2011 in review! Thanks to all my blog subscribers & tarantula fans!!

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

 

Crunchy numbers

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 3,200 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 53 trips to carry that many people.

In 2011, there were 53 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 130 posts. There were 112 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 188mb. That’s about 2 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was November 2nd with 37 views. The most popular post that day was Lunch time for P. regalis.

How did they find you?

The top referring sites in 2011 were:

• arachnea.org
• asilee.com
• en.wordpress.com
• tronfoto.wordpress.com Following
• tarantuladiary.tumblr.com

Some visitors came searching, mostly for xenesthis intermedius, avicularia diversipes, monocentropus balfouri, pokie tarantula, and tumblr high heels.

Where did they come from?

Most visitors came from The United States. Philippines & The United Kingdom were not far behind.

Attractions in 2011

These are the posts that got the most views in 2011. You can see all of the year’s most-viewed posts in your Site Stats.

• 1 Lunch time for P. regalis 0 comments November 2011
• 2 Tarantula High Heels! 0 comments October 2010
• 3 Hello…I am addicted to tarantulas. (More new additions!) 0 comments February 2011
• 4 First time handling B. smithi & A. geniculata! 0 comments February 2011
• 5 ThinkGeek :: Oven-Baked Tarantula 0 comments October 2010

Some of your most popular posts were written before 2011. Your writing has staying power! Consider writing about those topics again.

 

 

 

Click here to see the complete report.

Thank you, to all of your who regularly view my blog, share my posts & leave comments. I really didn’t think my blog was going to make it very far, but it gets a surprising amount of views every single day & that’s really what keeps me going & keeps me blogging & taking pics of my spiders. Thanks everyone!!

A. diversipes molts!!

This little guy ate 1-2 roaches & then stopped eating for over a month..I figured he wasn’t hungry, I was NOT expecting a molt after such little food! He sure is beautiful though!

P. regalis stretching out!

I never realized how big this guy had gotten until today when he decided to completely stretch out against the side of the container!! I also tried to get a pic of his spider junk in case anyone can make an attempt at sexing…but the pics are blurry because thay area is so dark. I really need to move this guy into a bigger place! He’s gorgeous though!! I can’t wait to get some pics of him from the top because the tan & purple colors are amazing!

Can anyone sex my G. pulchra?

I always fail horribly at sexing, no matter how many pics I look at…it’s really sad! Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

This is my larger G. pulchra..which is why I’m going to assume it’s a male…and hopefully my other smaller one (from the same sac)..will turn out to be a female of I can ever manage to get pics of her underside!!

Lunch time for P. regalis

It was feeding day today & I guess the P. regalis was finally hungry! He hadn’t eaten in months after the last molt…a roach actually died in his tiny enclosure because he refused to eat for so long. He just kept hiding behind the cork & refused to come out…till today!

His colors are gorgeous..the purple on the carapace, yellow leg bands & pattern on his back are so pretty. Eventually I’m going to move him to a bigger house, hopefully he doesn’t web that one all up because I’d like to take more pictures of him since this site IS called “Social Pokies”…its strange that there are barely any pictures of any pokies at all on here!!

California tarantulas caught in a web of lies – Gary Bogue -

http://www.ibabuzz.com/garybogue/2011/10/27/california-tarantulas-caught-in-a-web-of-lies/#more-2516

Who said tarantulas don’t need/use water dishes?

This little guy loves drinking out of his & dipping his toes in when its hot. Also looks like he’s due for a molt soon, judging by the dull looking colors on his abdomen. Such a cute little spider!!

Halloween Crafts: Origami Tarantula!

Tarantula Halloween Crafts – Pom Pom Tarantula (super cute!)

Halloween Craft -  Cute Pom-Pom Spider This cute spider is not scarey at all and  ist just made with black yarn, black chenille stems and a couple of wiggly eyes. It can be used to decorate a Halloween buffet table or even as a play pal for the kids.

For more cute Tarantula craft ideas, please visit http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org!!

