Very nice!!
Exotics you've owned, care of snakes, other reptiles
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Regalis
Notable member
Funny enough, most of my wild caught came from a distributor at a show. But I knew that. Unfortunately, others did not and he didn't exactly advertise it. Goooorgeous snakes, but wild caught can be tricky. I lost a few that never ate, but it was a risk I knew going into it. It's usually not hard to spot the person who just imports and sells, they have a variety of snakes, of different sizes, rarely babies, none of the high end color morphs and there is literally nothing they won't sell.
Surprisingly enough, a lot of tarantulas are still wild caught as well. I've heard some horrific stories about giant wasps emerging from an abdomen, subsequently killing the tarantula. Never had it happen, friend did, but he dealt primarily in bugs. We had a huge variety of Ts and other creepy crawlies at one point, but not many pictures as a good majority of them were not what most people would consider "handleable" lol though the friend who breeds them will handle ANYthing. King baboon? Yup, pictures of one on his arm. I'm slightly more sane. Though he did let a cobalt blue go on accident, on the table right in front of me during a show .... I managed to keep my shit together to not totally freak out customers but omg I wanted to kill him. As most customers know notta and just see "pretty blue!". Yeah, pretty blue, that WILL bite the crap out of you!
That said, one thing I do NOT do is centipedes. Nuhuh. No way. I can do minimal care and that's it. If they gotta be taken out, forget it. It's a source of constant mockery. They think it's hilarious that there is not a snake I won't mess with, but frickin centipedes creep me out and some of them are quite dangerous, especially for anyone immuno compromised (and I am so I'm probably an idiot for even messing with tarantulas and spiders).
This is a very small sampling of pictures of some of the Ts we kept.
Poecilotheria Regalis - one of my absolute favorites. Generally not handleable, aboreal, and prettyyyyy.
B. Auratum - more handleable, most barchypelmas are.
Avic. Versicolor - handleable, but very fast. They change colors as they age and molt.
(Don't ask me their common names lol I always went by scientific name)
*slowly backs out of thread!*
Tarantulas give me the hebbie-jeebies!!
My son, not so much...
Thought I was pretty brave standing there taking the photo whilst 'dying' inside Lol
Tarantulas give me the hebbie-jeebies!!
My son, not so much...
Thought I was pretty brave standing there taking the photo whilst 'dying' inside Lol
@Viemarangelrock, kids are fearless. I was too but the older I get, the more cautious I become. Hahahaha
I don't run as fast as my younger years.
I don't run as fast as my younger years.
Regalis
Notable member
I was the same way. I refused to even work with them, let alone handle them. Then I met someone who actually knew his shit and he eased me into it. By the time all was said and done, I was working shows with him and had my own collection lol. I've found the thing about fear is that it's usually based on not knowing or understanding the animal. Once you get past that, they start to become interesting. Once they're interesting, they're not so scary
there were still ones I had a healthy respect for and didn't mess with. He was insane and would free handle anything. But he knows bugs. He knows their mannerisms and such. I'm that way with snakes, I dodged more bites than I received, by a lot, because I could usually tell when they were coming. Most of my bites were from just being sloppy and not paying close enough attention. Just like with dogs, once you know their behaivors and such, you can avoid most bites 
I have handled the Chilean Rose tarantulas and they are mellow. The Asian bird eating that I had to care for was a different story. She was temperamental and her fangs really put me off when she would rear up. I hated dealing with her because of her size alone. I got creative building her condo and used a basket as a burrowing area for her and other things to make it easier to clean the area without having a lot of physical contact with her.
They are so delicate and I always worried about dropping or injuring one, but damn there were quick too.
I am not at all educated on them like many enthusiasts are and prefer not to have to care for them. Lol
Just give me lions, tigers and bears oh my. Hahahaha
They are so delicate and I always worried about dropping or injuring one, but damn there were quick too.
I am not at all educated on them like many enthusiasts are and prefer not to have to care for them. Lol
Just give me lions, tigers and bears oh my. Hahahaha
Regalis
Notable member
Lol, rose hairs are notoriously mild mannered, that's why they are the top choice for novice owners. Though I have encountered a few mean ones.
We had a bird eater that was handleable not all of them are, though.
You should see something like an "orange bitey thing" (yeah, seriously, that's what they are called lol) in action. They are wicked fast and usually mean to boot. But pretty! Lol.
