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Gsc

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Everything posted by Gsc

  1. BTW: Roachsmith.... could I ask where you found the divided tank at? I've been looking for one like that for some Macrothele sp. spiders I'm working with. MOST of the divided tanks like that usually have a single sliding lid...yours has the individual sliding screen tops for EACH section- NICE.
  2. Very nice looking setup...WOW. I like the labels you've made for them...looks good!
  3. I have always had really good luck with P. nivia colonies. I use Orin's Bucket Method (discussed in the AllPets Roach book)....with a THICK layer of substrate consisting of rotten wood and leaves... they love it....it helps hold alot of humidity also.... Good luck...they are a cool species! Graham
  4. Thanks for the link- I should try to give it a try also...we have a bunch of cool roaches running around Texas!
  5. Great to know...I'll try t this way!
  6. Thats neat to know Orin. I have always been meaning to buy some beetle jellies from you...I thought it would be a nice treat for them. I bet one container could be spread out to multiple roach buckets as a treat.... I though baby food might be good also... or soem of that eyelash gecko premade diet. Graham
  7. Gsc

    Howdy!

    Howdy Yen, I live in Austin... nice to see more Texans on the board. I am always very impressed with your mantid selection...beautiful! Graham
  8. Awesome Orin... I love GBBs.... My S. h. arizonensis that I purchased from you is doing WONDERFUL... I really love the halloween coloration. Graham
  9. I'll have to try the oranges...I always forget to buy them while I'm at the store. I've been wanting to try the driend veggies too..
  10. Lots of rain around here too... That was one of my main problems on the trip...I couldn't reach one known locality due to washed out roads...
  11. Hey Matt- Nice to see you here. This board is really getting a great group of Roach/Invert people together... I have a great feeling about this place... Hopefully it'll turn into a wonderful resource for us all to share ideas! Graham
  12. In the end I did find what I was looking for...I had given up... It was a very good feeling. I saw a TON of other wildlife and really enjoyed the trip! Thanks, Graham
  13. Kinda bummed that I didn't find my target species but i still have a few days left out here...So far, South texas has been MUCH more productive than West Texas. There has been ALOT of rain this year...everything is green...crap, there were even mushrooms growing out in Del Rio next to cacti in the desert.... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ********* SUCCESS *********** I finally found Aphonopelma moderatum today 5 hours south of Del Rio along the Mexican Border.... wow...I had given up. On a side note, I found one of the regular dark Aphonopelma sp. in a burrow no more than 10 feet from a A. moderatum burrow. I collected 3 and left all the rest....saw lots of burrows! Sorry about the bad pics...
  14. Recently I decided that I would like to find Aphonopelma moderatum in it's natural habitat so I loaded up the truck and began driving South in my search for my favorite Aphonopelma species. Below is my story copied and pasted from another board: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So I've been in the field for 2 days now... tonight I'm in South Texas. Monday morning I left Austin at 6am.... I was in s/w Texas by 10:30am already finding stuff. Hunted in Dimmit Co. for most the afternoon and then drove into Del Rio. Drove to Sonora, TX on monday night. Hunted around Del Rio on tuesday. The main reason for the trip was to find Aphonopelma moderatum in the field.... So far I have failed. I have found 16 tarantulas in burrows over the past 48 hours, but none have been A. moderatum. I was in KNOWN areas for them...I must be missing something...I can find the T's...just not the moderatums. Oh well. Herps have been pretty good: 1 DOR Mexican Milksnake 2 DOR Bullsnakes 1 live Bullsnake 2 DOR Diamondbacks 1 live Sonoran Ground Snake 1 DOR Western Coachwhip 3 LIVE Texas Desert Tortises... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here was the burrow of the 1st Aphonopelma sp. found on the trip in Demmit Co. There are lots of big wolf spiders that build similiar burrows.... but you CANNOT mistake a T burrow once you know what you are looking for. I also found 1 under a rock in a scrape in Del Rio.... all the burrows looked just like this one!
