B. baumgarteni care?

[Stella Maris]

Does any one have any experience caring for Brachypelma baumgarteni slings (less than 2 inches in this case)? Is this species' care any different than other Brachypelma species? Any important things I should be aware of?

 

[KezyGLA]

Just the same as smithi/boehmei etc

 

[Stella Maris]

Is B. baumgarteni temperament similar to docility of B. smithi?

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Is B. baumgarteni temperament similar to docility of B. smithi?

Temperament always vary from specimen to specimen but (talking in general) I say that among genus Brachypelma IMO the only bit of 'attitude' T's are B.vagans.

 

[Paiige]

Temperament always vary from specimen to specimen but (talking in general) I say that among genus Brachypelma IMO the only bit of 'attitude' T's are B.vagans.

I don't have multiples of them to make an adequate judgement...but my little "princess" boehmei x baumgarteni hybrid monster is hands-down the most unpleasant T I own I say this confidently with very itchy hands and arms, just got the hair-ing of a lifetime
I'd rather snuggle my A. genic.

 

[boina]

When I started out in the hobby I started with collecting various Brachypelma species, but I don't own a baumgarteni. I can say confidently though, that temperament may vary.
emilia: me: poke. Her: nothing. Me: poke harder. Her: nothing. Me: offering food. Her: nothing. The ultimate pet rock.
vagans: "You get out of here, this is My territory. Leave the food, though."
boehmei: "something is happening, aaaargh, aaargh!" starts running around and flicking whenever I just open the box.

I prefer dealing with my vagans over my boehmei any day. And @Paiige 's description of her boehmei hybrid fit's right in with this. Other species are intermediate in temperament, like my auratum is somewhere between emilia and boehmei. I guess you will have to find out where baumgarteni fits in.

 

[Andrea82]

When I starts out in the hobby I started with collecting various Brachypelma species, but I don't own a baumgarteni. I can say confidently though, that temperament may vary.
emilia: me: poke. Her: nothing. Me: poke harder. Her: nothing. Me: offering food. Her: nothing. The ultimate pet rock.
vagans: "You get out of here, this is My territory. Leave the food, though."
boehmei: "something is happening, aaaargh, aaargh!" starts running around and flicking whenever I just open the box.

I prefer dealing with my vagans over my boehmei any day. And @Paiige 's description of her boehmei hybrid fit's right in with this. Other species are intermediate in temperament, like my auratum is somewhere between emilia and boehmei. I guess you will have to find out where baumgarteni fits in.

You made me spill my tea in the middle of a crowded train

 

[KezyGLA]

Vagans and boehmei tend to be the feistiest Brachys. All husbandry is roughly the same, no significant differences.

 

[Stella Maris]

I got my sling today and he is a lot smaller than I thought he would be. Very skittish. I put him in a much smaller container (5.5 oz deli cup) because the 16 oz was way too big for him. His abdomen is very healthy but he was exhibiting signs of stress (curling up legs near the corner) but I'm assuming this is normal after rehousing? I'm definitely going to leave him alone for a couple days to a week.

I have to admit I'm nervous about keeping a small (1 inch) sling since I'm paranoid that I could wake up and find him dead one morning. He is very special though. My A. seemani seems to be doing okay thus far as well so hopefully there will be no sudden deaths!

 

[Stella Maris]

I got my sling today and he is a lot smaller than I thought he would be. Very skittish. I put him in a much smaller container (5.5 oz deli cup) because the 16 oz was way too big for him. His abdomen is very healthy but he was exhibiting signs of stress (curling up legs near the corner) but I'm assuming this is normal after rehousing? I'm definitely going to leave him alone for a couple days to a week.

I have to admit I'm nervous about keeping a small (1 inch) sling since I'm paranoid that I could wake up and find him dead one morning. He is very special though. My A. seemani seems to be doing okay thus far as well so hopefully there will be no sudden deaths!

