Barricade and crickets

[Richard Shah]

Hey People

Haven't been on here for a few days, so hello everyone!

I rehoused my tarantula into a slightly larger tank, despite advice I had been given. I think that Ice Cube is well suited to this tank, as it isn't so big, has a very simple substrate, flower pot and water dish layout, and so the prey being noticed and caught by the 3cm juvenile, or as a lot of people will note it as, 'sling', should be a very easy thing for IC to do.
Also, I will no longer have to keep disturbing him/her by opening the lid any more; and so this should allow it settle in quickly.

I rehoused him on Saturday, and whilst I was asleep Sunday morning, he/she barricaded himself/herself in his/her hide.
Of course I know this is a very normal and natural thing to do, but I doubt it started moulting as it had eaten two crickets that weeks and its bald patch was still pink.
Any way, since Saturday I haven't seen him/her come out. Fair enough, it's probably burrowed into its own network of tunnels, and is still getting used to the new enclosure.
It is now Wednesday and I want to drop in a cricket; can I do so without knowing what exactly my t. is up to?
Cheers everyone,
Rich!

[Peter Roach]

I rehoused my tarantula into a slightly larger tank, despite advice I had been given

As you keep disregarding the advice that well meaning and more experienced people are giving you, you obviously dont need to ask any more questions because you must already know it all.
You seem to ask questions then totally ignore the advice given and then ask more questions regarding the action you have just completed.

So as you are now an 'EXPERT' you have no need to ask such a basic question and should know it already, so this must be a trick question and you are trying to catch us out

By the way, here are two of my juv smithi's in their homes, which they will be in for a long while yet

[Oli Dodds]

Well put
Also Richard, slings and juveniles are different

[Richard Shah]

As you keep disregarding the advice that well meaning and more experienced people are giving you, you obviously dont need to ask any more questions because you must already know it all.
You seem to ask questions then totally ignore the advice given and then ask more questions regarding the action you have just completed.

So as you are now an 'EXPERT' you have no need to ask such a basic question and should know it already, so this must be a trick question and you are trying to catch us out

By the way, here are two of my juv smithi's in their homes, which they will be in for a long while yet

It is only a slightly larger tank, and I did it in total benefit of IC. I was constantly opening the last one, which in height was less than a film pot, and now I feel I can let it settle, once and for all.
I don't want to disregard advice, but in this time I felt I had to because I think the spider may have been under constant stress before.
I'm sorry Peter, but I will not ignore any other advice I'm given; I think the T. is well suited to this tank though.
And those boxes you use are different from my one; mine was small and almost opaque, yours is more transparent and tall.
And no, I'm not an expert - you are, and like most on these forums. But I've stated my reasons for going against your advice, and of course it seems like total madness to do so, but in my eyes, these are justifiable reasons. And like I said, the tank is only a little bit bigger than the small translucent box. In fact, when I was proposing to use this box for crickets, and I still thought my T. was going to be 3cm (and had mentioned the fact numerous times before), people on these forums said that it wuld be perfect for my tarantula, despite the fact that I had said I already had a smaller box for it.

Well put
Also Richard, slings and juveniles are different

I know - but tarantula-shop lists them as juveniles, when others regard them as slings (and are right to say so too).

[Peter Lacey]

As Stan Laurel said "you can lead a horse to water but a pencil must be lead"

Can't be bothered answering any more of these questions, it all gets ignored anyway. Good luck Richard.

[Richard Shah]

As Stan Laurel said "you can lead a horse to water but a pencil must be lead"

Can't be bothered answering any more of these questions, it all gets ignored anyway. Good luck Richard.

I didn't ignore the answer about housing; I took it into consideration and decided that the small tank, used for the crickets, will work well with the tarantula, and I wouldn't have to disturb it at all, anymore.
I shouldn't have ignored what I was first told about the tank, and that was to use the tank for the tarantula in the first place; it is small, with a very simple set-up, and will hardly ever have to be disturbed by me.
But finally, I have decided to do with it what I was told by some in, I believe it was, my "Cricket" thread.
All I asked was, can I try to feed IC a cricket whilst it is still in its (mostly) barricaded hide, or should I leave 'till I see it start coming out again?

Thanks Peter,

Rich.

[Peter Roach]

Put one cricket in the tank for 24hrs, if it is uneaten at the end of this time take it out and try again in a week.

[matthew spooner]

well richard, as i found, alot of building personal knowledge of Ts is down to trial and error. the advice given on this forum comes from very knowledgable origins but there are certain bits of advice i have gone against myself in the past because it can be more fun, aslong as not distressing to the T to go throught he whole trial and error scenario. the only thing i will say is that you said you didnt like it in the old enclosure because you kept taking the lid off and you were worried about harming your smithi which is good but you could argue the fact that maybe you dont need to keep taking the lid off. no matter what the size of the enclosure is, any T can find it distressing being constantly disturbed. for feeding purposes, you can just lift the corner of the lid or cut a feeding flap into the lid which is what i have done with some of mine. the only thing i would say about the debate that has previously gone on in this thread, alot os people will give you valuable advice on how they have done things, but you will notice they all will do it slightly differently, maybe working out your own way is a good thing but sometimes doing it a tried and tested way is better

[Kate Arbon]

I am definitely guilty of going against advice from more experienced keepers when I first started. To be fair, if everyone did what other people told them was the proper way then how would people randomly discover good new ideas on how to do things?

