My Wish List

[Tortoise Tom]

I have a small amount of tarantula experience with a small number of species over a long period of time. I am looking to expand my horizons, and my collection. I'm posting it here so that those of you with lots of experience with these species can pick my list apart. Tell me which ones are bad choices and why, and which ones are good and why you like them.

I handle venomous snakes and and all sorts of wild animals for a living, so I'm aware of the dangers of venomous and aggressive species. In the past I've had asian centipedes, and there were some gnarly giant spiders that had infested my cottage where I stayed in South Africa, so the "fast and nasty" concept is not entirely unfamiliar to me. Years ago I helped handle and work some P. mutica on a film set, so I've seen and handled big aggressive/defensive Ts in action. Still, if I should avoid one or more of these until I have more experience, please say so. I'm not a Mr. Sensitive Pants type, so I welcome criticism. If I'm making a mistake due to my ignorance and inexperience, please feel free to say so.

For about the last week and a half my obsession du jour has been tarantulas again. This has happened many times over the last few decades, but there has never been a community of like minded weirdoes to support it. In the past, I only found a book or two, or had a five minute conversation with an arachnophile at a reptile show, but now I've found you lot, and the flames have been fanned.

I've based these choices mostly on appearance and personality. I prefer hardy spiders, and would rather avoid any of these that are "delicate". For what its worth, I've "researched" what I can find about all of these on youtube and whatever internet info pops up on a search. I know this can be unreliable and conflicting and that is why I'm asking you guys to share your wealth of knowledge and experience with me.

I also prefer to buy and raise slings, vs. buying adults. I enjoy the process of watching them grow.

In alphabetical order by genus:
Acanthoscurria geniculata
Brachypelma albiceps
Brachypelma auratum
Brachypelma boehmei
Ephebopus cyanognathus
Chromatopelma cyanopubescens
Grammostola pulchripes
Haplopelma lividum
Harpacitra pulchripes
Megaphobema robustum
Monocentropus balfouri
Pterinochilus murinus
Pelinobius muticus
Psalmopoeus irminia
Psalmopoeus pulcher
Pterinopelma sazimai
Theraphosa stirmi

This is the narrowed down list. There were more…

Thoughts? Am I crazy? I plan on getting a few of these now and then over time, not all at once. Probably as they become available. I'd also love to get recommendations on sellers from people you've dealt with in the past. I've read through the vendor reviews, and that was helpful too.

Thank you for enabling my craziness.

 

[Enn49]

These are the ones I own:-
Acanthoscurria geniculata – Beautiful T. I bought mine as a Juvi so I can’t speak for slings but my girl is always on view and loves her food.
Ephebopus cyanognathus – Those fangs are something else, as a tiny sling they were often all I could see of it when I shone a torch into its burrow but now at just over 1” dls I’m beginning to see more of it.
Grammostola pulchripes – this one has been more visible as a tiny sling than most are.
Pterinochilus murinus – I have both Usamara and Tete slings and used to have an adult and have found them more shy than aggressive. All good feeders.
Psalmopoeus irminia – I’ve had one that was always on show and one that I barely see, good feeders though.
Psalmopoeus pulcher – Skittish but visible
Pterinopelma sazimai – Mine is an odd little one, only 1-1.5” dls, but bold and seems to be attracted by the torch and will follow it round the container. Greedy feeder. Stunning colour.

 

[Metalman2004]

I have a small amount of tarantula experience with a small number of species over a long period of time. I am looking to expand my horizons, and my collection. I'm posting it here so that those of you with lots of experience with these species can pick my list apart. Tell me which ones are bad choices and why, and which ones are good and why you like them.

I handle venomous snakes and and all sorts of wild animals for a living, so I'm aware of the dangers of venomous and aggressive species. In the past I've had asian centipedes, and there were some gnarly giant spiders that had infested my cottage where I stayed in South Africa, so the "fast and nasty" concept is not entirely unfamiliar to me. Years ago I helped handle and work some P. mutica on a film set, so I've seen and handled big aggressive/defensive Ts in action. Still, if I should avoid one or more of these until I have more experience, please say so. I'm not a Mr. Sensitive Pants type, so I welcome criticism. If I'm making a mistake due to my ignorance and inexperience, please feel free to say so.

