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Looking Into My First Tarantula

Lalalelo94

Lalalelo94

New Member
Messages
1
Location
Nottingham
So as the title suggests I am looking at getting my first Tarantula. I am looking for a female Arizona Blonde.

I am aware they have to be adults to sex them but I am super nervous about getting a sling and not being able to properly care for it so feel an adult may be a better place to start for my first. Especially as I used to be terrified of spiders, mainly the really small ones, I could deal with big ones, you can generally see them coming!

Anyway, I have looked into enclosure, substrates, food and all of that side of it. I was just wondering about finding a reputable seller. I live in the UK in the east midlands.

Thank you for any replies, it is greatly appreciated.
 
damhan

damhan

Member
3 Year Member
Messages
14
Location
Northern Ireland
A few sellers on this forum....look in the forum marketplace, which also gives ratings on them.

If you want a business, here are a few I have come across:

https://www.bugzuk.com/insects/spiders/
http://www.martingoss.co.uk/Theraphosid.html
http://www.thespidershop.co.uk/tarantulas-c-21.html
https://www.somanylegs.co.uk/
https://www.virginiacheeseman.co.uk/tarantulas

I've only had dealings with The Spider Shop (who were excellent.!) but I'm sure someone on here will be able to give their opinion of the others...
 
Rs50matt

Rs50matt

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1,000+ Post Club
3 Year Member
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1,078
Location
London
The spider shop are excellent and my go to seller same as spidersworld.eu. Virginia cheeseman does sell quality spiders but I personally found the sizing questionable.
If your looking for an A Chalcodes there might be on for sale on the forum. They are fairly common in the hobby and although I’ve never had one a very good T to start with :)
 
nedaK

nedaK

Well-Known Member
Messages
460
Location
Michigan
Lalalelo94 said:
So as the title suggests I am looking at getting my first Tarantula. I am looking for a female Arizona Blonde.

I am aware they have to be adults to sex them but I am super nervous about getting a sling and not being able to properly care for it so feel an adult may be a better place to start for my first. Especially as I used to be terrified of spiders, mainly the really small ones, I could deal with big ones, you can generally see them coming!

Anyway, I have looked into enclosure, substrates, food and all of that side of it. I was just wondering about finding a reputable seller. I live in the UK in the east midlands.

Thank you for any replies, it is greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Hello and welcome to the addiction. You will end up getting more T’s in no time. And Arizona blondes are great for a beginner. FYI they don’t have to be adults to sex they just are easier to at that size.
There are a lot of people here who can help you if you ever run into problems with your coming T. You’ve got this :)
 
ilovebrachys

ilovebrachys

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1,000+ Post Club
3 Year Member
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1,812
Location
UK
T-Baby

T-Baby

Well-Known Member
3 Year Member
Messages
387
Location
London
Hey @Lalalelo94 welcome to the forum and most importantly welcome to the hobby! I can certainly help you out with any questions and/or purchase of your first Tarantula. I can also vouch @Phil is a very reputable seller and a genuine pleasure of a man to deal with.
Feel free to inbox me, I’m happy to help!
 
Phil

Phil

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1,000+ Post Club
3 Year Member
Messages
3,918
Location
UK.
Lalalelo94 said:
So as the title suggests I am looking at getting my first Tarantula. I am looking for a female Arizona Blonde.

I am aware they have to be adults to sex them but I am super nervous about getting a sling and not being able to properly care for it so feel an adult may be a better place to start for my first. Especially as I used to be terrified of spiders, mainly the really small ones, I could deal with big ones, you can generally see them coming!

Anyway, I have looked into enclosure, substrates, food and all of that side of it. I was just wondering about finding a reputable seller. I live in the UK in the east midlands.

Thank you for any replies, it is greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
welcome to the forum. I hope you enjoy being part of this wonderful community. Thank you @Enn49, @ilovebrachys, @T-Baby for your kind words. T-Baby is someone I would also recommend if I don't have what you are looking for. We have exchanged many spiders between us and her Ts are always in great condition.
 
Jess S

Jess S

Well-Known Member
1,000+ Post Club
Messages
1,197
Location
South Wales
Lalalelo94 said:
So as the title suggests I am looking at getting my first Tarantula. I am looking for a female Arizona Blonde.

