About to jump in head first

KyleR2202

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 29, 2018
Messages
8
Well hello there! Thanks for stopping by... I guess a little introduction is nescesary for my first post. Like most folks I was terrified of spiders, like burn the whole house down if I saw one. But for about 3 months now I’ve become slightly obsessed with them, spending a lot of my free time reading about and watching videos on husbandry and whatnot. So I feel I’m at the point where it’s time to actually plop down some cash and bring some of these little beauty’s into my life.

After talking to the wife we decided five tarantulas was a good starting point. Originally my plan was to get 2 terrestrials, 2 arboreals and a fossorial. A good spread to kind of touch all corners of the hobby at once. But after a few weeks of going back and forth over what to get, planning out the future enclosure needs and what not, I’m not sure if I should pull the trigger on arboreals right away.

My original 5 were, p. Cancerides, p. Regalis, p. Cambridgei, e. Rufences and a. Seemani. Which I still think I could handle but like my wife pointed out, I’m probably gonna end up wanting more so why not start off easy and work my way up to pokeys and what not.

So now a few days later... thinking only in terrestrial or fossorial I have a solid 4 picked out...but I can’t pick a fifth. Right now it stands the same 3 terrestrials as before with a b. Boehmei now. For the fifth I was thinking some sort of baboon or a heavy Webber. My current top choices are c. darlingi, c. Cyaneopubences, I. Mira, h. Cf Hercules, h. Himilayana and a bunch more... what do you guys suggest, or think, I’m open to anything really. My kind of dream t at this point is an h.mac cause I’m crazy like that lol.

Anyways, I’m at the point where I’m tired of choosing and changing my mind and just want to order and start raising these little monsters, cause I’m sure they won’t be my last. Oh and I’ll be ordering from tarantula Canada, because well I’m canadian lol.


TL:DR - getting 5 spiders soon...have 4 genus’ picked can’t decide on a 5th.
 

Gaherp

Arachnofarmer
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 27, 2007
Messages
218
I would start with a p. cambridgei, p. cancerides, b. boehmei, and the c. cyaneopubences. Those four should give you a good starting point in the variable care/caging of species utilizing different types of setups you want. I would suggest getting a pokie later on. Same with some of the old worlds as they can be more flighty and willing to show threat display or bite(I suggest not holding though).

The cancerides are a little testy, but not as bad as others if you want a step back from that then the seemanni. The cancerides do get a little larger and make an impressive terrestrial. The boehmei is another great terrestrial and the only downside is hair flicking. The cambridgei will make a great beginner arboreal although they can be flighty. Finally the Gbb will give you all the webbing you will ever want to view.

Another tarantula you may want to look in also is some of the smaller or dwarfs. Hapalopus or cyriocosmus make great small species that take up very little space.
 

cold blood

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
13,216
Jump in, fine, but don't jump right into the deep end.

And for future reference, the genus is always capitalized, the species is never capitalized. As in, P. cancerides.

My original 5 were, p. Cancerides, p. Regalis, p. Cambridgei, e. Rufences and a. Seemani
A. seemani, great choice....E. rufences, doable....these other three are horrible choices...the kinds of choices that will just bring you back to the fear of spiders stage. P. cancerides are very large, and exceedingly defensive....I keep hundreds, P. cancerides are the most defensive jerks I own....right there with irmnia and OBT. P. cambridgei is a great intermediate t to prepare you for OWs, but as a first....no way....an exceedingly fast t that grows so fast it will easily outgrow your learning ability. P. regalis is an advanced species, as large and fast as the cam, but with the ability to send you to the hospital in tears. All these require more understanding than a beginner, especially one with a 3 month interest. Glad you are altering this list.


For the fifth I was thinking some sort of baboon or a heavy Webber.
Heavy webber, fine, avoid those from Africa....aka baboons. Potent venom, and very fast.

My current top choices are c. darlingi, c. Cyaneopubences, I. Mira, h. Cf Hercules, h. Himilayana and a bunch more
First, H. hercules isn't in the hobby, so anyone selling that should be called to question immidiately.....the darlingi you should wait on as I mentioned earlier....H. himilayan is horrible for a beginner...I. mira would be doable, but for a beginner they're not good....simply because its impossible to learn anything from a t you do not see...and you generally do not see them aside from flashes. Starting out, you really want and need ts you can actually observe.

The GBB is the choice you should make.


