I enjoy watching Youtube videos and in fact, too many of them. But most of them are videos about spiders, like tarantulas and jumping spiders. A good channel for any spider enthusiast is Bob the Spider Hunter on Youtube. He covers all sorts of things about spiders and has many videos about jumping spiders. When they are out, he catches them and talks about them. He also really enjoys other spiders, like orb weavers, wolf spiders, and many others. He also has a tarantula, although you don't get to see it very much. He seems to like the jumping spiders the most (I haven't found any other spider that is so awesome! :) ) as his channel has more videos about jumping spiders and his experiences with them. I usually get my ideas and information from them and they are helping a lot. He has videos on how to care for them (other spiders included), spiderlings, mating, food--pretty much everything about them. Some of them are the his Jumping Spiders Part (1-3) with Bob, the spider hunter. I recommend them all in this series. He also covers what males and females do in his 2 video series Girl meets Boy! These are pretty entertaining videos with narrating subtitles at the bottom along with some romantic music. The second video is pretty funny. (A bit of caution is suggested on the second one especially for young children.) You will find in some videos that he posted later showed that both matings were successful and that they got eggs sacks. All four spiders are Phiddipus Audax in these videos as he will talk about.
Thanks for checking out this blog. I hope you enjoyed it and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Update on Marbles
Marbles, my pet female Phiddipus Audax jumping spider is doing well so far. She is still, well, as far as I can tell, happy in her enclosure. She can always see me when I come into the room and she will run backwards, upside down, fall off her ceiling, and run for her overturned cup bottom before I can get within two feet of her. That is the awesome eye sight of the jumping spider at work for ya, that's for sure. Then there are days like today, when she sees me and just turns her whole body or cocks her head to one side or the other and waits for me to open the top so she can try to make a break for it. I just blow a little bit on her and she usually jumps in such a goofy way that she lands on her back and then falls to the bottom of her cage. She then ran to the side so she could look up at me and just sat there. It is fun to do and really she is okay when she falls. They are small enough and light enough that a fall of more than a few feet without a safety line wont hurt them.
I hope to get a feeding video of her tomorrow, and I will post that as soon as I can. I want to make sure that she gets a cricket before I leave on vacation so that it will last her the whole time. On Friday, class Christmas parties will be going on and I will most likely forget about her and I really don't want to do that. I can't guarantee that she will eat right away tomorrow, so if she does, I will post a video. If not, I won't. (I'll just leave the cricket in there with her anyway. She will eat in a day or two after it being in there.) And hopefully, the cricket will be in a spot where she will actually jump on the cricket and not just creep up on it and then pounce the shortest possible distance. It is cool to see, but a big, deadly, accurate jump is so much more entertaining. Haha.
Thanks for checking out this post. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them in the comment section below and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
I hope to get a feeding video of her tomorrow, and I will post that as soon as I can. I want to make sure that she gets a cricket before I leave on vacation so that it will last her the whole time. On Friday, class Christmas parties will be going on and I will most likely forget about her and I really don't want to do that. I can't guarantee that she will eat right away tomorrow, so if she does, I will post a video. If not, I won't. (I'll just leave the cricket in there with her anyway. She will eat in a day or two after it being in there.) And hopefully, the cricket will be in a spot where she will actually jump on the cricket and not just creep up on it and then pounce the shortest possible distance. It is cool to see, but a big, deadly, accurate jump is so much more entertaining. Haha.
Thanks for checking out this post. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them in the comment section below and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Do You Have a Favorite Tarantula? What is it?
As you might know, especially from my previous post, I love tarantulas. I really don't know why, but I just do. Maybe it's all that fuzz covering them or maybe it is because they have eight legs and are bigger versions of the other spiders that I really like. Either way, they are really awesome and there are a couple that I would love to tell you about. And yes, I do have more than one "favorite". Many of them are just the color combinations and others are the size and the more mellow nature of the tarantula's species. I am already making plans on what tarantulas I will be getting in the future and which ones I will stay away from, which happen to be the faster, more venomous ones. Many of them are very pretty, but if they get away, Look out! They can't kill you, but for the Poecilotheria species, they have a bite that is very, very painful and at times, it will probably make you wish you were going to die than not. There is a few videos of Rob C., who has been tagged by a couple of his Poecilotheria spiders before and wasn't doing too good for a few days. You must remember, (even more so with species like these), handle tarantulas with care. Any tarantula, even the calmest, nicest ones out there, can still bit you if they feel they need to. So please treat them with respect. Rob wasn't treating his spiders in any way that could harm them. He was trying to mate a male and female and the female went after the male. Rob tried to intervene and the female got his wrist. (It wasn't really a smart thing to do, but he loves his spiders so much that he is willing to risk the bite to save the other one, if possible.)
