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You know, since having preserved bugs behind glass wasn't enough for me!

This is my Avicularia avicularia, also known as a Pink-Toe Tarantula. I figured it was a little more colorful and interesting than the generic big dessert tarantulas, though its a little smaller, only a 3 inch legspan right now. It can get up to 5" if I'm lucky. This one likes to live in the trees (arboreal).

So far its been a huge headache. In reality, these things are SUPER LOW maintenance, but because I'm new to large tropical spiders, it makes me neurotic all the same. Apparently, tarantulas in general have such a low metabolic rate they can go ages without eating, barely need any water, and sometimes they don't even move for days. Mine has decided to go the former route of not eating anything for a month. Normally, they might only eat 6 to 8 crickets in a month, and that would be considered a lot! In the wild, it likely survived on much less.

This makes sense to me, because how many creatures are going to stick around when a giant spider comes walking by?

In any event, its a VERY docile spider, and you can actually almost pet it, as it doesn't seem scared and it doesn't try to attack or bite (unlike some wolf spiders I had in the past, that would attack ANYTHING that went near them). I usually avoid bothering it though, since even though these things probably don't perceive the world like mammals do, bother it probably does disrupt it somehow.

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But does it like trains??
interesting. Does this spider also use it's hairs as a defence mechanism? I read some species rub their legs together to stir up hairs in the air that irritate the skin and airways?
I'm thinking GEC may succumb to a desire to make his own version of a a 50's or 60's B horror movie;

The Giant Tarantula that Attacked the North East Corridor.

Commuter Mayhem.

Run for your lives before the giant spider gets you!

Well at the very least GEC, could you take a few photos of his pet tarantula menacing his commuter cars on your layout, you know just for laughs.
You could even send the results through to MR.
Mark
e-paw Wrote:But does it like trains??

I haven't determined this yet, but I HAVE heard of them playing with ping pong balls, as well as constantly rearranging their own cages.

I wonder if left alone, it would push boxcars up and down some tracks? Then again, I might need a slightly bigger spider. This one is really on the lean end for a tarantula.

torikoos Wrote:interesting. Does this spider also use it's hairs as a defence mechanism? I read some species rub their legs together to stir up hairs in the air that irritate the skin and airways?

Yes and no. It DOES have them, but this species tends not to use them, and they don't effect humans. In fact, this is one of the more docile species out there. Even the bites are usually more about holding on (kinda how a cat digs its claws into you when it jumps off your lap), and are very rare. "wet" bites where venom is injected almost never happens, and the venom is weak.

This species only other known defense mechanism is a "poop cannon", but I have never witnessed this. Apparently they can be fairly accurate.

Generally speaking, just about all tarantulas from the "New World" (North and South America) have those "Urticating bristles", but there are several different types of these bristles, and different species have different configurations and combinations of these types. It is thought because of this, many (but not all) New World Tarantulas tend to be laid back and docile.

Technically, these aren't hairs, but projections of their exoskeleton (hence the term bristle). Its really neat under a microscope!

Incidentally, it is suspected that "Old World" tarantulas (From Africa and Asia) are far more aggressive and "actively defensive" because they only have their fangs and their venom.

Mr Fixit Wrote:I'm thinking GEC may succumb to a desire to make his own version of a a 50's or 60's B horror movie;

The Giant Tarantula that Attacked the North East Corridor.

Commuter Mayhem.

Run for your lives before the giant spider gets you!

Well at the very least GEC, could you take a few photos of his pet tarantula menacing his commuter cars on your layout, you know just for laughs.
You could even send the results through to MR.
Mark


Oh, I thought about it, but this one is WAY too quick. It moves super slow 99.999% of the time, but when it feels like it, it can actually run very fast. that thing will dissappear into my basement and never be seen again. It could probably make a living off the camel (cave) crickets for a little while.

Also right now I suspect it of being in "pre-molt", so now isn't the best time to play with it.

In truth, even though these are some of the more "handleable" spiders, I probably shouldn't bother it too much even if I wanted to.
Some bad news, then some good news (or worse news, depending on your perspective)

Unfortunately, my pink-toe died. It was a rather sudden onset, which is something not exactly unexpected from these species. They have a reputation for poor recovery if they get sick.

That said, apparently, this particular individual never really did that well, and there is evidence to suggest that this may have been from a large "batch" of imported spiders that did not do well in general.


The good news is that I got a few new ones.....

I picked up a Chilean Rose Tarantula, and a new Pink-Toe.

The Chilean Rose tarantula (Grammostola rosea) is supposed to be a good pet. As far as giant spiders go, these are supposed to be "friendly". Except mine. Mine has a bad attitude every day.