I am aware they have to be adults to sex them but I am super nervous about getting a sling and not being able to properly care for it so feel an adult may be a better place to start for my first. Especially as I used to be terrified of spiders, mainly the really small ones, I could deal with big ones, you can generally see them coming!

Anyway, I have looked into enclosure, substrates, food and all of that side of it. I was just wondering about finding a reputable seller. I live in the UK in the east midlands.

Thank you for any replies, it is greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Hi there. Congratulations on getting ready to get your first.

I was originally thinking of getting an A. chalcodes as my first, but what put me off is that they are such ridiculously slow growers, that if you want an adult, chances are it's WC. I worry that mass importation of wild caught T's could cause wild populations to plummet. I've seen too many Youtube videos and forum posts of WC B. albopilosums laying egg sacks in their enclosures, much to the shock of their new owners (wouldn't be surprised if the same is happening with A. chalcodes). Obviously, taking gravid females from the wild must have a negative impact on local populations, but it seems to be happening.

So if your heart is set on an adult female A. Chalcodes, try to get a captive bred specimen. A reputable seller will be able to give that info. I agree that they are lovely T's.

Personally, I haven't got round to getting my T yet. But when I do it will be from either the Brachypelma or Grammastola genera. Maybe a G. pulchra, G. pulchripes or B. auratam. There's so many to choose from !!!
 
MassExodus

MassExodus

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3 Year Member
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5,547
Location
Outside San Antonio, TX
Jess S said:
Hi there. Congratulations on getting ready to get your first.

I was originally thinking of getting an A. chalcodes as my first, but what put me off is that they are such ridiculously slow growers, that if you want an adult, chances are it's WC. I worry that mass importation of wild caught T's could cause wild populations to plummet. I've seen too many Youtube videos and forum posts of WC B. albopilosums laying egg sacks in their enclosures, much to the shock of their new owners (wouldn't be surprised if the same is happening with A. chalcodes). Obviously, taking gravid females from the wild must have a negative impact on local populations, but it seems to be happening.

So if your heart is set on an adult female A. Chalcodes, try to get a captive bred specimen. A reputable seller will be able to give that info. I agree that they are lovely T's.

Personally, I haven't got round to getting my T yet. But when I do it will be from either the Brachypelma or Grammastola genera. Maybe a G. pulchra, G. pulchripes or B. auratam. There's so many to choose from !!!
Click to expand...
Your heart is in the right place, but don't be too quick to worry about depopulation from exporters. I could collect female A anax every day, all year, and have no impact on the population here. Other spp. and locations may differ, but for some reason I think not, in most cases. WC doesn't =bad. Its just that CB are preferrable. WC is what started this hobby. Sorry, I'm not trying to preach, I just hear too much negative talk about WC tarantulas in the hobby. In all seriousness, if I could collect my local Aphonopelma spp. and make decent money (Like P metallica money) I would quit my job. That would be a glorious occupation..
 
Tnoob

Tnoob

Well-Known Member
Messages
880
Location
Utah
I'm a new keeper myself. I'd say you might reconsider not getting a sling. You can grow with them, and you're not paying a pound of flesh to get one. Better yet. Make the decisions that you feel are best for you.
 
Jess S

Jess S

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1,000+ Post Club
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1,197
Location
South Wales
MassExodus said:
Your heart is in the right place, but don't be too quick to worry about depopulation from exporters. I could collect female A anax every day, all year, and have no impact on the population here. Other spp. and locations may differ, but for some reason I think not, in most cases. WC doesn't =bad. Its just that CB are preferrable. WC is what started this hobby. Sorry, I'm not trying to preach, I just hear too much negative talk about WC tarantulas in the hobby. In all seriousness, if I could collect my local Aphonopelma spp. and make decent money (Like P metallica money) I would quit my job. That would be a glorious occupation..
Click to expand...

It's good to hear your opinion on this. It does make me feel a little better. I watched a video (Love Tarantulas site, they have a YouTube channel) the other day on Brachypelmas, where they were returning to locations they'd previously found many specimens to find nothing but dug up burrows.

