I just saw this morning on KC Tarantula's Discord channel an explanation for the great influx of G. pulchra slings. One of the members from South America said that 1000 egg sacs were smuggled out to Europe. They were concerned because it depletes the wild population. They were also concerned that some of them might actually be G. quirodai which is "a reasonable reason to delete ads with G. pulchra or G. quirodai." Has any one heard anything about this being the reason for the sling influx?
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G. pulchra slings
- Thread starter Greenbay1
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- g. pulchra slings smuggled
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Well there has to be some explanation and that seems like a pretty simple one. It also seems that the majority of them have been imported to the US and not bred here (this is an assumption based on the wording of ads but not stated facts) so it might make sense. I sure don’t know though so I have to reserve judgement on the sellers. I didn’t plan on buying any in the first place anyways.
I also saw someone post the other day (can’t remember which forum) regarding the fact that the pulchra in the hobby could be an entirely different species, but obviously I don’t recall the details. If this is the case its pretty concerning.
I’d be interested to hear some comments from the sellers/ importers on this forum.
I also saw someone post the other day (can’t remember which forum) regarding the fact that the pulchra in the hobby could be an entirely different species, but obviously I don’t recall the details. If this is the case its pretty concerning.
I’d be interested to hear some comments from the sellers/ importers on this forum.
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I got mine 4 mos. ago from Tanya at Fear Not Tarantulas. She is easy to talk to. She had 70 slings come into the Port of New York. She actually had to go pick them up. Where they originated prior to that is unknown to me.
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https://www.sciencealert.com/a-tara...d-scientists-have-never-seen-anything-like-it
A very interesting article on G. quirodai.
A very interesting article on G. quirodai.
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All imports have to be picked up at the port of entry. Its just one of the reasons that importing legslly is so tough.
The big question is indeed the origin and secondarily if the importers know the origin.
If they are knowingly importing smuggled slings I say not cool man. At this point we don’t know and we sure don’t know if they know so I can’t really pass judgement without the facts.
I agree Metalman - no judgement. The only reason I'm asking if anyone knows for sure if this is how the slings got to Europe is that it would affect my decision to purchase one. Ethically, I wouldn't feel comfortable with the purchase knowing that they were originally smuggled. It definitely wouldn't affect me purchasing from a vendor selling them unless they positively knew the origin of the slings.
I don't have much to add other than I've never heard of the second species mentioned. As far as importing the only one I know of that could have knowledge of the topic is @Austin S. perhaps @Thistles and maybe (not sure) @Casey K.
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I've been on the fence on this species for a while...if I do get one it wouldn't be for breeding anyways. Just another T on my shelf.
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I believe you have been misinformed. There has been many successful breedings here in Europe over the past couple of months and the demand for them from US breeders is huge. As this is the case the breeders here are sending mass exports to the US.
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I think you mean Grammostola quirogai. This species is from Uruguay. The region of forest and scrubland in Brasil that G. pulchra are found overlaps some of quirogai territory over the border. It is believed that WC specimens of quirogai were captured and sold on as pulchra by hunters who didnt know any better.
There are definately a good amount of them in the hobby that are being labelled mistakenly as pulchra. This may also be why people have difficulty breeding this species successfully, as they are trying to pair adults of different species. There certainly is a small problem here in that respect.
However, the recent broods are G. pulchra
There are definately a good amount of them in the hobby that are being labelled mistakenly as pulchra. This may also be why people have difficulty breeding this species successfully, as they are trying to pair adults of different species. There certainly is a small problem here in that respect.
However, the recent broods are G. pulchra
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I think you mean Grammostola quirogai. This species is from Uruguay. The region of forest and scrubland in Brasil that G. pulchra are found overlaps some of quirogai territory over the border. It is believed that WC specimens of quirogai were captured and sold on as pulchra by hunters who didnt know any better.
There are definately a good amount of them in the hobby that are being labelled mistakenly as pulchra. This may also be why people have difficulty breeding this species successfully, as they are trying to pair adults of different species. There certainly is a small problem here in that respect.
However, the recent broods are G. pulchra
Thanks for the info, Kezy! I was sweatin' bullets here, lol. If anyone would know the truth, it's you.
Whew! I'm relieved, lol.