I'm pretty sure its plotting to kill me. It attacks anything that moves to fast and looks smaller than it (like water dropping into it's bowl). It will attack anything I use to move it (where as the pink toe will just lazily get out of the way). According to the experts, about 1 in 1,000 of these has an attitude problem like this.

Normally, that would be a bad thing, but there is some perks to this. #1, the thing has a personality, and is actually exciting to watch. Unlike my Pink Toe, which only does anything if it thinks no one is looking, this Chilean Rose is NOT shy. Feeding time is always a blast.

It helps that she is healthy, behaving normally (sometimes these have trouble adjusting to the seasons in the "northern" hemisphere), and her cage requirements are the bare minimum and that's the way it likes it! She also is much bigger than the pink toe, and will potentially grow even larger than this!

Searching for a way out...

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Delicious crickets. Not visible here is the second cricket. This thing will literally kill everything in its cage and try to eat it, all at once. It is not unusual for tarantulas to ball up a few crickets into one messy blob and eat it all at once. At the very least, it will wrap one of them up "to go" in silk and finish it later, taking it with it like a bag of lunch.

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The metallic pink color on its prosoma (head/leg section) is what gets it the "rose" name. These come in a grey and a reddish-copper form as well. Pink is apparently the most common.

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My new Pink-Toe (Avicularia avicularia) is just a tad smaller than my old one, and she is missing a leg (rear-most left leg). That said, spiders have the amazing ability to regenerate, and so next molt she'll have a mini-leg, and then after that, a full-sized leg. Unlike my first one, this one eats (at least, I've definitely caught it with food in it's mouth). That said, I can't tell if it ate the last cricket I through in there. I don't see any dead cricket spitballs around, but the cricket seems absent (and it didn't escape, thats for sure!).

At the very least, this one is behaving slightly more "normal". It probably helps that now that I've had experience with it, that I'm not pestering it constantly worrying if its ok. If its missing a leg and is STILL happy, then I've got a winner.

One thing that makes me wonder though, is that this girl is a tad darker blue. Tarantulas do come in color variations, but the Avicularia genus has many different species that look "close", and I wonder if my other Pink-toe was really a typical "pink toe" and not a trickier relative (or vice-versa).

In any event, its clear my first tarantula was just having problems and a hard time recovering from them. This one is healthy and so far, normal.

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But if that wasn't enough, I had to pick up a TOTALLY NEW FRIEND

This is an "Asian Forest Scorpion" specifically hetermetrus petersii (there are several different species with a similar common name). Though my parents know about my tarantulas, they don't know about this.

You can just tell how happy it is to come home with me-

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Actually, to be fair, its personality is much more like a stubborn crab. He only comes out at night and in the early morning, prowling the cage before finding a dark place to sleep for the day. My mom is terrified of scorpions, much more so than the tarantulas, but I find this ironic. Despite the formidable weaponry (and I wouldn't risk putting my bare hands too close), it really will just stubbornly stay in one place, without pinching or stinging. Its not interested in a fight, it just wants to be left alone!

Unlike the Chilean rose, i'm not worried this thing will try to kill me in my sleep.

It will raise its claws but it never seems to try hard to pinch the tongs, and I think it only attempted a half-hearted sting once. Apart from it's general grumpiness, it is interesting to watch. Like the pink toe, when it thinks no one is looking, it comes out and walks around, trying to escape many times. Its tail (metasoma) is surprisingly strong, and it will stand up on the tip of its stinger trying to reach the top of the tank.

Fortunately, unlike the tarantula, scorpions don't have "sticky feet", only claws like typical insects (though this is an arachnid). This means it can't climb glass for it's life.

I am worried since I haven't seen it eat (and males like this one are notorious for going for months without eating), but it may also not be warm enough for it. This is a tropical jungle variety scorpion, and though i did give it a heat pad, it doesn't hang out near it.

This is a fairly large scorpion, and its likely to get bigger, as this is one of the larger varieties in the world. It prefers to use its claws rather than its sting. Ironically, its the small scorpions with the little scissor claws that you need to watch out for. Large scorpions get by on strength alone, but the little one pack the venom.

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Scorpion in profile:

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I woke up and found him like this one morning. Apparently, he learned out to hide from the cats in the Petsmart.

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Apparently, its a Pennsylvania Railroad fan. Believe it or not, this scorpion, like the PRR is actually green. Unfortunately, I can't think of any PRR-based names for this guy. Pennsy the Scorpion? nah.

