Anthologies of Keric the Arachnid. pt. 1 ~ Introducing Keric!!!

Hey ya'll!!! 

I finally did it! I finally got myself a baby tarantula! Now I've been fascinated by these arachnids for some time now but for a myriad of reasons, usually pertaining to the care of such creatures and the potential objection on behalf of the family at sharing the humble abode with yet ANOTHER creepy crawly creature (that it is also a poisonous one is not much help either!) has thus far stayed my hand from obtaining one. But when I first laid eyes on my beautiful Keric it was like love at first sight! The rest, as they say, is history. Needless to say, I'm as nervous as a mother holding her child for the first time, and although I have read up on my fair share of Tarantula care literature (I am not, nor have I ever been in the habit of obtaining, whether through purchase or otherwise, an animal on impulse without first studying about it) I must say... nothing has quite prepared me for the real deal. Feeding for instance, seems quite a chore as little Keric is refusing the pin-head crickets I've been laying out for him the past few days. Meal worms would have been more ideal, of course (that being his staple diet prior to this) but in a most unfortunate stroke of bad luck, all the pet shops seem to be out of meal worms currently and the only one that carries it only offers specimens that are already as large as my pinkie! Way too big for a spiderling that's barely the size of a ten-cent coin. Anyway, tomorrow is THE day and I'll be getting up in about 7 hours or so to catch the first buss up to the mountains. Hoping to find tons of insects there, in particular moths. I'll probably not have any internet to update so, expect to hear from me only on Tuesday (which, incidentally, is also Valentine's Day). In the meantime, here's a picture of dear Keric, who is kept in an empty pudding container for now until he grows larger.

So this is Keric in his little tank of a home.
His species is a chilean rose tarantula (grammostola rosea) and they are supposedly one of the hardiest and easiest tarantulas to rear in captivity... well, time to live up to your name Keric!

Cheers,

Cyren

ps. Thanks to the Malaysian Tarantula Society, Lee Chia How, Ryo and William Wong for all the help they have provided in terms of advice and anecdotes from personal experiences thus far. 

pps. I only use the term "he" very loosely here as I am unsure if Keric is really a male or female. I'm hoping for female because they usually grow much larger and lead significantly longer lives!!!