Anyone live near Southampton UK?

[Charlotte]

Hi all,

I think it would be really nice to meet other hobbyists as I do not know personally one single person that has Ts. They're either too scared of them or just don't understand why people have them as pets.

Does anyone live near Southampton UK?

We should have some sort of get together!

 

[spidey noob]

its always good to meet other hobiests, but im in tyne & wear or i would of gladly met up

 

[Charlotte]

@spidey noob well if you're ever in the area every one I know thinks I'm mad and doesn't understand my excitement regarding Ts I need to meet people that understand!

 

[DeanoMolly]

Hi, I'm in the South East (Kent)!
Just after reading what you've said, this is the one thing that really gets on my nerves about this hobby in England!
I'm always seeing events and stuff over in the U.S. But we don't seem to share there optimisum! I've recently found out the B.T.S are holding an event around Kent but it's not until January!
I've literally marked it down on my phone calendar lol!
I've been to reptile displays but very few tarantula enthusiasts go along!
The localv pet stores usually look at you like a nut case when you don't use the
Common names of different tarantulas!
The only place I find people who share the hobby is online!!
So frustrating, anyway, sorry about that rant over lol have alook and see if the BTS are holding any events near Southampton, could be good

 

[Charlotte]

@DeanoMolly You're absolutely right, everything I have come across is all in the US.

I go into a local reptile shop and I'm talking to them about my Ts and they just look at me nodding but clearly have no idea what I'm talking about, it's a bit worrying when some of them have Ts. The conditions I've seen Ts in is not acceptable in my opinion. Terrestrial species in wet humid conditions and you can clearly see just from the outside of the enclosures the T must be so unhappy. They must hate me in there I'm always saying something to them about it. Poor little Ts!

I'll check out BTS, thanks!

 

[DeanoMolly]

You made me remember when we went to a reptile centre and my mrs asked if we bought this white knee could we have a discount code it was so dehydrated!
They said no and it has 1 bug ball,she had the right hump and made them give it a water bowl!
It's very few and far between hobby here ain't it!

 

[Charlotte]

You made me remember when we went to a reptile centre and my mrs asked if we bought this white knee could we have a discount code it was so dehydrated!
They said no and it has 1 bug ball,she had the right hump and made them give it a water bowl!
It's very few and far between hobby here ain't it!

That's a bit mean, these places should want them to go to people that will look after them properly. Sadly the majority of them only care about the money and not the animals ( the ones I've been to) They're quite overpriced as well.

I've had people just laugh at me and say that's weird, it's a bit annoying as they are beautiful animals and people should do some research about them before writing off the hobby.

How many do you have?

 

[DeanoMolly]

Defently, we often get asked why?? Well why do you have a dog, cat, fags, drink, because it's what interests us!!

We have 7, brachypelma smithi,boehmi, albopilosum, G.rosea, euathulus sp red x2 and a sp yellow,
Easy beginner species, but love them all!
What about yourself?

 

[Fuzzball79]

@DeanoMolly You're absolutely right, everything I have come across is all in the US.
I'll check out BTS, thanks!

Try living in Scotland . No shows, hardly any decent shops that sell more than one or two older G. Rosea (the shop I got my GR from had a few more Brachies and an LP at least, but they were getting their live stock from Tarantulabarn who don't seem to be trading in Ts anymore, so I don't know if they're still selling).

 

[Charlotte]

@DeanoMolly Nice species! I have a G Porteri, Avic Versicolor, Avic Amazonica, Avic Kwitara and Avic Peru Purple my Avics are all slings. I've gone from 0 to 5 in under a month and I still want to order more I think my fiance thinks I've gone mad! I've wanted them for a while and just thought why not?! I love avics and I would have had a Purpurea as well but it arrived dead I can't seem to find another.

I want to get a Brachypelma Smithi next and would love a Haplopelma lividum but I don't think I'm ready for that one yet.

@Fuzzball79 Maybe we should start our own, get some people together, spread some awareness and facts about our beautiful Ts, I think we'd have a good selection between us all here sucks there's nothing up in Scotland

 

[Charlotte]

@Fuzzball79 My slings have arrived, they're so cute! they're so different to my Versi. I don't like to say I have favourites as I love them all but I think versicolor slings are adorable!

 

[Fuzzball79]

@Fuzzball79 My slings have arrived, they're so cute! they're so different to my Versi. I don't like to say I have favourites as I love them all but I think versicolor slings are adorable!

All slings are cute, but I agree Versi slings are something special. That said a. Laeta slings are gogeous, too.
Avics are a great species. I hope yours bring you lots of joy.
I lost my P. Met sling between last night and this morning (it was in ICU, and I don't get any movement at all anymore from it, although no death curl). I think I might stick to Avics even so they're more sensitive than Pokies.

 

[Charlotte]

@Fuzzball79 They are all cute!

Oh no I'm so sorry to hear that makes me sad when slings die, even adults it's not like they can tell you whats wrong so you can fix it. How long have you had it?

 

[Fuzzball79]

@Fuzzball79 They are all cute!

Oh no I'm so sorry to hear that makes me sad when slings die, even adults it's not like they can tell you whats wrong so you can fix it. How long have you had it?