T's are very very fragile. Most don't realize it. Their blood doesn't clot. So a minor injury is a death sentence. And if dropped, they will most likely die. We usually didn't allow customers to handle stuff unless we knew them. I think king baboons are the ones I'm most leery of. We got one in that we could get to bite the spongey grip part of a pen. You could see the holes and venom. It was how we demonstrated to some idiot customer that no, you really don't want one as your first tarantula. The vast majority of them really shouldn't be handled for safety reasons, their safety that is. Rose hairs are odd in that they are generally docile and quite slow moving in comparison to some. The aboreal ones tend to be really fast. I usually didn't handle mine. I'd use deli cups to remove them to clean enclosures. Like frogs. You really shouldn't handle most species of frogs. Red eye tree frogs are particularly sensitive.
That said, I remember having to help a vendor when he was separating out a batch of spiderling pink toes. They usually aren't separated until they've molted a couple times. So here you have a container of like 50 little spiderlings that you need to open up and get everyone into individual viles. Ahhhhhhh! I was catching them off of him, me, the table, everywhere. And that is why I never bred them! Lol. I gave any egg sacks I got to my friend to deal with (despite not intentionally breeding, you would end up with a gravid wild female from time to time). I made him take the sacks away, too! Momma Ts are defensive of their eggs. Snakes I can "read", spiders not so much.
We had a bird eater that was handleable
not all of them are, though. You should see something like an "orange bitey thing" (yeah, seriously, that's what they are called lol) in action. They are wicked fast and usually mean to boot. But pretty! Lol.
T's are very very fragile. Most don't realize it. Their blood doesn't clot. So a minor injury is a death sentence. And if dropped, they will most likely die. We usually didn't allow customers to handle stuff unless we knew them. I think king baboons are the ones I'm most leery of. We got one in that we could get to bite the spongey grip part of a pen. You could see the holes and venom. It was how we demonstrated to some idiot customer that no, you really don't want one as your first tarantula. The vast majority of them really shouldn't be handled for safety reasons, their safety that is. Rose hairs are odd in that they are generally docile and quite slow moving in comparison to some. The aboreal ones tend to be really fast. I usually didn't handle mine. I'd use deli cups to remove them to clean enclosures. Like frogs. You really shouldn't handle most species of frogs. Red eye tree frogs are particularly sensitive.
That said, I remember having to help a vendor when he was separating out a batch of spiderling pink toes. They usually aren't separated until they've molted a couple times. So here you have a container of like 50 little spiderlings that you need to open up and get everyone into individual viles. Ahhhhhhh! I was catching them off of him, me, the table, everywhere. And that is why I never bred them! Lol. I gave any egg sacks I got to my friend to deal with (despite not intentionally breeding, you would end up with a gravid wild female from time to time). I made him take the sacks away, too! Momma Ts are defensive of their eggs. Snakes I can "read", spiders not so much.
I know in SA they will singe off the urticating hair of the bird eating spiders and grill them up and eat them. I don't think I would want to eat that but they really think it's a delicacy.
Nope, nope, nope on gathering up and separating the babies. Just can't handle that sensation on the body!
Nope, nope, nope on gathering up and separating the babies. Just can't handle that sensation on the body!
I find quite a few egg sacks of the brown widow spiders in houses that have been vacant for for a while that are located in a woodsy area. I found them mostly in bathrooms and kitchens under the sink areas. I have no problem bagging and tossing them.
The sacks look almost like sand spurs.
The sacks look almost like sand spurs.
Regalis
Notable member
The little ones you barely even feel! It was also in winter, so we a had on long sleeves and pants, so that really wasn't the issue. It was trying to catch the little buggers without killing them! They were smaller than a dime in leg span. It was probably quite the sight to behold to poor customers walking by. The guy I was helping was ... Uhm... Unique lol. That's the word. Not the brightest fella.
Spiders will leave their sacks. Tarantulas do not. They guard them. You have to be fast and know what you're doing, it's not uncommon for them to bite and kill the sack to keep it from you. They kinda resemble golf balls. With dirt sometimes mixed into the webbing. Varying in size depending on the species. Some are quite large, others rather small. The smaller the species, the smaller the sack and subsequent offspring. The "miniature" species are just plain evil to seperate. The slings are so frickin small.
I know they eat them in SA. I couldn't do it. The sad part is, the ones they eat are quite expensive in the hobby world. But I suppose it's like deer to us. Or kangaroos to the Aussies.
Coatimundi! That's another weird one I had the pleasure (ha!) of working with. Very primate-like. But also raccoon like. Strange creatures that can be quite the handful. A coworker had one and he could be pretty mean at times. Last I remember she was having aggression issues with him. Prairie dogs were also seen, occasionally, despite the legality surrounding them. They are fun! I actually really liked them. Friends also had a dingo. She was the runt and stayed quite small and was pretty darn comical. We called her baby eater lol but she actually liked kids, grown men not so much.
