Understated Hyperboles

Oof.

It appears I am the only one consulting Dr. Google.  Point taken, Innernets.  I do not need to see a doctor, I am just recovering from a nasty cold.  That is all.  No worries or fears. Except for my lack of writing style. (Psst!!! For those of you who did think that last post was entertaining enough, we need to set up some playdates.  Soon! I need more friends who are as warped am I am.  For the record, I totally blame my dad for my twisted sense of humor.  It's an Oliver Thing..)

This is probably a good point to redirect your attention and as such, I will post about my tarantulas, instead.

Awhile back, I began receiving trollish comments on my Flickr account regarding Sofia's cage. I received a message where the commenter stated that Sofia's cage was too small.  Then, the commenter asked if I was stupid or blind (at least they were politically correct enough to be mutually exclusive about the matter.)  Then, I received the following message "ciao are you italian? I would like some information about your spider because I would like to purchase it"  At that point,  I blocked It (no, trolls do not deserve gender designations.)

While I was willing to concede that Sofia's cage needed to be taller, she was acting perfectly fine and seemed about as happy as a spider could be happy, I suppose.  A sign that a tarantula is distressed is when they pace around their cage - and Sofia rarely does that. 

Anyway, I did recently upgrade both of the tarantula enclosures and am happy with the results.  It was a little stressful, though.  Let me be clear - Sofia and Madison are arboreal tarantulas, which are not an aggressive sort.  I do not question my safety with them and am not afraid of being bitten.  Okay, maybe I am a little afraid of being bitten, but that is really a fear on my part and not grounded in much truth. Overall, the Common Pink Toe (avicularia avicularia) and the Antilles Pink Toe  (avicularia versicolor) have really, really low incidences of bites.  No, it is the opposite - I am concerned with their safety. I do not want them to escape and get lost or fall from a tall height and get hurt. Or worse, become a victim of Lucy or the cats.

So.

Transferring Sofia is a no-brainer - she is so easy-going and laid-back, I have always called her the Pink Toe of the Cheech and Chong set.  Pink Toes have a reputation for being nervous Nellies and she is not. I was able to just tip the old cage into the new cage, then nudge her rump.  She resisted and climbed onto the old cage lid, but did not freak out over the ordeal.  Once she saw that I had transferred all of her pipes, bongs, Zig Zags and velvet pictures of Jim Morrison - she was good to go and happily scampered into her new home. Maybe "happily scampered" is a slight exaggeration on my part, but I think we have already proven my penchant for hyperbole, have we not?

Now, Madison?  A different story. Sigh.  She is a skittery, scattery sort of thing and she is frocking fast.  During transfer, she decided to head for the expresso machine and it was a bit of a dickens catching her.  I mean, I understand the need for coffee, but she was being ridiculous.

I am still amazed at the fact that not only am I a tarantula owner, but that I really, really like them.   I would really like to get another spiderling (specifically, a Green Bottle Blue), but X has reached his limit.

This whole spider thing all began with Nic Bishop's Spiders book - it was a book that Arun spied at Border's and he begged for it.  We took it home and for weeks, read it over and over and over.  Then, we would read it again. The first few readings, I was so queasy to my stomach and totally squicked by the molting spiders snaps.  But really, the photography is simply stunning.  And I felt myself drawn in.

Honestly, it was nice to expand myself into a new hobby, I was just so very bored with myself.

And more importantly, it was one of the first moments as a parent where my child taught me something, rather than the other way around. Thank you, Arun. 

I owe you one.

Tarantulas fit right into the theme of a dusty bookcase dedicated to Mystery Girls.  Nancy, Trixie, Kinsey?  We salute you.

Around these here parts, it is Halloween all damned year .

Making my troll proud.

Gettin' All Fancy-like With the Digital Macro Settings

If you look closely, you can see she still has a piece of her last molt stuck to her AND her carapace did not come off, either (the carapace is the dorsal part of the exoskeleton of the cephalothorax.)  I am a little worried, but am hoping it will all shed in her next molt.  Since she is still a spiderling, it is likely she will molt again in the next few months.  As opposed to Sofia, an adult, who molts only about once a year now. 

Photographing Sofia is so much fun because she is so laidback about it.  I can get really close to her with no worries of her running off. 

I love the new cork piece I put in her cage, it really accents her colors.

Toe Pick!

Can you see how her toe is a bit "clawed"?