Saying Hello from NY

Hi, Bill. Good to see you on the forums. I am a brand new member myself. I just a couple of GPs last weekend and we adore them.

What kind of pet did you have before, if you don't mind me asking.

I'm afraid I am no GP guru, though I have seen evidence that this forum is just scurrying with them. But I think I can suggest that you be prepared to have two of the same gender, if you are going to get any.

And I know you will be directed to the adoption threads here. You'll be strongly encouraged to rescue a pair rather than buy them from a breeder or pet store.

I have found so much helpful information here. I know you will also if you read and ask. Good luck.

Dutch

Hello Bill!

Welcome and enjoy! There is more information on this site than anywhere I have ever seen! If you can't find the answer to a question some one will find it for you! Most everyone is very helpful!

I would really recommend rescuing a pair of piggies. I know there are a LOT of piggies in NY! I always see ads for guinea pigs in NY. Petfinder is a great place to start your search!

Good luck and happy reading!!!

If you do decide to adopt (which we love to hear about when people decide to), petfinder is a great place to look. You could also look up craigslist.com. On this site there is a great place that lists rescues and individuals looking to find homes for piggies. I got my last 2 boys from someone on this site and they are so wonderful!

Any questions you have let us know. I've never had a question on piggies that I could not find the answer on this site. The people who run this site and participate on this forum are so great. They love piggies so much and are very happy to help any way they can. If you do decide to go with piggies we would love to see pigtures! We go gaga over them!

My previous pet would have loved a GP...in a bad way..unfortunately as food. Not that I would ever place a GP in there. I had the second largest species of Tarantula...I named her Buffy - the Mouse Slayer. Since spiders molt as they get larger, here are three of her molts prior to her final. I am working off my older computer so I do not have any pics saved on this computer.



Sorry if Spiders freak you out....but growing up I had Hamsters, German Shepards (3), a Poodle, Dalmation and PitBull. I wanted something different and believe me, a Theraphosa Blondi or better known as the Goliath Birdeater is different. She was no bigger than the palm of my hand when I first got her and grew having over 6 inch legs. She would have grown to be bigger than a dinner plate having legs longer than 12 inches, a n abdomen matching a tennis ball. Her fangs were an inch long.

Anyways, just so everyone knows, I will rescue my GPs as opposed to buying them at a store.

Bill

Dutch said:

Hi, Bill. Good to see you on the forums. I am a brand new member myself. I just a couple of GPs last weekend and we adore them.

What kind of pet did you have before, if you don't mind me asking.

I'm afraid I am no GP guru, though I have seen evidence that this forum is just scurrying with them. But I think I can suggest that you be prepared to have two of the same gender, if you are going to get any.

And I know you will be directed to the adoption threads here. You'll be strongly encouraged to rescue a pair rather than buy them from a breeder or pet store.

I have found so much helpful information here. I know you will also if you read and ask. Good luck.

Dutch

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I will definitely be having nightmares after looking at above mentioned pictures. Yikes! I've heard tarantulas make awesome pets, but I have an uncontrollable fear of spiders. Good luck with adoption, in less than a year I have become a total guinea pig slave. I live for wheeks!

Wow, Bill. I am afraid of spiders also, but it's something I have been working to overcome for a few years. That's a very impressive picture. I have seen a bird eating spider in a pet store once (with a few other exotic creatures, like a screeching cockroach.) It was very unnerving!

Tell me, what kind of pets to tarantulas make? Did she seem to bond with you?

Dutch

Dutch said:

Tell me, what kind of pets to tarantulas make? Did she seem to bond with you?

Dutch

Click to expand...

This species is not for the weak of heart with respect to tarantulas/spiders. They are quite aggressive and will bite. No one has ever died from a tarantula bite, so a bite from Buffy would hurt like hell, but at least I would recover. You talk about fast...in a blink of an eye, she was on my hand when replacing her water in the bowl. Just so you know I purchased a 30 gallon breeder tank for her. So being 18 inches deep, her home was in the back and the water dish was in the front...about a foot between the two. She had webbing on the bedding and would feel my hand hit the water bowl. Thinking it was dinner, she would be on my hand feeling me out in less than a second. Once she determined I wasn't worth the trouble..she would slowly back off. After two weeks she grew accustomed to my hand in the cage. I started feeding her crickets, then moving onto rat pups. After her second molt, I began buying her full size mice. The saying is, "They do not bite the hand that feeds them."

She was quiet and very clean. They never leave the remains of the food in their home(s). She would even use the bathroom in one of the corners of the tank. Since she was from South America, she loves it very humid. I purchased a waterfall and fogger machine for her. Imagine the fogger machine placing a fog on the floor about an two inches high...not able to see anything and then watching the top of the fog move slowly as she moved. Keep in mind they are not active. In the rainforests, they usually burrow in the trunk of the trees. They wait for baby birds to fall from their nest's as they learn how to fly. I guess the birds live by the saying, " The first step is a doosy. " Thus the name of Goliath Birdeater. They get big primarily because the birds even though babies are pretty big in the rainforests.

My Nephews and Neices loved watching her. My fiancee didn't really care for her that much...LOL!

By the way, thanks to everyone for responding to my introduction.
Bill

I have to say, your tarantula was too cool, Bill! One of my best friend's ex-husband had one (I can't for the life of me remember what breed it was), it was the neatest thing to hold. Getting guineas will certainly be a change of pace, and it seems like it's quite the welcome one to your fiancee. lol

You've definitely come to the right place. There are volumes of information and well-informed people here - for those of us who consider ourselves 'guinea experts' and the 'guinea noobs' alike. Plus, there's a lot of pigtures to add to the knowledge so that you can get a real feel for things.

Good luck! :cheerful:

Good lord, she was huge! I love their feet- they walk so delicately all you feel is gentle soft tapping. I wanted a taurantula as a kid...but I ended up with Lois, my tortoise, instead.

It's much better to adopt a pair because you wont have to go through the fuss of making sure they get along. I got my first boy, Fred, and once I adopted CJ I've had to watch them closely while they're establishing who's in charge.

Years ago when I was a little girl, my mom had watched the Johnny Carson show and a person on there was showing what good pets tarantulas make. My mom took us to the pet store the following day to see about buying one. Needless to say, my mom would not pick it up, and I am deathly affraid of spiders and was never going to touch it. Well, we ended up with our first parakeet.