  15. Given the title of the World's heaviest roach species, Macropanesthia rhinoceros has been an obsession on mine for many years. Considered one of the "Holy Grail" roach species (the other being Megaloblatta longipennis), this species can be especially difficult to locate in the United States. With increased captive breedings in Eurpoe and Japan, they are slowly making their way across the pond to our shores. I have had 4 yearlings and 8 adults over the past few years. Currently I have 3 adult pairs. In the past I have had a few unexplained deaths...Information on their captive care has been limited...these deaths take a great financial toll on US keepers. With a few adjustments to husbantry, my current "colony" (if you can call it that) is doing fine. I now blame the unexplained deaths on the dried Eucalyptus sp. leaves I used to offer in their diet. Everything I read at the time said they MUST have the dried leaves in their diet. After much searching I was able to locate organic dried Eucalyptus leaves from a local natural food store. I've now know that there are a TON of Eucalyptus species, with only a few being safe for Macropanesthia rhinoceros. It wasn't until I read an article wrote by ORIN that my eyes were opened- he claimed that they did NOT need these leaves to survive in captivity...I decided to give it a try since I knew Orin and trusted his experience...low and behold- not a single death since. Maybe this was my problem- maybe it wasn't...either way, they are doing fine without the Eucalyptus in their diet. SUBSTRATE: I keep them on a mixture on 1 part sand, 2 parts coco fiber, 2 parts rotton hardwood, & 2 parts decaying oak leaves. In previous research, articles suggested SAND only with wadded up paper towels/toilet paper in one corner to hold humidity. This did not work for me and dried out quickly. The coco fiber, rotten wood and leaves are working much better for me. For humidity I placed a handful of water crystals mixed in with the substrate on one end of the enclosure. I add water every week or two to this end while allowing the opposite side to dry out. This allows the roaches to choose the humidity level that THEY are comfortable at. Keeping the substrate somewhat deep (3" - 4") allows for a verticle humidity gradient also and limited burrowing. My current job keeps me away from home for 2 weeks at a time...so far they are doing fine on this schedule and the substrate is staying moist enough for them. DIET: The roaches can be seen chewing on the rotten wood and leaves while on the surface. I supplement this with dogfood kibble, pre-made roach diet (which I believe they are ignoring at this point), shredded carrots, and about any veggie I have in the ice box at the time. CONCLUSION: I have ALOT more to learn about this species. I look forward to everyone elses replies- maybe I can pick up more tips. This is what is currently working for me...others may have success doing it differently. I am really hoping that at least one of my pairs has babies this year... with three adult females and three adult males, maybe I'll get lucky...keeping my fingers crossed. PLEASE post your comments/criticisms...This is the only way we'll learn...you're not going to hurt my feelings... I'd rather take the advice of a friend than loosing these amazing roaches due to my stubborness. Thanks, Graham
  16. Hello Peter- It's a small world. We spoke in emails back and forth a few months back...I purchased a few Black Velvet roaches from you... I enjoy your BugsInCyberspace site. I look forward to posting and growing with this fourm! Graham
  17. Hello Everyone, I am very happy to see this fourm appear. I look forward to posting my experiences and learning from everyone else. Have a great day! Graham
  18. Thanks for inviting me over here Orin... I look forward to sharing my experiences and learning from everyone. The roach hobby has grown tremendously over the past decade! Graham
  19. Hey Ken- Wow, it's been a long time. I don't know if you remember me but this is Graham- I used to sell online as Strange Cargo Inverts. I bought and traded with you multiple times. I too left the hobby for a bit (career change) but am back into it...this time just working with the species I love... Rare roaches and true spiders (Macrothele). When I began rebuilding my roach colonies I looked for your site. Between you, Orin, James & the Roachman, I was able to get almost every species availiable in the hobby! Glad to see you here, along with everyone else. Your friend, Graham Criglow
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