The First Post.

Firstly, thanks for reading this far into my blog - you've made it 12 words in and I'm very grateful for your attention span!

I am currently a dad to a young adult Grammostola rosea (Chilean rose tarantula) who has been with me for 9 months now, and although I'm still a novice I feel I am now ready to raise a spiderling.

I really hope that all manner of people with an interest in spiders will follow me on this journey: novices like me (who can learn along the way with me and swap information) and also more experienced people who can give advice. Both of which I'll be very appreciative of! Even if you are just curious, I hope you find the growing up of my future spiderling as fascinating and rewarding as I hope it will be.

I have spent the last month researching the needs of a spiderling (or "sling" for short, I think I will use these interchangeably from now on) and I highly recommend that anyone else thinking of caring for a sling (see, told you!) do this. Get on a few of the good web forums relating to tarantulas and ask questions, look at web pages which will have care sheets and recommendations, and also get some books. Also, give good thought to which species of tarantula you wish to become a parent to. When considering this latter point, make sure you pay equal attention to its needs as a spiderling and as an adult and that you are happy you can provide for its entire life span and that you have the necessary experience for the given species.

This is what I've been doing up until this point. The research was a valuable process as I feel I've ironed out much of my confusion and have a clear plan ahead of what I'm going to do before getting the sling. Yesterday I ordered the equipment I needed to provide a good home for the little chap (or chapess) and today it arrived. Tonight I will set it up so it is all sorted in advance of getting the baby tarantula. I'd rather sort out any problems without the spiderling being present and potentially suffering.

As I already have substrate at home (I will be using a mix of sustainably sourced peat and vermiculite) I didn't need to order that, also I already have a few tools like forceps etc which you will need if you don't already have them. So today my parcel contained the following:

• a mini terrarium
• spiderling pot (63mm x 48mm)
• 2W heat mat (3in x 3in)
• thermometer
• feeding vials and pipettes

The species of tarantula spiderling I plan to get is Brachypelma boehmei (Mexican flame leg tarantula) - more about that later - but just to mention whilst I'm looking at equipment that this is a terrestrial species (ie it lives on the ground) if you are going for an arboreal species (ie it wants to live in a tree) you will need to get a taller spiderling pot.

So, my set up is going to consist of the moistened substrate filled to two thirds of capacity in the spiderling pot, which will have small air holes punctured in to the lid. A larger hole will be made to insert the feeding vial. The prepared spiderling pot will then be placed within the mini terrarium. The floor of the terrarium will be carpeted with vermiculite which I will mist with water to ensure humidity is maintained and on one of the walls I will affix the heat mat. Note, the heat mat is not placed underneath the sling pot. The thermometer will be placed inside the terrarium near the sling pot, but obviously not immediately adjacent the heat mat.

I'll set all this up tonight, ensuring that it is in a shaded and stable postion that won't be disturbed, and try to get a good photo or two to post up tomorrow. I can then obtain the spiderling and the fun will really begin!

I have also purchased a bean weevil culture, as apparently these little bugs are good food for baby tarantulas - we will see!

Thanks again for reading this first post, I hope it was interesting or useful. Please leave any comments you wish (I could regret saying that!). This is just the first step, and no doubt it will get more entertaining once the sling arrives.