A good beginer spider..

Ok, after making a post asking about Tarantulas and Centipeads, I did some real reseach and decided that I really do want a Tarantula. Ive never been afraid of spiders, and have always really liked one, so Ive decided to get one. Im just curious, peronaly what do some of you guys think are good begginer Tarantulas? Ive looked at a few differnt types that I like, and though I can read whatever I want to see some oppinions from people that really own them. Thanks.

Curlyhair, Chaco Golden Knee, Pretty much any Avicularia sp.

Rosehair tarantula are the best first spider...

i disagree. if you are going to get any of the avicularia species, make sure they are over an inch in size. when they are small they are so delicate and personally i've never been able to keep one alive. but when i order them over an inch... no problem! (they are higher humidity as well)

a GBB is a great first T... very colourful and out much of the time. that's what i started with. OBT is great but fast and something like an n. chromatus is great cause you see it all the time.

it's almost better to do a search, find a few Ts you really like and then say, "are these good beginners" cause so many are good for a beginner. Ts are not all that hard to own and raise. little care and hours of enjoyment!

Alright, thank you for the input and Ill let you guys know in a few weeks which one Ill chose :)

I agree with RG. Avicularia sp. is NOT the best species to start with. Arboreal tarantulas in general are not the best. Many first time keepers have Avicularia avicularia (common pink toe) as a first tarantula but that is about the *only* Avic. species that is hardy enough and docile enough for a novice to feel comfortable with.
I would steer clear from *any* Old World tarantula. Old World being any tarantula from Africa and Asia respectively. Central and South American and island tarantulas such as Nhandu, Lasidora and Theraphosa tend to be more skittish and more prone to aggression than those from the United States and Mexico.

To give you a place to start, look at Aphonapelma sp. Brachypelma sp. and Acanasccuria sp.

I like Mexican Red knee's and rose hairs. Female's are usually a bit more because they live qutie a bit longer.

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Originally Posted by Shadowspider

I agree with RG. Avicularia sp. is NOT the best species to start with. Arboreal tarantulas in general are not the best. Many first time keepers have Avicularia avicularia (common pink toe) as a first tarantula but that is about the *only* Avic. species that is hardy enough and docile enough for a novice to feel comfortable with.
I would steer clear from *any* Old World tarantula. Old World being any tarantula from Africa and Asia respectively. Central and South American and island tarantulas such as Nhandu, Lasidora and Theraphosa tend to be more skittish and more prone to aggression than those from the United States and Mexico.

To give you a place to start, look at Aphonapelma sp. Brachypelma sp. and Acanasccuria sp.

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I disagree with the avicularia avicularia comment, if you can get a good size animal (which means $$$$$), most avics are a good starter. Aphonopelma and Brachypelma make great pets, but as they're very slow growing, they can be incredibly expensive for the newb. I paid ~$85 for a 4" b. boehmei female and that's about half what she was worth. Aphonopelma are similar in that respect as are all grammostola except g. rosea.

I respectfully encourage everyone to NOT buy g. rosea as most are wild caught specimens from Chile. Every petco in the country has one that's being poorly maintained in their store. Think about how many that is :O This is putting undue pressure on wild populations. Also, they're brown spiders that move like rocks and feed incredibly rarely.

Any genus besides avicularia, grammostola, brachypelma and aphonopelma will probably be aggressive or at the least skittish. Lasiodora or Acanthoscurria are GREAT beginner spiders as they're durable as hell, generally out and about and BIG! L. Parahybana gets to ~10" and A. Geniculata gets to ~8"! Chromatopelma is another great spider to get started with, though a little pricey. They are virtually unkillable though. Shadowspider, I also disagree with saying Lasiodoras are more aggressive than Acanthoscurrias, my Genic will rapid strike the tongs that I put into the cage, and he's pretty much the most aggressive spider I've ever had (including poecilotheria, haplopelma and pterinochilus!).

