The Bobling Report

[kiffie]

Bob managed to change pants while we were out this morning.

He is currently flopped out like a sunbather, enjoying his newfound nudity.

Comments

[vespurrs.livejournal.com]

Okay, no, just no, spiders do NOT do cute things like pretend to be sunbathers, they just DON'T.

[kiffie.livejournal.com]

Bob is a very cute little spider, especially now that he has shiny new clothes!

They're a lot like eight-legged kitties, really. :3

[vespurrs.livejournal.com]

No. Just. NO.

And OMG they are not like cats! OMG NO.

[kiffie.livejournal.com]

You're scared of spiders, and I'm absolutely terrified by your wiggling kittyloaf icon.

I say we're even. XD

[vespurrs.livejournal.com]

I'm not SCARED of them. We have a mutual dislike, that's all. *nods*

Pssh. The kittyloaf is ADORABLE.

[edward-hyde.livejournal.com]

Yes they are, they groom themselves and everything JUST like a kitty.

Also this.


I know you're thirsty buddy but don't fall in okay ._.

[vespurrs.livejournal.com]

OMG OMG OMG I actually SHUDDERED. That photo made me SHUDDER.

*runs away screaming*

[edward-hyde.livejournal.com]

He's trying to lose the weight, okay? Don't make fun of his condition. :(

[vespurrs.livejournal.com]

*sporfles* Er, I mean, um. Yeah, I would never do something so mean-spirited as that. I will not mention that I can think of OTHER ways to help him lose weight. :P

[edward-hyde.livejournal.com]

...okay, jokes are all well and good, but that's my pet I believe you just joked about squishing. A pet I happen to be pretty fond of.

[vespurrs.livejournal.com]

Ah, which is why I said I would NOT mention it. *nods*

[vespurrs.livejournal.com]

I just wanted to clarify that conversation between myself and Ed here. This is someone I'd never met or spoken to before, who chose to reply to a comment I left for you in jest. Obviously I'm not a big fan of spiders but I would never wish harm on anyone's pet. However, from the tone of my convo with you, again, it's pretty obvious they're not my cup of tea. He chose not only to respond, but to send me a HUGE photo of his spider, so that it was right in my face when I opened up my email. If he wants to get huffy about it, it would do well for him to be reminded that he didn't have to respond to my comments, and he certainly didn't need to be sending me any photos.

For my part, I apologize for causing a bit of a rift in your journal.

[kiffie.livejournal.com]

I don't think ed meant any harm by it, nor was it intentional to send it to your email. (I assume you get email alerts?) ed is one of the other spider-owners on my flist, and likely wanted to point out that spiders can be silly and weird and funny, too. The spider in the photo is asleep, facedown in some water.

(Honestly, I might have done the same thing, if I hadn't already known about the extent of your dislike of spiders.)

I guess both me and ed forget that most people don't find spiders cute. God knows I've probably posted up some pictures of Bob that have made you abuse your scrollwheel. :/

I'm sorry your email proggie made you see the image. :(

Eh. I don't expect my flist to get along all the time. And neither of you got childish or started name calling or anything. We're good, as far as I'm concerned.

Jeeze, did any of this even make sense? It feels like the most disjointed post, ever.

TL;DR -- ed didn't post the pic to be malicious, I'm sorry it scared you, and I want my flist to all be friends and squish together like a basket of kittens. Please? :3 ?

[vespurrs.livejournal.com]

I'm sure he didn't, but then I didn't mean any harm by my joke, either. :/ I get email alerts, yeah. Don't always reply immediately, but I get them. :P

And I didn't know spiders sleep, which I actually find quite interesting.

LOL, maybe a few times! :P

Aww, Kiff, I'm not upset or angry, but I don't want anyone else to be either. Thing is, I actually find spiders to be quite fascinating in an 'ooooh, CREEPY' sort of way, and I spend a good deal of time googling stuff about them, surprisingly enough. Do I like them? Not particularly. But I don't HATE them, and for the most part I'm happy enough to live and let live, unless it's particularly big and in my personal space. I have even considered buying a tarantula on more than one occasion, just to cure myself of the large-spider phobia, but first my mom and then the hubby nixed the idea. I even had a name all picked out - Monet. I guess I'm attracted to the things that scare me, so long as I know they can't REALLY hurt me. Much. Since I don't live in Australia.

Heck, I even leave the black widows in my basement alone because they're in corners I don't bother with. o_O I guess it was just the fact that a large spider photo showed up in my email unexpectedly that was rather... disconcerting. :)

[kiffie.livejournal.com]

...I didn't know spiders sleep, which I actually find quite interesting.

It's probably more interesting that they're ever awake. Bob is asleep more often than not. X3

I don't know if it's a true sleep, like we experience, but it's certainly a lack of consciousness of their surroundings.