For about the last week and a half my obsession du jour has been tarantulas again. This has happened many times over the last few decades, but there has never been a community of like minded weirdoes to support it. In the past, I only found a book or two, or had a five minute conversation with an arachnophile at a reptile show, but now I've found you lot, and the flames have been fanned.

I've based these choices mostly on appearance and personality. I prefer hardy spiders, and would rather avoid any of these that are "delicate". For what its worth, I've "researched" what I can find about all of these on youtube and whatever internet info pops up on a search. I know this can be unreliable and conflicting and that is why I'm asking you guys to share your wealth of knowledge and experience with me.

I also prefer to buy and raise slings, vs. buying adults. I enjoy the process of watching them grow.

In alphabetical order by genus:
Acanthoscurria geniculata
Brachypelma albiceps
Brachypelma auratum
Brachypelma boehmei
Ephebopus cyanognathus
Chromatopelma cyanopubescens
Grammostola pulchripes
Haplopelma lividum
Harpacitra pulchripes
Megaphobema robustum
Monocentropus balfouri
Pterinochilus murinus
Pelinobius muticus
Psalmopoeus irminia
Psalmopoeus pulcher
Pterinopelma sazimai
Theraphosa stirmi

This is the narrowed down list. There were more…

Thoughts? Am I crazy? I plan on getting a few of these now and then over time, not all at once. Probably as they become available. I'd also love to get recommendations on sellers from people you've dealt with in the past. I've read through the vendor reviews, and that was helpful too.

Thank you for enabling my craziness.

With some experience no tarantula is really too crazy to manage. I have or have had:

B auratum
C cyaneopubescens
H lividum
P muticus sling
T stirmi

The one that stands out on your list as potentially most difficult to deal with is H lividum and stirmi. The H lividum is undescribably fast. Once it is settled in its enclosure and has built a suitable burrow it shouldn’t be an issue though because they’ll usually prefer to bolt back to their burrow when startled. Stirmis can be a bit agressive but more than anything you just have to make sure to keep up with their moisture requirements.

I have a P cambridgei as well and if they are anything like the Psalmos on your list you’ll be fine. They are energetic and like to run, but they aren’t near as quick in my opinion as a lot of OW arboreals. Just do rehousings in a tub or something and you’ll be fine.

Just don’t overwhelm yourself with all of them at once. I’d add to your collection gradually as opposed to the whole list all at once.

 

[Tortoise Tom]

Thank you Metalman. Great insight and exactly the kind of thing I was hoping for.

 

[LuboMoravcik]

Pterinochilus murinus is one of my favourites.

They’re fast and can be defensive, but they’re easy to keep and are great eaters. I also think they’re stunning.

 

[Tortoise Tom]

These are the ones I own:-
Acanthoscurria geniculata – Beautiful T. I bought mine as a Juvi so I can’t speak for slings but my girl is always on view and loves her food.
Ephebopus cyanognathus – Those fangs are something else, as a tiny sling they were often all I could see of it when I shone a torch into its burrow but now at just over 1” dls I’m beginning to see more of it.
Grammostola pulchripes – this one has been more visible as a tiny sling than most are.
Pterinochilus murinus – I have both Usamara and Tete slings and used to have an adult and have found them more shy than aggressive. All good feeders.
Psalmopoeus irminia – I’ve had one that was always on show and one that I barely see, good feeders though.
Psalmopoeus pulcher – Skittish but visible
Pterinopelma sazimai – Mine is an odd little one, only 1-1.5” dls, but bold and seems to be attracted by the torch and will follow it round the container. Greedy feeder. Stunning colour.

Beautiful. Thank you. This kind of insight will help me do a better job of caring for them.

