The Wasp Spider

The kids and I took a bike ride/dog walk last Sunday (as is typical) and  found a picturesque cut through with beautiful long grass. It was a sunny day and the place looked magical. 

As we explored the long grass, in pursuit of crickets, my eldest son happened across a stunning spider species, which we have never encountered before. A quick google revealed it to be a Wasp Spider (Argiope bruennichi). This is one of the orb web builders and they have stunning yellow markings. 

The females are huge compared to males. The body length can reach nearly 2cm in the former and only 0.5cm in the latter. The boys are also brown in colour - nowhere near as striking. Mating is a dangerous game for the little fellows and they often hang around the edge of webs waiting for a female to complete their final moult. At this point - and for a very short period - her jaws will be softer and he has an improved chance of survival. Many males still get consumed, however. 

It is believed this species was introduced into the UK from the continent as far back as 1920. They were surviving well in the far south and have steadily spread north , due to warmer winters. They like long grass and that is exactly where we found ours. 

Anyway it is a first for us and proof that many stunning species are waiting to be discovered on our own doorsteps. 

Green Smoothies and Raw Foods - Fact or Fiction

In recent years we have seen a rapid rise in the number of fad diets touted on the Internet. I am referring to things like the paleo diet, raw diet and blood-type diet. Whilst these solutions often contain some sensible advice re what we should consume, they are never based on 100% solid science. 

I have been reading and researching nutrition a great deal over the last few months, ever since I decided to significantly increase the amount of fruit and vegetables in my diet (and indeed the diet of my children). 

We have seen a massive rise in people consuming green smoothies and the like. I count myself among that number, but the liquids I am currently including in my regime are starting to alter somewhat from the recommendations of people like Victoria Boutenko. In her book Green for Life, we read about raw greens being the ideal food for humans - chimps eat like this, so obviously we should also! It contains some useful info but is built on terrible science. For starters we are the only species of animal that has learned to create fire and use it to cook our meals. This we have been doing for a very, very long time. In fact there is decent evidence that the ancestors of Homo sapiens were working with it over 200,000 years ago. 

http://www.ibtimes.com/when-did-man-discover-fire-ancestors-modern-humans-used-fire-350000-years-ago-new-1758607

Where there is fire, there will be cooked food. Heating food items helps to break down tough constituents and render them easier to digest. Cooked food requires less digestive energy to be expended and this was a vital turning point in taking our species forward. To suggest cooked food is not suitable for our species just does not make sense. 

In fact there is solid evidence that cooking actually increases the amount of certain nutrients, which trades off against the reduction of unstable compounds such as vitamin C. Cooking also reduces the volume of food items, so it is possible to consume more. Look at a bag of raw spinach for example - looks like loads when you put it in a blender, but boil it for just a minute and the same bag is reduced to nothing more than a ball in the hand. Obviously you can eat three times the amount and this offsets the reduction of vital compounds and increases the amount of available phyto nutrients. It is true that blending (in a high speed device) also significantly increases the percentage of nutrients available for absorption but it doesn't improve digestion of vegetables in the same way as cooking. I like the best of both worlds - I boil the spinach for a minute to soften the cells walls and reduce oxalates*, then I cool it down and blend as normal. We then have a cool green soupie! Tastes the same but digestibility is maximised. 

*People who drink raw smoothies always cite the risk of oxalates when you consume a lot of spinach. One solution is to boil it and reduce the risk (not that it is a big problem unless you have a history of kidney stones). 

Then we have the Paleo diet, where we are told that grains and legumes are evil anti-nutrients that must be avoided at all costs. Now for some people this may be true - as we all have slightly different genetic codes, which equals variations in the digestive enzymes and nuances in our overall digestive systems - but it is not true for everyone. 

The argument is that paleolithic humans did not have access to grains on a regular basis and had to forage and hunt whatever was available. This is true - ancient humans would not have eaten grains in the vast quantities of modern times, but they would eat them on occasion. Seasonally of course. 

Likewise they say legumes, such as lentils and beans, are negative foods for the same reasons. Never mind that we have solid evidence confirming they have been eaten for thousands of years (and before the agricultural revolution). These are items that have real nutritional benefit. Again the discovery of fire and development of cooking would have made the items more digestible. 

The paleo diet also ignores the fact that most of the modern fruits, vegetables and supermarket meats are a far cry from the ones our ancestors consumed. They have been selectively bred and modified over the centuries to suit modern requirements. 

I do agree that certain food types can have a negative impact in some people. I am not referring just to anaphylactic shock, which is obvious, but less dangerous issues such as the development of IBS, skin problems etc. I myself react when I eat gluten containing grains and other food items, but this is individual. Many other people will utilise them as an excellent source of protein and vitamins. Diets like paleo make too many blanket assumptions. 

Personally I found that too many green smoothies made me feel weak and impacted my digestion negatively. I stuck with it for months but the problems did not abate. I rotated greens, in order to reduce the risk of alkaloid poisoning, but still did not feel quite right. The symptoms disappeared if I stuck to gem and romaine lettuce as the main green. I still drink green smoothies occasionally, which I consider a sensible and healthy addition to a balanced diet, but I am not drinking two or three a day. I found this works best for me. 

