Spider Research SURVEY Please participate!

[Morphie]

I suppose you are right about the many variables. Perhaps after looking at some of these surveys i can form a narrowed hypothesis and then work on something a little more specific. I just have no idea *what* to hypothesize at this point.

Thanks for your perspective, btw.

[Azriel01]

2. What is your name/nickname/tag there? Or else please leave me an email address if you're willing to share more specific information Azirel1
3. How old is your spider?
She's 3 months

4. What sex is your spider?
Female

5. How much does your spider weigh in grams?
never weighed her... she's big and has grown at least 1-2 incest since i got her

6. From whom/where did you purchase your spider? If you have information about the spider's pedigree, please provide it here.
From a herp breeder in south Miami called "snakes at sunset"

7. If your spider is big enough to breed, have you attempted to breed it?
No not yet but she is our main project for next year, our goal is to make killer axanthics in about 2-3 years

8. If your spider is *not* big enough to breed, do you intend to attempt breeding later?
...yes as previously noted

9. What do you feed your spider?
Well she's a lil girl but a serious fatty, every meal i've had her for so far she's gone up in size so now she's at about mouse, but gonna give her the next size in two days. And she feed cycle is about every 3-4 days, and she never hesitates and has never missed a meal.

10. How often do you feed your spider?
Hm i think i over answer questions, every 3-4 days

11. On a scale of 1-10 rate how regularly your spider eats during the warm months. 10!

12. Does your spider have a noticeable head tilt ? If yes, is this intermittent or constant?
Nope no tilt.

13. Does your spider "wobble" If yes, is this intermittent or constant?
She does jam out when she's listening to her favorite metal Cd. What can i say she's a headbanger. (lol not a serious wobble similar to if she were actually bobbing her head to music and only when there's food around)

14. Has your spider ever displayed unusual movement behaviors such as appearing confused or panicked for no obvious reason, slithering in weird directions, flipping upside down or rolling? If yes, please describe the behavior in detail.
NOPE

15. If you answered yes to 14, how old was your spider when it started? Approximately how much did your spider weigh in grams when it started?
... no

16. If you answered yes to 14, on a scale of 1-10 how often does this behavior occur? 1 being it's only ever happened once, 10 being it happens constantly.
no...

17. yes or no, have you ever had any non-spider snake (non-spider means no spiders or crosses that involve spiders) exhibit wobbling, head-tilting, or motor problems? If yes, what is the morphological background of this snake? (Please do not count cases of snakes that had this problem due to an injury or illness such as IBD. I'm looking for otherwise healthy/normally functioning snakes.)
Our first morph a pastel had a very small head bob when eating or excited, barely noticeable.

18. Please briefly describe each aspect of your spider's living quarters. Please provide information about the enclosure material (glass, plastic etc), substrate material, presence of hides, and your target temps/humidity.
She's in a glass terrarium about 4'Lx18"Dx12"H, uses wood chips as substrate, has two hides a cool and a hot, also has a "sudo-hide" under a large branch and some fake leaves that she like to hang out under. Temps usually between 89-80F by under tank heaters, and has two very weak lights just for... light.

19. How many days a week do you handle your spider? And for approx. how long?
Everyday, for a couple of hours, if i'm home she's in my hand or around my neck. ( this spider is my spider purchased as our breeder but more as my pet)

20. How many ball pythons are in your total collection (snakes you don't intend to sell)? and are you a hobbyist, breeder, or professional breeder?
3 (normal Fem, pastel Male, and my spider girl, also breeding the pastel and normal this season so our collection is growing), for right now were hobbyist simply because we just started, bu we are very serious about doing this and are pursuing being pro breeders and making some new morphs.

21. prove that you read the instructions before starting:
Tigerlily

[anendeloflorien]

1. Firstly, How did you find this Survey (you may omit this answer if you're answering here - this one is for those who fill out the survey on my livejournal and elsewhere)

2. What is your name/nickname/tag there? Or else please leave me an email address if you're willing to share more specific information (again you may omit this if you're answering here).

