Please help me save my pets!!
Steemians, I need your help!
Remember the spiders I caught?
Here is the post talking about catching them: https://steemit.com/writing/@timbo/catching-spider-original-steemit-short-story-based-on-actual-events-pics
Welp, I have a HUGE problem, and because of this problem they might die... I have no food for them. Due to life circumstances I am 100% broke with no money or even gas to get to town (town is a 45min drive from the house I live in). I was raising crickets in an incubator for food for both my bullfrog Irving, and the spiders I caught several months ago.
Due to a power outage the crickets froze and died!!! Now the spiders will not eat them and I don't know what to do. I have been desperately digging through the snow, and pulling bark of trees, even digging through the snow to get to the ground to dig for worms, (about 2 feet of snow at the moment) but as winter kills most insects, bugs, and makes worms burrow deep in the ground it has made this near impossible.
At this point it has been several weeks since I was able to give them anything to eat and I am worried they will soon die. Does anyone know what I can do? I have always powered up my steem so I don't know how to actually use it like money but I thought if someone would help explain it I might be able to find an online pet store to buy some crickets with steem??? Is that a thing?
Any ideas would be useful, the power is back on and shouldn't go out again (storm knocked it out for a few days) so if I can get my hands on anything, beetles, worms, crickets, I would start a farm if I had enough. I have the resources to keep just about anything in a good habitat as I have a growing room with plants and animals as it is warm.
I am open to just about anything guys, these animals are like family to me and I can not just sit here and watch them die.
As a last resort, if you happen to have access to crickets, worms, or anything like that and are willing to send me some. I can use steem message system thing and will send an address for you. If someone was willing to do this, I would repay you at the first chance, or send you steem if you wanted!!!
I wouldn't ask if I knew what else to do... thanks for at least reading this post. I hope we can figure out something.
i left this as a comment before i saw this post,
https://steemit.com/animals/@timbo/the-spider-my-friend-stays-away-from#@lifeworship/re-timbo-re-lifeworship-re-shawn-brewer-re-lifeworship-re-shawn-brewer-re-timbo-the-spider-my-friend-stays-away-from-20161231t031906899z
Ah, yes I was able to catch a small mouse (it was wounded) a few weeks ago, that was the last thing they were fed. I have not seen any more or been able to catch them because my mother hates them and puts poison out for them. I am unsure if they would eat dead ones, I might look into that. The poison might kill the spiders though and I wouldn't want to risk it. The Exterminator idea would be amazing though, I shall call around to a few places tomorrow and see if they have any bug problems I could maybe get something from. Pinky mice would be amazing if I could find them but even in the surrounding areas (barns, sheds, etc...) I have been unsuccessful in finding anything that would be a reliable food source. I would be worried about putting an adult mouse in the spiders cage due to the chance of the mouse hurting them (had a problem with a mouse falling into a cage and killing a pet spider when I was younger). You guys are amazing and I really appreciate all this awesome feed back, several great ideas that should help out a lot!
@timbo I would recommend worm grunting, but it seems that skill would probably take a minute or two to learn! On a serious note....Here is an Instructable on using SHAMPOO to get worms out of the ground. Also, have you ever seen the stick with grooves in the ground technique? It really works too! I hope your babies are ok! BTW @papa-pepper rocks!
@papa-pepper is by far my favorite of all the steemians I have met. I really appreciate the willingness to help out. I will for sure check into the SHAMPOO method as I have not heard about that, what is this about a stick with grooves? I am unsure if it will work due to my location being on top of a snow covered mountain at the moment but I am willing to do anything to keep them healthy and well taken care of.
I made a response Post. Hope it helps!
I just saw it! I am floored, thank you so much!
Do you thik they woud eat mealworms?
I could mail you some tomorrow, if you sent me your current address on steemit.chat.
They could probably be there by Tuesday or Wednesday...
OMG! Yes, they would eat those! I would love you forever and ever! How would you like to be repaid? I am willing to do just about anything, also I don't know much about meal worms, is it possible to keep a farm of them? If so, could you send enough to start something like that? I am @timbo on steemit chat. I have only used it once.
