Chris Driggers

I would stay away from the calcium supplements myself. I think I remember reading or hearing somewhere that arthopods don't need very much calcium, and if they get too much it will make their exoskeleton brittle, for a hisser a brittle exo could be fatal if they fall off the wall of their enclosure, I would think it would increase the chance of a rupture. Chris

The reason I said Tityus sp. is the extra spike on the telson.

I can't help much, I'm not very familiar with the genus, but I'm 99% positive its a Tityus sp. no clue what species though, maybe someone else can help with a more specific ID.

From what I have read, yes. Any acorn bearing tree. I have several types of oak tree in my back yard, red oak, white oak, post oak, water oak and sawtooth oak. I am using these for my domino roaches.

Fish are very high in protein, I would avoid using goldfish though unless they are frozen while they are still alive. When they die they secrete something, I can't remember what, but it's harmful to snakes, not sure about roaches but better safe than sorry I guess.

I would like to see pics of your Domino Roach setups if you don't mind sharing a pic or two.

I'll be posting here, arachnoboards, and venomlist, I don't have the time to raise, or even try to raise all the slings, but I want as many of them to be raised to adulthood to see if this trait will breed true in the offspring, so I want to spread them out among widow keepers with experience raising widow slings. On a side note, I am looking for a mature male Latrodectus menavodi and Latrodectus geometricus if anyone reading this has one or both available for breeding loan, or just wants give one away to a good cause. Or I could trade WC L. mactans of any size you desire, gravid females also available. Chris

Welcome. 42 species, wow, thats a nice collection, which 42 species?

Welcome to the forum, not a bad selection you have there. Had any thoughts about your next species?

How old is your discoid colony? Could possibly be one that was mixed in as a tiny nymph when you got your discoids, or a number of things really. Hissers are sneaky lil critters.

I am planning to breed her with a male from the same source I got her from so hopefully I can produce more of these. The males should be maturing within the next month. Chris

I am on arachnoboards as well, people over there know me as ScorpDemon.

Well I have several, here's the list. Reptiles 1 Male Bearded Dragon 1 Male Solomon Island Ground Boa 1 Male Black Mexican Kingsnake 1 Female Pueblan Milksnake 1 Female Timber Rattlesnake 1 Female Southern Copperhead 2 Ball Pythons (breeding pair male is 100% het. piebald) 2 Redtail Boa Constrictors (breeding pair, male is double het. albino and anerythristic) 2 Stimson's Pythons (breeding pair) Amphibians 2 Pacman frogs (1 albino 1 red) Tarantulas 1 Poecilotheria metallica (Gooty Ornamental) 1 Grammostola aureostriata (Chaco Goldenknee) 1 Aphonopelma anax (Texas Tan) 1 Grammostola pulchra (Brazilian Black) 1 Acanthoscuria geniculata (Giant Whiteknee) 7 Avicularia avicularia (Common Pinktoe) I recently downsized my tarantula collection, 3 weeks ago I had over 60 of them Scorpions 1 Babycurus jacksoni 1 Smeringurus mesaensis (Dune Scorpion) 1 Parabuthus leiosoma (Black Tipped Fat Tail) 1 Leiurus quinquestriatus (Deathstalker) 3 Pandinus imperator (Emperor Scorpion) True Spiders 5 Latrodectus bishopi (Red Widow) females 1 Latrodectus geometricus (Brown Widow) female 1 Latrodectus menavodi (Madagascan Black widow) female 2 Latrodectus mactans (Southern Black Widow) Other 1 Medicinal Leech (Hirudo medicinalis) There was more a while back, but I downsized a bit, in the process of remodeling to make more space so I can get more goodies. Chris

One of my female red widows (Latrodectus bishopi) has no pattern whatsoever on her abdomen, I don't have any pics of the normal ones, but you can google it. Here are some pics of the lady with the unique abdomen.

The brands I have used are.. Soil Moist, cant remember who makes it though and Shultz Moisture Plus I used 2 containers of the Moisture Plus, then had to switch to the Moisture Plus and have used nearly 3 gallons of it with no problems at all. Chris

The one in the first photo is some type of jumping spider, cool little spiders. the last photo, I found some like that a couple of years ago, I kept her for a while and she laid an eggsac on a branch in her enclosure, then camoflauged it with some greenish brown webbing that was thicker and tougher with a different texture than normal. Very cool spiders, all of them.

Hey Brian, ScorpDemon from arachnoboards here. Welcome to the forum. Are you still keeping your copperhead? I still haven't taken mine outdoor for a photo session, time is running out for this year too.

Nice looking setup you have there. I've only been creative and naturalistic with one enclosure, and it's not in use anymore. I really want to set up a couple of display tanks for my 2 favorite tarantulas, I just don't have the space right now. When I get ready to do that, I might have to borrow some of your ideas.

I grew up around farms and ranch type settings myself, so I can relate to parents not understanding your fascinations with roaches, spiders, and other creepy crawly critters. Exotic pets in the state of Alabama usually consist of iguanas, and ball pythons, I went outside the norm when I started keeping scorpions, then branched out to tarantulas, roaches, cornsnakes, assorted boas and pythons, assasin bugs, widow spiders, and a couple of native venomous snakes. My mom won't enter my house for long at a time, but she is starting to understand why I love these awesome animals, but still thinks I'm crazy. Welcome to the addiction that is keeping invertebrates, enjoy the ride. Chris

Your setup looks pretty cool, yet simple. Doesn't look too far off from other Tityus setups I've seen pics of, haven't seen any setups for this particular species, however. I have never kept any Tityus, however if I can ever find the time to go out and do some roach hunting, I should have a breeding pair of T. falconensis soon after.

I've used them in tarantula and scorpion enclosures, and I gotta say I was 100% pleased with the janitorial staff.

Welcome aboard. If you're into mantids, it shouldn't take much to get you into roaches. Much less demanding, some are much more beautiful. They are a very diverse invert much like mantids. Take a look around, I'm sure you can find a few species that interest you. Chris

Nice, I've been considering getting a few pill millipedes. How hardy are Arthrosphaera brandti?

Welcome. The woman might come around a bit when she sees some of the prettier roaches, mine did. Are you currently keeping any roaches or other inverts? If so, What do you have?

I buy my water crystals at garden shops, walmart, anywhere with a gardening section. 16 oz. container was like 6 bucks at walmart the last time i bought any, I make up a gallon at a time, and just make more when i need them. I also mix some crystals in with the substrate for the other humidity loving inverts I keep.