3. How old is your spider? 3-4 months

4. What sex is your spider? Male

5. How much does your spider weigh in grams? 128g empty

6. From whom/where did you purchase your spider? If you have information about the spider's pedigree, please provide it here.
NERD, bred from a bumblebee to normal
7. If your spider is big enough to breed, have you attempted to breed it? (if you answer yes to this question, I will likely attempt to follow up with more questions for you through whatever contact info i have for you.)
not big enough yet
8. If your spider is *not* big enough to breed, do you intend to attempt breeding later? Yes, we'll be trying for bees first and then later on hopefully pewter bees

9. What do you feed your spider? (please tell me the type of food offered, its approximate size, and whether it is live/pk/ft)
Live or F/t medium mice
10. How often do you feed your spider?
every 5 days
11. On a scale of 1-10 rate how regularly your spider eats during the warm months. (1 being not at all and 10 being every time food is offered)
10
12. Does your spider have a noticeable head tilt (head is cocked to one side when lifted/not resting on a stable surface)? If yes, is this intermittent or constant?
None that I've noticed
13. Does your spider "wobble" (unable to hold still when head is lifted/not resting on a stable surface) If yes, is this intermittent or constant?
Somewhat, I'd call it intermittent
14. Has your spider ever displayed unusual movement behaviors such as appearing confused or panicked for no obvious reason, slithering in weird directions, flipping upside down or rolling? If yes, please describe the behavior in detail.
no
15. If you answered yes to 14, how old was your spider when it started? Approximately how much did your spider weigh in grams when it started?

16. If you answered yes to 14, on a scale of 1-10 how often does this behavior occur? 1 being it's only ever happened once, 10 being it happens constantly.

17. yes or no, have you ever had any non-spider snake (non-spider means no spiders or crosses that involve spiders) exhibit wobbling, head-tilting, or motor problems? If yes, what is the morphological background of this snake? (Please do not count cases of snakes that had this problem due to an injury or illness such as IBD. I'm looking for otherwise healthy/normally functioning snakes.)
No
18. Please briefly describe each aspect of your spider's living quarters. Please provide information about the enclosure material (glass, plastic etc), substrate material, presence of hides, and your target temps/humidity.
Divided 32 qt tub in a RBI sweaterbox rack with 1 hide and a waterdish, kept on shredded aspen. Temps are 92/75-80 and humidity tends to be around 50-60% depending on how much the heater in the room is on.
19. How many days a week do you handle your spider? And for approx. how long?
He gets handled at least once a week for cleanings and sometimes we'll take him out just to hang out
20. How many ball pythons are in your total collection (snakes you don't intend to sell)? and are you a hobbyist, breeder, or professional breeder?
6 ball pythons currently and I would call myself a hobbyist with plans to breed in the future
21. prove that you read the instructions before starting:
tigerlilly

[AaronP]

1. Firstly, How did you find this Survey (you may omit this answer if you're answering here - this one is for those who fill out the survey on my livejournal and elsewhere)
OMIT

2. What is your name/nickname/tag there? Or else please leave me an email address if you're willing to share more specific information (again you may omit this if you're answering here).
OMIT

3. How old is your spider?
4 Months old

4. What sex is your spider?
Male

5. How much does your spider weigh in grams?
225 Grams

6. From whom/where did you purchase your spider? If you have information about the spider's pedigree, please provide it here.
ColdBlooded Addiction

7. If your spider is big enough to breed, have you attempted to breed it? (if you answer yes to this question, I will likely attempt to follow up with more questions for you through whatever contact info i have for you.)
Not Big Enough

8. If your spider is *not* big enough to breed, do you intend to attempt breeding later?
Yes, in the '09-10 Season

9. What do you feed your spider? (please tell me the type of food offered, its approximate size, and whether it is live/pk/ft)
F/T Weanlings/Fuzzies

10. How often do you feed your spider?
Every 4-5 Days

11. On a scale of 1-10 rate how regularly your spider eats during the warm months. (1 being not at all and 10 being every time food is offered)
10

