we have molt !

[goofball]

juliette has been here since x.mas and she decided to molt last night. at 1st i thought it was the death curl, but once i shoen a light in her burrowe found she was belly up and molting. this morning she emerged all shiny and new w/ richer, deeper colors all round. a bloody maroon carapace and deep black legs w/ lots of shiny pink hairs. haven't been able to get any good shots of her new do cause she is staying in her burrow except to hang her legs out on thet cholla skeleton. wondering how i'm gonna get the old skin out of her burrow as well as that is where she scurries anytime the habitat lid gets lifted.

heres a couple pre molt shots from the very night before.

[Jaxx]

I just broke my monitor hitting it with a shoe...

[goofball]

I just broke my monitor hitting it with a shoe...

be nice to juliette ! she hasn't hurt anoyne (yet...)

she poked out a littel more so i got a post molt pic already. not very good but illustrates her new colors. all red and black. god i tried to raise her right but she goes and joins a gang anyway. little slut.

[Jaxx]

Just kidding. I like Tarantulas. I just hate their smaller family members. Always creeping around freakin me out.

[goofball]

Just kidding. I like Tarantulas. I just hate their smaller family members. Always creeping around freakin me out.

totally agree. i remember seeing a teeny tiny little spider in my room once as a youth, hanging out on the drapes. i got closer to check it out and the damn thing jumped across the window to the other drapes and scurried up them at the speed of light. :eek1: true story i swear. freaked me out. especially in my altered state. not a fan of tiny littel spiders...

[JP]

Great pics of her :2thumbs:

[Alex]

Wow, cool looking thing!

Do they bite? Would it be a good pet for a kid?

[tapehoser]

I HATE SPIDERS!!!!! :frustrated: [/b]

[Randi]

Wow, cool looking thing!

I agree that Juliette is cool looking! I like spiders.
She's adorable Jason! You're lucky to have her living in your broken pot.


Do they bite? Would it be a good pet for a kid?

Tarantulas are generally docile, but hey do have a painful bite. I think a spider like that would make a good "show and tell" pet, but not a "good" pet in most regards. I would think a good pet is a "happy to be living in your house" pet, and I doubt a pet like that would be happy in a cage. You would keep it in a cage, right?

My kids have had all kinds of pets growing up: frogs, snakes, lizards, birds, fish, rats, and cats. The caged pets really hated their cages after awhile, no matter how much you try to make it feel like home to em.
They always tried escaping, sometimes did, and it was more sad than pleasant after awhile.

I think the best pets for kids are dogs and cats; or any other animal that can be part of the family more or less.

Rats are cool too cause they love people, but they're happiest when you let them run free of the cage.

When I was a kid I had a rat that lived in and out of the cage (I left the door open), and came running when I called her name. She also played the same way a kitten does...with your hand, string, whatever. Of course, they poop all over, so that was kinda gross having to clean up little rat turds all the time.

Now, we just have cats. I'm personally opposed to having a dog at this point (even though my kids have begged for one) because I don't want another kid to take care of! Got three already! :roll:

I hate the ZOO too. The animals are fascinating and beautiful, but it's horrific seeing them locked up like that for our amusement! Especially the big cats! No room to roam whatsoever. The just pace and pace and pace all day long, every day of their life! SAD!!!

The zoo is truly was one of the most depressing places I've ever taken my kids.

~Randi

[Alex]

Randi, thanks for the reply, and I do agree with you about the Zoo. We just came back from San Diego Zoo and it was interesting to see the animals, but in no way shape or form did they look " happy". I ran across many wild life in my life and I can compare them to the locked up ones. It's like there is no more spirit left for the Zoo ones. Sad.

My kid is too allergic to cats and dogs, so I can't have either :frustrated:

[goofball]

agree whole heartedly w/ randi on teh zoo. i think they are horribly cruel and people should boycot them. same w/ no kill shelters. whoever thinks they are doing an animal a favor by confining them to a cage, whether it is their own single cell or shared w/ numerous other animals, is just idiotic. honest opinion - people like that do not care about the animals well being, only their ego.

spiders are good "display" pets. some species are docile and can be handled w/out fear. but it will stress them out and it should not be doen w/ any frequency. they are good "responsibility" pets for kids. keep the habitat at proper temp and humidity. remove uneaten food, but pretty low maintenance. they are fun to watch, and there are many different species w/ many different looks. some are VERY colorful.

some species are very docile (chilean rose - ours) others are pretty snarky (usumbara orange baboon, a.k.a. orange bitey thing :lol8: ). ours is full grown now and is ~ 4-5" stretched out. t's are the largest species of arachnids and the biggest get 1'+ and eat birds, frogs, lizards, rats... their bites are not really toxic, akin tio a bee sting. but the bigger the t the bigger the fangs. a 1"+ fang sinking in is not gonna be pleasant.

in the wild females spend their lives in their burrows and w/in very close proxomity. males only move when they become sexually mature and wanna mate. that is when you see 'em aloing the roads early morning and after sunset in the mojave or sonoron from october to november (?), looking for a mate. then they die. and if they do not mate they die after becoming mature males, maybe a year or 2. maybe even 3 or 4 i hear, but their life spans are only 5 - MAYBE 8 or 10 years. females can live 20 possibly.

this is all tarantulas, don't know about other species.

[Randi]

males only move when they become sexually mature and wanna mate.

Ain't that the truth!?! :haha:
Oh wait! You're talkin bout spiders. Hehehe

Spiders sure are facinating creatures. The males of most species have it pretty hard...spending all their time looking for a mate, fighting other males, and often getting snubbed or killed by the generally larger more ferocious females! Aren't you happy that you're not a spider? :mrgreen:



that is when you see 'em aloing the roads early morning and after sunset in the mojave or sonoron from october to november (?), looking for a mate. then they die. and if they do not mate they die after becoming mature males, maybe a year or 2.

If they don't mate soon after becoming mature they will die? That sounds strangly familiar. I wonder where I've heard that before....

I always see em in DV in November. Usually a lone male out hunting for the elusive female. I really like tarantulas, buy my favorite spider is the jumping spider! They're sooooo cute! They've got these big eyes, and they can jump realllly far for their size!

Check out this adorable little creature!

[greyhair biker]

that is all kind of cool...creepy, but cool :2thumbs:

[JP]

that is all kind of cool...creepy, but cool :2thumbs:
I hear that :haha:

[live2ride]

cool pet!!