Stick to NW terrestrials, there's so much you need to learn first and these will be the best teachers for the basics, and knowing and understanding the basics are essential...even critical to advancement.

Also keep in mind, that boehmei, is typically a heavy flicker...any other red leg Brachy will be much more calm. A choice you can certainly make, but just beware of this factor with boehmei.


There are literally hundreds of fantastic choices available from the NW, skipping past them is pretty pointless and really IMO a huge mistake every time...I will never get why so many want to jump past them as fast as possible.

Take your time, it will make your enjoyment more, and it will minimize those mistakes.

You don't learn how to do surgery by hacking the top of someone's head off and tinkering with the brain...you don't learn how to play basketball by joining the NBA, you don't learn how to race cars in a nascar....etc, etc....this should not be considered any different. Just be patent and work your way up....different people progress at different rates, but everyone should have the same starting point (basic knowledge) before making that decision of advancement.


Also keep in mind, much of what you read or hear (care sheets and pet stores are awful) and most of what you see on you tube, are incorrect and not things a responsible keeper wants to emulate. Great for entertainment, but for education, look around here for a good while, where you can get advice from actual keepers you can interact with.....don't rely on those videos.

Welcome to the hobby, and to the boards...ask questions whenever you need to and be patient. This site is flush with the info you need, just awaiting you to click!
 
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jhilde

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 13, 2016
Messages
20
All of my t's have come from Tarantula Canada as slings and I have been very happy with them. If your ordering from the "five for" lists I can understand why you would want to get OW species. A lot of people think NW t's will be boring because they are recomended to beginners but they are usualy the most visable species where the OW species tend to disapear in a hole never to be seen again lol. Also my H. himilayana is completely psychotic so I would suggest something else.
 

KyleR2202

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 29, 2018
Messages
8
Ok... well that was quite a bit to read through... I appreciate all the input and suggestions. Yeah nothing has been set in stone as to what to get, I agree that I should probably stick to nw terrestrial until I’m more comfortable and have actually raised slings before going nuts.

So A. Seemani is a definite yes, the hair kicking tendencies of the B. boehmei make me a little hesitant but not enough to resist the beautiful bugger. C. cyaneopubescens is a must apparently... E. rufences is a personal favourite and doable right so yeah, if it’s a girl her name’ll be temperance. I’m again stuck on a 5th... so be it...perhaps I’ll just start with 4 who knows I may even get an OBT as a freebie <—- shit like that scares me to death lol.

Yeah I’ve found pet stores to be useless, I knew more about the t’s than the guy who worked there it was kind of sad. They just had a bunch of Brachypelmas priced by size, no sub genus or anything. And an avic avic in a 16oz deli cup with no substrate. Really pissed me off.

I guess on another note while I have your attention lol, I have some nice 3.5’ diameter containers that are roughly the same height. I was thinking these would be more than fine for a while, probably even too big to start with. Interior volume is roughly 16 oz. A picture would probably help wouldn’t it. I plan on using all acrylic display type cases for all stages cause I really just wanna watch these guys do their thing.

As for the 5 for pricing...while that was originally the plan it’s quickly been forgotten after doing some research. Plus I’ve heard nothing but good reviews about them so it makes sense to give them my money.

But yeah thanks for the welcoming and again I appreciate all your thoughts and inputs keep em coming. I’m sure I’ll be picking your brains in the future.
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,819
Martin and his wife were former members of AB. They are stand up people, and breeders too. I don't live that far North, but if I did, I'd be ordering from TCan w/out question. They have good prices often better than the USA.

I appreciate your enthusiasm, that's nice to see. So don't take my thoughts the wrong way below. And remember I'm only going by what you wrote, so if you left out material don't blame me. ;)

But for about 3 months
Terrified of spiders, and now for 3 months you want to order a bunch. I'll be honest, that's a bad idea. I would order one or two at most. There are a lot of people who "love" tarantulas, and inside of a year are looking to dump their collection. There are a lot of people that collect Ts like they are Skittles without taking the time to appreciate the initial 1 or 2 they first bought. Next thing you know, they are bored w/what they own, and looking to get rid of them. We've seen this type of behavior since the board has existed. I hope that's not you because in the end, only the unwanted animals may suffer.

After talking to the wife we decided five tarantulas was a good starting point.
See above-- 1 or 2.

so why not start off easy and work my way up to pokeys and what not.
SMART- a thought rarely experienced by many unfortunately.

