I want a pet T.

[lunapoo]

Hello all. I really want a pet T. I want to watch him/her (hmer) grow. The only thing is, i also would love to be able to hold hmer! I love black/white, black and blues, oranges. :/
I was told a Mexican Red Rump Tarantula would be good for a beginner till i actually did research and found, that it would not be good for me since they are skittish and tend to freak out.

help? :[

-think of me as a child. Child can take care of a T perfectly but needs to hold them and "play" with them.- lol

[mr.spooky]

remember they all bite (some are more venomous than others),,, and some kick hairs... are you looking for a aborial or terrestrial??
good luck with your first!
spooky

[CoolioTiffany]

There are several great first pet T's to choose from. The T hobby is quite addicting, I may add .

I find terrestrials to be the best T's for handling, as arboreals tend to be fast and skittish. I really like the Grammostola species because I find them great for handling and for beginners. A couple good ones to look into are Chaco Golden Knees and Brazilian Blacks. They are both a very docile, calm tarantula. Grammostola have the potential to kick hairs, but not anything like Brachypelma. I have not once had any of my Grammostola species kick hairs.

Although Brachypelma tend to kick hairs, they can also be a great first T. They are terrestrial just as the ones I stated in the above paragraph. The one I love the most out of all is the classical Mexican Red Knee. They are docile and calm as well, and are just stunning in coloration. I would really suggest looking into them.

If you would like to have a T you can handle, I would definitely practice regular handling throughout the time they grow from slings to adults. At some points I would get into handling certain T's each day, but now since I haven't done this regularly they look at me with hungry eyes whenever I open up their tubs. Kind of like a feeding response that snakes can get LOL.

[Jessica Loesch]

I second the Grammostola Pulchra, a gorgeous all black species that I too have heard of its docile nature. Great info from Tiff.

[lunapoo]

remember they all bite (some are more venomous than others),,, and some kick hairs... are you looking for a aborial or terrestrial??
good luck with your first!
spooky

I know they all bite. But wondering which ones wont make me sick for a week. or give me a swollen hand that i cannot use.
Well since i would like to touch it. I was thinking a Arboreal T would be easiest for that. So i can gently tap the T onto my hand for walking instead of waiting for it to come out of it's burrow.


Thank you

[Jessica Loesch]

I would get an avicularia versicolor .. good starter arboreal T.

[lunapoo]

There are several great first pet T's to choose from. The T hobby is quite addicting, I may add .

I find terrestrials to be the best T's for handling, as arboreals tend to be fast and skittish. I really like the Grammostola species because I find them great for handling and for beginners. A couple good ones to look into are Chaco Golden Knees and Brazilian Blacks. They are both a very docile, calm tarantula. Grammostola have the potential to kick hairs, but not anything like Brachypelma. I have not once had any of my Grammostola species kick hairs.

Although Brachypelma tend to kick hairs, they can also be a great first T. They are terrestrial just as the ones I stated in the above paragraph. The one I love the most out of all is the classical Mexican Red Knee. They are docile and calm as well, and are just stunning in coloration. I would really suggest looking into them.

If you would like to have a T you can handle, I would definitely practice regular handling throughout the time they grow from slings to adults. At some points I would get into handling certain T's each day, but now since I haven't done this regularly they look at me with hungry eyes whenever I open up their tubs. Kind of like a feeding response that snakes can get LOL.

Thank you very much. I will actually look into that.
I have been told to get antilles pinktoe tarantula. Any input on them as well? They are nice looking no doubt, but i rather be able to hold it then stare in awe ahah.
It is strange. i have been reading that most Mexican T's like to flick hair. Makes me laugh just because i am Mexican too. Guess us Mexican's are nervous things.

[Nektu]

A good starter T to get if you plan on handling it a bit is a New River. By far hands down our wc ones are more docile than our Rosea. There are tricks to find out the temperament of your T. Take a paint brush, bristles end, and "pet" the T down the abdomen away from the rest of the body. If they turn on it, don't handle it. Or if they run from it they are skittish.

G. Pulchripes is also a good starter T.

[Jessica Loesch]

The antilles pinktoe is the avicularia versicolor, so yes ... I still recommend it They are gorgeous.

[Alexandra V]

If you want an arboreal, Avicularia avicularia and Avicularia versicolor are nice. However I will second that they are still rather flighty when compared to terrestrial tarantulas. They do however have very nice colors (the versicolor), and will tend to be visible at almost all times because they're arboreal.

As far as terrestrials go, there are a few that I recommend: Grammostola pulchra, Grammostola pulchripes, Brachypelma smithi (but some do like to kick hairs, you've been warned) and Eupalestres campestratus. These guys have a tendency of being docile and a little more slow-moving, and will not tend to burrow really. They'll just sit out in their cage, or in a hide if you offer one (I highly recommend offering one), so you don't have to rip up a burrow if you want to take it out and will always be visible.