Supplies Needed: - 1 skein of black fringe or fuzzy yarn - 2x 50 cm black chenille stems - 1 pair of wiggly eyes - hot glue - cardboard such as a cereal box - scissors - circle templates

Instructions: 1. First you need to create 2 large and 2 small cardboard rings using your cereal box and circle templates.Make the body first. The larger the outer circle, the larger the spider. The inner circle should be about 1 inch in size. Cut these rings out and place together. 2. Now cut about 5 or 6 one yard lengths of the yarn. Follow the instructions in this Pom-Pom Tutorial to make the pom-pom. When finished, it should look like the picture below. For the pictures normal black yarn was used so the tutorial could be followed easier. 3. Now cut the 2 chenille stems in half so that you have 4 pieces. Insert these pieces through the middle ring.. 4. Now you will cut between the 2 cardboard rings, all away around. 5. Once you have done that, insert a long piece of yarn between the two rings and tie a knot tightly at the middle of the center ring. 6. Cut the 2 cardboard pieces away and fluff the pom-pom. Leave the 2 long tying ends hanging for the moment. 7. Now create a head pom-pom using smaller cardboard rings. Now take the two tying ends and tie them together with the two tying ends of the body. 8. Now cut away these four long ties to the same length of the body yarn. Trim around the head and body if there are any uneven lengths of yarn. Now you can glue the wiggly eyes on the spider.

Tarantula Anatomy (B. smithi)

Anatomy of a tarantula (B. smithi)

Check out my P. platyomma…GORGEOUS COLORS!!!!! *purplish pink*

I can’t believe how the colors have changed on this guy since I first brought him home!! At first, he looked like a mini jack o’ lantern with legs…

(if you want to see baby pics, click the “Categories” tab on the upper right of the main page & scroll down the list & find “Pamphobetus platyomma” & it will show you all the past posts & pics about him!)

Now he’s a bold velvet black color with an iridescent purple-pink color…this is the most beautiful molt so far, and I’m sure its only going to keep getting better!!

He’s not one to be handled (too jumpy & unpredictable for me!), but he does stay very still when I remove his lid & take pictures of him! He molted a couple days ago, so here he is…

Adult C. Cyaneopubescens is still gorgeous

And here’s a picture to show you what I mean! I love this guy’s colors, who would think a spider would have such striking colors?! Nature is amazing!!

A. moderatum (aka “Hand Pet”)

This guy is probably going to live for 20+ years at the rate he (or she) is going, he barely moves…or if he does, I rarely ever see it, and he moves back into the exact same position he’s been sitting in for the past couple days to trick me! I thought a molt was coming…but I was wrong, he just wasn’t hungry for the past few weeks, but he’s hungry tonight!

G. pulchra #2 molted tonight!

My second G. pulchra just molted tonight…he hasn’t stretched out completely, so I’m not sure if there is a substantial gain in size after this molt…but at least his hair looks really dark, soft & velvety again! He was looking really beat up for a while & I was starting to wonder what he did at night while I was asleep!! It looked like he had a perpetual bad hair day with missing chunks of hair from the abdomen & the hair was really ruffled looking, like he lost a noogie war with another tarantula or something!!

G. pulchra wandering around

I noticed her (I think it’s a female now..but not 100% sure) wandering around her enclosure tonight, I figured I’d take a pic since she’s gotten pretty big & looks like she may be due for a molt soon. She’s a very skilled hunter & since she ignored the roach I tossed in a few minutes ago…that’s a huge sign she’s trying to slim down so he can slide that old skin off easily!!

M. balfouri #2 molted today!

Sling #2 hadn’t eaten in a couple months, I figured a molt was coming soon…and today was finally the day!!

I always get really worried when any of my spiders molt, because each molt is just another chance that something could go wrong & they could die At least this specie seems to be really hardy without many issues. For how expensive some spiders are…its nerve wracking when they die in a molt, or just wind up in a death curl one morning

Euthalus sp. Blue aka “Pichidangui Blue Beauty” has passed away

I noticed this guy hadn’t moved for 4 days..so I picked his container up & found him dead Poor little guy..he was so cool too…he wandered all over the place at night & was always really curious about his surroundings. I really have no idea how he died…he was fine & I suddenly found him curled up. I know not all slings were meant to survive till maturity, but its always hard when you lose one & don’t really ever figure out why or how.