12. Does your spider have a noticeable head tilt (head is cocked to one side when lifted/not resting on a stable surface)? If yes, is this intermittent or constant?
No

13. Does your spider "wobble" (unable to hold still when head is lifted/not resting on a stable surface) If yes, is this intermittent or constant?
Yes, when staring straight up he wobbles very slightly from side to side

14. Has your spider ever displayed unusual movement behaviors such as appearing confused or panicked for no obvious reason, slithering in weird directions, flipping upside down or rolling? If yes, please describe the behavior in detail.
No

15. If you answered yes to 14, how old was your spider when it started? Approximately how much did your spider weigh in grams when it started?
OMIT

16. If you answered yes to 14, on a scale of 1-10 how often does this behavior occur? 1 being it's only ever happened once, 10 being it happens constantly.
OMIT

17. yes or no, have you ever had any non-spider snake (non-spider means no spiders or crosses that involve spiders) exhibit wobbling, head-tilting, or motor problems? If yes, what is the morphological background of this snake? (Please do not count cases of snakes that had this problem due to an injury or illness such as IBD. I'm looking for otherwise healthy/normally functioning snakes.)
No

18. Please briefly describe each aspect of your spider's living quarters. Please provide information about the enclosure material (glass, plastic etc), substrate material, presence of hides, and your target temps/humidity.
Rack - 16QT Sterilite Tub, Hotspot of 90 using Unprinted newspaper

19. How many days a week do you handle your spider? And for approx. how long?
Everyother Day, 10-20 minutes

20. How many ball pythons are in your total collection (snakes you don't intend to sell)? and are you a hobbyist, breeder, or professional breeder?
15, Hobbyist

21. prove that you read the instructions before starting:
tigerlilly

[xdeus]

With a really huge amount of data, we might even be able to say to what extent it's linked to the spider gene and come up with a detailed proposal for removing it from future generations.

Those are the really ambitious goals of this project. It remains to be seen that they are practical. It's almost entirely contingent on the participation (or lack thereof) of you guys who own these snakes.

I think it's an ambitious project, although I don't think you're going to get reliable data. Most of the people that own spiders are probably planning on breeding and selling the offspring. I doubt if many of the people that have spiders with severe issues would want to divulge that information because it would most likely affect their reputation/sales.

That doesn't make the data worthless, but definitely something to consider when looking at the results.

[Wh00h0069]

I think it's an ambitious project, although I don't think you're going to get reliable data. Most of the people that own spiders are probably planning on breeding and selling the offspring. I doubt if many of the people that have spiders with severe issues would want to divulge that information because it would most likely affect their reputation/sales.

That doesn't make the data worthless, but definitely something to consider when looking at the results.

Also, whatever the outcome is there are always going to be people that are going to believe what the poster above believes.

[Morphie]

I think it's an ambitious project, although I don't think you're going to get reliable data. Most of the people that own spiders are probably planning on breeding and selling the offspring. I doubt if many of the people that have spiders with severe issues would want to divulge that information because it would most likely affect their reputation/sales.

That doesn't make the data worthless, but definitely something to consider when looking at the results.

I would like to encourage people to share these sorts of opinions, thoughts, and insight on this project. I appreciate any and all constructive commentary. The quoted comment is an excellent example of what i mean when i say "constructive commentary" and i just wanted to point out how awesome it is.

Thank you, xdeus

[Fearless]

1. Firstly, How did you find this Survey (you may omit this answer if you're answering here - this one is for those who fill out the survey on my livejournal and elsewhere) Bp.net

2. What is your name/nickname/tag there? Or else please leave me an email address if you're willing to share more specific information (again you may omit this if you're answering here). Fearless

3. How old is your spider? 2.5

4. What sex is your spider? Female

5. How much does your spider weigh in grams? 1300 G

6. From whom/where did you purchase your spider? If you have information about the spider's pedigree, please provide it here. Ed Clarke

7. If your spider is big enough to breed, have you attempted to breed it? (if you answer yes to this question, I will likely attempt to follow up with more questions for you through whatever contact info i have for you.) No

