Where have all the blondi's gone?

[Phil]

Hello everyone, this has been a worry of mine for years now that there are so few Theraphosa blondi in the hobby these days and the only ones available command ultra high prices. I have seen an adult female for sale at £400 (seems to be the going rate as well)
So are we having a repeat of the Brachypelma smithi situation a few decades ago when over collecting and no controlled breeding in the hobby caused virtual mass destruction of wild stock or is it the notoriously difficult housekeeping and breeding of the blondi to blame?
Seems such a shame that this wonderful creature cannot be more available in the hobby.
Other "Goliath" alternatives (across uk and europe anyway) include the T. stermi (much easier to find and breed) and the T. apophysis (slings approx £80 and have also seen a 4" female for sale at £200)
I guess blondi's must have more fun and they are all out clubbing!
Makes me a bit sad that I can't find one that I can afford. Maybe I need to think about selling a Thrigmopoeus psychedelicus or two to fund my blondi dream.(and I am not talking about Debbie Harry back in the day either......lol)

 

[Johnnyp1987]

Ive seen the going at about £400 aswel, i even saw a 4" unsexed juvenile going for £300 [emoji50] i am quite content keeping stirmi, however being able to have a "true" goliath would be amazing. Alot probably comes down to their difficulty to produce successful sacs. Im sure i read somewhere that they have put a restriction on the number of WC being exported, i could be mistaken though but it seems like it could be true given how scarce they seem to be and how expensive the available ones are. It wouldnt suprise me if they ended up on CITES.

 

[Phil]

Ive seen the going at about £400 aswel, i even saw a 4" unsexed juvenile going for £300 [emoji50] i am quite content keeping stirmi, however being able to have a "true" goliath would be amazing. Alot probably comes down to their difficulty to produce successful sacs. Im sure i read somewhere that they have put a restriction on the number of WC being exported, i could be mistaken though but it seems like it could be true given how scarce they seem to be and how expensive the available ones are. It wouldnt suprise me if they ended up on CITES.

I agree. CITES wild be the only way to help over col,ecting in wild. As soon as they do appear on thr list (if) that £400 female will be £500 probably, The Stirmi and apothysis are magnicint in their own right but ever since I missed out on a mature female blondi for £100 I have been wanting one of these Sooooo bad. Was o .y a year or so ago and came in a 3ft x 3ft cube as well. The guy who had put a deposit on it had not been to collect for ages and I manged to pursue the pet store that give him another 24hr hours and then sell to me. Sods law. He Fecking turned up that same day!

 

[Johnnyp1987]

That is sods law lol. I bet that there will be plenty of captive bred blondis available, its just that all the traders get first refusal before the public on most, if not all tarantulas. So by the time the public gets a look at a stock list, most of the sought after stuff has already gone, apart from any that have been held back for public sale which is usually a small quantity.

 

[Phil]

That is sods law lol. I bet that there will be plenty of captive bred blondis available, its just that all the traders get first refusal before the public on most, if not all tarantulas. So by the time the public gets a look at a stock list, most of the sought after stuff has already gone, apart from any that have been held back for public sale which is usually a small quantity.

Yeah you are right. I hope when you become a centre of excellence for breeding that you keep some back for the public....☺

 

[Johnnyp1987]

Yeah you are right. I hope when you become a centre of excellence for breeding that you keep some back for the public....☺

If i ever managed to breed blondis i would consider my mission within this hobby complete lol

 

[kormath]

my first thought when i saw this thread is they all died their hair to red or brunette

And htey must have, i'm not seeing any for sale in the states either.

 

[Johnnyp1987]

Apparently only 2500 are allowed to be exported per year. Divide that between the different countries, then divide again between the different sellers of that country. Not alot of blondis really lol.

 

[Phil]

If i ever managed to breed blondis i would consider my mission within this hobby complete lol

I think you will have a lot oF people to seel to as well......lol

 

[Phil]

I've never even seen a blondi for sale, it was Rob C' YouTube videos of "Zilla" that really made me want one someday but it doesn't look good for me...

There is the £400 female I mentioned for sale on pre loved. Warren Davies is his name. I think he has a "web" site too (lol). He is in Birmingham and seems to do a number of shows.

 

[Phil]

my first thought when i saw this thread is they all died their hair to red or brunette

And htey must have, i'm not seeing any for sale in the states either.

Lol.....the Theraphosa brunette does not have the same ring to it ☺

 

[Phil]

I've never even seen a blondi for sale, it was Rob C' YouTube videos of "Zilla" that really made me want one someday but it doesn't look good for me...

I have seen those vids too. She died did'nt she?

 

[Johnnyp1987]

I have seen those vids too. She died did'nt she?

Ye she did, apparently rob took it really badly, she was his princess

 

[Phil]

Yeah, it was pretty emotional... I'm sure I berated someone for laughing at Rob holding back tears in the video...

Tossers! You did right to have a go. It is really sad when you lose yur favourite T. I was gutted when I lost my P. Metallica (Saphie) this year. The only problem when you put yourself out there on line, you always leave yourself open for the haters. One of the reasons why I don't bother with Facebook or you tube etc. There is a much safer,happier and empathetic bunch on this forum ☺

 

[Phil]

Very true buddy, it makes me rage at the lack of respect for spiders in general, I cried as you know when I lost my P.Vittata (Eleanor) recently... Still hurts..

Hurts me too nearly 9 months on I reckon if it stops hurting we don't deserve them anymore.

 

[Phil]

Well, @Johnnyp1987 and I know where 8 of them are now. WE HAVE THEM....☺

 

[Johnnyp1987]

Thats right phil, and if i had the money i would have bought more haha, damn finances lol

 

[Phil]

Thats right phil, and if i had the money i would have bought more haha, damn finances lol

Save for a Germany road trip I reckon and go straight to source.

 

[Denny Dee]

I am fortunate to have a T. blondi in my collection. Have had her for a long time. I always find it interesting when CITES bans a species. I just saw this video this morning (SPOILER ALERT: this is distubing to us T collectors. View at your own risk ). In some cases it seems it would be better to export!

 

[Phil]

I am fortunate to have a T. blondi in my collection. Have had her for a long time. I always find it interesting when CITES bans a species. I just saw this video this morning (SPOILER ALERT: this is distubing to us T collectors. View at your own risk ). In some cases it seems it would be better to export!

Thanks for the spoiler. I have seen blondi's eaten before including gravid females so will psyche myself up for that in a moment. any chance of a pic of your Blondi? would love to see one that is large in a private collection. ☺