Same goes for Arachnids..I learned everything I know by reading books, reading/posting on forums and observing them. I never took any bio classes in college though..I was an art major. Looking back, I wish I did. I didn't really start getting into that stuff until my last year of school though.

I've always been amazed by the number of kids I meet at school who really aren't sure what they want to do. I mean kids with no majors AND kids with majors. Why the fuck would you major in something difficult like bio or engineering when you have no idea what you want to do with that degree?

I've basically known what I've wanted to do since I was about 9 or 10 years old. I mean, I had other things I was interested in as well, but I always knew I was destined for biology.

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I was one of those people. I chose graphic design because I was really into doing graffiti and wasn't sure what else to major in. I figured, if I could do graffiti, I could design logos no problem. The GD market is very over saturated, so you typically wind up working some shitty job until you can make a name for yourself or just get lucky. Still love graf, just haven't messed around with it nearly as much lately.

After I started learning about spiders more and more, I started taking more interest in things that were beyond the hobby level. Ie characteristics that distinguished a species from another species within a genus. Spiders are really cool in that regard because they shed their exoskeleton, complete with linings of certain organs. You can see a lot under a magnifying lens or microscope that you'd never know was there.

My grandson will be here for 10 days and I found my boys' old microscope in the attic. Maybe I can get some bug and spider parts from deceased creatures in the cellar to look at. Heck, I'm curious about those now. He's 12 so it might spark another interest and get me more cool grandma points.

I'm in my 50's and still don't know what I want to be so I can understand how others have that problem. I envy the ones like you, Chris, that know exactly what they want to do, but it's a good type of envy.

xg', I've a couple friends that were into graphic design. One did building design all over the world and the other has a sign business. Both did really well at them, but the building designer is now a teacher of sorts, rock climbing instructor, and has his own recording business.

Is it true that spiders prefer places where there's air movement? My basement has lots of webs, but my attic is practically void of them.

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No, they aren't a big fan of air movement. They have 8 eyes but can't see very well at all. Jumpers can see better than other spiders. They rely on their sense of touch. Their bodies are covered in bristles (give them a "hairy" look) that have nerves at their bases. If there is wind, it's sensory overload. That's why spiders hate it if you blow on them.

I'd imagine any basement preference would have much more to do with moisture and prey abundance. I rarely see spiders in attics myself, but my basement (and all unfinished basements I've ever been in) are fucking full of them, especially Pholcus.

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Mine is definitely unfinished. Cracked window, dripping water through the bricks, dirt floored fruit cellar... picture a haunted looking cellar and that's mine.

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Sounds like a great place to find spiders. They typically enjoy humidity..some more than others. Some live in very dry regions too though. Hell some spend most of their time in and on water.

I'm not sure if I ever posted a list of what I keep, so I will now.

Ball pythons (Python regius)
1.2 ?? large adult ball pythons (breeding)
0.0.3 '07 ball pythons (smaller adults; non-breeding siblings)
0.0.1 '10 ball python
1.2 '10 albino ball pythons

Carpet pythons (Morelia spilota)
0.0.1 '09 jungle carpet python (M. s. cheynei)
0.0.1 '10 coastal x diamond python (M. s. mcdowellii x M. s. spilota)

Kingsnakes (Lampropeltis)
0.0.1 ?? sub-adult California kingsnake (L. californiae) - striped and hypomelanistic
0.0.1 '09 eastern milk snake (L. triangulum triangulum)
0.2 '10 mole kingsnakes (L. calligaster rhombomaculata)

Other snakes
1.1 ?? sub-adult western fox snakes (Pantherophis [Mintonius] vulpinus)

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We demand pictures!

I'm down to these:

0.0.1 Xenesthis immanis
0.0.1 Poecilotheria metallica

No good pictures of either of them yet really. Might take them out of their tanks to get some. I made the set ups they're in and they look pretty good..they're just a bit small to be able to take good pics. Not to mention the spiders always hide when I open them up. Might just have to open the lids and sit there and wait.

Oh, I forgot a couple.

1.1 '09 Kenyan Sand Boas (Gongylophis colubrinus)

I don't have any pics ready, but most of the snakes are out for feeding so I can get some over the course of the weekend.

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I took a couple of pics today in accordance with anyone bored enough to take a look.

Western fox snake male (female in background, hanging around the hide box)
http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/3896/dscf1901a.jpg
http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/7359/dscf1904b.jpg

Went for a 10.5 mile walk yesterday and found one black racer, so I'll throw a couple of those shots in, too.
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/9624/dscf1869a.jpg
http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/1821/dscf1873a.jpg

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That black racer is gorgeous. You attempt to catch it? Or are they venomous?

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Nonvenomous and I caught it. I caught two more today and whiffed on three others. Today's fare was harder, though; four of the five were out in the open and saw me before I saw them, meaning I had to chase them down. The other was wrapped nice and easy under an old tire. Like the one under the carpet from Tuesday, that one was also very easy to catch.

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Aha, you had a snake under your carpet? I'm assuming he was an escapee or something.

House Centipedes season. I swear they get bigger and more unsettling looking every year.

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No, no, the snake pictures above was the one found under a carpet. I don't live anywhere near where one would find interesting animals.

Not many house centipedes in my new house. I've seen one since we moved here in June of '09. It was dead and in the basement, so it didn't really bother me much. I'm actually worried that I've tempted fate and 17 will just start dashing from within the walls.

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Crack heads are pretty interesting specimens. You should try and keep one, they're pretty fun. Inexpensive, too! I wish I had snakes around my neighborhood. I never really got to try and catch any as a kid as we just have the previously mentioned lizards. My mother's parents live in Kansas out in the middle of absolute nowhere (seriously - picture the house in the move Signs and thats 100% accurate) and that was always really fun as they had snakes, frogs, lizards, large grasshoppers, and giant HORRIFYING prehistoric locus.

A friend of mine and his wife just moved back to California and they had never seen a house centipede before and his wife shat a fucking brick when she saw one. I had to convince her that she didn't need to fumigate her house and despite their appearance, they're benevolent and eat spiders.

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I never kept one, but had plenty of chances to observe them and their behavior in their natural environs. Why, just a week ago, I was out on a long hike into the woods and came across 7 or 8 vacant squat sites. One was probably still being used, as it still contained a mattress, several bags of clothing, a tarp, a collapsed tent, a tube of aluminum foil, and several soda bottles capped off with aluminum foil with little holes poked in it. No glass tube sticking out, though. =(


Certain counties in Kansas are renowned by snake hunters as having some of the best sites in the entire country. I intend to check it out someday for myself.

That's what I try to tell myself, too, but their harmlessness doesn't make them any less terrifying. It should, but it doesn't.

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Well, my 12 year old grandson went into the basement with me and I showed him the fruit cellar. He walked in and got a face full of cobweb. I seriously didn't see any or I'd have brushed them away. I laughed my ass off though. I don't think any spiders were harmed in the incident, but I bet they ran away fast.

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Please GOD don't let that be a euphemism.