A. versicolor saying hello!

Well, maybe he’s not REALLY saying hello, I accidentally scared him when I tried to tweezer feed him a roach & he didn’t want it…which means he’s going to molt soon! I figured I already scared him, I shouldn’t let this photo op go to waste haha

O. aureotibialis actually visible!

Since this guy is really skittish & usually a “pet hole”…I figured I have to make the use out of this rare opportunity to snap a picture of him eating near the entrance of his hole! He’s grown quite a bit since I got him, but it’s just hard to tell because he never hangs out in the wide open…or at least not while I’m in the room.

M. balfouri just molted!

My 2nd sling just molted! He’s not hardened & fully colored in yet, and I can already tell he’s going to be gorgeous!!! He must have molted a few hours ago because he’s not transparent anymore, but his fangs are still white. He’s laying on top of his molt relaxing & walking around a little bit.

Local News Caster Has Arachnophobia!

It’s funny how freaked out the guy is, but its also not cool that the spider could’ve been injured during this whole fiasco!

Can someone sex my B. smithi?

I’m guessing male, simply because it has grown pretty quickly…otherwise, I really have no idea what the sex is, not even after looking at sexing pics & threads on forums! Spider junk just isn’t my strong point!! Haha

L. parahybana eating lunch

Im always too scared to completely take the cover off this guy’s jar, he’s kinda mean & unpredictable…but since he was so busy & focused on trying to hold the big roach still, I though he’d be too preoccupied to bother running out of the jar while I take my sweet time trying to focus the camera on him.

He’s getting bigger & I’m going to have to build him a new home pretty soon! It’ll be really cool to see him start hunting around a larger enclosure for food!

A. diversipes roaming around

It must be the warm weather that made this guy venture out of the tube during the day! At least he didn’t freak out while I was taking pics of him!

Roaches eating dinner!

The spider store where I always buy my feeder B. lats from actually didn’t have any in stock, so I bought a mixed bunch from the “Random roach bin”…there are a couple tiny B. lats, some spotted ones & some other burrowing kind…which I totally forgot the name of!

I figured a pic of them eating some juicy delicious organic strawberries would be cool because I might not get these ones again the next time I have to buy more. They’re kinda cute…but I still won’t touch them!

FINALLY got a new phone!!

Why would this matter, you’re probably asking yourself? Well, most of my pictures are taken with my camera phone because the pictures are easier to upload & post from my WordPress app. So, new phone for me = better pictures & more posts for you!

If anyone is curious which phone I’m working with now, I waited a year with my crappy old DROID original, because I heard about the DROID bionic, & heard it was supposed to be pretty amazing & so far..it really is all that it was hyped up to be & well worth the wait!! (It was supposed to be released in April, but just came out on September 8th!)

For the very first time, I feel like I’ve found a phone that can REALLY keep up with me!

OBT molted last night

I figured he was due for a molt soon when he was the only one that rejected his food the other day, it’s amazing how bright orange he is! Right now he’s still slow & kinda scared, so I was able to remove his lid & take the picture…on a normal day he’d be freaking out & most likely trying to run out, or tag me..that’s love right there!

P. platyomma growing & gaining more purple color

I rehoused this little guy about 2mos ago into a bigger container with fake planted & some cork bark to hide under..he really gained a lot more personality now that he has a ton of room to explore & hunt. Itsfun watching him turn leaves over, run into his little lair when he gets scared, & of course pouncing on prey like a wild beast!

M. balfouri still gorgeous & growing

They’ve both been eating like little beasts & growing slowly, but surely! I’m not really waiting for these guys to mature because they’re so beautiful, I want them to be around for the next 20yrs!

The colors have been getting more bold as time goes on, the legs are a pretty navy blue & the abdomen are a nice cream/ fawn color.

They haven’t molted in quite a while, but I also haven’t been feeding them very much either. They do eat better now than when I first brought them home, they must be comfortable now!

Baby GBB sling is a great webber

This little guy makes some of the craziest webs ever & he’s always hanging out in the open..way more social than the older one!