8. If your spider is *not* big enough to breed, do you intend to attempt breeding later? Yes, Later this year

9. What do you feed your spider? (please tell me the type of food offered, its approximate size, and whether it is live/pk/ft) Feed either adult asf's or small rats, on average one of each, the asf first then rat, both live

10. How often do you feed your spider? Once per week

11. On a scale of 1-10 rate how regularly your spider eats during the warm months. (1 being not at all and 10 being every time food is offered) 8

12. Does your spider have a noticeable head tilt (head is cocked to one side when lifted/not resting on a stable surface)? If yes, is this intermittent or constant? intermittent, mainly when prey is offered

13. Does your spider "wobble" (unable to hold still when head is lifted/not resting on a stable surface) If yes, is this intermittent or constant? intermittent, mainly when prey is offered

14. Has your spider ever displayed unusual movement behaviors such as appearing confused or panicked for no obvious reason, slithering in weird directions, flipping upside down or rolling? If yes, please describe the behavior in detail. No, but she always appears to be somewhat confused about whats going on around, just seems retarded like

15. If you answered yes to 14, how old was your spider when it started? 6 months Approximately how much did your spider weigh in grams when it started? 500 grams

16. If you answered yes to 14, on a scale of 1-10 how often does this behavior occur? 1 being it's only ever happened once, 10 being it happens constantly. 7

17. yes or no, have you ever had any non-spider snake (non-spider means no spiders or crosses that involve spiders) exhibit wobbling, head-tilting, or motor problems? If yes, what is the morphological background of this snake? (Please do not count cases of snakes that had this problem due to an injury or illness such as IBD. I'm looking for otherwise healthy/normally functioning snakes.) no

18. Please briefly describe each aspect of your spider's living quarters. Please provide information about the enclosure material (glass, plastic etc), substrate material, presence of hides, and your target temps/humidity. Plastic tub on paper towels no hides and 94/82 at 55%

19. How many days a week do you handle your spider? And for approx. how long? 1-2 for about fifteen min

20. How many ball pythons are in your total collection (snakes you don't intend to sell)? and are you a hobbyist, breeder, or professional breeder? 50 and right between hobbyist and breeder, leaning more towards breeder

21. prove that you read the instructions before starting: Tigerlily

[FloridaHogs]

3. How old is your spider? Born 8-4-2007, so 14 mths and 16 days

4. What sex is your spider? Male

5. How much does your spider weigh in grams? 548g

6. From whom/where did you purchase your spider? If you have information about the spider's pedigree, please provide it here. Jason Medina - Father was spider, mother normal.

7. If your spider is big enough to breed, have you attempted to breed it? (if you answer yes to this question, I will likely attempt to follow up with more questions for you through whatever contact info i have for you.) I am going to try this season

8. If your spider is *not* big enough to breed, do you intend to attempt breeding later? yes

9. What do you feed your spider? (please tell me the type of food offered, its approximate size, and whether it is live/pk/ft) f/t sm rats (45 to 84g)

10. How often do you feed your spider? weekly

11. On a scale of 1-10 rate how regularly your spider eats during the warm months. (1 being not at all and 10 being every time food is offered) 10

12. Does your spider have a noticeable head tilt (head is cocked to one side when lifted/not resting on a stable surface)? If yes, is this intermittent or constant? no

13. Does your spider "wobble" (unable to hold still when head is lifted/not resting on a stable surface) If yes, is this intermittent or constant? no

14. Has your spider ever displayed unusual movement behaviors such as appearing confused or panicked for no obvious reason, slithering in weird directions, flipping upside down or rolling? If yes, please describe the behavior in detail. no

15. If you answered yes to 14, how old was your spider when it started? Approximately how much did your spider weigh in grams when it started?

16. If you answered yes to 14, on a scale of 1-10 how often does this behavior occur? 1 being it's only ever happened once, 10 being it happens constantly.