Yeah, I think you sent me your address for the peppers before. I'm "papa-pepper" on chat.
Also, there is NO NEED to repay me. They are easy to farm too. I'll try to get a bunch, and if you keep some in the fridge, they'll stay as mealworms. Put the rest in a container with some oatmeal and fruit pieces, and soon they will turn into beetles and reproduce, making more mealworms!
Awesome! Also, I am no longer at the address where you sent the peppers, I moved to a mountain in the middle of nowhere. I also was reading about raising mealworms and you can even eat them!? I might do that, so cool of you my friend. Myself and my spiders thank you!
I also realize it is super simple to raise them and get them to reproduce. I will get on it right away as soon as I get them. I sent my new address on steemit chat! omg da pepper papa is da bomb.com!
Yeah, I thought you moved, which is why I mentioned getting me the address.
I'll see what I can do in the am, and notify you when I have successfully completed the task!
You are the bomb.com my friend thank you so much, yea I moved back today actually. 3rd time moving in 2 months, when I realized all the crickets were dead I was heart broken and realize I didn't have food for them anymore when I expected to have it when I got here. Ugh, life has not been so nice to me recently. Oh well, staying in the fight and keeping my head up.
Dry oatmeal...
Dry Oatmeal?... What about it? Feed it to the mealworms? Cause I have that.
Yeah, keep them in that.
In my previous reply I said to put them in oatmeal, I was just clarifying, because I didn't want you to try to keep them in a bowl of cooked oatmeal!
LOL!
https://steemit.com/help/@papa-pepper/operation-mealworm-aka-save-the-spiders-one-last-chance-for-papa-pepper-to-help-out-this-year
DONE!
I am so floored, thank you my friend. I just can't even right now... (feeling like a teenage white girl haha)
I actually doubt that there are many "teenage white girls" who would respond that way to mealworms...
You have a good point there, hahahaha!
LOL!
I had no idea they eat meal worms. I learned a lot!
Yep! I was stoked to learn they are not only food but a great source of them. I am going to use the ones I receive to feed them and try and raise the ones I don't use into beetles for reproduction so that I don't run out of food again. Since I was using crickets before they froze in the cold but from what I understand as long as the inside temperatures don't reach freezing the mealworms will not die in cooler temperatures, and will reproduce if kept in the right environment. I have already started to make a cage for reproduction of the worms once I receive them. I might even eat a few myself as I also learned they are an amazing source of protein for any human diet, at least if you are willing to eat them :P
Cool. I learned a lot today about this. Did you say you fed them a mouse ? :0
Yep! I found one that was wounded in a room I was cleaning out. I think it got crushed when I was moving things but I was able to catch it easily enough and it didn't seem mobile enough to be a danger to the spiders (mice will bite them if the spiders are not careful). I didn't get to watch them eat it fully but I left it in there overnight and the next morning there wasn't much left of it so I removed the carcass but what they left told me they had their fill. I have 2 at the moment. Would you like me to post a picture of them?
I just can't imagine what that looks like when they eat a mouse wow! I'm totally afraid of spiders, but you are helping me here :) sure post when you can!
One moment, let me upload some photos for you! Hey, I helped a friend of mine who is deathly afraid of all spiders be cured of his fear. He even let them crawl all over him! I was shocked but I am a born leader and can easily gain people's trust by just being myself. No idea why but within an hour he was holding spiders the size of his palm and letting them crawl all over him. He even called me the next day to tell me he slept better than he had in a long time and would love to come play with the spiders again. I have moved since then but I was so glad to be of help to someone who was unknown to me, scared of spiders :P
This is Bob: He is a little more Brown
This is Marley: He is a little more black.
They are both Male "Brown Tarantulas" which I caught here in Colorado. They migrate across the desert in Colorado, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and Nevada I believe. I am unsure where else you can find them but these boys I picked up off the highway as I was driving by. There were a lot of them not so lucky to be still alive. From what I learned over 80% of the males die during this time from predators, being run over, and freezing to death.