Update on my Leopard Gecko

This is an update on my Leopard Gecko. The video shows his setup the way I’m housing him. He seems to be okay from what I can see. He has been pooping normal, but I just don’t see him eat. I weighed him a couple days ago at 13g and this morning at 13g. So, no weight loss or gain, which seems good at the moment. Hopefully he will gain some weight. I may have some waxworms, I know I have moths. I will be getting some crickets just see if that may help his appetite.  Other than that, we’ll wait and see how he does.

<b><i>Valid comments on/about/experience are all welcome. <u>Spam, hate, offensive, etc</u>… will be <u>ignored/deleted</u>. Thanks for reading, <a href=”http://www.google.com/profiles/moose9″ target=”_blank”>Greg Hagedorn</a>.</i></b>

My new Eublepharis macularius (Leopard Gecko)

Eublepharis macularius

Showing off a new addition to my ever growing collection of reptiles and inverts. I received a Eublepharis macularius (Leopard Gecko) free a few days ago from my local pet store. My sons & I frequent the lps often. My boys by rodents for their lizard & snakes, while I check for new tarantula species and scorpions.

While my youngest boy was in the lps picking up food for his snakes, the owner gave him the Eublepharis macularius as seen in the photo. She had no history on it and decided not to sell it. I thought, “how cool”. I had been thinking about getting a Eublepharis macularius to add to my collection.

After doing some research online and setting up it’s enclosure, I think their a really cool and interesting species of lizard. Oh, and if you have never seen one of these shed it’s skin, you must see. Do a search on YouTube. They literally pull and eat their skin off their body.

I have plenty of food for it, sense I raise and breed my own mealworms and I have plenty of feeder roaches of many sizes to substitute for crickets. It’s currently in a 5 gal. size enclosure with newspaper as substrate along with a food and water dish. It sleeps inside a toilet paper rolll for now till I find something more appropriate.

If anyone has any tips for me caring for this fine specimen, please comment below. All comments are welcome. Thanks for reading, Greg Hagedorn.

Grammostola rosea (Chilean Rose Hair) Care Sheet

Scientific Name: Grammostola rosea – Previously known as both Grammostola spatulatus and Grammostola cala, and the debate still drags on whether these are both the same species, but just different color morphs. Time will tell as science moves forward on Tarantulas in general.

Common Name: Chilean Rose Hair

Geographic Range: Chile, Argentina, Bolivia

Habitat/Species type: Terrestrial / New World

• Terrestrial refers to ground dweller, burrower.
• Arboreal refers to tree dwellers.
• New World species found in the Americas tend to be more docile, less venemous, kick urticating hairs for defense.
• Old World species found throughout the rest of the world, like Asia, Africa, Europe, etc… generally more aggressive, stronger venom, more apt to bite.

Temperature: 70*F-85*F Humidity: Low-Moderate

Growth Size: 5″-6″ legspan Experience Level: Beginner

Temperament: Docile, urticating hairs
Tarantulas vary from docile to very aggressive, skittish, nervous, urticating hair flicker. Read “WARNING” at the end of this care sheet!

Food: Crickets and roaches are most common in captivity. You can also offer mealworms, superworms, etc… DO NOT USE wild caught insects due to insecticides/pesticides and parasites threat.

Water: It is IMPORTANT to always keep an open water dish, full of water in your tarantulas enclosure at all times. This keeps them hydrated and helps keep humidity up! For slings, keep substrate moist. For juveniles and adults, water dish should be non-toxic, shallow and no wider than the body length of your tarantula. NEVER USE cotton balls or sponges to supply water or moisture, may promote mold and harmful bacteria that could be harmful to your tarantula and/or it’s enclosure.

Substrate: Peat moss, coco fiber or a mixer of peat moss, vermiculite.
Provide 4″-12″ of substrate packed down for burrowers. Tarantulas that require low-moderate humidity should be kept on a dry substrate.

Enclosure/Cage: Up to a 10 gal. tank.
Rule of thumb for enclosures is about 1½-2 times the width and length of your tarantula for terrestrial. For arboreal, they need more height then ground space, 1″-2″ of substrate. Provide long pieces of cork bard, branches, etc. to climb on for arboreal. You may provide a hide for a quick retreat if it is startled or feels threatened..

Longevity: Males once mature (2 Years) Females (up to 15 years).

Grammostola rosea

Description:
Grammostola rosea varies from light to dark brown/grey with pink hairs and a brown carapace that appears to be a pinkish/mauve color in the right light. Grammostola rosea lives in shallow burrows/scrapes in the wild’s of it’s native Chile. Grammostola rosea are considered average size tarantula, getting up to a 6″ legspan. Grammostola rosea are very slow growers, taking up to 7 years to become an adult. Adults will molt about once every 1-2 years. Grammostola rosea are also known to go on long fasts, not eating for months at a time. This tarantula is considered one of the slower species.

Keeping in captivity as pets:
For adults you can use medium to large Kritter Keepers, 5 gal tanks, etc… for juveniles, up to 10 gal. tank for adults. This species prefers the dry side, so moderate humidity levels will work and temps between 70*F-85*F work. Substrate can be peat moss, coco fiber or a mixer of peat moss, vermiculite mixture and should be at least 2″-4″ deep to provide adequate burrowing for slings and juveniles. Young Grammostola rosea may burrow, but once they become adults (5-7 years), they tend to just sit around on the surface. I refer to these as “Pet Rocks”. Grammostola rosea are considered the ideal starter Tarantula, due there forgiving nature and easy temperament. Grammostola rosea are generally considered a docile species, certainly handling is possible, but not considered, due to their urticating hairs.