17. yes or no, have you ever had any non-spider snake (non-spider means no spiders or crosses that involve spiders) exhibit wobbling, head-tilting, or motor problems? If yes, what is the morphological background of this snake? (Please do not count cases of snakes that had this problem due to an injury or illness such as IBD. I'm looking for otherwise healthy/normally functioning snakes.) no

18. Please briefly describe each aspect of your spider's living quarters. Please provide information about the enclosure material (glass, plastic etc), substrate material, presence of hides, and your target temps/humidity. Animal stays in a 27qt rack system on newspaper. Water bowl and hide provided. Ambient temps are at 78 F, warm side at 90 F. Humidity stays between 45 and 50%

19. How many days a week do you handle your spider? And for approx. how long? When I feed and when I clean, so minimum twice a week, sometimes more, 5 to 10 minutes a session. He is snappy.

20. How many ball pythons are in your total collection (snakes you don't intend to sell)? and are you a hobbyist, breeder, or professional breeder?
17, hobbyist / breeder

21. prove that you read the instructions before starting: tigerlily

This concludes the survey for now. I may attempt to get in touch with individuals again later for additional data depending on your answers. Thanks again for your help!!

[starmom]

Firstly, How did you find this Survey (you may omit this answer if you're answering here - this one is for those who fill out the survey on my livejournal and elsewhere)

2. What is your name/nickname/tag there? Or else please leave me an email address if you're willing to share more specific information (again you may omit this if you're answering here). starmom

3. How old is your spider? born 7-12-06

4. What sex is your spider? Female

5. How much does your spider weigh in grams? 1800g

6. From whom/where did you purchase your spider? If you have information about the spider's pedigree, please provide it here. 8Ball

7. If your spider is big enough to breed, have you attempted to breed it? (if you answer yes to this question, I will likely attempt to follow up with more questions for you through whatever contact info i have for you.) Breeding this season

8. If your spider is *not* big enough to breed, do you intend to attempt breeding later?

9. What do you feed your spider? (please tell me the type of food offered, its approximate size, and whether it is live/pk/ft) F/T 80g rats

10. How often do you feed your spider? Every 7 days

11. On a scale of 1-10 rate how regularly your spider eats during the warm months. (1 being not at all and 10 being every time food is offered) 10

12. Does your spider have a noticeable head tilt (head is cocked to one side when lifted/not resting on a stable surface)? If yes, is this intermittent or constant? No head tilt

13. Does your spider "wobble" (unable to hold still when head is lifted/not resting on a stable surface) If yes, is this intermittent or constant? No wobble has ever been observed

14. Has your spider ever displayed unusual movement behaviors such as appearing confused or panicked for no obvious reason, slithering in weird directions, flipping upside down or rolling? If yes, please describe the behavior in detail. No unusual movements have ever been observed

15. If you answered yes to 14, how old was your spider when it started? Approximately how much did your spider weigh in grams when it started?

16. If you answered yes to 14, on a scale of 1-10 how often does this behavior occur? 1 being it's only ever happened once, 10 being it happens constantly.

17. yes or no, have you ever had any non-spider snake (non-spider means no spiders or crosses that involve spiders) exhibit wobbling, head-tilting, or motor problems? If yes, what is the morphological background of this snake? (Please do not count cases of snakes that had this problem due to an injury or illness such as IBD. I'm looking for otherwise healthy/normally functioning snakes.) None of the aforementioned motor skill anomalies have been observed

18. Please briefly describe each aspect of your spider's living quarters. Please provide information about the enclosure material (glass, plastic etc), substrate material, presence of hides, and your target temps/humidity. Snake is housed in an RBI 3x2x1 reptile cage with a RHP hooked to a Helix. Temp gradient is from 94F to 82F and humidity is kept at 55%

19. How many days a week do you handle your spider? And for approx. how long? Snake is handled when the cage needs cleaning (weekly) and once a week for 'exercise'

20. How many ball pythons are in your total collection (snakes you don't intend to sell)? and are you a hobbyist, breeder, or professional breeder? 13 ball pythons. I am a hobbyist and will breed on a very micro level!

21. prove that you read the instructions before starting:Tigerlily



This concludes the survey for now. I may attempt to get in touch with individuals again later for additional data depending on your answers. Thanks again for your help!!

THANK YOU!