Funny looking back at all the crazy animals I used to mess with. My life is so boring now in comparison! Lol
Spiders will leave their sacks. Tarantulas do not. They guard them. You have to be fast and know what you're doing, it's not uncommon for them to bite and kill the sack to keep it from you. They kinda resemble golf balls. With dirt sometimes mixed into the webbing. Varying in size depending on the species. Some are quite large, others rather small. The smaller the species, the smaller the sack and subsequent offspring. The "miniature" species are just plain evil to seperate. The slings are so frickin small.
I know they eat them in SA. I couldn't do it. The sad part is, the ones they eat are quite expensive in the hobby world. But I suppose it's like deer to us. Or kangaroos to the Aussies.
Coatimundi! That's another weird one I had the pleasure (ha!) of working with. Very primate-like. But also raccoon like. Strange creatures that can be quite the handful. A coworker had one and he could be pretty mean at times. Last I remember she was having aggression issues with him. Prairie dogs were also seen, occasionally, despite the legality surrounding them. They are fun! I actually really liked them. Friends also had a dingo. She was the runt and stayed quite small and was pretty darn comical. We called her baby eater lol but she actually liked kids, grown men not so much.
Funny looking back at all the crazy animals I used to mess with. My life is so boring now in comparison! Lol
ariegel
Active Member
I love the exotics! i don't own any though
. I know I don't have the time to properly care for one. I would LOVE to have a Chameleon. I have really been looking at tortoises also. The most exotic things I have is an african grey and hamsters. The vet practice I work at sees exotics and its enough for me to know I don't have the time to care for them. We see the local pet shops before and after sale. It's very upsetting. If someone wants to know where to go I tell them to find a breeder that can help educate them. Love seeing all the pics!
. I know I don't have the time to properly care for one. I would LOVE to have a Chameleon. I have really been looking at tortoises also. The most exotic things I have is an african grey and hamsters. The vet practice I work at sees exotics and its enough for me to know I don't have the time to care for them. We see the local pet shops before and after sale. It's very upsetting. If someone wants to know where to go I tell them to find a breeder that can help educate them. Love seeing all the pics!
Regalis
Notable member
Chameleons are a painnnnnn. Their housing requirements are rather hard to replicate for most folks. They need humidity AND air flow. Quite similar to many frogs. For those who live in places that are dry, use heat, etc it can be a huge challenge to get the balance. Many have a tendency to become egg bound as well.
They are cool and quite a joy to work with. But I despised selling them because it never seemed to fail that within a month or so, the customer would be back asking why it died they are also fairly delicate, which surprised a lot of people and they require UV lighting. One of my old bosses bred them. She had an entire room dedicated to just chameleons in order to achieve the humidity/air flow/lighting requirements. She'd come to work sunburnt in the dead of winter after spending a day in the chameleon room. I always wanted one, but never took one home because I just knew I'd kill it. I had terrible luck with frogs, too.
They are cool and quite a joy to work with. But I despised selling them because it never seemed to fail that within a month or so, the customer would be back asking why it died
they are also fairly delicate, which surprised a lot of people and they require UV lighting. One of my old bosses bred them. She had an entire room dedicated to just chameleons in order to achieve the humidity/air flow/lighting requirements. She'd come to work sunburnt in the dead of winter after spending a day in the chameleon room. I always wanted one, but never took one home because I just knew I'd kill it. I had terrible luck with frogs, too.
Regalis
Notable member
Nope. Nope. And nope! Regular honey bees I can handle. Wasps, hornets, etc? Nuh uh. I turn into a total girly girl. Don't stand near me when I'm cleaning fish! Lol. I'm known to fling the fillet knife around at the yellow jackets that always show up in masses.
Just found this critter on my fridge. It's about 1 1/2 inches long.
Doberman Gang
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Have you ever had a Ephebopus murinus skeleton tarantula? They are a hands off also my buddy always got his out with probes
Regalis
Notable member
Yup! I had a thing for the really evil ones for some reason (probably because it's seems like the prettier they are, the meaner they are) Most of the Poecilotherias are aggressive. I didn't honestly find the murinus to be anymore evil than a lot of others. I didn't touch anything that wasn't generally deemed handleable. My friend though? He's completely nuts. There literally is not a tarantula he won't grab. Cobalt blues are usually wicked aggressive and he'd just grab them up like it was no big deal. Not me! I'll do that crap with snakes, but not bugs! We kept a pile of deli cups and lids on hand just for the purpose of moving tarantulas.
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