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Extending the family

So.... I think Winnie is going to be okay. Its been about 5 days now and she seems to be getting less round. She's more active, and is definitely pooping which rules out impaction. So I'm hopeful. And a hard lesson has been learned....
In the mean time.... I had a delivery today. Meet Fred, Winnie's new neighbour. He is a male Phidippus regius approximately the same age as Winnie, and for some reason did not know how to jump at first. He tried, bless him, managing to get a little bit off the ground but ultimately failing to reach his targets. He ended up climbing the walls of his enclosure in order to reach the leaves at the top... hopefully he figures it out soon!
While Winnie has a very natural looking enclosure, with whimsical decor, I have opted for a 3D printed castle piece for Fred. It needs painting at the moment, which I will do as soon as my spider-friendly sealant/varnish arrives. I can't wait to see how it looks once he has thoroughly webbed it.
In addition to Fred, I have also added to my sling family, The Spoods. I have a "wish list" of sorts, of specific species that I would like to own one day. When The Spider Shop sent a newsletter to say they had a number of these species in stock, I couldn't help but add them to my collection. The original "wishlist" included:

Tlitocatl albopilosus, or the "Curly Hair" tarantula:
Poecilotheria metallica, or the Gooty ornamental:
Poecilotheria miranda, or the Bengal ornamental:
Typhochlaena seladonia, or the Brazillian Jewel:
This is by no means an exhaustive list. I feel like every time I see a new colourful spider it gets added. And not all of these species are beginner species - the ornamentals are Old World spiders rather than new world, meaning that their main means of defence is a nasty bite rather than flicking their urticating hairs like the New World species do (e.g. Brachypelma species). A bite from one of these species won't kill me, but from reading about peoples bite experiences on the Arachnoboards, I feel like I might wish I was dead... Five days of excrutiating pain and uncontrollable muscle spasms and cramps sounds like utter hell... That said, I have acquired a number of the species from my wish list, and a few more besides. I am hoping that my fear combined with respecting the fact that these are wild animals will hopefully keep me from being bitten.
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