Even old world spiders aren't all that hard to deal with. I've had pokies, pterinochilus, psalmopoeus (grouped here because it's a FAST arboreal new world spider that's closely related to poecs and has strong venom), haplos, etc., and the basic day to day maintenance is the same pretty much. Get a half year of experience with one of the above dudes and you can switch to OW spiders fine.

edit: also, almost ANY herp is a lot more work and time investment than almost ANY tarantula. I've careed for a few dozen spiders at a time and I'm still too nervous to try a ball python.

Here's some good spider links:
www.arachnoboards.com (best tarantula resource on the web, bar none)
www.botarby8s.com (fair prices and professional)
http://www.reptistexotics.com/ (same, but even better prices and more selection of adult spiders.)

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I disagree with the avicularia avicularia comment, if you can get a good size animal (which means $$$$$), most avics are a good starter. Aphonopelma and Brachypelma make great pets, but as they're very slow growing, they can be incredibly expensive for the newb. I paid ~$85 for a 4" b. boehmei female and that's about half what she was worth. Aphonopelma are similar in that respect as are all grammostola except g. rosea.

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Please read what I said about A. avic. However, I think I should say that *s'lings" are not very hardy but as they get older, the likelyhood of unexplained deaths decreases drastically.
I disagree with the price of a larger A. avic. That particular species is not expensive, even for an adult female... of course "expensive" is subject to interpretation; while one person might consider $50 for a AF A. avic to be expensive, another would not. Now if we're talking sub adults/adult tarantulas in general, yes, they are more pricey than s'lings... that's a given with *any* tarantula, no matter what the species.

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I respectfully encourage everyone to NOT buy g. rosea as most are wild caught specimens from Chile. Every petco in the country has one that's being poorly maintained in their store. Think about how many that is This is putting undue pressure on wild populations. Also, they're brown spiders that move like rocks and feed incredibly rarely.

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I could not agree more with this statement, except the G. rosea being "brown" thing... they are not brown. Many Aphonapelma species are brown, but G. rosea are not.

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Any genus besides avicularia, grammostola, brachypelma and aphonopelma will probably be aggressive or at the least skittish.

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This is true in most cases and is generally excepted as pretty much fact. However, that too is highly dependant upon the individual tarantula and thus, should not *ever* be considered the rule without exception... case in point:

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I also disagree with saying Lasiodoras are more aggressive than Acanthoscurrias, my Genic will rapid strike the tongs that I put into the cage, and he's pretty much the most aggressive spider I've ever had (including poecilotheria, haplopelma and pterinochilus!).

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That may be true for *yours* but is *not* the case for all and to just make a blanket statement (disagree on the whole) because of *one* tarantula is, IMO, a bit novice and especially when discussing what tarantula(s) to get for a potential new keeper, this statement not only contradicts what you said earlier, but also puts forth a false sense of other, in particular, Old World, species that are repeatedly known for their aggression and/or deffensivness. Just because one spider will be more aggressive toward anything entering it's habitat than another is *not* an indication that said spider is more or less "agressive" than another and can cause misinterpretation on the part of a new keeper.

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edit: also, almost ANY herp is a lot more work and time investment than almost ANY tarantula. I've careed for a few dozen spiders at a time and I'm still too nervous to try a ball python.

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When you've delt with a few *hundred* for several years... then let's discuss difficulity... and aggression/deffensiveness. ;)
I know that was not the point of that comment but seeing as how that was (in my opinion) a bit of a pointless, silly comment, I tried to make some kind of use of it.

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Originally Posted by Shadowspider

I disagree with the price of a larger A. avic. That particular species is not expensive, even for an adult female... of course "expensive" is subject to interpretation; while one person might consider $50 for a AF A. avic to be expensive, another would not. Now if we're talking sub adults/adult tarantulas in general, yes, they are more pricey than s'lings... that's a given with *any* tarantula, no matter what the species.