I have all these small crickets now and I don't really know how to house them; I bought 100 1/4 inch crickets, far more than I need. I'm trying to raise about 15 other "small" crickets in a critter keeper so I'm not sure what to do with 100 others. I know crickets can kill or injure a sling/adult in pre-molt or during molting, but can they injure a sling if the sling is NOT in pre-molt/molt?

 

[Andrea82]

If the sling is healthy, crickets are no threat. But slings molt quite often, so unless the slings snatch them up right away, i'd go with some maimed crickets. Pinch the heads a little, they will wriggle but can not hurt your slings.
Try to let go of the tension a little bit. T-keeping is not only worry, but joy and fulfilment too. As long as they have ventilation, water, warmth and food, nothing has to go wrong.
Maybe next T should be a bit bigger, juvie at least, so you can get a feeling for what the 'normal' relaxed keeping is. Slings require a little more attention, which is not a problem on itself, but can cause big worries for new keepers.
If it helps, keep us updated on your care with pics and any and all questions. Since this is a worldwide forum, someone is always awake for answers

 

[Stella Maris]

If the sling is healthy, crickets are no threat. But slings molt quite often, so unless the slings snatch them up right away, i'd go with some maimed crickets. Pinch the heads a little, they will wriggle but can not hurt your slings.
Try to let go of the tension a little bit. T-keeping is not only worry, but joy and fulfilment too. As long as they have ventilation, water, warmth and food, nothing has to go wrong.
Maybe next T should be a bit bigger, juvie at least, so you can get a feeling for what the 'normal' relaxed keeping is. Slings require a little more attention, which is not a problem on itself, but can cause big worries for new keepers.
If it helps, keep us updated on your care with pics and any and all questions. Since this is a worldwide forum, someone is always awake for answers

I originally thought about purchasing a juvenile or adult specimen, but I also don't have a lot of space right now. I can see why people become so addicted to owning/breeding arachnids but right now I'm only working with two species. It's much easier for me to keep them in small deli containers less than 16 oz for now. I also found that typically the juvies and adults are much more expensive. I basically purchased two tarantulas for the price of one adult. Rather than buying online and paying a ridiculous amount for overnight shipping, I was able to purchase directly from a vendor. I'm very pessimistic when ordering live animals online, because I don't trust the postal service carriers in the U.S. (USPS, UPS, etc.).

Generally when I raise any animal I always want to get them young and raise them myself into adulthood. I'd love to get a scorpion too because they are so fascinating, but I also don't want to fall into the trap of hoarding arachnids right now.

 

[KezyGLA]

Don't worry @Stella Maris . B. baumgarteni are pretty hardy, even as slings. you would need to do something blatantly wrong to kill it. Its care is pretty simple. I am sure you will do fine

 

[Exoskeleton Invertebrates]

I originally thought about purchasing a juvenile or adult specimen, but I also don't have a lot of space right now. I can see why people become so addicted to owning/breeding arachnids but right now I'm only working with two species. It's much easier for me to keep them in small deli containers less than 16 oz for now. I also found that typically the juvies and adults are much more expensive. I basically purchased two tarantulas for the price of one adult. Rather than buying online and paying a ridiculous amount for overnight shipping, I was able to purchase directly from a vendor. I'm very pessimistic when ordering live animals online, because I don't trust the postal service carriers in the U.S. (USPS, UPS, etc.).

Generally when I raise any animal I always want to get them young and raise them myself into adulthood. I'd love to get a scorpion too because they are so fascinating, but I also don't want to fall into the trap of hoarding arachnids right now.

I'm curious who your vendor is since you say it wasn't ship, what city and state are you from?

 

[Goodlukwitthat]

Temperament always vary from specimen to specimen but (talking in general) I say that among genus Brachypelma IMO the only bit of 'attitude' T's are B.vagans.

My 2 vagans are demons!

 

[Stella Maris]

I'm curious who your vendor is since you say it wasn't ship, what city and state are you from?