For the fifth I was thinking some sort of baboon or a heavy Webber. My current top choices are c. darlingi, c. Cyaneopubences, I. Mira, h. Cf Hercules, h. Himilayana and a bunch more... what do you guys suggest, or think, I’m open to anything really. My kind of dream t at this point is an h.mac cause I’m crazy like that lol.
Bad idea-- Your idea of working up to OWs (we call it the ladder system) is in direct conflict with the above, i.e. baboons are OW Ts. They are far faster than NW Ts, and venom more of an issue. Don't forget Poki's have put grown men into hospitals, altering their heart beating- documented in the literature.

However, if you get a OW later down the road. The best genus is Ceratogyrus or I. mira. I own both, only issue w/ I mira is that you will rarely see it. However, it's a very fast growing dwarf.

A C. cyano. is a good, hardy T, very forgiving of husbandry errors. It's quite fast, I don't recommend it as a first T, however a careful owner can do fine with it as a first T. Also, this species is a setae flicker every bit as much as B. boehmei. There is another species, a dwarf, that looks almost like the GBB but lacks the setae. There are a few species in the NW, aside from Psalmo's, that don't have urticating setae- they tend not to be beginner species.

cause I’m sure they won’t be my last
We always welcome enthusiasm, more importantly we welcome those who actually do research BEFORE they buy something which it seems you are doing.

I agree that I should probably stick to nw terrestrial until I’m more comfortable and have actually raised slings before going nuts.
This is a smart thing to do for MANY reasons.

the hair kicking tendencies of the B. boehmei make me a little hesitant
C. cyano is just as bad. I've raised many GBBs, beautiful they are, and quite flicky. My B. boehmei just as flicky, drop a single crix in her setup and you will get flicked at.

There's no rush to hop into OWs. They will be around for years to come. There are numerous good species from the NW to start with.

Most people don't want a dwarf, so I won't recommend one. However a good species that is generally good natured and gets to a decent size is G. pulchripes.
 

Ultum4Spiderz

Arachnoemperor
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Oct 13, 2011
Messages
4,504
I’d stick to slower species at first . C. versicolor is a good aboreal. pick whatever you want just nothing to fast. Lost my first obt cuz it bolted off.
 
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StampFan

Arachnodemon
Joined
Jul 12, 2017
Messages
756
Well hello there! Thanks for stopping by... I guess a little introduction is nescesary for my first post. Like most folks I was terrified of spiders, like burn the whole house down if I saw one. But for about 3 months now I’ve become slightly obsessed with them, spending a lot of my free time reading about and watching videos on husbandry and whatnot. So I feel I’m at the point where it’s time to actually plop down some cash and bring some of these little beauty’s into my life.

After talking to the wife we decided five tarantulas was a good starting point. Originally my plan was to get 2 terrestrials, 2 arboreals and a fossorial. A good spread to kind of touch all corners of the hobby at once. But after a few weeks of going back and forth over what to get, planning out the future enclosure needs and what not, I’m not sure if I should pull the trigger on arboreals right away.

My original 5 were, p. Cancerides, p. Regalis, p. Cambridgei, e. Rufences and a. Seemani. Which I still think I could handle but like my wife pointed out, I’m probably gonna end up wanting more so why not start off easy and work my way up to pokeys and what not.

So now a few days later... thinking only in terrestrial or fossorial I have a solid 4 picked out...but I can’t pick a fifth. Right now it stands the same 3 terrestrials as before with a b. Boehmei now. For the fifth I was thinking some sort of baboon or a heavy Webber. My current top choices are c. darlingi, c. Cyaneopubences, I. Mira, h. Cf Hercules, h. Himilayana and a bunch more... what do you guys suggest, or think, I’m open to anything really. My kind of dream t at this point is an h.mac cause I’m crazy like that lol.

Anyways, I’m at the point where I’m tired of choosing and changing my mind and just want to order and start raising these little monsters, cause I’m sure they won’t be my last. Oh and I’ll be ordering from tarantula Canada, because well I’m canadian lol.


TL:DR - getting 5 spiders soon...have 4 genus’ picked can’t decide on a 5th.
I'm going to put in my 2 cents. Tarantula Canada where you are purchasing has a *ton* of better beginner choices right now. They have a *ton* of Aphonopelma and Brachypelma right now which is kinda rare in Canada for some reason but excellent beginner choices, for some excellent prices. You will not be disappointed. And you may not get an opportunity to get that kind of selection for each of those Genus' again for those prices for a while, so take advantage while they are available because they have *not* been for the past 18 months until their last couple of imports....
 

