advice on giants

[nightbreed]

Hey guys looking for some advice, I want to get a BIG T for my collection but my wife has been doing some research and as a result the goliath birdeater, pinkfoot goliath, and the salmon pink are now off limits because they are "to aggressive" so heres my question what T's have got some good size but wont eat the wife and kids if they escape :?

 

[priZZ]

Tell Your wife no T will eat her!

Hmmm... big, but also calm... that is a good question.Maybe the biggest Grammostola grossa (Ausserer, 1871)?

About 11 cm of bodylength.

 

[pitbulllady]

I don't know if you can consider it a "giant" or not, but Grammostola aureostriata is a pretty darn big T, and in general, this species is as docile and calm as they get. They are supposed to reach 8 inches, which is just three inches shy of the T. blondi's size. I know mine is larger than my outstretched hand. They are fairly colorful, too, another plus.

pitbulllady

 

[danread]

I think you should get her to try and reconsider on the Salmon pink (Lasiodora parahybana), they can be a bit feisty when younger, but as they get older they tend to mellow out a lot (although there are always exceptions to the rule, with every species). I wouldn't have dreamed of handling mine when it was younger, but now it is the calmest tarantula i own, and i've had no problems with handling it. An added bonus is that these are cheap, the urticating hairs arent that bad, and they grow really really fast.

Cheers,

 

[Kali]

i agree with L.parahybana. mine is wonderful. also, some goliaths are more mellow than others. simply tell your kids to stay away, my daughter didn't need to be told twice! if all else fails, get a king baboon, C.crawsyi and you'll never see it again anyways.

 

[G_Wright]

A geniculata is a good one grows to about 8 inches I think and is relitivly docile

Quite popular too

 

[Mister Internet]

Hey guys looking for some advice, I want to get a BIG T for my collection but my wife has been doing some research and as a result the goliath birdeater, pinkfoot goliath, and the salmon pink are now of limits because they are "to aggressive" so heres my question what T's have got some good size but wont eat the wife and kids if they escape :?

What did your wife read... a "caresheet"? What exactly qualifies as research here that doesn't include actually owning the animal in question? I'm only asking because if there is some misinformation to be corrected, you've come to the right place.

 

[Runaway987]

My first spider was a Blondi Juvenile - Wasnt aggressive, certainly not in the way they are portrayed to be.

I handled mine 6 or so times and it was good natured.

God help you if you are a cricket/locust/pinky though

 

[Pheonixx]

I agree with wayne..A. genticula is a large T that is a super agressive eater, but i havent read anything on them being agressive towards people. They just think everything is food. They are outside the burow alot therefore making a good display T as well. the other thing to consider with ANY spider is the uricating hairs, if you plan to handle the spider you would want to find out how "bad" the hairs could be. T. blondi (goliath bird eater) are reported to have very bad uricating hairs, they bother my gf s little bit but do not bother me at all. with most spiders you are more likely to get haired before bitten. As far as escape, just make sure the lid is secure and you pay attention when you open and close the lid and you should be fine.

 

[MrFeexit]

Hey guys looking for some advice, I want to get a BIG T for my collection but my wife has been doing some research and as a result the goliath birdeater, pinkfoot goliath, and the salmon pink are now of limits because they are "to aggressive" so heres my question what T's have got some good size but wont eat the wife and kids if they escape :?

NONE OF THESE...I REPEAT...NONE OF THESE are any more agressive than any of my other species. Being slow, steady and aware when cleaning or feeding goes a long way in preventing a "DEFENSIVE" posture from any of your Ts. Tarantulas do not go hunting for humans to bite, in fact they do all they can to stay away from us. Tell your wife not to worry. Hey even my wife and daughter, once educated on the subject, realize that none of my Ts would ever try to get them. I have seen defensive displays by my L parahybana but heck if someone dropped a roach on my head I would get defensive too! My blondi....she likes to sit by her water dish and wait for roaches to fall from the sky. The only real concern with any of theses would be the seemingly more potent urticating hairs on the blondi. This has never been an issue for me but I have heard others say that they cause more irritation than other New World Ts.

 

[Archangel]

I think you should get her to try and reconsider on the Salmon pink (Lasiodora parahybana), they can be a bit feisty when younger, but as they get older they tend to mellow out a lot (although there are always exceptions to the rule, with every species). I wouldn't have dreamed of handling mine when it was younger, but now it is the calmest tarantula i own, and i've had no problems with handling it. An added bonus is that these are cheap, the urticating hairs arent that bad, and they grow really really fast.

Cheers,

I got my L. parahybana when she was 2 1/2" and started handling her immediately. She molted just last week to 4 1/2". She gets running all over my hands and fingers very fast but never aggresive. If she trys to go up my arm a quick hand in front of her stops her and she turns around. She's so hyper that she's earned the name "Taz" and the only defensive thing she's done to me is to poop on my hand. but then my avics do that all the time. The larger she grows the slower she'll get and the calmer she'll get. so if you're looking for large (10"+) and docile then an L. parahybana would be great. And if they try to hair someone it's less then a B. smithi. All around a good T. IMNO.

 

[Letsgochopping]

I am gonna have to go with the Lasiodora Parahybana. I have a juve of about 3.5 inches right now and have no problems. It flicks a few hairs and is a little skittish, but is really easy going normally. Alternately I also have an immature G. Aureostriata, and its a doll too. Either one make really nice pets.

 

[Greg Wolfe]

Monster T's...

I would go ahead and get a Blondi. I have two adult females and they have only flicked hairs at me all this time I have had them.
Any tarantula will defend itself if it feels threatened, but surely Blondi's will not chase humans around for a midnight snack.
There are other T's that get quite large and are "out" most of the time. Lasiodora Difficillus gets quite large, as do the Parahybana's, Striates and Striatipes.
Avicularia Braunshaseni gets big too! ;P :}

 

[nightbreed]

thanks for all the help guys I think i'll try and get her to reconsider the L.parahybana since the urticating hairs are less potent than the Blondi's and I know where i can get one for next to nothing I cant moan at her to much as she's a bit of an arachnophobe and she's being really cool about my T addiction she just has a short list of T's that are off limits (at the mo) she has got really attached to Avics tho

 

[rosehaired1979]

I think G.aureostriata is a good way to go to because as someone said they do get up to 8" but are very docile Course this T is my fav T though

 

[BigBadConrad]

As far as "big" Ts, I have a 6" blondi, 5" parahybana and a 5" genic (all girls). The genic is the only one that's skittish at all - the other two don't even flinch when I open the lid. The blondi gets a little stressed when I remove the water dish and flicks a few hairs, but that's it. None of them have ever been "aggressive" towards me. Unless you plan to handle them (I don't), I wouldn't think aggression would really be an issue.

By the way, interesting that someone said genics are good eaters. Mine rarely eats. She only takes food after a molt, and only for about a couple of weeks, then back to not eating for a couple months until the next molt. Seems healthy, though.

Never seen the parahybana or genic flick a single hair. My opinion: I would go with the parahybana, probably my favorite T.

-John