If slow growing T's that take years to mature and reproduce are being taken out of the wild year after year, before they get a chance to breed + more importantly keep breeding, then eventually, the local population will start to collapse

There have to be 100's of thousands of T's in the UK alone. I doubt anyone knows what percentage are WC A.chalcodes. Let alone in the rest of the T collecting world. And therein lies the problem. If we have an idea of how many there are in the wild and how many get taken every year, then we are able to make the right conservation efforts. But I've yet to find details of anyone actually looking into this.

It's great to hear that where you are A. anax is plentiful. They seem like a lovely T. I wish I could find them on my back door! You're so lucky.

Yes, I also agree that wild caught started the hobby. I'm not against wild caught to get sustainable captive breeding going, like we do for other T's. But it's not economical for breeders to raise A chalcodes slings til adulthood (because you're talking about a decade). They are a popular T. and everyone quite reasonably wants an adult specimen, because who wants to wait 10 years for their sling to grow to a decent size? I feel there is a reason the females of these slow growing species live so long, and that is so they continue to breed year after year, to keep local populations strong.

As T keeping continues to grow in popularity, with A chalcodes continually recommended as an excellent beginner T, eventually there will come a tipping point. I guess it all comes down to, are the numbers that get taken a harmful amount, and I'd really like to know that answer!

Edit: sorry for the essay!
 
T

THETGUY

Member
Messages
48
Location
New York
MassExodus said:
Your heart is in the right place, but don't be too quick to worry about depopulation from exporters. I could collect female A anax every day, all year, and have no impact on the population here. Other spp. and locations may differ, but for some reason I think not, in most cases. WC doesn't =bad. Its just that CB are preferrable. WC is what started this hobby. Sorry, I'm not trying to preach, I just hear too much negative talk about WC tarantulas in the hobby. In all seriousness, if I could collect my local Aphonopelma spp. and make decent money (Like P metallica money) I would quit my job. That would be a glorious occupation..
Click to expand...
I'll take one...
 
nedaK

nedaK

Well-Known Member
Messages
460
Location
Michigan
Jess S said:
It's good to hear your opinion on this. It does make me feel a little better. I watched a video (Love Tarantulas site, they have a YouTube channel) the other day on Brachypelmas, where they were returning to locations they'd previously found many specimens to find nothing but dug up burrows.

If slow growing T's that take years to mature and reproduce are being taken out of the wild year after year, before they get a chance to breed + more importantly keep breeding, then eventually, the local population will start to collapse

There have to be 100's of thousands of T's in the UK alone. I doubt anyone knows what percentage are WC A.chalcodes. Let alone in the rest of the T collecting world. And therein lies the problem. If we have an idea of how many there are in the wild and how many get taken every year, then we are able to make the right conservation efforts. But I've yet to find details of anyone actually looking into this.

It's great to hear that where you are A. anax is plentiful. They seem like a lovely T. I wish I could find them on my back door! You're so lucky.

Yes, I also agree that wild caught started the hobby. I'm not against wild caught to get sustainable captive breeding going, like we do for other T's. But it's not economical for breeders to raise A chalcodes slings til adulthood (because you're talking about a decade). They are a popular T. and everyone quite reasonably wants an adult specimen, because who wants to wait 10 years for their sling to grow to a decent size? I feel there is a reason the females of these slow growing species live so long, and that is so they continue to breed year after year, to keep local populations strong.

As T keeping continues to grow in popularity, with A chalcodes continually recommended as an excellent beginner T, eventually there will come a tipping point. I guess it all comes down to, are the numbers that get taken a harmful amount, and I'd really like to know that answer!

Edit: sorry for the essay!
Click to expand...
If you’re worried about a sling taking a decade to grow get a Lasiodora sp, they get big and grow like weeds, and there are many beautiful species like L. Klugi. And they are beginner friendly.
 
MassExodus

MassExodus

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3 Year Member
Messages
5,547
Location
Outside San Antonio, TX
THETGUY said:
How common are they?
Click to expand...
Well, when it floods here(almost every year) they climb all over buildings to get above the water. One year the sheriffs office looked like it was getting attacked..it was awesome. I dodge them on the road all the time. I see them at work, at home, at friends houses..everywhere. Last year I had to remove one from the ER, a big female. They thrive here in south Texas. They're literally everywhere.
 

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