tarantulas for pets.

[Podo]

A. avicularia............yes they are docile but they are really fast. I dont think it really matters if a T is docile or not Ts really arent meant to be held. Infact the only time I hold my Ts are for photo shoots or if one tries to crawl out of his/her tank. Also a P. Murinus is a good novice T becuase they are very hardy.

[wendy]

no, not yet,but they are still pretty. mine are from the 2nd shipment....my buddy john has some from the first. his big females are wicked blue..looks awesome w/ the yellow...we r hoping for a male soon. a blue pokie .....who would of thought? in a few days i should have some pic's up.

[kavmon]

last year vince from regal had a 1 1/2 inch one, i was tempted. i'll wait for the price to come down, i like sub-adult females. i don't think i have the patience for a hatchling!

[wendy]

but do you have the loot for sub-adult females....IF you can get them at 975.

[FourFeathers]

Grammostola rosea aka "Chilean Rose" is probably the most common starter species as far as tarantulas goes. They are a new world species, and as mentioned, they do have urticating hairs all over their body. They use these hairs for defense. When they feel threatened, they will launch these hairs in to the air. And what this does is imbeds into your skin and so forth and is very irritating. It itches. Bad. And sometimes will not letup for months, dependingo on the species that gave them to you. The hairs are barbed and some believe contain a protein that is the culprit for the irritation. Some new world species hairs are more severe than others. The most irritating and painful are belong to the Theraphosa blondi & the Pseudotheraphos apophysis (or so I hear).

The G. rosea typically is pretty tolerant of newbie mistakes. They are hardy. They are a terrestrial species that will burrow.

The Avicualaria avicularia is an arboreal species. Meaning, they live in trees. So should you decide to get an arboreal species, your setup needs height, not floor space. They won't come to the ground except to drink, and that's rare in itself.

As far as a Pterinochilus murinus, I wouldn't reccomend that for you to start with. Although they are beautiful, they are an old world species (no urticating hairs) and are much defensive and won't hesitate to bite you should you make them feel threatened. This is typical of old world species. And lightning fast runners too. Let me tell you! If one gets away, you will have quite a time catching it without hurting it.

I would highly reccomend the following links:

http://www.e-spiderworld.com/

http://www.atshq.org/

http://www.goldenphoenixexotica.com/

http://www.birdspiders.com/


The above links are to some of the most reputable people in the tarantula business. They are at the top of the information and knowledge food chain on this subject.

I'll be happy to answer any other questions you may have to the best of my ability.

And if you'd like to see my collection, click the "WEBSHOTS" link below my name.

Take care and good luck!

[Smulkin]

Those hairs are a lot like getting raw fiberglass under your skin - irritating doesnt begin to describe it lol.

Pass me a flame-knee or l.parahybana please!

[normballpython2]

thanks for all the help but i am just getting more excited about getting one. man 8 months *sigh* maybe by that time we will finally be in a house to make room for a tarantula and finally a rosy boa and then when i am 17 a burm lol.

[UberAlice]

^ Are you planning on going to college, Brian? DEFINITELY wait until you're out to get a Burm, most campuses are much more willing to tolerate a 5' snake than a 10' one.

[normballpython2]

oh yeah than 21 it is for the burm and that is in 7 years *sigh* man being young sometimes really sucks and it is even worse when ya don't have a job.

[mlededee]

well without a job you couldn't afford to feed and house more than one snake anyhow, so you're better off waiting. it's something good to look forward too though.