 

[MassExodus]

With your experience, no tarantula should be a problem. Nice list. Just to add to metalman's description of the C lividus, they are by far the fastest and most unpredictable ow fossorial sp I've ever encountered. I had a female that would litterally make a 180 and do running jumps to get away from me. Fast. Not pokie fast, but fast. Running jumps, like a huge jumping spider. Impressive spiders, and gorgeous, and you'll probably never see it. -.-

 

[PanzoN88]

A. geniculata: I wouldn't recommend them to beginners as first tarantulas for the reason of temperament. However you have some experience so that is irrelevant. They are very easy to care for, get quite large, and eat like they've never eaten anything in their entire lives.

G. pulchripes: get large, pretty good eaters, look stunning even in the later sling stages. Docile for the most part, but individuals do vary.

GBB: Almost too easy to care for, most are skittish (my late female was very mellow), fantastic eaters, the color change with each molt is unbelievable, they web heavily.

P. muticus: pet holes, great eaters, easy to keep, get large, probably the slowest growing species available from what I've been told in the past. This species is not for the faint of heart, even as slings (my sling is fast, but not too defensive), I recommend this species as a 20th tarantula so far.

P. pulcher: my sling is skittish as has already been stated by others who own this species, good eaters, the slings are stunning in my opinion. I would recommend this as a second arboreal along with the P. cambridgei. Dirt curtains, need I say more.

What I don't have but know a little bit about (amount of experience needed):

B. albiceps: good for beginners, easy to keep as all Brachys are.

B. auratum: good for beginners and experienced keepers alike, as all brachys are.

B. boehmei: easy to keep, good for beginners.

E. cyanognathus: I'd recommend buying and getting experience with a GBB before getting one of these, good for the intermediate keeper.

H. lividum: (or C. lividum or whatever they're called now), I'd recommend a P. muticus before i would recommend one of these.

H. pulchripes: good first OW, not a first tarantula, a good first OW, colors are amazing, price for slings are ridiculously high.

M. robustum: good intermediate species, stunning, unique threat posture.

M. balfouri: good first OW, can be kept communally, provided they are of the same sac, the less space the better as far as communals are concerned. Easy to keep. (I did my research on this species, as I am thinking of trying my hand at raising a communal starting in October.

P. irminia: not for the faint of heart, easy to keep, but not a good beginner tarantula.

P. sazimai: colorful, skittish, so I'm assuming not the best beginner tarantula.
P. murinus: there is a reason it has the nickname it does, easy to care for, good eaters, but definitely not recommended for a first tarantula or 15th tarantula, I would get a P. muticus before this species.

T. stirmi: definitely not for beginners, excellent eaters, get huge, they require a lot of moisture, not that humidity crap, but moisture and cross ventilation. I've been in this hobby since September 2014 and there is a reason I have yet to get one. Oh, did I forget to mention the hairs.

 

[Whitelightning777]

I had a hell of a time getting my T stirmi cage functioning right. I felt sorry for him and rescued him from a pet shop.


He hasn't eaten yet. I'm hoping it's early premolt and nothing more serious.

 

[Tortoise Tom]

I had a hell of a time getting my T stirmi cage functioning right.

How so? What's not working the way you want it to?

 

[Whitelightning777]

Getting the heat and humidity right with the substrate moist required lots of adjustments and fiddling around. Getting the plastic sheets that cover the screen into position and figuring out the sizes took a few hours.

The problem is that evaporation lowers temperature but you can't let a temperature spike happen if it gets too dry.

In any event, problem solved and the tarantula seems to be ok but I haven't seen him eat yet. I also haven't seen any of the feeders either.

I'm thinking maybe very early premolt but who knows. If he starts to get skinny I'm sure he'll eat at that point.

 

[Tortoise Tom]

Getting the heat and humidity right with the substrate moist required lots of adjustments and fiddling around. Getting the plastic sheets that cover the screen into position and figuring out the sizes took a few hours.

The problem is that evaporation lowers temperature but you can't let a temperature spike happen if it gets too dry.

In any event, problem solved and the tarantula seems to be ok but I haven't seen him eat yet. I also haven't seen any of the feeders either.

I'm thinking maybe very early premolt but who knows. If he starts to get skinny I'm sure he'll eat at that point.

Is this species particularly sensitive to temp and humidity? My climate is very dry, and my reptile room goes from 75 to 95 daily in summer.