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He retreated into a particularly expose hole in the corner, but this gives us a chance to see some neat things. Scorpions have two eyes on top of their heads, but they also have several on the edge of their carapace, visible here. They are in banks of three (only two visible on each side in this photo), that looks like headlights/blinkers on the corners.

I'd always wondered how these things could see in front of them, and now I know!

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An obscured picture, but you can see the "pectines", a unique structure to scorpions that function as a "nose" of sorts. they lead up to the "genital" region, and the size of the pectines and the configuration here suggests its a male, though its a subtle thing. Unlike tarantulas, being male doesn't severely limit its life span. If it stays in good health, it should live a few years.

The slits going up the abdomen are the intakes for its "book lungs". These are actually little wet flaps of tissue (hence "book") that the scorpion breaths through, unlike other insects which don't any sort of lung-like apparatus. These are actually a vulnerable place, as capillary action can draw water into them and drown them very easily. Tarantulas also have two pairs of these, but they are not quite the same. However, tarantulas and spiders have the benefit of water repellent bristles to protect themselves from drowning immediately.

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So there you have it, more arachnid madness. Next I'll have to get a Giant Vinegroon, or a tail-less whip scorpion. Those last two at least don't have any sort of venom or excessive pinchyness to them, so they might actually make "safe" pets.
GEC, I see that your scorpion is reading up on how to install Kadee Magne-Matics for you. 35

So will you be training your spiders to solder your catenary for you as well? 357

I'm just glad my son doesnt entertain ideas of keeping spiders and scorpions [yet], and I sure dont want to deal with the grief I would get from his Mum [my ex wife] about it. Nope

As for me, well looking at your photos was quite enough for me thank you very much. Popcornbeer
Mark
Mr Fixit Wrote:GEC, I see that your scorpion is reading up on how to install Kadee Magne-Matics for you. 35

So will you be training your spiders to solder your catenary for you as well? 357

I'm just glad my son doesnt entertain ideas of keeping spiders and scorpions [yet], and I sure dont want to deal with the grief I would get from his Mum [my ex wife] about it. Nope

As for me, well looking at your photos was quite enough for me thank you very much. Popcornbeer
Mark

I don't know what you have there in Oz, but here in the desert we have an assortment of scorpions, none that I know of looks like the one that GEC has. I did have a run-in with one a few years ago. It was a small brown one and it left it's mark on my finger. That finger looked about the size of a hot dog for a good week. I've always looked out for them, but this one caught me by surprise. No, I wouldn't want them around, even in a glass fish tank.... Nope
Mr Fixit Wrote:GEC, I see that your scorpion is reading up on how to install Kadee Magne-Matics for you. 35

Oh yes, he is great for putting the springs back on the knuckles! He spears it with his sting and then uses his claws to push it in place.

Quote:So will you be training your spiders to solder your catenary for you as well? 357

I tried, but spider silk, though conductive, does not have the necessary stiffness.

Quote:I'm just glad my son doesnt entertain ideas of keeping spiders and scorpions [yet], and I sure dont want to deal with the grief I would get from his Mum [my ex wife] about it. Nope

As for me, well looking at your photos was quite enough for me thank you very much. Popcornbeer
Mark

In all fairness, these really do make great pets. A lot of people get really scared of these things at first, but after you have them for a couple weeks, they loose that novel "scare" factor. They're basically 8-legged hamsters.
ezdays Wrote:I don't know what you have there in Oz, but here in the desert we have an assortment of scorpions, none that I know of looks like the one that GEC has. I did have a run-in with one a few years ago. It was a small brown one and it left it's mark on my finger. That finger looked about the size of a hot dog for a good week. I've always looked out for them, but this one caught me by surprise. No, I wouldn't want them around, even in a glass fish tank.... Nope

Arizona is a bad place to live if you don't like scorpions. Apparently, there are 41 species of scorpion, second only to California, which has 57 species.

As for keeping one as a pet, I do share your concern. I would not want any of those small desert species (not unless I was well prepared, and even then....). Some of the more common ones are members of the genus Centruroides (Bark Scorpions, amongst others), and these are known for having extremely painful stings, even if the venom itself is not considered serious medically.

I made sure to DO MY HOMEWORK before I brought one home.

Members of the genus Heterometrus (such as mine) and Pandinus (which include the commonly known "Emperor" scorpions) are large, tropical, docile, and are verified for having relatively "weak" stings. Furthermore, they are entirely incapable of climbing glass or smooth plastic. These factors make them relatively ideal pets as far as scorpions go.


