Tarantulas and Spiders

Thanks

Just curious; don't actually have a tarantula (yet), but am thinking that they may be a good way for me to overcome my fear of creepy-crawlies.

The husbandry looks pretty simple for most of them....

I like that blue one. Nice pic

Crystal Meph getttttt oneeee!!!

What are your recommendations for initial type and for husbandry??

And yes I did read the care sheet/buyers guide sticky; I'd like all y'all's opinions though:)

Give us an idea of what you might want. A certain color, size etc.

B. vagans
G. pulchripes
B. albopilosum
G. rosea, but sometimes they can fast for long periods.

The above can be great first Ts that don't cost a lot.

So happy i'm getting my cambridgei tomorrow! thanks for the pic of a larger one Rich!

as for a first T there are some things to consider. hands on or off? how fast do you want it to reach full size? How fast do you want to have to run around the room with a cup to catch it when it gets out while doing cage maintenance? For the most part recommended first T's are just about anything in the Grammostola, or Brachypelma families. They are slow growing, not incredibly fast, relatively handable. Also a lot of the different Chilean Beautys are very handable.

*edit haha you type faster than me Rich. must have been doing these at the same time.

About the size of my palm....3.5-4" across (??)

My folks like bright colors (I like blue colors and anything with bright stripes etc) and something that might crawl out for a look around the cage once in a while.

And the space requirements would have to be small....probably would need to keep it in a plastic tub of some sort. Parents are all into the "small space" thing lol

And I'm big on trying to educate the local kids and stuff about exotics, so I'd like to be able to pull it out once in a while to show people and not have to worry about it kicking little hairs at them or pouncing off to bite their face, etc.

I'm telling you, cambridgei are so cool. I wish she would come out for a proper photo. I need more of these for sure.
Would also like to add a couple more Psalms

For that size with a nice color, maybe check out C. fasciatum. Might not be the best for a beginner. If you get one around .75" you'll grow your skills as the T grows ( which is slow )
I have a couple and they are nothing crazy. Mine are pretty slow, don't dart around.
Not one I would handle.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclosternum_fasciatum

I don't know how old you are but something like a G. rosea grows very slow. Most likely wouldn't be an adult size until you were out on your own.
Years!

Just remember...
They all have venom.
They all have fangs.
New worlds can kick hairs.
Old worlds can send you to the ER.
A fall more than a couple of feet can kill them.
The most docile T can still bite.
Even the slower ones can be pretty quick.
The faster ones can teleport :p
They are very addicting, so go ahead and start making a wish list before you get your first one.

Oh and most can live in tubs with no problem. I have a lot of mine in tubs.

Oh and that little blue one, Avicularia versicolor, change as they grow.

Same spider as the blue one
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/08/15/e3e6yma7.jpg

They are a little more fragile than most Ts. More attention. To their care is needed. Higher air flow while keeping the humidity up. Only need something about the size of a small Nano exoterra.

They are arboreal so they need something higher than wider. Again, maybe not the best beginner T but it really depends on a history of what you have cared for.
I have handled Avics before. They can be skittish and quick. They can also leap and have pretty good aim when they want to poo :o

What's with the old worlds??
And is there a website I can go to to get more info?? All the scientific names are kinda confusing to keep track of for me, and I've only ever seen ones sold by their common name...

and I'm 19

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

They're cool looking as babies too, a lot of species aren't as nice as babies. They also make crazy webs!

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-L...4-5-13+164.JPG

Avicularia versicolor duh!

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:O:O:O:O

STOP!!!!

TOOO.......PRETTY...........

I guess I may have to start with tarantulas.


So, dumb question inbound: I HATE crickets; how big of a tarantula would I need to get so I wouldn't have to use crickets (or other insects) as a food source??

You can use mealworms.

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but then those turn into beetles....EEK!!

Crickets or roaches with roaches being a better diet.

Was told this was good. Idk, i haven't watched it yet.
http://youtu.be/1GL09bXxbi4

Well earlier today probably yesterday by the time this post hits I promised pics of todays delivery. I had a major catastrophe today and it caused a delay in me getting pics uploaded. i'll explain that here in a minute.

heres my delivery from Mike:

little B. vagans at this point I think Mike and I are sharing this one until the sex can be confirmed.
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/...pscacebaf4.jpg

I got 3 of these guys in today but this is the only one I could get to hold still long enough to get a pic. P. cambridgei
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6ac9a8fb.jpg


Ok so the horror pic of the day!
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4cb33fcf.jpg

I Picked up some B. smithi on my way home from work wednesday morning. Didnt think anything about it. just figured they would be fine in the vials she had them in. I found this little guy and had to push him back in. I checked all of the vials and I had 4 empty :( luckily I managed to recover one that hadnt left the shoe box but the other 3 are still M.I.A. I contacted the person that I got them from and they were great. I'll be getting my replacements the next time I go through there town. so needless to say I transferred 47 little slings today. plus the 4 I got from Mike.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 3skulls

Old worlds have stronger venom.