I've had it for just under a year. At first it was doing very well, even started to show a blueish tint. What I did notice though, was that even so it moulted relatively often, it didn't seem to grow a lot with every moult. After its last moult a couple of months ago it had one meal, then went into hiding. I assumed it was just doing the usual Pokie thing, as in hiding and then thought it might be another premoult, but then one day I found it at the bottom of its bark, looking dehydrated and moving in an odd way, as if it couldn't climb. I moved it into ICU, where it seemed to have picked up a little bit, so put it back into its tub, where it would only sit at the bottom, still unable to climb and not taking food or drink. It then started showing signs of DKS (jerky uncoordinated leg movements) to the point where it had obviously accidentally flipped over. I never saw it go over, so naturally assumed it was moulting (hoping that it would be better after), but after more than 24 hours on its back it flipped back over by itself. It began looking dehydrated again (despite me using the cotton bud with water method to try to get it to drink), so back into ICU it went, where it would just sit there with the occasional leg twitch.
There was no change in temperature and humidity (and it was doing fine before its last moult) and I thoroughly checked for any mites and co, so I guess, it was just one of those slings that were not meant to make it.

 

[Charlotte]

@Fuzzball79 Awww that's awful, I'm sorry. Poor little thing. I hope I don't experience that. how do you do ICU? when do you need to do it? I'm going to be checking on my Ts even more now. I already check them a lot. One day they can be fine and then the next they're not I suppose so best to look in on them.

Will you get another to replace it?

 

[Ghost]

Hi, I'm in the South East (Kent)!
Just after reading what you've said, this is the one thing that really gets on my nerves about this hobby in England!
I'm always seeing events and stuff over in the U.S. But we don't seem to share there optimisum! I've recently found out the B.T.S are holding an event around Kent but it's not until January!
I've literally marked it down on my phone calendar lol!
I've been to reptile displays but very few tarantula enthusiasts go along!
The localv pet stores usually look at you like a nut case when you don't use the
Common names of different tarantulas!
The only place I find people who share the hobby is online!!
So frustrating, anyway, sorry about that rant over lol have alook and see if the BTS are holding any events near Southampton, could be good

There's actually quite a few shows in the UK over the coarse of the year that you can get T's from,although you have to be prepared to travel.
Here's a couple of up-coming shows that will have T's at them.
I.H.S show 20th September and 1st November 2015 Doncaster racecourse
A.E.S Annual Exhibition 3rd October 2015 Kempton park racecourse
Midland Entomological Fayre 13th December 2015 Ollerton Nottinghamshire
South East Arachnid show 31st January 2016 Ashford
There's more than them but that's all I can remember of the top of my head at the moment.
There's also the B.T.S show held in May each year that's the biggest show for T's in the UK.....

 

[Fuzzball79]

@Fuzzball79 Awww that's awful, I'm sorry. Poor little thing. I hope I don't experience that. how do you do ICU? when do you need to do it? I'm going to be checking on my Ts even more now. I already check them a lot. One day they can be fine and then the next they're not I suppose so best to look in on them.

Will you get another to replace it?

I had to look up ICU, too, before putting it in. Basically you use a deli cup or smaller tub, but don't put as many air holes in it because you want to keep the humidity up. Wet a paper/kitchen towel and cover the floor and if possible also put a small water bowl in. Keep the hole thing slightly above room temperature and as quiet as possible. I checked twice a day to make sure the hydration was still up.
My sling wasn't really dehydrated in the end, but because it was in an arboreal tub, but couldn't climb or even move around, I thought it'd do better in an ICU for access and observation.

I don't know whether to get another one just yet. My husband is against it, but knowing myself, I probably will. I'm not sure what to get though. I'm kind of drawn to another Avic instead (Diversipes or one of the larger species, like Amazonica or Braunhauseni), but I'm taking my time chosing/deciding because it'll have to be the last one for quite a while (too many pets (at least in my OH's POV), not enough space and I'm the only one properly looking after them).

 

[Charlotte]

@Fuzzball79 Clever really ICU for Ts, especially if it works!

Thanks for that, now i know what to do if needed

I have been observing my new slings and the kwitara and amazonica are very quick! Kwitara runs if you so much as touch the jar. The Peru Purple is more slow and chilled but has fallen of the side of the rearing jar a few times, bit worried about it hurting itself, not sure what to do.

 

[DeanoMolly]

@Ghost ye I'm aware of the BTS events, like I said above the closest to me isn't until January 2016! If you can pass me on any other events Im more than interested. Unfortunately living in the south east, donny and the West Midlands is a lot of travelling!!
I no my local branch of the BTS hold meetings once a month but I work that day, which sucks!
Like I say any info( or even pointing me in the right direction) will gladly be excepted

 

[Charlotte]

@Fuzzball79 I want more but my fiancé isn't keen on the idea. We don't have that much space at the moment but I have a huge wide bookcase that has just come and it seems silly not to be using all that space! Or that's what I'll be telling him lol

I want an Avic diversipes too but can't find any when someone told me the hobby is addictive I didn't believe it but it really is.