They can definitely provide your body with a welter of nutrients and are still a great way to increase the amount of fruit and vegetables in the diet of fussier children like my youngest son.  But I do not buy into claims that they alone can fix most health related problems. 

Ikea Reptile Rack!

There are many ways to house a reptile. As long as warmth and food are available then it is possible to maintain a number of small nocturnal species in very basic rack systems. This involves little more than shelves full of sliding plastic boxes that have limited amounts of soul. See the pic below - no James Brown to be found!

Many species, especially snakes, will thrive in these conditions - they feed and breed without issues. As such this system is often preferred by breeders who seek to profit from their animals and maximise production. Problem is that whilst the arrangement may be very functional, it is far from attractive. You can't easily view the animals going about their business because the containers are often not fully transparent and there is no additional illumination, either at day or night. Admittedly many ideal rack species such as royal pythons are far from active and you are not missing much, but what about more active snakes and lizards that like to roam and hunt insects. There is a lot more fun to be had watching these. 

Our breeding projects are more for the experience than anything else. A combined family effort to create life and teach the kids important lessons along the way. We are not in this hobby for profit and like to gaze at attractive, naturalistic environments that could have been sliced from the animals' countries of origin. We like them to be windows to the natural world. 

We had a bit of space under the existing vivarium arrangement and it was currently occupied by a set of Ikea Trofast toy shelves (pic below taken from the Ikea website), long since abandoned as the children have grown. We left a few of their purpose moulded plastic boxes in situ, as they provided useful storage for things like calcium powder, spare bulbs etc.

I glanced at the box dimensions one day and found myself wondering, on a hunch, if our battered old Exo Terra large, flat faunarium would slot into the gap. So I conducted a test and could not believe how well it went in. Nice and snug so that the lid was locked firmly onto the plastic base. There was literally no way it could fall open.

Now up until this point I had planned to introduce some new additions (Nephrurus amyae, the Centralian Knob Tailed gecko) into purpose built vivariums that would slot into the space between the Trofast walls. Problem is they would have been very high and not ideal for a secretive nocturnal species that likes to feel secure. Of course I could have sliced the height in half but now I had an opportunity to save some cash! There was also the problem of getting furnishings through small sliding doors. If I could make the faunariums work somehow then that would not be an issue - the entire unit can slide out and the lid pops off. Alternatively there is a very large plastic window in the lid that is perfect for fitting larger items like hides. Also Nephrurus amyae likes very low humidity and in a damp country like England, it is normally around 45-50% in most rooms by default. A heavily vented faunarium is perfect for reducing the humidity - especially during the day - as warm air rapidly escapes and you can push it down around 30 - 40%. That is not something you can easily achieve in a typical wooden vivarium. 

But what I really did not want, was a hideous standard rack arrangement where the inhabitants sit in soulless plastic containers. We needed to maintain the naturalistic theme of our other vivariums. 

So I created a design that would incorporate standard incandescent bulbs into the limited space of a faunarium. The extra large flat faunarium - of which this is one - are pretty decent sized, but the height is lacking. They are designed for hatchlings and small adult terrestrial species. They are also designed to be used with heat mats, but IMO this is unnatural and not ideal. When we consider the huge amount of ventilation in the lids, then it is easy to install low wattage bulbs without fear of over heating. I wrote an article some time ago that argued a thermostat is not even necessary in vivariums, so long as you size the wattage appropriately and don't live in a hot country! 

So first things first, let's measure up and fit two incandescent bulb holders - one for day (25w bulb) and one for night (15w blue bulb). 

We need to secure the bulb holders with 4mm nuts and bolts. This will lock them tight. 

After that has been done, and all wiring completed, we need to drill holes for the wires. The plastic is tough enough not to break, so long as you are not too aggressive. 

After this we can rack and roll, as it were! But even 15 watt and 25 watt bulbs get hot to touch (more on the sides than bottom), so we need a way of protecting our animals from burns. This is, remember, a low ceiling and even terrestrial animals could get themselves too close to the heat source at times. 

My solution to this problem was to purchase four £1.50 bird seed holders from Homebase and cut them down to size. They fit perfectly around the plastic bulb necks and with the lid installed they are locked into position. 

The lights are then placed on timers (which all indoor reptile vivariums need for proper seasonal control) and hey presto, we have an attractive , illuminated enclosure that slots into an Ikea toy solution and utilises an old Exo Terra faunarium. A rack system, but not as we know it! 

With the sand and hides added it is visually appealing and I will be adding some freehand acrylic desert paint designs to remove any tape and cracks from view. Will post images when it is finished. 

Initial temperature testing shows ideal ranges for the Nephrurus hatchlings that are soon to arrive and this way we can appreciate our additions care of artificial moonlight, rather than an opaque plastic box preventing visual interaction with our pets. 

It was fun as a mini project and things like this keep life interesting. The kids thought it was a brilliant solution and really enjoyed helping me plan the design. It helped them to realise what can be achieved with a bit of imagination. 

With a bit of luck these guys (see below) will soon be enjoying life in the new enclosures. We have installed two faunariums, as they are solitary in the wild. Also it is much easier to monitor feeding when animals are housed individually.