Success!!

[Nicola Dolby]

Hi, another picture thing, this one a success story. I woke up the other morning and found this little thing and a moulted exoskeleton in one of my tanks.




This one now has a leg span of 13cm, though as you can see is very leggy, which might mean a matured male after its next moult. The abdominal skin was lost from this one as the shed skin tore on some bark when I was removing it. Spider is very well though!

[Daniel Carpenter]

Well done and btw amazing pictures and tarantula is beautiful.
Dan.

[Colin D Wilson]

Sure does look like a lanky teenage boy to me Nichola

Both nice looking spiders.

[Larry Shone]

Nice P.metallica! I know these are arboreals but do you get to see them much? I have a Psalmopoeus cambridgei which tho a cool spider i never see it!

[Colin D Wilson]

Larry, you have to be an idiot like me and stay up most of the night spider watching. I've fitted low wattage red bulbs into my arboreal enclosures so i can view them.

[Larry Shone]

Oh i cant do that,i have to get a good nights sleep cos the kids have us up early in the morning

[Daniel Carpenter]

lol....I am thinking of getting some of those bulbs for some of my tanks, colin do you mind if i asked you where you got yours...i can find normal voltage but not low...
Thank you,
Dan.

[Colin D Wilson]

Hi dan, i just use the normal red 25 watts small ES screw threaded ones (ikea do them) and i have them on a dimmer switch.
Start off low when you switch on and slowly increase untill you can see clearly. doesn't seem to disturb the T's at all.

I use overhead lighting to heat all my T enclosures as i don't like or use hot rocks or heat mats. i use a digitally proportionate dimmer controller for 12 hours per day, set the temps and thats it. even if the controller goes pearshaped the highest the tanks get is just over 90 which all the T's can tollerate. all the plastic hatchling boxes with my breeding T's in them are on the top of the tanks and get underground heating. observing these temps is more important but they have remained very constant since setting up.

[Daniel Carpenter]

Thank you very much colin, i will invest in a set up...
Cheers,
Dan.