I have even considered buying a tarantula on more than one occasion, just to cure myself of the large-spider phobia, but first my mom and then the hubby nixed the idea. I even had a name all picked out - Monet. I guess I'm attracted to the things that scare me, so long as I know they can't REALLY hurt me.

I think most spider owners start out this way. I was, if not scared, then at at least intimidated by spiders until I got Bob. I still am, a bit. But once you get used to them as a pet, they stop registering as "SPIDER" in your head. I still skeek at black widows (so you're one up on me there) and flail like a pansy if I run into a spider-web, but I'm somehow okay with Bob. There's a definate change in feeling towards a creature when you become its caretaker.

(re: danger of tarantulas -- Mind, most tarantulas are never held. They're never interacted with beyond water changes and feeding. They're essentially a pet rock that looks pretty and every so often moves an inch or two. And this is the way it should be. Handling a tarantula puts both parties at risk. So long as you secure the tank lid and keep them warm, there is no reason your hands and their mouth should ever meet. Even if they do, they usually don't inject venom-- called a "dry bite" --because they're freaking pansies. X3 )

Even if you never get one, the tarantulalovers comm is good food for your morbid curiosity on all things creepy-crawly. They do, however, post pictures without cuts with some frequency, so don't go unless you're prepared for spider. :3

I guess it was just the fact that a large spider photo showed up in my email unexpectedly that was rather... disconcerting.

Next time, I'll be sure it's naked Dean Winchester-- er, I mean. A kitten. Yes. *shifty eyes*

[vespurrs.livejournal.com]

LOL, seriously, I had no idea, I guess cos most of the spiders I've seen have been crawling around or moving or some such. Though sadly, probably a lot of them do get squished that way.

*nods* It's the terrified fascination, I think. Actually, black widows are quite shy, and their attitude is also one of, if you leave them alone, they'll reciprocate. I know where they are, they don't have the scary 'I'm going to eat you and your firstborn, muahahahahaha!' of the wolf spiders, and they're really quite pretty. I leave the wolf spiders in my basement alone too just because they're not in my face and there's enough room to avoid them as I go about my business.

I've read that dropping them is nearly always fatal because of their weight and lack of support, so no worries there! They really don't seem much different in their level of care than my fish, though how do you clean their tank? Though even a dry bite scares me. I'm a pansy too, apparently.

I may check it out. And that's the thing, if I'm going to a comm like that, I'd pretty much expect pics. :P

Can we make it a Sammy to go, please? Er, I mean KITTENS, YES.

Also? Check out my friend nightwind69's journal. She has tarantulas and huntsmen spiders as pets. :)

[kiffie.livejournal.com]

You know, I have yet to see any true wolf spiders. The ones here that we typically call "wolf spiders" are about the size of Roosevelt's face on a dime. My roommate, who lives further North than I, has told me of huge ones, however. :o

You generally don't clean the tank. Tarantulas usually bury their wastes, and as long as you give them ample dirt to dig in, they can spend their entire lives in a single "change" of peat moss. If you must-- perhaps the spider has webbed over too much dirt, or there is an issue with mites --I've had some success with using a chopstick to herd Bob into a lightbulb box. Once he's in, I close it, tape it up, and set it aside while I clean. Once done, I cut the tape, open it slightly, and leave the box in the tank. He usually frees himself in a day or two. Bob is of a particularly laid-back species of tarantula (A. seemanni) that has about as much outward agressiveness as a head of cabbage. X3

Mmm, naked Sam-- ER. YES. *mails kittens* =^..^=

:o

*clicks on the journal* :D

[vespurrs.livejournal.com]

We have rather large, black, hairy ones here. And yes, I can tell the males from the females, go me. The females are larger, thicker, darker, and just generally look more massive. The males are very slender and slight, but still large. The largest female I've seen was about half the size of my palm, and she was in the basement. The only time I've ever done an about-face on the stairs. I figured she could have it!

Now, I will sometimes catch crickets to toss at the webs of the garden spiders, because I actually LIKE those spiders. I think they're neat. But I figure the wolf spiders can fend for themselves. Funny thing is, for as scary as they look, they're actually harmless. They just look horrifying.

LOL, I like your description of him as a head of cabbage. Maybe I should use that name, instead. 'Hi, this is my tarantula, Cabbage.'

KITTENS! Coincidentally, my friend saklani2 has posted a story in her journal about Sammy as a cat, though I think it's venturing into Wincest soon.

She has some really interesting photos. Click on her spider-love tags. :)

[eliyes.livejournal.com]

Oh, Bob. <3

[kiffie.livejournal.com]

Bob: *naked* (._.)/ 'Sup.

[eliyes.livejournal.com]

*slides him over a teeny margarita* Na' much.

[kiffie.livejournal.com]

*ded of lol*