Tarantula!

[bhsurf4]

I am completely freaked out by spiders! But I am also in awe of them. I am thinking about getting a Mexican Red Knee (brachypelma smithi). I have seen different common names and even different scientific names advertised all claiming to be Mexican Red Knee. I think brachypelma hamori was one of them. I’m a complete noob, I’m a snake guy, I have 9 total, 6 ball pythons, a reticulated python, a burmese python, and a boa constrictor. Just need some guidance on which species is which. Smithi? Or hamori?


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[chip07]

Spiders freaked me out too which is why I got my first T & now have 70+ after not even 2 years

Brachypelma hamorii & Brachypelma smithi are two different species even though they have the same common name. You’ll find multiple species under one common name for many & it can be confusing. So it’s best just to use the scientific name so people are sure which one you are talking about. I’ve also seen people call Brachypelma auratum Mexican Red Knees before too haha.

Brachypelma hamorii & Brachypelma smithi look the same to me but Brachypelma lovers can usually tell you what makes them different from each other. I believe Brachypelma hamorii is the common hobby one & some sold under Brachypelma smithi are actually hamorii. I’m not a huge Brachypelma fan so others will have better details on it lol. One Facebook group that is pretty good is The Tarantula Community.

Brachypelma in general are usually good beginner ones especially if you are scared of spiders. They don’t usually move all that fast. Which was a worry for me starting off because I knew I would freak if they zipped toward me

[bhsurf4]

Can anyone recommend a good online vendor? I would normally buy from my local pet store, who has several different species of tarantula, but they don’t have the one I want.


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[chip07]

Fear Not Tarantulas
Palp Friction Tarantulas
Michigan Arachnids
M&T Exotics

Are a few. There’s plenty more out there.

[bhsurf4]

Got my smithi! It’s a sling (about 3/4”). Probably should have gone with a more mature spider, but I’ve always gotten my animals as young as I can, I really enjoy the whole process of raising them and learning about the different stages. Is it possible to have them in too big of an enclosure! I got a small plastic jar, it’s about 3 1/2” across and 3 1/2” tall. I got some substrate made for T’s from a local pet store and put 1 1/2” in the bottom. I have air holes all around it and some on top also. I’m just wondering if it’s too big, because I put him in there, and he has basically disappeared! I see him every once in a while, he will wander out, then I will look again and he’ll be hiding! Wondering if a smaller enclosure would be better, less room to just disappear. Don’t know how I’m gonna feed him if I can’t find him!


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[AzJohn]

Congratulations. I kept and bred inverts for years. Tarantulas are very cool pets. Don't worry about not seeing it very often, especially at that size. That's a big home for it right now and will probably do for a year or more. You might want to add a little more substrate and it will need a small water bowl if you haven't added one yet. At that size I would use the lid of a water bottle for it's water. If it's too big your tarantula may drown. The vast majority of tarantulas do fie on dry substrate with a water dish. Your's is a desert species, I would keep it that way. Feed it one appropriately sized cricket a week and you are good to go for the rest of it's life. Just make sure to never give it food when it's about to molt, crickets can and will eat freshly molted tarantulas. Smithi and hamorii are the same species. One of the frustrations of invert keepers is that people are always changing things on the taxonomic level. Some species have had their name changed three or four times in ten years. If you are looking to add for more I would join arachnoboards.com, awesome classifieds. It can be a great forum with a lot of info. It can also be a little self righteous at times. Which is funny because tarantulas are the easiest animals to keep.

[chip07]

I mean they are different species according to the revisions that have been posted. The most recent one where they moved some of the Brachypelma to the new Tliltocatl has them as individual species too. It’s just that the old smithi was moved to hamorii since it seemed all, or most, the hobby smithi were actually hamorii and the old B. annitha was moved to B. smithi because they were actually smithi. Sounds like more mislabeling as they came in? Which does sound pretty confusing all around lol. It looks like they are from two different populations in the wild? B. hamorii from Colima & true B. smithi from Guerrero. From what I’ve been told if you don’t know it came from a Guerrero population or it wasnt previously labeled B. annitha at one point it’s most likely a B. hamorii. Revisions are definitely the most annoying part of the hobby!

Tarantulas hide. I haven’t seen some of mine since they arrived. Or I hadn’t until I dug them up for a rehouse haha. I don’t feed crickets. They smell plus the damage they can do to a T is a no for me. I use red runner roaches. I keep a colony going now but my friend just orders large batches of them. You can just throw live ones in & they won’t eat the T even if it’s molting. And I just rip them apart for the smaller species or crush their heads & leave at the entrance for some. They are a little on the smaller side so you might have to give multiples for larger ones or get some Dubia roaches for larger Ts.

I don’t use water bowls personally. I plan to use some for adult terrestrial possibly that don’t eat as often but I don’t for the young ones or for arboreal. I just spray webbing for the ones that web & feed once a week for everyone else. It’s been working fine so far but if that makes you nervous water bowls it is!

Also, make sure air holes are smaller than the carapace. If they aren’t the tarantula can slip right on through.

[bhsurf4]

One of the reasons I got it from where I did, is because they were labeled as genuine brachypelma smithi. I went and got some pinhead crickets today and dropped one in. He/she didn’t seem interested and I was afraid to leave the cricket in there unattended, so I injured the cricket so he wouldn’t be able to hurt my T. I left it alone and looked in on it an hour later and he had the cricket in his grasp. So he is definitely eating.


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[bhsurf4]

Hadn’t seen him/her in several days, but I saw this in the enclosure today. Guess he/she is growing!




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[bhsurf4]

How often should I completely change out the substrate for my 8 legged friend?


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