So, now to my personal favorites. I really like the Brachypelma species, like the B. Emilia, the Smithi, Boehmei, and Auratum. The colors is what really draws me to them. The reds, oranges, yellows, whites, and browns are just stunning, especially when you have a freshly molted tarantula. The Brachypelmas also tend to be a bit more docile than most other tarantula species and the famous B. Smithi (Mexican Red Knee) is a really popular choice among beginners and experts. However, like most other Brachys, they tend to flick hairs like crazy and some individuals are horrible. Each spider will react differently to you when you get near it, but Brachypelmas are pretty well know for this. Any tarantula found in the Americas, North, Central, and South, tend to be hair flickers with less potent venom. They also tend to be slower and less willing to bite. Other tarantulas found mostly in the Asias are fast, and their venom is quite potent. However, they don't kick hairs.
Another favorite species of mine is the Poecilotheria. They are very, very beautiful and are really fun to look at. Like the P. Metallica. It is a tarantula with an amazing dark blue color pattern with the yellow under their leg joints that are typical with Pokies. I think this is the prettiest tarantula you will ever see. When I first sawa picture of one, I thought it was photoshopped. However, upon more research, I found out that it was indeed a real tarantula and a real beauty at that. These are however from the Poecilotheria species which means that they are very fast, their venom is very potent, and they are expensive! I have seen prices for baby 1/4 inch slings for over $200. And the full grown 6 inch females are more than double that! Yeah, really pricey for something so pretty. I however, wouldn't want to own one mainly because if it escaped, it would be hard to capture without getting bitten or having it bite one of my other pets. Yep, I'll let other people have them and I'll enjoy them on Youtube. Other really nice ones are the Ornata, Fasciata, Miranda, Regalis, and Subfusca.
And my most favorite tarantula is the Euathlus sp. Red, which is also known as the sp. Orange or Yellow. It's really the exact same tarantula, but some are more red, orange, or yellow depending on the individual spider. These are known to be the best beginner tarantula because they are really gentle for those of us who like to handle them and their venom is very weak and won't hurt humans. They do have urticating hairs because they are found in Chile and like I said above, if they are found in the Americas, they will have these hairs. Another awesome thing about them is that they only grow to 3 to 3.5 inches in leg span. So they are really quite small compared to other tarantulas which for some people, really like to have a small spider. They are also known to be very friendly and any time their own opens the cage, the tarantula immediately starts to walk out and act as if it wants to be handled. It is still up for debate on whether tarantulas like to be handled and if it is good for them, but so far, these little guys tend to "like" the attention.You can get an off one that will deffensive towards you when you want to handle it and you should just leave it be. But over all, they are said to be awesome for the beginner. Their only downside is that because they are so small, they eat very little and tend to eat every couple months instead of weeks like bigger sized tarantulas.
Do you have a favorite tarantula or more? What is it and why? I would love to hear about what you think and if you have any and what they are and why you like them. So please leave you comments below and if you have any questions, I will try to get back to you as soon as possible.
Other awesome blogs to check out: (don't have anything to do with tarantulas)
Bills cars and computers
Graspvitality
Nathan3000368
So, now to my personal favorites. I really like the Brachypelma species, like the B. Emilia, the Smithi, Boehmei, and Auratum. The colors is what really draws me to them. The reds, oranges, yellows, whites, and browns are just stunning, especially when you have a freshly molted tarantula. The Brachypelmas also tend to be a bit more docile than most other tarantula species and the famous B. Smithi (Mexican Red Knee) is a really popular choice among beginners and experts. However, like most other Brachys, they tend to flick hairs like crazy and some individuals are horrible. Each spider will react differently to you when you get near it, but Brachypelmas are pretty well know for this. Any tarantula found in the Americas, North, Central, and South, tend to be hair flickers with less potent venom. They also tend to be slower and less willing to bite. Other tarantulas found mostly in the Asias are fast, and their venom is quite potent. However, they don't kick hairs.