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

---

There is! I don't know just how accurate it is, but he has all of the ones he's cared for (150-200?) with scientific and common names, pictures, and a fairly in depth run over on how he cared for that species.
http://www.mikebasictarantula.com/sp...are-sheet.html
I found him by accident, and I think he's awesome 8) his care sheets are what I'm basing my choices off of now

Hofr that little guy really wanted out lol

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Damon, that sucks! That's what my P. pederseni where doing when I had to stay up and fix them. :(

Today's friend
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/08/16/9e8yra5y.jpg

Damon- I hope the vagans is a girl so i can keep her since she was my first but if hes a boy then i'm glad you have him all ready to go to sex up the lady T's! :)

Glad everything made it ok.

I'm sorry to hear about the smithis. Thats how i lost my irminia i had gotten from rich. Was just too big of a hole in the container. Learned my lesson though!

Soooo do you guys solder or drill your holes in your enclosures? I bought a soldering iron to try it out because so many people said it was easier. It sucks and the holes look like crap. I'm glad i practiced on the enclosure that already had a crack in it.

Soldering iron holes on the outside, drilled holes on the inside:
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/08/16/uma3unum.jpg

I'll be drilling mine from now on!

it takes practice to make the holes look good. 1st you have to make sure your iron is hot enough. I use a 40 watt iron. the 25 watts like at walmart dont get hot enough to make good holes in acrylic. also even with a better iron you can only do so many holes before you've gotta let it heat back up. 2nd you have to let the iron do the work. dont try and force it through let it melt through. You can drill holes and I think they look better but you run a risk of cracking acrylic. the only tip I have on drilling is use a dremel tool instead of a drill. they have variable speeds. use a good sharp bit. set the dremel to a lower speed and dont push let the bit cut through. when you push it will crack almost every time.

I know how much that vagans means to you so as much as I want it to be a male i'm actually pulling for you that its a girl. its getting the royal treatment. its in a critter keeper instead of a cup and it has a nice hollow piece of cork.

If that vagans is a male, its going to w a while before he will be mature. (Mabye years)

I always drill my holes.

That's fine with me. I can always find other males in the mean time. Maybe. But if it is male atleast I know I've got one for down the road!

Yea fine with me too. I know itll be a while to maturity but i think he'll be able to sex it by next molt. :)

EDIT: yea i'm just drilling mine from now on. I crack a bit on the first hole but the others came out ok :gj:

How are spiders sexed??

I use a drill with a clutch and turn it down. Go slow and steady.

If its something really small like the hentzi were, I'll poke a hole using this tool I have that looks like a big needle.

Anything around 1/4" - 1/2", I use a 5/64 drill bit. The pre punched cups, those hole are too big.

Anything needing bigger holes than that I go to 1" vents.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mephibosheth1

How are spiders sexed??

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Some are sexually dimorphic, some you can sex by looking at the vent area, under the spider. But they all can be sexed by looking at the inside of the molt.
Females will have a flap between the first set of book lungs, males won't.

Haha just found a pic of one of my dogs on the motorcycle. :)
He has rode about 15-20k miles with me.
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/08/17/ata8eqar.jpg

That's just friggin awesome!

One of my blue fangs died. The little guy didnt eat his roach like the other 8 slings i got from her did. Just wasnt meant to live i guess :(

My C. meridionalis didn't seem to care i was sad and made the rehousing a battle of wits haha
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/08/17/pupe4ehy.jpg

Happy spider in her new home. Shes now got double the amount of substrate to burrow into.
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/08/17/quhyzu4e.jpg

That sucks Mike. I have lost a few babies here and there. I wish I knew what happens with them.

We are watching that spider doco now :)
Seems pretty cool.

Yea just covered with like a white fungus. All the other ones are fine. I guess he just didnt wanna live :/

They can and will mold up pretty quick after death. :/

Man I have been wanting some blue fangs for a while.

All the other ephebopus are doing well. Idk just that one. I'll probably see if ana has anymore by the time the NH show rolls around in october.

Little B. vagans finally getting adult colors! :p
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/08/17/hyzaby4a.jpg

G. Pulchra. :)
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/08/17/yzy4atu3.jpg

I cant wait until my pulchra gets adult colors like that!!! Shes got a big ol booty