one on your list Peter! I've called him Loki, but he is not living up to his grim reaper reputation! Blast, I wanted to put him in the canteen at work so he could liven up break time ( in his tank of course ), maybe when he gets older he will. I got your Mum's name wrong James, sorry, I am hopeless at remembering names, and alot of other things as well! I shall remember next time if she comes over again when we are all meeting up.

[James Box]

soup dragon...an interesting name, will have to look that up! might stick
if i get my camera working again and get a look, i'll try to get you pics
no worries about my mum's name, like i said i'm always getting names wrong, so i understand lol!
glad the OBT is behaving...to be honest, in my admittedly limited experience their reputation is undeserved. they are simply a beautiful spider...they deserve respect for their speed and defensive nature, but if mine are typical examples, they act like all my spiders, quicker to run and hide than attack.

i'm glad the gecko is doing well and Julie's enjoying it. i may get into them too some day

as it is, i'm getting excited about my two varieties of amphibian lol...a new addiction to add to the spiders, great!

[Peter Lacey]

well Todd is doing very well, she's shown herself quite a bit and I provided 2 crickets for her this morning, no sign of them now! She was in a great pose earlier, very star like and quite similar to the BTS logo. I read somewhere a good indication on sexing via the abdomen so I intend looking for that again to get myself clued up.

We've noticed the regalis and rufliata lining up against each other in their seperate tanks, I wonder if they can see each other.

I really like the cork bark, may have to invest in some of that, did you get yours online? I remember Julie saying you purchased a bag of it but can't remember from where.

[James Box]

most of the shops i get to sell cork bark...may be able to help you out there.

unfortunately, i think the apparently very reliable ventral sexing method for Pokies only works when they're young and have a bald patch in the area you need to see...for example, my 1.5 inch fasciatas are noticeably male and female, my 4 inch striata less so...no idea what they are.

[SylviRigden]

The Soup Dragon comes from the TV programme 'The Clangers' for the young and uneducated in such matters. I used to watch it before I went to bed at 6pm, nowadays the young watch Neighbours and go to bed at 9pm lol.
Ventral sexing is also difficult on the older regalis as that white band is exactly where you need to see. Julie had a male last year and it was quite dull in colour compared to Todd and the one who I have here. It matured at quite a small size and has gone on to be hopefully a father and alas a dinner for a lady in Wales.
Julie's gecko has settled in really well - he lives in a loo roll, if she manages to breed some we will bring some along to the next meet up ? and encourage you both to give them loving homes!
We got the cork tubes on line, I can't remember where though, I think most of the on line T suppliers do them.