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I was talking about the price for avicularia other than the avic avics; a F a. avic for $50 seems like a decent price, but you could easily pay that much for a 2" versicolor or minatrix. I've seen adult females versis and minatrix going for ~$200, which is a bit much for me (someday when I'm a billionaire sigh....). I have heard many people recommend versicolors as a beginner spider if bought at a decent size though.

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I could not agree more with this statement, except the G. rosea being "brown" thing... they are not brown. Many Aphonapelma species are brown, but G. rosea are not.

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Looks brown to me :)

<a href="http://img69.imageshack.us/my.php?image=grosea061123ub2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/8017/grosea061123ub2.th.jpg" border="0" alt="Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us" /></a>

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This is true in most cases and is generally excepted as pretty much fact. However, that too is highly dependant upon the individual tarantula and thus, should not *ever* be considered the rule without exception... case in point:That may be true for *yours* but is *not* the case for all and to just make a blanket statement (disagree on the whole) because of *one* tarantula is, IMO, a bit novice and especially when discussing what tarantula(s) to get for a potential new keeper, this statement not only contradicts what you said earlier, but also puts forth a false sense of other, in particular, Old World, species that are repeatedly known for their aggression and/or deffensivness.

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I'm going partially off my own experiences, partially from what I've read on arachnoboards. If you've had experiences with a few hundred tarantulas, well, you're probably right. From what I've read though, acanthoscurria and lasiodora are about the same on the aggression/skittishness scale. I think overall though, aggression in tarantulas is overstated and it's mostly pure defensiveness. The reason I would not recommend an OW tarantula to a newb is the venom toxicity, rather than any considerations on defensiveness, even though on an individual basis nhandu, lasiodora or acanthoscurria might be more defensive.

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I know that was not the point of that comment but seeing as how that was (in my opinion) a bit of a pointless, silly comment, I tried to make some kind of use of it.

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My point was just that if he can take care of a ball python alright, he can probably keep just about any tarantula species succesfully. Sorry you found it pointless and silly. :(

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I was talking about the price for avicularia other than the avic avics; a F a. avic for $50 seems like a decent price, but you could easily pay that much for a 2" versicolor or minatrix. I've seen adult females versis and minatrix going for ~$200, which is a bit much for me (someday when I'm a billionaire sigh....). I have heard many people recommend versicolors as a beginner spider if bought at a decent size though.

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True, some Avic. species can be quite pricey, even as second instar s'lings... but that's because they are harder to obtain and/or breed in captivity. Other species, such as A. avic. and A. versi. are more common and thus, their prices will not be (or should not be) as high.

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Looks brown to me

<a href="http://img69.imageshack.us/my.php?image=grosea061123ub2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/8017/grosea061123ub2.th.jpg" border="0" alt="Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us" /></a>

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Your link doesn't work. :(
Often times, especially in pictures (poor quality pictures) G. rosea will look like a dull brown and/or when they are approaching molt. Other than that, they tend to have very nice pink/rose hues to them with a brown, gray or red base color.

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I'm going partially off my own experiences, partially from what I've read on arachnoboards. If you've had experiences with a few hundred tarantulas, well, you're probably right. From what I've read though, acanthoscurria and lasiodora are about the same on the aggression/skittishness scale. I think overall though, aggression in tarantulas is overstated and it's mostly pure defensiveness. The reason I would not recommend an OW tarantula to a newb is the venom toxicity, rather than any considerations on defensiveness, even though on an individual basis nhandu, lasiodora or acanthoscurria might be more defensive.

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Totally agree here! People *do* play up the aggression thing way too much. Really the only time any tarantla is truely "aggressive" is when food is put in front of them and even at that, some are little chickens and run away. :D "Deffensive", "skittish", "territorial" or even "protective" are words that I like with regard to tarantula attitude as opposed to "aggressive" because tarantulas are not "mean" per se'.

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I know that was not the point of that comment but seeing as how that was (in my opinion) a bit of a pointless, silly comment, I tried to make some kind of use of it.
My point was just that if he can take care of a ball python alright, he can probably keep just about any tarantula species succesfully. Sorry you found it pointless and silly.