Rich you should be ok to put a cricket in there. When I first got my juvie B. smithi he blocked himself away in his hide for a few weeks, I think it's just how they settle in, so chances are he's not moulting but even if he is if he's barricaded himself in he'll be ok anyway.

(and you know what I did when my smithi did that... after 3 weeks of not seeing him I dug him up, against lots of advice. But he's still here today and I think he's forgiven me, lol. Not all 'mistakes' are a big deal.)

[Peter Lacey]

To be fair, if everyone did what other people told them was the proper way then how would people randomly discover good new ideas on how to do things?

By trying the established ways first and then exploring new ideas?

[Richard Shah]

Put one cricket in the tank for 24hrs, if it is uneaten at the end of this time take it out and try again in a week.

Will do, thanks a lot Peter.

well richard, as i found, alot of building personal knowledge of Ts is down to trial and error. the advice given on this forum comes from very knowledgable origins but there are certain bits of advice i have gone against myself in the past because it can be more fun, aslong as not distressing to the T to go throught he whole trial and error scenario. the only thing i will say is that you said you didnt like it in the old enclosure because you kept taking the lid off and you were worried about harming your smithi which is good but you could argue the fact that maybe you dont need to keep taking the lid off. no matter what the size of the enclosure is, any T can find it distressing being constantly disturbed. for feeding purposes, you can just lift the corner of the lid or cut a feeding flap into the lid which is what i have done with some of mine. the only thing i would say about the debate that has previously gone on in this thread, alot os people will give you valuable advice on how they have done things, but you will notice they all will do it slightly differently, maybe working out your own way is a good thing but sometimes doing it a tried and tested way is better

Certainly. The reason I kept lifting the lid was to constantly look at him/her because I find it amazing, but obviously it'll stress the T. out at the same time. When it came to feeding time, that was the worst; there was little space from the substrate to the lid, and it was always a problem closing the container because the cricket and/or IC would be on the edge of it, either trying to get out or sitting there still, and brown crickets are mad! They jump in a mad fashion, unlike the calm, black ones, though they were more of a threat to the T. - IC hated them and got really freaked out by them!

I am definitely guilty of going against advice from more experienced keepers when I first started. To be fair, if everyone did what other people told them was the proper way then how would people randomly discover good new ideas on how to do things?

Rich you should be ok to put a cricket in there. When I first got my juvie B. smithi he blocked himself away in his hide for a few weeks, I think it's just how they settle in, so chances are he's not moulting but even if he is if he's barricaded himself in he'll be ok anyway.

(and you know what I did when my smithi did that... after 3 weeks of not seeing him I dug him up, against lots of advice. But he's still here today and I think he's forgiven me, lol. Not all 'mistakes' are a big deal.)

Three weeks? I am not going to touch IC's shelter area, but just to think that he/se may be in there for that long - wow!
Yes, I definitely think he/she is settling in, and that is what I wanted to see, and now I'm happy for it!

By trying the established ways first and then exploring new ideas?

Something like that; in my case, the small container was the established way, and the tank is the exploration.
Peter, I know you keep reptiles, so just a quick question on pricinng, if you don't mind. I'm broke so there is practically no chance of me buying these, but at my pet store, they are selling two bearded dragons, with the container, lighting, heating, everything - for £275. Is that a good price for them, too expensive or about right?


Thank you everyone,

Rich!

[Peter Lacey]

mmm! reptiles are rather a seperate debate, however its easy to pick up BD as people keep them from babies and sell them on. They're a good starter dragon coz they don't require too much attention but IMO there are much better lizards to choose from.
You'd be better getting smaller BDs and if you wished to get a ROI I'd suggest a colour strain of yellow or red.
£275 sounds a lot but I don't know what size enclosure or lizard. Shop price I'd expect the lizard to be between £30-£50 as younger specimens.

[Oli Dodds]

Three weeks? I am not going to touch IC's shelter area, but just to think that he/se may be in there for that long - wow!

3 weeks is nothing, ive had spids hide away for 5+ months before without coming out; a few people on here have so its not uncommon.

Peter, I know you keep reptiles, so just a quick question on pricinng, if you don't mind. I'm broke so there is practically no chance of me buying these, but at my pet store, they are selling two bearded dragons, with the container, lighting, heating, everything - for £275. Is that a good price for them, too expensive or about right?

I dont understand why your asking this if you cant afford them?

BACK TO TOPIC PEOPLE

[Ray Hale]

As stated in a thread elewhere. there is no definitive way to keep a tarantula. I have spent years trying to find the "perfect" set up. I have kept them in glass tanks all nicely planted, I have kept them in plastic boxes, in the dark , in the light, warm and even warmer. ( You will note that I havnt said in the freezer Tesco but hell Ive even kept them there!!!!). My collection has been at 500 adults and down to around 250 now. I have had breeding sucesses and I have had failures. I have had prize specimens die for no reason and I have grown hundreds from spiderling to adult. But throughout all these tribulations I have learned one thing. Enjoy the beast and the hobby. So whilst we can learn from the more experienced we can learn more from ourselves.

PS

I really need to get a job. ( I was made redundant yesterday hence the Yoda like advice....)

[Colin D Wilson]

I really need to get a job. ( I was made redundant yesterday hence the Yoda like advice....)

Thats bad news mate, I can only send best wishes and good luck in finding new employment.

Colin