I suppose this is why I'm asking. If this species requires narrow parameters and mild temps, I should probably steer clear. Or maybe just bring this one home for the summer where the temp is around 75 day and night?

 

[Whitelightning777]

Yes.

Caresheets vary but usually you'll see 75 to 85 degrees and 65 to 85 percent humidity. It depends on which one you look at. It's especially important to make sure that they aren't dehydrated just before they molt.

If you keep them like a rose hair and ignore the requirements it's a virtual death sentence for the spider.

Getting the enclosure right is not easy but it's workable. I monitor it twice daily and make adjustments as needed. Doing so more then twice daily stresses the tarantula.

He seems to be stress free and doesn't panic when I add moisture as needed. Measuring humidity helps you determine how often to add moisture.

 

[Metalman2004]

Yes.

Caresheets vary but usually you'll see 75 to 85 degrees and 65 to 85 percent humidity. It depends on which one you look at. It's especially important to make sure that they aren't dehydrated just before they molt.

If you keep them like a rose hair and ignore the requirements it's a virtual death sentence for the spider.

Getting the enclosure right is not easy but it's workable. I monitor it twice daily and make adjustments as needed. Doing so more then twice daily stresses the tarantula.

He seems to be stress free and doesn't panic when I add moisture as needed. Measuring humidity helps you determine how often to add moisture.

I won’t direct link to it, but the “other” forum has a pretty good current thread explaining the science behind why simply keeping moist substrate and proper ventilation tends to be healthier for theraphosa and other humidity-loving species. To each his own, but people (myself included) have pretty good success from a more simple approach. A good setup shouldn’t require twice a day monitoring.

As for the 75-95 temperature swing, thats quite a bit of a swing but I personally can’t comment as to whether that is too much of a swing for stirmi.

 

[Tortoise Tom]

Thanks to all. I'm taking it all in and learning.

 

[Whitelightning777]

I won’t direct link to it, but the “other” forum has a pretty good current thread explaining the science behind why simply keeping moist substrate and proper ventilation tends to be healthier for theraphosa and other humidity-loving species. To each his own, but people (myself included) have pretty good success from a more simple approach. A good setup shouldn’t require twice a day monitoring.

As for the 75-95 temperature swing, thats quite a bit of a swing but I personally can’t comment as to whether that is too much of a swing for stirmi.

It doesn't hit into the 90s, just usually between 75 to 85. I check it twice a day but most of the time it's okay. Adjustments are mostly just adding moisture to areas that look to dry and maybe slightly increasing our decreasing the heat.

The main reason I check it that frequently is that the optimum conditions are sharply defined.

By contrast, if my Pamphobeteus machala gets a bit too warm, to cold, lower humidity I'll usually get around to fixing it in a day or so. The water dish is always full however.

With T stirmi, it's like I'm gonna change this now and I'll call work and let them know I might be a half hour late if necessary.

 

[Whitelightning777]

It only varies between 75 to 85, never into the 90s. Usually he's been hanging out in the area that's about 78 to 80 degrees or else just inside of the burrow.

Still, Mini me can appear anywhere at any time on occasion.

I do keep the substrate moist using the moss and in the area by his burrow to the water dish. There is one corner that l keep dry on purpose so he can get off of the ground if he wants to.

I haven't seen him there much but he sometimes briefly goes there if water runs into his burrow.

Ventilation is very simple. Air rises up out of the hot side replaced by new air coming down the cold side. This proceeds at a stately pace but aside from urticating hairs, the enclosure smells vaguely like fresh moss. It's never stagnant.

Plastic sheets occupy most of the center section of the lid restricting evaporation and directing the air flow.

I verify airflow by misting the glass in the front lightly along it's entire length. From watching it evaporate, the flow direction is obvious.

 

[Whitelightning777]

One thing, I always have a piece of cardboard between my finger and the T if checking the moisture if it looks dry or I'm not sure.

I don't want to find out he's hungry after all...the hard way!! The entire substrate is laced with urticating hairs. Having masking tape nearby is a must.

The fact that this enclosure is closest to my bathroom is not a coincidence.