Another favorite species of mine is the Poecilotheria. They are very, very beautiful and are really fun to look at. Like the P. Metallica. It is a tarantula with an amazing dark blue color pattern with the yellow under their leg joints that are typical with Pokies. I think this is the prettiest tarantula you will ever see. When I first sawa picture of one, I thought it was photoshopped. However, upon more research, I found out that it was indeed a real tarantula and a real beauty at that. These are however from the Poecilotheria species which means that they are very fast, their venom is very potent, and they are expensive! I have seen prices for baby 1/4 inch slings for over $200. And the full grown 6 inch females are more than double that! Yeah, really pricey for something so pretty. I however, wouldn't want to own one mainly because if it escaped, it would be hard to capture without getting bitten or having it bite one of my other pets. Yep, I'll let other people have them and I'll enjoy them on Youtube. Other really nice ones are the Ornata, Fasciata, Miranda, Regalis, and Subfusca.
And my most favorite tarantula is the Euathlus sp. Red, which is also known as the sp. Orange or Yellow. It's really the exact same tarantula, but some are more red, orange, or yellow depending on the individual spider. These are known to be the best beginner tarantula because they are really gentle for those of us who like to handle them and their venom is very weak and won't hurt humans. They do have urticating hairs because they are found in Chile and like I said above, if they are found in the Americas, they will have these hairs. Another awesome thing about them is that they only grow to 3 to 3.5 inches in leg span. So they are really quite small compared to other tarantulas which for some people, really like to have a small spider. They are also known to be very friendly and any time their own opens the cage, the tarantula immediately starts to walk out and act as if it wants to be handled. It is still up for debate on whether tarantulas like to be handled and if it is good for them, but so far, these little guys tend to "like" the attention.You can get an off one that will deffensive towards you when you want to handle it and you should just leave it be. But over all, they are said to be awesome for the beginner. Their only downside is that because they are so small, they eat very little and tend to eat every couple months instead of weeks like bigger sized tarantulas.
Do you have a favorite tarantula or more? What is it and why? I would love to hear about what you think and if you have any and what they are and why you like them. So please leave you comments below and if you have any questions, I will try to get back to you as soon as possible.
Other awesome blogs to check out: (don't have anything to do with tarantulas)
Bills cars and computers
Graspvitality
Nathan3000368
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Awesome Youtube Channels for the Tarantula Addict!
I love tarantulas. They are just so fascinating to me. I would love to have one (actually, more :) ), but my parents don't like them and so I am going to have to live without them. But they haven't said anything about me watching Youtube videos on them. In fact, they don't mind it and it allows me to enjoy them at someone else's expense. My favorite channel for tarantulas is Jon3800. He is one of the top followed tarantula keepers in the world next to Rob C. or Tarantulaguy1976, especially in the USA and Canada. They are both highly respected by the Youtube community and many people go to them (including me, many times) for information about how to care for them, the different types and if they are good as pets, for the noobs or the experts and so on. I have watched almost all of their videos from both channels, Jon3800 more than Rob C as Rob is currently in the process of building a new home (at least he was the last time I checked) and hasn't really had a chance to make any new videos on his tarantulas. If anybody is interested in getting a tarantula or getting ready to add another one to your collection, these guys are who I would go to.
Watch many of their videos and get a feel for what tarantula keeping is all about. Jon3800 has videos on many of the different species that he currently has and makes what he calls "Mythbuster" videos where he talks about a certain tarantula or tarantula species. These are usually his more interesting videos, and they are filled with almost all of the information to you need to know about a tarantula. However, I wouldn't recommend skipping his other videos either, as he will sometimes add to or update bits and pieces of his "mythbusters" from time to time and you most likely won't want to miss out on what he has to say.
Another greatly respected tarantula keeper is in the UK and he goes by Dan Oakley. I haven't seen as many of his videos as I have Jon's and Rob's, but he has been referred to by Jon3800 a few times and many other people love his videos too. I think you couldn't go wrong if you follow him.
