Jamies Tarantula thread

[Jamie Lessie]

,

Enough people PM me about them so here it is!

I breed/collect tarantulas. Yes, the 8 legged hairy spiders. I have er... about 100 right now, 3 different species. 93 or so of them are babies and the others are adult/sub-adults. If you all get lucky I might bring one to an event sometime. "would you like to pet my tarantula?" You know. I could use a co-driver

The one in my avatar is "Linux" she is an A. Versicolor (native to the Caribbean) She has grown a lot since this was taken!

That is what she looked like not too long after I got her.

They change color as they grow. She will eventually look like this (picture taken from teh internets)


I have a pair (male and female) P. Metallica. They are native to India. The female is "Sapphire" and looks like this (I don't have a picture of her only video)

The male is "Dennis the Menace" he is an escape artist *eek* I found him in my shower one morning Males are very dull compared to females

Dennis wants a hug

They both live with Rob (the one in the videos) as he is more experienced breeding that species. He has some videos of them;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRcxp3Yi ... annel_page" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLmqCQzp ... annel_page" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yesterday I received 3 new spiders from Europe (they are native to South America but only 20 have been taken from the wild and those were sent to Europe) 2 females and a male. They are "A. fasciculata"




Here is momma A. Versicolor. She is very dull because it has been a year since she last shed her skin. She is a sweetheart.

Here is one of her babies. She had a huge eggsac of 194 and was a very good mom!


For a second there you may have thought spiders were cool. Spiders can be cool! Hey, they pay for my tires

[Mako Koiwai]

There isn't a connection between you being a Chef and breeding Tarantulas is there?! I saw a documentary on the Amazon once where they showed how to capture, cook and eat Tarantulas. It was definitely one of the grossest things I've ever seen.

Here is how colorful Avicularia versicolor can be:

[Mako Koiwai]

Jamie's co-driver Linux:

(The bad part of being Jamie's boyfriend, is having to pose with her spiders.)

[Jeff Shyu]

wow.. those are really cool looking. out of curiosity, how much do they sell for? that's certainly very different from the ones i see at petsmart..

[Jamie Lessie]

There isn't a connection between you being a Chef and breeding Tarantulas is there?! I saw a documentary on the Amazon once where they showed how to capture, cook and eat Tarantulas. It was definitely one of the grossest things I've ever seen.

I have eaten some weird things but I can't imagine a tarantula. Their hairs are barbed, it would be like eating fiberglass (or so I imagine) Gross!

Here is how colorful Avicularia versicolor can be:

You got the name right. Mad props! That is a neat picture Males of that species are usually brighter then females.

Jamie's co-driver Linux:

(The bad part of being Jamie's boyfriend, is having to pose with her spiders.)

Hey a co-driver that does not complain

That is me with all my spiders. My arms are not that manly haha

[Jamie Lessie]

wow.. those are really cool looking. out of curiosity, how much do they sell for? that's certainly very different from the ones i see at petsmart..

Thanks!

They usually have rosehairs at petsmart. The little brown ones? (sometimes have red/pink hairs) Cool spiders. They are uber easy to take care of. They can go for years without eating.

I am currently selling my A.Versicolor spiderlings for $10 each. A. Fasciculata spiderlings run between $75-100. P. Metallica spiderlings run $175+

[Jeff Shyu]

I am currently selling my A.Versicolor spiderlings for $10 each.

hmm.. link to a site with details of care? they grow kinda slow, right? i've always liked spiders..

this was probably not the best idea i've ever had though, seeing how close i can get to a black widow.. >_>

[Leticia Montanez]

Do you ever bring them out? Will you bring one to Auto-X? I love the blue and red ones!

[Jamie Lessie]

I am currently selling my A.Versicolor spiderlings for $10 each.

hmm.. link to a site with details of care? they grow kinda slow, right? i've always liked spiders..

this was probably not the best idea i've ever had though, seeing how close i can get to a black widow.. >_>

That is a neat picture! Was it a mature widow? Where was that taken? Where did you find the spider?

Widows are not as dangerous as people think (this is coming from a person who has been bit by one ) They would rather run then bite. The one who bit me did not have a place to run. It got stuck in my pant leg. I know a few people who keep them as pets. They are easy to keep and interesting to observe. Don't give it a chance to bite you and you won't have a problem.

My website is http://www.JamiesTarantulas.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Do you ever bring them out? Will you bring one to Auto-X? I love the blue and red ones!

If I bring one out it will likely be a common pinktoe or rosehair tarantula. If one of my blue and red ones (versicolors) had something happen to it I would probably have a heart attack. Versicolors are a bit skittish, too (you notice they are moving in most of the pictures I have of them?) It would be nice to have a more docile spider that people could easily interact with.

[Jeff Shyu]

this was the same spider.



and garden spiders.. i'm not exactly sure what was going on here.

[Jamie Lessie]

I think you met a Latrodectus geometricus (a brown widow spider) Is this it?

http://sarasota.extension.ufl.edu/IPM/i ... kbrnab.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cool! I have never seen one! (Here is an article on it)

http://sarasota.extension.ufl.edu/IPM/BrownWidow.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Their eggsacs are highly unusual, even when compared to the black widow. That is the for sure way to distinguish them from a black widow.

I am trying to figure out what is going on with that garden spider of yours. Maybe she is eating another spider? Whatever is going on that is a neat picture. I would love to go out and photograph spiders with that camera of yours!

[Jamie Lessie]

Random spider/arachnid update;

As some of you know I used to be a private chef and the family I cooked for moved. With the economy and all private chefing is one of those not-so-in-demand jobs. I work part time for Monster Miata. I do welding/fab work for them 1 or 2 days a week and for the money I need to race I breed tarantulas.


Got an eggsac from my versicolor (the blue and red one) You all should remind me and I will bring one to the next event Spiders are very good moms. Fedoria's legs are wrapped around it at all times and she never leaves it. Not even to eat or drink for more than 2 months until they hatch and leave her web.


My scorpion had babies. I brought her sister to an event but only a couple of you knew. She was in my pocket the second part of the day haha. Their venom is not considered medically significant and they are not one to use their stingers. Really neat pets if you ask me! They give live birth and then the babies crawl onto moms back where they stay for a few weeks. I am glad I am not a scorpion!


Here is me and Rob's P. Metallica (pretty blue and yellow spider) laying an eggsac. Very interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kMNL8pV1CY" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I :heyes: spiders!

-Jamie