My second mystery box

So this is the last livestock purchase that I will be making for a while. I know I have said that before, but I have now reached my physical limit of what I can house and care for.

In my room, I currently have:

- 11 tarantula enclosures - four arboreal tubes, four sling boxes, and three 1.3 litre braplast tubs.

As well as these I have:

- two jumping spiders in medium acrylic arboreal tanks,
- one mantis in a medium arboreal tank,
- one mantis in a small deli cup,
- one scorpion in a large faunarium,
- a mealworm farm in an XL faunarium,
- dubia roaches in a medium faunarium, and
- one Sunny stick insect in a medium mesh terrarium.

I also keep greenbottles, brown crickets, and fruit flies in their respective containers. My order today adds two Spotted fire millipedes (Centrolobus splendidus), a giant dead leaf mantis (Deroplatys desiccata), and a second mystery box!

Centrolobus splendidus

Yeah, I have no reason for ordering these other than I wanted them. I used to keep millipedes when I was at college - the ones I had at the time were giant millipedes, or Archispirostreptus gigas - and I absolutely love the way they walk. So when TSS sent me an update to say that they had new millipede species in stock, I wandered over to have a look. They had a lot of interesting looking species, but in the end I ordered these striking red ones. They catch the eye, and my daughter can get involved with these without being scared. I am tempted to call them Bill and Ben, but am interested in any other famous duo names. Right now they will be happy in a braplast with plenty of soil to play in.

Deroplatys desiccata

Again, I ordered this guy simply because I like the way he looks. I absolutely love looking after my mantids, so when I saw this guy I knew I had to add him. He's about the same size as Tyson at the moment, but h'ell grow up to about 8cm long. And he'll look like dead leaves, which fascinates me.

So what came in my mystery box? Again, I ordered the £30 mystery box from The Spider Shop, and again I was not disappointed. My mystery box included 3 creatures, each of which I am very excited to add to my collection.

Phidippus ardens

As can be gathered from the name "Phidippus", this is a jumping spider. A Widow jumping spider, to be exact. They're the same family as Fred and Wilma, (and Winnie), but more distantly related, like a cousin. They have distinctive red and black abdomens, and are very cute. While I haven't prepared a name for her yet, I am open to suggestions.

Acanthoscuria geniculata

The Brazilian white knee tarantula. This one appears to be a juvenile, although I won't know for sure until I let him out of the tube. All I can tell for sure is that when i peeked in, he was so large that I could see his toenails. He will grow to approximately 8 inches across, and like my other juvenile T's, he has a nice Braplast waiting for him.

Creoboter yunnan

I already have one of these - this is what Tyson is. So it only seems right that I name this one Vander (as in, Evander). Can't have one without the other. He is about the same size as Tyson, so maybe with a bit of luck I'll have a male and a female? I guess I'll see once they're a little older.

This order also contained a fresh batch of casters for the larger spoods, some fruit flies for the smaller spoods, a cute little skull shaped hide for Anansi (though I'm worried the hide may be too small!) and some fresh meal worms to add more genetics into my mealworm farm.

Until I move house in the summer, I absolutely have no more room for insects though.