I Survived!!

Okay, Russell and Taceas were the only ones privy to this information recently due to chat conversations, but today I survived the delivery and unpacking of 6 new tarantulas! I survived 3 hours (yes, 3 hours) of extremely careful unpacking due to my fear of spiders. Yes, I am afraid of them, but am enthralled by their beauty. How does that work anyway? All of them are 2" or less, the smallest being 1.25".

So, for those who care . . . (You can visit http://www.dakotacorns.com/tarantulas.html if you want to see more pics.)
Here's how they arrived:


Green Bottle Blue (Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens)
This guy ran laps around the 1 gal. bottle I placed him in. Kick started my heart!


Venezuelan Suntiger (Psalmopoeus irminia)
This one slowly came out of the wrapped paper towel, and I was enthralled!


Indian Ornamental (Poecilotheria regalis)
Can't wait for this one to grow up. Think ghost corn colors.


Usumbara Baboon (Pterinochilus murinus)
This little sonofa bit the paper towel 3 or 4 times on his way out.


Brazilian White Knee (Acanthoscurria geniculata)
This 1.25 incher will eventually get 8" or so! He already dug himself a burrow.


Costa Rican Tigerrump (Cyclosternum fasciatum)
I got one of these last summer, but it . . . um, got out . . .


Here's how they look all set up in their new homes . . .


Thanks for looking and indulging my newest addiction!
D80

Don't want to leave these two out, they started it all off!

Mexican Red Knee (Brachypelma smithi)
Simply gorgeous! Acquired in 2003



Cobalt Blue (Haplopelma lividum)
Found this one locally last summer. Have had him for almost exactly 1 year, and lived to tell about it. I thought I woke up grumpy . . .

. . . this is the reaction to directions!


Thanks again for looking!
D80

Glad you survived, Brent! That OBT doesn't look none too happy! :grin01:

They're all beautiful slings. I hope they grow up nice and purdy for ya. And since you got a P. irminia, if ours end up being opposite sexes, wanna play matchmaker?

And your B. smithi is a beautiful gal. They always have such awesome colors to them.

It's ok you're afraid of them, I've got 9 spiders myself right now and am flighty as heck around them. Yeah, my little half inch guy jumped from the cork bark to the top edge of the open container and I near soiled myself. But if they stay in their cages and don't go up when I'm cleaning and watering, everything's ok.

But it still cracks me up for someone so afraid of spiders, you get the flightiest, most apt to bite, and cause a nasty bite if they do...spiders.

Taceas said:

if ours end up being opposite sexes, wanna play matchmaker?

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Nope! :eek1: I don't even want to attempt breeding . . . all the possibilities involved with being forced to handle them?! and then 100+ spiderlings?! Unh-Unh, no way! :sidestep:

Taceas said:

And your B. smithi is a beautiful gal. They always have such awesome colors to them.

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Thanks, and if she'd quite kickin' out those hairs, I may actually attempt to hold her one day. :shrugs:

Taceas said:

and I near soiled myself. But if they stay in their cages and don't go up when I'm cleaning and watering, everything's ok.

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Um, yeah, the GBB doing laps immediately upon release was almost a cause for painting new racing stripes . . .

Taceas said:

But it still cracks me up for someone so afraid of spiders, you get the flightiest, most apt to bite, and cause a nasty bite if they do...spiders.

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Well, with all the research I did, I'm really only worried about the P. murinus for it's aggressiveness and the P. regalis for it's strength of venom . . . but seriously, as far as I'm concerned, I don't want to deal with any one of their fangs . . . period.

Thanks for the comments and appreciation! He sent me some awesome looking specimens!
D80

Wow...

You sir,
are indeed a very brave soul...LOL! But really, congrats on such gorgeous lil beauties! I too get nervous around big spiders like that, but yet I too am very interested in them. You would have loved the Midwest Symposium, guy next to me had a table with nothing but spiders and a few other insects. It was awesome! Congrats!
Russell

Those are beautiful. I'll be getting some tarantulas in the future... I love spiders.

Russell said:

are indeed a very brave soul...

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Brave or stupid . . . haven't figured out which yet! :crazy02:

D80

Very cool stuff, Brent! I love those cobalts.....I really ought to get one. They are cuddly-wuddly, right?

Chris

Good job, Brent. I feel as though it would have taken me at least 3 hours as well to do that. I got chills just scrolling through those shots.

Wow, those are really beautiful little slings :cheers: I especially like the Tigerrump.

Drizzt80 said:

Nope! :eek1: I don't even want to attempt breeding . . . all the possibilities involved with being forced to handle them?! and then 100+ spiderlings?! Unh-Unh, no way! :sidestep:

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Hah! They ARE beautiful, Brent, but I'm too much of an arachnophobe to own any. And like you, the thought of hundreds of spiderlings is not a pleasant one. :awcrap:

Those T's are freaking beautiful!!! I love the Cobalt and the Green Bottle, hell they are all awesome!!!

Where did you get them? I need to overcome my fear of them..i'm thinking..next reptile expo...*gulp*

Yikes. Those are beautiful..but just looking at the pics give me the hebeeee jebees. I love the one with the tiger stripes. If I could own them and NEVER have to open the lid, I would get one...heh.

Lovely! I'm glad they are your house not mine!

My 6 year old daughter would like them though! We had a very small furry black spider in the house and my daughter was all excited. She kept calling it a tarantula!

Jo

Better you than me But they are beautiful...in their own way. As you can tell, I'm not a big fan of anything with more than four legs... Still, congratulations on the purchase.

johnbort2 said:

If I could own them and NEVER have to open the lid, I would get one...heh.

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That's exactly how I feel. I'm phobic of spiders, but the big guys fascinate me. Good luck with your new creepy crawlies Brent.

And yet another snake lover who's afraid of spiders. I'll just enjoy looking at yours every now and then.:grin01:

I'm glad I'm not alone. I also think they are beautiful, but I am also very afraid of spiders. If nothing else, it makes me sympathetic to people who are afraid of snakes. Sometimes there is just no way to "reason away" fear. I've tried to be rational about it, using the same speech I use talking to people fearful of snakes, it just doesn't work. I could see myself owning one some day, but right now I've got all the critters I can handle.
Maybe us snake lovers can't handle something with so many legs.

Have to give you huge kudos for being afraid of spiders yet able to get not just one or two but a whole bunch of them. I am irrationally terrified of spiders, can't even stand the house spiders we get around here (of course - our house spiders can get as big as your hand!). Joe keeps saying he wants to get one and I keep telling him it will "accidentally" get flushed down the toilet or similar!
The ones you have are beautiful, no doubt about that, but I don't think I could deal with them in the house with me!

Nice colors, but I too am afraid of spiders. If one surprises me in my room etc., I always get this shudder down my back. I guess seeing the movie Arachniphobia didn't help. Ack. Hate that movie.