WARNING: Tarantulas are unpredictable and can change there disposition at anytime and may bite. So handling is never advised unless you’re experienced. Old World species tend to be more venomous (stronger venom) than New World species who have urticating hairs. Take all precautions, do some research on the species you plan to own, etc…before handling these wonderful creatures.

DISCLAIMER: Information contained herin represents various resources and my own personal experience with this particular species. Comments on/about/experience are all welcome. There are still allot unknown about certain species, so if you feel this article needs correcting/clarification, please comment below and I will make adjustments where necessary. Spam, hate, offensive, etc… will be ignored/deleted. Thanks for reading, Greg Hagedorn.

Forums, Message boards, endless wealth of knowledge!

Have you ever needed to find out specific information on your pets? Well, I have and sometimes it’s hard to find, thankfully we have the Internet. I keep and raise Bearded dragons and various Inverts (Invertebrates, Tarantulas, Scorpions, Roaches, etc…). When I first started in the hobby, I didn’t know where to turn for information. One day while surfing the web, I came across a Bearded dragon forum. A forum or message board is basically a membership base community where individuals can socialize and exchange information on a specific topic, in this case “Bearded dragons“. There are forums for just about everything imaginable and most are free to register with.

Forums are a great resource of knowledge for many different hobbyists. I started out with Bearded dragons, then Tarantulas, Scorpions, etc… Generally anyone can read a forum topic without registering. But if you want to post a question, comment or respond to or comment on another members post, the you will be required to become registered member. As I said, most forum memberships are free.

Since becoming a member of many various forums (see below), I have learned a wealth of knowledge about the various animals I keep. Heck, i didn’t even know “roaches” were used as food. When I first started in the hobby, my basic food sources were crickets and mealworms. After researching the forums, I found probably a dozen or so different types of feeder insects. Now I raise all my own feeders for myself and others alike, thanks in general to forums. If I need to sex a Tarantula, I take a pic, upload in a post and wait for a response (usually less than 24 hrs).

Things you can do with forums once you become a member! Create your profile, information about you, etc… Edit your signature which is placed at the end of each post you make or comment on. Your profile and signature are great tools in themselves. If yo have a website, you can put it in your profile. With your signature, you can add favorite quotes, your website(s) links, etc… Don’t abuse this privilege.

Next, find the welcome or newbie section and announce yourself to the rest of the members. You’ll get several warm and friendly responses. Read through the different topics, do a search, post a comment or ask a question in a new post. You’ll find that other members will respond to your post with all kinds of useful advice and information.

Forums are also a good resource for sale of your product(s). Looking for a new “Tarantula”, checkout the “Classifieds section”. I have bought a majority of my T’s and Scorpions through forums. As I said, these forums are a goldmine of information. Don’t be shy, ask questions. Members are always there to help you. As you become more knowledgeable, you in turn will help others.

Things you don’t want to do once your a member! Members of these forums don’t tolerate “SPAMMING“, example: just commenting or making multiple posts for no reason other than to get your signature seen.

Trolling, posting outrageous messages to bait members to answer, someone who inspires flaming rhetoric, someone who is purposely provoking and pulling members into flaming discussions. Flaming discussions usually end with name calling and flame wars. Boy I have seen my share of these conversations. Sometimes there fun to read, however I don’t condone this type of behavior as you will see, members don’t either.

Bad deals happen from time to time, and  most are willing to correct and make good. I personally have experienced problems with shipments and the member had no problem reshipping. That’s “making good”.  For those that don’t, look out, you will be scrutinized. Some forums I am on have a “Review” section for posting your experience with a particular member or website. Members won’t hesitate to post a “bad” review about you, if there unable to resolve an issue with your services . So, don’t screw someone over on a deal, word gets around.

I personally shoot a short video review of all my orders/purchases through forum transactions and post them on YouTube. I then add the link to the members review on the forum so other members can see and learn more about how that member ships there product, etc. To date, I have never posted a negative video review. Forums are monitored by there own members. So if you attempt any of the above mentioned or other, you will be reprimanded by a “Forum Moderator” and or banned from the forum(s) permanently.

The information herin is my basic knowledge of Internet Forums. If you feel I missed something or need to add more, please comment below. I’m am a member on the following forums (moose9 or moose9900). You can search for my posts and see what I talk about.

Bearded Dragons: Forum(s)

• BeardedDragon.org
  One of the best places on the Internet to socialize and find out information about your Bearded Dragon(s). Don’t have a Bearded Dragon yet? Well checkout there “Classifieds” for an abundance of various dragons for sale.

Tarantula Forum(s):

• ArachnoBoards
  One of the largest and IMO the best Tarantula forums out there. Do a search and you’ll find just abut anything your looking for about Tarantulas, Scorpions, feeders. etc…. They also have information on other various reptiles and inveribrates, etc…
• Tarantulas.US
  Another good resource for Tarantulas, etc…
• SCABIES
  Southern California Arachnid, Bug, Invertebrate, Entomological Society for all of you who live in S. Ca. This is a cool site for locals like myself. They have a yearly bbq I hear is great. I missed the last one.
• Arachnofreaks
• Arachnophiles
• Tarantulas
  A relatively new forum with a twist.
• Tarantula Forums
• The Venom List

Scorpions Forum(s):

• Scorpion Forum
  One of the largest Scorpion information forum worldwide.

Roaches Forum(s) (Yeah cockroaches):

• The Cockroach Forum

Other informative web sites with additional information on the hobbies above.

• Beautiful Dragons
  A good collection of resources for your Bearded Dragon(s). An extensive nutritional listing of various foods to feed or not feed your dragon(s).
• Scorpion-Files
  Details on certain species of Scorpions worldwide.

Your thoughts and comments are always welcome.
Thanks for reading,
Greg