Bugs everywhere I look

Bugs everywhere I look, all the tanks and boxes are springing to life at this time of year and lots of new stock is constantly coming in. It is my second Open Afternoon of the year tomorrow. I now have appointments booked up until 2pm but you are welcome to pop along between 2pm and 4pm or there is still time to book an appointment slot if you wish.

I had a lovely break down in Brighton last weekend and we were very lucky with the weather. It gave my hubby and I time to talk and assess work and life in general. Those who read my blog regularly will know that my life is far too full? active?, probably manic is the best word. I have got to change things a bit (well I am going to try). I have never been good at prioritising, I just try to do everything. I need to slow down a little. The animals take a huge amount of time to care for but I also have a lot of people relying on me which I really can't go into on my blog. The blog itself takes time so I have decided to change my "weekly whinge" into a "monthly moan". It isn't that I can't think of anything to say on a weekly basis, it is simply that I can't find the time to write it. I have a little more time this week as my nephew's family are away so I didn't have the three kids yesterday, as I usually do on a Thursday. When I have suggested cutting down on the blog in the past I have had a wave of requests to keep it going weekly but I just can't anymore. I will post a blog on the first of each month instead.

I was really pleased to get some captive bred Giant Train millipedes this week. One of my clever customers has finally managed to get them breeding! I hate the fact that almost everyone chooses Giant Train millipedes over other species. They are huge and impressive but they are always collected from the wild and it seems such a shame. I have had a lot of success with the captive breeding of many millipede species over the last year but the Giant Train millipedes have eluded me. I have had lots come in and seen lots of mating but no eggs have been laid.

I have a large number of scorpion species at the moment and I am certainly hoping to breed from some of these. I really like scorpions but they are nowhere near as popular as tarantulas. I have mated a couple of my tarantulas recently and now have a Kilimanjaro Baboon with an egg sac. I bought a male from a show but he looked a bit old and shrivelled so I didn't hold out much hope but he was obviously more sprightly than he looked (although she did eat him afterwards!). I have a few adult female tarantulas, I think they are fully adult but I can never be completely positive as I don't sex spiders. I am going to make a list of required males and have a good look out for them at the BTS (British Tarantula Society)show next month.

Beetles are still going strong. I have lots of boxes of beetles in various stages. I seem to constantly be collecting rotten wood and dried leaves for them (another job for this morning). It is so exciting when the adult beetles hatch, their colours are amazing. I have always loved beetles. When I was at primary school I used to rescue Stag beetles that had got trapped on the path on my way to school. Stag beetles are fantastic but they seem to be rarer and rarer these days and of course they are only ever around for a few weeks in the summer.

Next week I have some more millipedes, beetle larvae and stick insects coming in. They are all captive bred by a guy who has been keeping bugs for almost as long as me. Just remembered my leaf insects, I was given some eggs a couple of months ago and they have been gradually hatching over the last ten days or so. I now have about twenty and they are slowly turning green as they begin to eat. Leaf insects are beautiful creatures but not always easy to keep, especially in the early stages. They need warmth, humidity and a nice clean environment, with good air flow. I am doing my best!

Must mention my iPhone, I don't know how I ever lived without him "Magical Merlin" as I call him. He can do anything but sadly I am a useless with non living entities. This week at an exercise class I was moaning about the fact that I get some texts and even calls from customers in the middle of the night (you may not consider 11.30pm night but believe me with a husband who works mostly early shifts it certainly is). Someone told me that Merlin has a 'do not disturb' function and showed me how to set it. That is magic! I have to take my phone to bed with me as I have people who may need me at any time (my lovely next door neighbour is yet again in hospital). My phone will now block all calls and texts between 10pm and 7am except for those in my 'favourites'. Yesterday my loony dog pulled me flying on the lead. I went down with a thump and am rather achy this morning but having picked myself up, my first thought was for my iPhone which is constantly attached to my belt. I felt huge relief when I realised it/he was unharmed in the fall.

Must go now, sadly I have to walk Teddi (would love not to) and then get on with the day's work. I will clear and clean the bug room today in preparation for tomorrow's Open Afternoon but I can't do it until this afternoon as I am awaiting crickets in the post and then I need to feed a lot of little hungry mouths. There is no point in clearing up beforehand as it is always a messy job. Talking of crickets I now have enough Cave crickets to start selling them again but I just can't work out how to get them into a tub. I'm not joking, they are incredibly fast, it is a case of one cricket in the tub and six out in the bug room. I don't think I can sell them until I can work out a way of containing them first!

Have a good month and my next blog will be on May 1st.