Ungoliant

Malleus Aranearum
Staff member
Joined
Mar 7, 2012
Messages
4,095
who knows I may even get an OBT as a freebie <—- shit like that scares me to death lol.
I would think that any reputable, responsible seller who is considering sending an OBT as a freebie would check with you first, especially if your order consists entirely of New World species.
 

Minty

@londontarantulas
Joined
Feb 2, 2018
Messages
488
I agree with a lot of what’s been said above me. I know you’re excited to get started but I’d agree that starting with one (maximum two) is probably the most sensible choice. Tarantulas aren’t going to disappear, so if you still want to get more once you’ve got a bit of experience, then they’ll still be available to you. Plus, you’ll have a better idea of which species you want having presumably carried out more research.

Stick to new world species to begin with. Old world spiders will punish beginner mistakes a lot more harshly than new world species.

I’m just speaking from my own experience, but when I started I wanted to open my tarantula’s enclosure and look at it a lot, which is understandable. Had I been doing that with an old world then if it made a chance for escape I would have been unlikely to be able to stop it and could have risked losing it or getting bitten, or worse, end up with someone else being bitten. The speed of old world species over a short distance is staggering. They can and will bolt to another position before you are able to react quickly enough.

In terms of species, I would go along with the suggestion of getting a Chromatopelma cyanepubescens, as they’re a great all rounder. They are great eaters, web a lot, have stunning colours and colour changes as they moult. They’re also fast growing, which means that if you get a sling/juvenile, you’ll see it get to a nice size within a year. They do often flick hair and tend to be skittish. So if you do go with this species, be careful when carrying out maintenance of the enclosure. Keep your face a safe distance away at all times and invest in a set of feeding tongs. C.cyanopubescens was my first tarantula and I can’t recommend them enough.

Other than that, any Brachypelma is a good starter. My favourite is the Brachypelma albopilosum . As docile as they come, never seen mine flick and is a great eater.

The above tarantulas are great species in their own right despite being commonly listed as beginner species. None of mine hide either, so they’re good for observation too.
 

KyleR2202

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 29, 2018
Messages
8
The G. pulcripes is at the top of my list but they’re currently not available, C. Versicolor was also another option I was thinking about. Dwarf species are definitely on my list, but I was thinking more down the line. I find both Heterthele gabonensis and villosella in a communal set up is kind of like a long term goal along with the H. mac.

So I guess a bit of clarification on a few points, yes 3 months doesn’t seem like a long time but I can honestly say I’ve probably put about 3-4 hours everyday into reading as much as I can about t’s. It wouldn’t be far off to say I’ve been borderline obsessed. I’ve practiced cupping with my local wolf spiders, because any practice is good practice right lol. I’ve created my own little quick care sheets from what I’ve read here and other places as ways of comparing needs between species. I’ve annoyed my wife to death talking about t’s at this point.

And as far as the number that I plan on getting be it 5 or less at this point, is part of a long term plan. The space I have planned can hold 9-10 full size display enclosures, so i figured go half then once I have the slings raised and am comfortable then I can fill the 2nd set with the crazier species.

Truthfully I was a little apprehensive of posting here, just from experience on other forums newbs tend to get torn to shreds. So I appreciate that and please keep the advice coming. You guys are the journey men here and the last thing I wanna do is hurt the t or myself.
 

boina

Lady of the mites
Active Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2015
Messages
2,217
The speed of old world species over a short distance is staggering. They can and will bolt to another position before you are able to react quickly enough.
This is an extremely important point. People who haven't taken care of a spider usually just cannot understand the kind of speed we are talking here. You watch or feed your OW (or speedy NW) spider and suddenly it's... gone. You don't know where it is because human reaction time and eye movement wasn't created for that speed. Then you go looking for a seriously venomous spider somewhere on the lose in your home. Have fun ;).

I find both Heterthele gabonensis and villosella in a communal set up
So you'd like to watch spiders eat each other? As much as there are people bragging with these communals, they usually don't work out long term - or not even short term. People post successes but they don't post failures as easily. Research a bit more before you attempt something like that.
 

Minty

@londontarantulas
Joined
Feb 2, 2018
Messages
488
The G. pulcripes is at the top of my list but they’re currently not available, C. Versicolor was also another option I was thinking about. Dwarf species are definitely on my list, but I was thinking more down the line. I find both Heterthele gabonensis and villosella in a communal set up is kind of like a long term goal along with the H. mac.