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I apologize for that comment. I think that was a bit snide on my part and uncalled for, or at least could have been worded more kinkly.

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Originally Posted by Shadowspider

True, some Avic. species can be quite pricey, even as second instar s'lings... but that's because they are harder to obtain and/or breed in captivity. Other species, such as A. avic. and A. versi. are more common and thus, their prices will not be (or should not be) as high.

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Yeah, I've always been worried about buying a sling and having sudden avic death syndrome strike. Even small versis can be around $20 and when you're a poor college student it's kind of hard to afford that. Gimme a tough as nails psalmo or poeci any day though!

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Your link doesn't work. :(
Often times, especially in pictures (poor quality pictures) G. rosea will look like a dull brown and/or when they are approaching molt. Other than that, they tend to have very nice pink/rose hues to them with a brown, gray or red base color.

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Argh, I hate the internet! It was just a relatively decent photo of a very brown rosea, but it might have been in premolt like you said.

I've looked at some more photos and maaaybe your right. My brown spider comment might have been a hint at my own bias against the poor critters. I've only seen them rarely in places like petco and they were always beat up WC specimens, so that might have contributed too. I really like the red color forms though.

As an aside question, do you know if wild populations of theraphosa, haplopelma, pterinochilus or cyriopagopus are being threatened these days? I know a lot of them are eaten as food and a lot are imported to the states, but I wasn't sure if the effects were as bad as they've been on the roseas.

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Totally agree here! People *do* play up the aggression thing way too much. Really the only time any tarantla is truely "aggressive" is when food is put in front of them and even at that, some are little chickens and run away. :D "Deffensive", "skittish", "territorial" or even "protective" are words that I like with regard to tarantula attitude as opposed to "aggressive" because tarantulas are not "mean" per se'.

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I think it's part of the macho culture surrounding spiders. A lot of folks I've met keep them because 1) they look bad***, 2) they kill things and 3) they're scared of them (I don't get this last one). I think that in an effort to pump that up, claims about chicken sized spiders that ooze mutant death venom and breed in living hosts comes up a lot.

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I apologize for that comment. I think that was a bit snide on my part and uncalled for, or at least could have been worded more kinkly.

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It's fine, reading it over I can see how it might have come off as a "I KNOW ALL ABOUT SPIDERS I HAVE KEPT LOTS" style comment, when really I just wanted to say that even the more sensitive ones are less work than most potted plants (I do NOT have a green thumb lol). Also, please start a thread and post pictures of your bugs! I love lookin at nice big female spiders, most of my guys are still relatively small and I had to sell most of the larger ones.

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As an aside question, do you know if wild populations of theraphosa, haplopelma, pterinochilus or cyriopagopus are being threatened these days? I know a lot of them are eaten as food and a lot are imported to the states, but I wasn't sure if the effects were as bad as they've been on the roseas.

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Not that I am aware of. However, most of those species are not as "desireable" to the chain pet stores as rosea are, plus rosea tend to be easier to get a hold in the wild. Generally CITES is pretty good about being able to keep updated on endangered and/or protected species. I know that some Poec. sp. were receintly put on CITES but I have not heard or seen any of the others listed.

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claims about chicken sized spiders that ooze mutant death venom and breed in living hosts comes up a lot.

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WHAT???? :O You mean to tell me that the $400,000,000 I just wrote a check out for the mutant death venom (purple venom at that :D) chicken spider might not be REAL???? :( :( :(
*goes to hang herself* :P
I would LOVE to post pix of my critters... if my camera would WORK PROPERLY :mad:

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Originally Posted by Shadowspider

WHAT???? :O You mean to tell me that the $400,000,000 I just wrote a check out for the mutant death venom (purple venom at that :D) chicken spider might not be REAL???? :( :( :(
*goes to hang herself* :P

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Now did you get the purple blue spectacled morph or the blue purple speckled morph? Because the spectacled morphs will only eat endangered species as their prey (due to their shortsightedness *badum pish*).