The height of the tank is beyond the height that the scorpion can reach while standing on its tail (which it has done). Its large size makes it easier to manipulate and handle than would a smaller species. Its disposition/personality is important too. These big ones are more likely to stare you down and run away, than to strike at you aggressively.

I would be concerned with just about any other species of true scorpion (some related creatures like whip scorpions and "tailless" whip scorpions lack venom of any kind and are "harmless", even safe to hold. neither is technically a scorpion).
Well, I'm just happy that this Pink-Toe Tarantula, despite missing a leg, is WAY more healthy than my first one. She seems to have eaten within a day or two of every feeding (his tank is a little larger, so sometimes the crickets can hide, but not for long....). So far as I can tell, she seems to be a happy spider. It was a little depressing when my other one sort of wasted away for reasons I couldn't understand.

Right now, its the scorpion that worries me. He isn't eating at all, but then some scorpions are like that until it starts getting warmer. Haven't seen him out and about lately, but they are shy.

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GEC,

Do you know much about native large spiders? Specifically in Ohio? As a grade school aged kid I was swimming in a pool at a country club type place(to be a member you had to own a lot, ours was mostly up hill just barely enough room for a picnic table) anyway when I got out of the pool mom noticed a large redish brown and black hairy spider had hitched a ride on me across the pool. Not sure what it was but it was about the size of a small plate. I had seen them there before as the club house/restaurant was built on a hill with a rock wall supporting the building and there were several of those spiders on the wall. They did not seem aggressive but were scary looking.
Without seeing it, my gut tells me "Fishing spider", Genus Dolomedes. Fishing Spiders are pretty much the largest Northeastern spiders, and the only ones I can think of that get to be close to the size of a small plate or coaster.

The evidence seems to support the idea, though I'm not sure how "reddish" fishing spiders get.

Try this website- <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.spiders.us/species/filter/ohio/">http://www.spiders.us/species/filter/ohio/</a><!-- m -->

Also, this PDF looks even more indepth. I wish they made something like this here in New Jersey!

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/portals/wildlife/pdfs/publications/id%20guides/pub5140.pdf">http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/portals/wil ... ub5140.pdf</a><!-- m -->

Furthermore, truly large North American spiders like the Tarantulas only really live in the Southwest, from Oklahoma and Texas west to California. In those states, the tarantulas are probably bigger.

Spiders are like steam locomotives

Just like Steam locomotives have wheel arrangements, spiders have "Eye arrangements". While size and shape also count in spider identification, its the eye arrangement that can really clue you in. In the first link, they even use "eye sketches" to help Identify them.

Many of the wandering spiders (which include wolf spiders and fishing spiders) tend to look like big brown aggressive spiders, but the eye configuration gives them away.


Side note, the way a spider holds its fangs is also relevant. For instance, most "common" spiders have fangs that cross each other. However, Tarantulas and a few others hold their fangs pointed "back", parallel to each other. Believer or not, these huge "tarantulas" are actually the lesser evolved of the two.
After looking at the PDF on spiders I recognized a lot of the small spiders. The closest big spider to my memory was the common fishing spider it was hairy enough and kinda stripped blackish brown and redish brown about the size of a plate that coffee cups sit on. The clubhouse and pool were surrounded by wooded areas and some nice sized fishing ponds so the habitat is correct as well as the season for adult spiders to be found.

The Ohio department of natural resources is a great organization as well as OSU as far as native pests, critters and info on how to grow anything you can think of even hops for brewing beer. Icon_lol

Thanks for the info I now can rest easy if I see another one knowing what it is and its disposition.
Well, I'm having better luck now!

Don't let anyone tell you spiders don't have a personality, this one was playing with a ping-pong ball. I had placed it on the other side of the tank, and I found her on top of it on the other side trying to roll it a little more.

People ask me why I would want these things as pets, and this is why. They are not merely nightmare fuel, they actually do interesting things when given the opportunity.

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Also in the realm of good news, the scorpion was by his hide's entrance for food tonight. That scorpion has been rather scarce since I got him, and tonight was the first time I saw him out of his burrow but NOT pacing the cage. This is actually a fairly typical scorpion behavior that mine had not been displaying until recently. Furthermore, people were in and out of my room all day today, so even with all the commotion he came out.

Since there were no crickets in there, I went to go feed him some, but WHOOSH" he dissappeared the moment I moved the lid. I dumped the crickets in anyway, and sure enough both crickets ran right into the cave. I checked with a flashlight, and confirmed that the scorpion got them. This is the first time I know for SURE that it is eating, as the last couple monts most of the circkets died of old age without ever being harassed by the scorpion.

I'm glad that it is doing well, it too is a fascinating creature.


Waiting for a meal-

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