I bought from a local arachnoculturist/breeder.

 

[Exoskeleton Invertebrates]

I bought from a local arachnoculturist/breeder.

That still doesn't answer my question, the reason I ask be sure that you have the real baumgarteni, know the history of your sling where it originated from and who were the dealers that acquired them.

 

[Jeff23]

That still doesn't answer my question, the reason I ask be sure that you have the real baumgarteni, know the history of your sling where it originated from and who were the dealers that acquired them.

I know I am a little naive about the baumgarteni, but I am curious about it. Why does it cost so more than many of the other Brachy's? Is it lack of many specimens or just a much higher demand for it in the US? I've noticed that the going price of slings at the vendor's where I can see them is much higher than B. smithi and B. emilia. It is a less than B. klassi however. Is the hobby form of the baumgarteni species known to be any more pure because of being less available?

 

[Exoskeleton Invertebrates]

I know I am a little naive about the baumgarteni, but I am curious about it. Why does it cost so more than many of the other Brachy's? Is it lack of many specimens or just a much higher demand for it in the US? I've noticed that the going price of slings at the vendor's where I can see them is much higher than B. smithi and B. emilia. It is a less than B. klassi however. Is the hobby form of the baumgarteni species known to be any more pure because of being less available?

Well that's pretty simple, there has only been five batches of slings been offered in the US.

The first time offered was in 2003-04 this were the first inbreeding batch from the babies that were hatched by Dr. Baumgarten in 1997.

The second inbreeding batch was offered in 2015

The third inbreeding batch was offered in 2015 as well, this batch were exported from Canada. However all the slings are related from the 1997 hatchlings.

The fourth batch was offered in 2016 Mexico import hatchlings that were produced by wild caught parents. Joe Rossi, Francisco Torres, Craig Marder, Chris Young and myself purchased these slings, however the slings were imported by Craig Marder and Francisco Torres.

Due too the hybridization between the baumgarteni/boehmei and supply and demand true baumgarteni has always been expensive.

I'm currently happy to have purchased the pure bloodlines Brachypelma baumgarteni and look forward the next Brachypelma species pure bloodlines that will be available in the next Mexico import that is in the works.

Like I stated before know the history of your spider.

Brachypelma baumgarteni is a species that can easily be mistaken with the hybrids or boehmei, know the right sellers/dealers that are selling the pure true species. Learn how to ID this species as sub adult to adults. Stay away from sellers/dealers that are shady.

 

[Jeff23]

Well that's pretty simple, there has only been five batches of slings been offered in the US.

The first time offered was in 2003-04 this were the first inbreeding batch from the babies that were hatched by Dr. Baumgarten in 1997.

The second inbreeding batch was offered in 2015

The third inbreeding batch was offered in 2015 as well, this batch were exported from Canada. However all the slings are related from the 1997 hatchlings.

The fourth batch was offered in 2016 Mexico import hatchlings that were produced by wild caught parents. Joe Rossi, Francisco Torres, Craig Marder, Chris Young and myself purchased these slings, however the slings were imported by Craig Marder and Francisco Torres.

Due too the hybridization between the baumgarteni/boehmei and supply and demand true baumgarteni has always been expensive.

I'm currently happy to have purchased the pure bloodlines Brachypelma baumgarteni and look forward the next Brachypelma species pure bloodlines that will be available in the next Mexico import that is in the works.

Like I stated before know the history of your spider.

Brachypelma baumgarteni is a species that can easily be mistaken with the hybrids or boehmei, know the right sellers/dealers that are selling the pure true species. Learn how to ID this species as sub adult to adults. Stay away from sellers/dealers that are shady.

Thank you - Excellent information!

I definitely want to wait before I buy any slings in this case. As a new person to this hobby I am still struggling on the sources of slings that I see show up at online retailers. I know there are people in this forum who sell that are trustworthy, but it is sometimes hard to know who has what species for sale in the current Classifieds section.