Neither, I got the orange striped, pink heart shaped one with the lizzard lips. I like the tails on those better. :D :P

Hi,


Just as I was passing I thought I'd sling the link up here. Didn't use any of that fancy htmlmnl schtuff though as my brain has been in bed for an hour already.:D


dr del

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Originally Posted by raptorslovepuns

I've looked at some more photos and maaaybe your right. My brown spider comment might have been a hint at my own bias against the poor critters. I've only seen them rarely in places like petco and they were always beat up

I think it's part of the macho culture surrounding spiders. A lot of folks I've met keep them because 1) they look bad***, 2) they kill things and 3) they're scared of them (I don't get this last one).

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The people who get spiders because they are scared of them are generally trying to get over their phobia of spiders by confronting it. Later on, a lot of those people end being some of the people who become enthralled with the hobby.

There's actually a variant of the rose hair tarantula referred to as the "red phase". Red phase rosies are very red.

the red phase rosea are quiet the lookers, a guy in my tarantula club has one.
but yea as a beginner species i would say get a b. smithi. they're docile and quiet the lookers as well.
here's a pic of my 3" male smithi

T's are easy to keep. Just watch out once you get 2.. the flood gates open and next thing you'll know you'll have like 5 >_>

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Originally Posted by a7051

the red phase rosea are quiet the lookers, a guy in my tarantula club has one.
but yea as a beginner species i would say get a b. smithi. they're docile and quiet the lookers as well.
here's a pic of my 3" male smithi

T's are easy to keep. Just watch out once you get 2.. the flood gates open and next thing you'll know you'll have like 5 >_>

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:clap:
True, true! Inverts are just as addicting as snakes (or coffee). :D

and yes, the red phase rosea's are beeeuuutttiiiffffuuulll!

P.S. Thank you del for activating that link.

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Originally Posted by Shadowspider

:clap:
True, true! Inverts are just as addicting as snakes (or coffee). :D

and yes, the red phase rosea's are beeeuuutttiiiffffuuulll!

P.S. Thank you del for activating that link.

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They really, really are. I just sold all of mine though. :(

I'll miss the little bugs.

Chaco golden knee or curly hair.

We had the rosehair at one time. Supposedly docile.
Reared up any time the cage was opened or you got to close and it saw you.

The curly hair is a big chicken even if you are a cricket.
The CH was a tiny sling but has grown very well over the past several months. Just recently molted again.

The 2 CGK here have distinct personalities. One is cautious and runs while the other is an in your face type that will scale the side of the cage to greet you.

None of the 3 have ever reared up on us. But as with snakes, they have their own personalities.

just like snakes, each T has its own personality. My A.genic isn't very aggressive except she'll bite the tongs if i start poking her.other than that she prefers to flick hairs. my L.parahybana can be aggressive but he prefers to run and flick hairs.

for a beginner, i'd recommend the Aphonoplema, Brachypelma, Avicularia, and Grammastola genus.


want pics? look around this section of the forums and you'll find threads by me showing pics of the T's that i have.

Okay, thats enough T talk... I want one so bad. I have always wanted one. You guys are making it horribly worse.



Anyway, another reason I chimed in here. Are there any large spiders or T's native to Honduras that anyone knows about. I know about the Honduran Culry hair. Just wondering if there are any others. I do have this pic of one in Honduras. A GIGANTIC wolf spider. Atleast thats what it looks like.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...wolfspider.jpg

Then there was this guy who could jump around corners :D
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...n/100_0190.jpg

Sorry, don't mean to butt in but you guys sound like you know Spiders really well and thought I would ask about those two.

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Curlyhair, Chaco Golden Knee, Pretty much any Avicularia sp.

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chaco golden knee hands down. :gj: :gj: :gj:

Im thinking about the Pink Zebra beauty......

I really don't recommend any arboreal species as a beginner... Most of the Grammostola family and the Brachypelma family are good for beginners, because they tend to be really calm and tractable.