Virginia Cheeseman Blog

A nice tidy bug room! I'm having an open afternoon tomorrow so I have spent quite a bit of time tidying and cleaning this week. I'd love to say the bug room is sparkling clean but it just isn't possible with so many cages squashed into one room. I spend so much time looking after tarantula spiders but also plenty of time trying to irradiate British spiders from my bug room. They not only make a mess but they also eat my stock when they get the chance! I have so many bugs that feed on leaves, both fresh leaves and leaf litter, I think most of the spiders come in on leaves. It isn't practical to check all the leaves plus the fact that there are already so many enjoying the warmth and ready supply of food, I can only work to cut down on their numbers. It is especially upsetting when I find a big fat spider in with something like my Jungle Nymph stick insects. It always amazes me that a small spider can kill an animal many times its own size. I suppose that is the purpose o...

A busy week, I was determined to catch up on everything and I have worked continually to that aim. I have made a real impact on my paperwork and cleaned a lot of the large plastic boxes out. I am gradually switching over from the big plastic boxes that I have used for years to the smaller Wilko plastic boxes that are actually sold as CD boxes. They are long and slender and fit perfectly on my shelving in the bug room. They also come with a purple lid which is a bonus for a purple freak like me. The large boxes are just so heavy and cumbersome when full of soil, damps leaves and of course the millipedes, cockroaches, beetles and all manner of creepy crawlies that require a dense substrate. Thankfully we just had a smattering of snow last week and although cold, it has been quite nice and bright here. I even managed to do a bit of gardening in my ‘jungle’ (wildlife garden). It is actually very sunny as I look out of my office window (yes, I am writing the blog a day early again). I will ...

Rain or snow? That is the question. I'm writing this blog a day early as I may not have much time tomorrow. However, everything seems to rather depend on the weather. I have a couple of appointments tomorrow but I won't be venturing out in the car if it snows. I could walk to my afternoon appointment but my meeting in the morning would mean driving up an extremely steep hill. I suppose that's what you get when you move to a place called 'High' Wycombe. It's been a busy week catching up after the festive season. It's been a good week as I like to be busy. My tarantula sale is going well. I have cleared quite a few in preparation for new stock at the end of the month. I have plans for new spiders, scorpions, stick insects and other interesting bugs. It very much depends on what is available. I was working on my computer one evening earlier this week when I heard what sounded like an alarm going off. I rushed into my bug room next door to my office and realise...

Happy New Year everyone! Last year was a terrible year for my family so I'm going with the resolution "new year - new start" and hoping to goodness that this year will be better. We spent the New Year in Luxembourg with my niece's family who live out there and family from the UK including my sister's 10 grandchildren. It was lovely to all be together but Luxembourg is way too cold for me! (it is now only 74 days until Spring – I wish I could use Emoji’s in my blog, this certainly warrants a sad face!) Our daughter looked after the bugs and pets as usual but she has now moved into her own place with a friend. Thankfully it is close by so she can still look after everything, if not I would never be able to go away again with all my animals. Everything was fine upon our return but the morning that we left for Luxembourg I was having a breakdown when I discovered that the power to the bug room was off! Thankfully my hubby managed to get it sorted. Re-wiring the bug ro...