These guys are the "go-to" people and if you have any questions concerning tarantulas, they would be the people to search for and ask. I don't usually trust the pet store sites as much as they do tend to give you false information more often than not as I have heard from other people's experiences.
Thanks for checking out this blog! I hope you enjoy it and if you have any questions or comments concerning this blog, please leave them below. If you have any questions or comments concerning tarantulas, check these guys out. (Jon would probably be your best bet if you need an answer soon as he tends to be faster at responding.)
Other awesome people to check out (that don't have anything to do with tarantulas):
Bills cars and computers
Graspvitality
Nathan3000368
Watch many of their videos and get a feel for what tarantula keeping is all about. Jon3800 has videos on many of the different species that he currently has and makes what he calls "Mythbuster" videos where he talks about a certain tarantula or tarantula species. These are usually his more interesting videos, and they are filled with almost all of the information to you need to know about a tarantula. However, I wouldn't recommend skipping his other videos either, as he will sometimes add to or update bits and pieces of his "mythbusters" from time to time and you most likely won't want to miss out on what he has to say.
Another greatly respected tarantula keeper is in the UK and he goes by Dan Oakley. I haven't seen as many of his videos as I have Jon's and Rob's, but he has been referred to by Jon3800 a few times and many other people love his videos too. I think you couldn't go wrong if you follow him.
These guys are the "go-to" people and if you have any questions concerning tarantulas, they would be the people to search for and ask. I don't usually trust the pet store sites as much as they do tend to give you false information more often than not as I have heard from other people's experiences.
Thanks for checking out this blog! I hope you enjoy it and if you have any questions or comments concerning this blog, please leave them below. If you have any questions or comments concerning tarantulas, check these guys out. (Jon would probably be your best bet if you need an answer soon as he tends to be faster at responding.)
Other awesome people to check out (that don't have anything to do with tarantulas):
Bills cars and computers
Graspvitality
Nathan3000368
UPDATE: Jon 3800 also has feeding videos about twice a month as he all of his tarantulas, scorpions, and yes! jumping spiders! These are always worth checking out.
Friday, December 6, 2013
More pictures of Marbles.
Here are some more pictures, again taken with my iPod Touch. Marbles was in a bit of a frantic mode today as she was trying her best to hide from me. What I got here isn't too bad.
Here is her kritter keeper. The little black dot in the very bottom right is her. There will be some science equipment in the background as there really wasn't any good place to put her cage.
Whenever I take pictures, she has to turn and stare. I was hoping to get a good shot of the top of her abdomen so you could see her markings.
I'm not sure if she was getting ready to jump or what, but her front legs are up. Maybe she's trying to wave! :)
Of course, she finally got scared and ran to hide under the styrofoam ring, but her curiosity got the better of her and she had to see what I was up too. :)
Well, she is on the other side of her cup ring and is really wanting me to leave. Haha. At least she was willing.
Thanks for checking this post out and I hoped you enjoyed the pictures. If you have any suggestions, comments, or questions, please feel free to leave them below and I will try to get back to you as soon as I can.
I hope to get some pictures of her in my hand sometime, but she is really fast. I'm usually lucky to get the shots that I am getting.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
She's back!
Marbles is back in her cage. My teacher found her today and put her back in her critter keeper. She is in worse condition than I thought as her abdomen is much smaller than I thought it was when I saw her the other day. I'm just glad that she is still alive and of course, throwing threat postures at the pencil. Luckily not my fingers, but she just doesn't like the pencil. And it is too bad as it is really helpful to have something small enough it fit into her cage and move her around a bit. But I guess that I have invaded her space too much with it and I can't blame her for getting upset. I'm going to have to remember to leave her alone a lot more. I guess I'm really happy she is back. Haha. I am amazed that she is back as soon as she is. Maybe she decided to take her thanksgiving break sooner than I did.
Daniel Jones has been wanting more pictures of her and her enclosure. I'll try to get some up for him and the rest of you to enjoy pretty soon.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Marbles update!
Well, it is December 2, 2013 and I spotted Marbles today in the science lab! A friend of mine and I tried to capture her, but she ran back under the rail in the sliding window. She seems to be fine for the most part and her abdomen appeared to be full. I was hoping to put her back in the cage, but I will have to wait for a while until she comes back out into a more open area to catch her. I will let you know when I see her next and if I am able to capture her again.
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