Tarantulas and Spiders

Bright colors get a B. boehmei!
https://www.google.com/search?q=b.+b...iw=320&bih=504

Check out all the brachypelmas. There are some really nice ones

Old worlds have stronger venom.

I don't know of any really good sites that have all of them with pics and care.

My recommendation:
Get a new world species to start out and get used to the movements and speed of them. (Like a Brachypelma or G. pulchra or G. pulchripes). The way they move is weird. Not like bps. Idk what kinda other animal experiences you have but T's are unique. When i got my first B. vagans from rich months ago it seemed SO fast when i first got it out of the cup. They can MOVE for short bursts. I haven't had one go further than a foot or so without pausing though. But some species do those bursts A LOT faster.

Example:
The B. vagans i sent damon i just prodded out of his cup with a paintbrush onto my hand and then nudged him into the shipping cup. The P. cambridgeis were smaller and WAY more spazzy. Their movements can be erratic. The one escaped out of the 32qt tub i was working in and after i cupped him he ran up the cup and ran around the top like 10times, for whatever reason lol. This isn't to say someone new to the hobby couldn't handle one, but its just better to start out slower imo. The most important thing, when working with ANY species, is to remain calm and confident in your actions when working with them.

Are you dead set on being able to handle the T's? Showing them off to kids through the enclosure could be just as beneficial to them, i think. They don't need big enclosures so it'd be easy enough to take them places if you wanted to. The only reason i ask is because their are some easy to care for, cool looking T's that just are more skittish and don't like to be handled at all. GBB's are one that come to mind. They like it dry so you don't have to even worry about humidity or a water dish or anything.

Just food for thought. I'm still a noob, rich and damon have more experience, i just figured i'd give some insight from my own experiences. :)

EDIT: and yea, latin names are a bit harder to remember/learn at first, but it's better to know them than the common names bc sometimes people mix up the common names or have different names for the same species. There are a couple exceptions though. :gj:

Well said Mike!

My new friend.
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/08/15/by7uzyty.jpg

ok i''m friendly to all wild life but thats a little much for me Rich. lol

I got my delivery from Mike today! Very well packaged! i'll have to hit up his review thread in a little bit! I'll get some pics for you all this evening.

Glad they got there safely :gj:

It was chilly out so he was slow.

I was going to start a colony this year but had to much stuff going on. Hoping for next year :)

Meph: If you really want colorful, a green bottle blue (C. cyaneopubescens) is a very hardy beginner T with a great appetite. Like Mike said though, they aren't one that's overly handle-able. I personally feel it's best not to handle your T's anyway, but it's really up to you, they're not usually too defensive, more skittish. They're one of the cooler looking slings imo too!

(not my pic)
Adult:
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l2...3/100_0126.jpg

Dang you!!

Now I MUST get one....That looks beautiful


@Mike–I suppose I could get over my desire to hold them