So I guess a bit of clarification on a few points, yes 3 months doesn’t seem like a long time but I can honestly say I’ve probably put about 3-4 hours everyday into reading as much as I can about t’s. It wouldn’t be far off to say I’ve been borderline obsessed. I’ve practiced cupping with my local wolf spiders, because any practice is good practice right lol. I’ve created my own little quick care sheets from what I’ve read here and other places as ways of comparing needs between species. I’ve annoyed my wife to death talking about t’s at this point.

And as far as the number that I plan on getting be it 5 or less at this point, is part of a long term plan. The space I have planned can hold 9-10 full size display enclosures, so i figured go half then once I have the slings raised and am comfortable then I can fill the 2nd set with the crazier species.

Truthfully I was a little apprehensive of posting here, just from experience on other forums newbs tend to get torn to shreds. So I appreciate that and please keep the advice coming. You guys are the journey men here and the last thing I wanna do is hurt the t or myself.
Doing a lot of reading is great, I did the same. But reading can't ever substitute hands on experience. In the end it's totally up to you on how many you buy and what species, but people give advice not only for your benefit, but for the spider's benefit too. For example, one of the species you've said your interested in, Caribena versicolor, is really easy to kill if the set up isn't correct.
 

nicodimus22

Arachnomancer
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Sep 26, 2013
Messages
715
The G. pulcripes is at the top of my list but they’re currently not available
There is a recent post in the classified section that has them for $20. The title was "Tarantula availability."

Edit: Hmmm, Canada. Not sure if G. pulchripes is a CITES species or not. All you can do is ask the seller if they do shipments to Canada.
 
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cold blood

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
13,216
There is a recent post in the classified section that has them for $20. The title was "Tarantula availability."

Edit: Hmmm, Canada. Not sure if G. pulchripes is a CITES species or not. All you can do is ask the seller if they do shipments to Canada.
Not a CITES species, but that's not relevant to getting one from across the border...still requires cost prohibitive permits..
 

Razzledazzy

Arachnosquire
Joined
Mar 31, 2018
Messages
82
Okay, dude, as someone who was in your place a few months ago. START WITH ONE!

I repeat. START WITH ONE!

I was also arachnophobic, and overcoming a fear comes in waves. I know someone who got a few Ts, freaked out a bit later and got rid of them, only to regret it and wish she had them back later. You WILL freak out at times, and you will question your sanity a little. If you flip and rehome one spider, it's a lot cheaper to get back to where you were vs. if you had to rehome and repurchase five.

My suggestions: consider swapping out the B. boehmei for a B. emilia, the coloration is extremely similar and B. emilia are generally more laid back. A. seemani is a great first pet hole, and the entire Aphonopelma genus is underrated in my opinion. I'd suggest starting with either of those genuses or a G. pulchripes.

My second piece of advice: READ THE TARANTULA KEEPER'S GUIDE. I was like you, I got most of my info from reading the message board and good blogs and watching youtube videos of smart keepers for a period of months leading up to my decision. I did alright but there were STILL things I ended up doing wrong. (Like forgetting to tamp down my substrate.) There are things some people will think so obvious they forget to explain them, and it's always beneficial to understand your spider a bit more. TKGv3 has a fantastic chapter explaining how tarantulas work and that can vastly help you understand what they need in turn.
 

Ultum4Spiderz

Arachnoemperor
Arachnosupporter
Joined
Oct 13, 2011
Messages
4,504
This is an extremely important point. People who haven't taken care of a spider usually just cannot understand the kind of speed we are talking here. You watch or feed your OW (or speedy NW) spider and suddenly it's... gone. You don't know where it is because human reaction time and eye movement wasn't created for that speed. Then you go looking for a seriously venomous spider somewhere on the lose in your home. Have fun ;).
Not a.


So you'd like to watch spiders eat each other? As much as there are people bragging with these communals, they usually don't work out long term - or not even short term. People post successes but they don't post failures as easily. Research a bit more before you attempt something like that.
Bad reason to get communals.
Goal is not to lose them , some species may go extinct in wild. Your better off getting exotic feeders like anole lizards so no Ts get hurt.
 

cold blood

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
13,216
My second piece of advice: READ THE TARANTULA KEEPER'S GUIDE
Not really as good of advice as it once was...much of what's in there is dated info.

There is a lot to learn from the book though, but if you don't know which parts are dated its not going to be a real help.
 
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