Happy Halloween
Happy Halloween - spiders, snakes, bugs and bats abound - all the things I love! Unfortunately Georgie and I won't be on the telly this afternoon as planned. I rang and cancelled as the whole thing seemed to be poorly organised. I didn't want anything permanent done and we kept be offered a haircut, that sounds pretty permanent to me! I was not convinced that we were going to get away with a manicure or makeup session and I really don't know what they wanted me to do with Stephanie (George's Mexican Red Knee tarantula), we have had her for many years and I would hate her to be put in danger eg. walking on a table where she could fall off. Having caught a bit of 'Celebrity Scissorhands' when I was channel hopping this week, I think we had a lucky escape. I know it was for charity but hardly anyone sent any sponsorship money anyway.
It's been another very busy week as I went to the Portsmouth reptile show last weekend and again bought in lots of new bugs. I really do think that my bug house is full to capacity now and I must clear some stock before I get anything new in, well that's the plan. My husband took some nice photos of the new animals yesterday and I hope he will have time to upload them onto the site this afternoon (I wouldn't have a clue how to do it). I really enjoyed the reptile show, I hadn't been before but my brother lives in Portsmouth so we went to visit the family as well. At the show I was hoping to get some Rough Green snakes, they are beautiful and feed on bugs rather than mice, ideal for me. Unfortunately there were none at the show but I was told to visit Southcoast Exotics, a local reptile shop. The shop was amazing, I have never seen such a great range of reptiles and all looking so clean and healthy. I think I enjoyed looking around the store as much as the show and I ended up with a pair of Rough Green snakes. They are gorgeous but I have heard that they aren't easy to keep so we will have to see how they go.
Don't expect any emails from me this weekend! Tomorrow is the day that my office roof is due to be replaced. I am praying that it doesn't rain as everything is in place, skip delivered this morning (before 8am), wood being delivered later, the garage is full of roofing felt and my husband, son and nephew (he's a 'real' roofer) are booked for the job tomorrow. I've been sitting in a semi-bare office for weeks with all my work displaced around the dinning room and spare bedroom but this evening everything will need to be emptied from my office. I am hoping that my computer can be set up somewhere else but I don't know if it's possible. It will be brilliant to get this leaky roof sorted and then decorate my office. We have been here five years and in all that time I have had to have buckets dotted around the room and countless things have been ruined by new leaks appearing. The roof will be solid so it will be much darker in here but it will also be insulated so it will be much warmer! I really hate the cold, this week has been horrible with the snow and ice.
I seem to have loads to say this week but I must get on in a minute. I just have to say that my very first EBay purchase was a success! I bought an egg case of the Green Shield mantis, it was expensive and I was sure that it wouldn't hatch but it did a couple of days ago. I'm delighted, they are fantastic mantids BUT I was so sure that it wouldn't hatch that I hung it in my Katydid tank and I now can't take the lid off or all the little mantids will escape. Even worse I discovered yesterday that my Katydid eggs have started to hatch and I need to change the food in there. The mantids are tiny but they may still attack the baby crickets, I woke up at 5am worrying about it. One last thing, I tried to take the egg sac away from my Indonesian Chocolate tarantula but she was having none of it, she clung on with her front legs and I just couldn't do it! I'm sure the babies should have hatched by now, I was expecting them to hatch weeks ago, I did want to open the egg sac but I will have to be a bit more patient.