Beginner hobbiest looking for a starter T

[Ronniepotter]

Hello everyone! So I just signed up, I don’t currently care for any T’s however I’ve been doing research on them for at least 3 years now, when I move out I would like to care for a tarantula. The thing is, I’m slightly arachnophobic. However, I’m a psychology major, and I do not like being afraid of any living thing, so I know the only way to get over a fear is constant positive interaction. I think tarantulas are beautiful animals and I do not wish harm on any spider, I don’t kill spiders I trap them and set them free. So I guess my question is, what is a good, slow moving, good eating, long lived tarantula? I don’t deal well with animal deaths so I’d prefer something that’s going to live a long time! Also, if possible, I’d like a tarantula that doesn’t need to be held too often but can be picked up if need be! Again, I might be slightly arachnophobic but I thing these animals are beautiful and fascinating, and I wish no harm on them! Thank you all!

 

[cold blood]

I’ve been doing research on them for at least 3 years now

Good for you...too many buy them impulsively. Bad news is that most places offer poor advice, so if you have been reading care sheets or getting info from pet stores...well, you are gonna have to forget it all and start over...but you're in a great place now.

The thing is, I’m slightly arachnophobic

Many of us were arachnophobic when we started.

So I guess my question is, what is a good, slow moving, good eating, long lived tarantula?

Well, they can all move fast when they want...but most of the best beginners are just that because they tend to be calmer and easy to keep. They all also tend to be long lived with females of the species I will mention living anywhere from 20-40+ years.

Brachypelma can be good, although some will flick more than others...they tend to be good eaters, but as with most long lived species, they can go for long times without wanting or needing food. Hamorii and albopilosum are pretty good ones that tend to be on the less skittish side...emelia as well.

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• cold blood
• Mar 26, 2017
• 8

formerly smithi

albo

• cold blood
• Jun 13, 2017
• 3

B. albopilosum

T. cyaneolum just may be the best...super calm, doesn't flick or get defensive often (if at all), they tend to sit calmly...they are also spectacular eaters...but also very hard to find and expensive when you do, but very much worth it.

0612141253a_463443

• cold blood
• Feb 2, 2017
• 13

T. cyaneolum

Euthalus sp. red/yellow are also of a calm, undefensive nature...but super slow growers with adult females becoming increasingly expensive and rare. They also are more prone to wandering out of an open cage, so while they are dwarves, they may not be the best for an arachnophobe as sitting still is a good thing when one is lacking confidence....but truly a great beginner species.

G. pulchripes are great. Super eaters, good looking, calm and one of the great beginners in the hobby. They do get on the larger side though, with females reaching the 7" range. Theyre easy to keep, grow a little faster than most beginner species and are readily available and not terribly expensive at all.

Resized952017031995214443

• cold blood
• Mar 19, 2017
• 5

G. pulchripes #3

• cold blood
• Nov 11, 2017
• 1

G. pulchra are also great, a bit smaller than pulchripes, these black ts have sort of a cult following, which helps keep them expensive and a little harder to locate. Great eaters, but slower growers than pulchripes...but a similarly calm species in general.

P. scrofa is another great dwarf species. Great eaters, calm demeanor, not defensive or intimidating in any way, and a joy to own.....they can be harder to locate, but theyre not expensive...I believe @Blue Jaye still has some available.

MM P. scrofa

• cold blood
• Dec 6, 2017
• 7

Chilean rose hair species can be great for arachnophobes...cheap and they are the definition of a pet rock. Their lack of movement is enough to ease the mind of any arachnophobe....but this lack of activity also means they are quite boring, can be poor eaters and tend to fast a lot, as adults can go up to 6 years between molts. So while great in some manners, they aren't so great in others...as they can take a long time to learn from. I had one for 10 years, just the one...got a pulchripes and hamorii and learned more from them in 2 months than I did in a decade with that old rose hair.

Resized952017020795002757

• cold blood
• Feb 7, 2017

porteri

Also, if possible, I’d like a tarantula that doesn’t need to be held too often but can be picked up if need be

No tarantula needs or ever wants to be held. Most of us here frown upon handling and prefer to see them as observational pets. There are no positives to handling, only potential negatives. I guarantee you do not need to handle to get over the arachnophobia.


Best of luck with your decision. Check the classifieds here, even if you don't buy there, its always good to know what the ts you are interested in are worth

 

[Blue Jaye]

Yep I have a few left and also a few Nicaraguan albopilosum.

 

[PanzoN88]

E. Sp. red (or Sp. yellow) are not the greatest eaters out there and will tend to fast At times.

That said, I will go ahead and recommend the E. Sp. red, as they are truly the best species for beginners in my opinion. As far as good eaters on top of everything stated, B. albopilosum is definitely a great choice (I started out with this species).

 

[FrDoc]

Consider also the age of the specimen. I personally find juveniles to sub-adults are a bit easier to deal with given that many slings, due to their miniscule proportions, dull coloration, skittish behavior, and speed, can be difficult to "track". I actually thought I had an H. Himalayana sling escape for about 15 minutes before I saw it just chilling in the corner of the enclosure, as it blended perfectly with the substrate. I also knew from experience that it could "disappear" in a moment's glance away, or blinking of an eye. Ask the Grym Reaper to describe this type of speed.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

E. Sp. red (or Sp. yellow) are not the greatest eaters out there and will tend to fast At times.

I think my little one is broken, it's a great eater, watching it wrestle mealworms is hilarious.

They are an absolute ball-ache to get though, adults go instantly and slings go pretty quickly too (I wanted two but the guy only had one left).

B. albopilosum is definitely a great choice (I started out with this species).

I honestly think these are the best of the readily available starter species which is why it was my first T, a lot of the ones that are said to be better tend to be quite difficult to acquire

Ask the Grym Reaper to describe this type of speed.

I was in the middle of replying when this popped up but the term I like to use for things like my teleporting H. mac/P. metallica/etc is "pants-crappingly fast"

 

[Walker253]

YOLO @Ronniepotter haha. 3 years, time to buy your first tarantula. Pretty much any Aphonopelma, Brachypelma, or Grammostola will fit the bill of what you're looking for. There's a couple in those genus's that can be a bit skittish, the A seemanni comes to mind, but most are pretty safe choices. Find a confirmed female and if other health factors fall into place, prepare for a long time of caring for your tarantula.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Pretty much any Aphonopelma, Brachypelma, or Grammostola will fit the bill of what you're looking for. There's a couple in those genera that can be a bit skittish

Sorry, I had to correct the plural of "genus" in there.

G. iheringi are pretty highly strung, B. auratum/B. vagans/B.boehmei can be as well, and G. rosea/porteri are known for being a bit bipolar.

Other than those, they're all pretty easy to deal with for a beginner.

 

[Walker253]

Sorry, I had to correct the plural of "genus" in there.

Thank you for this. I'm still on my first cup of coffee this morning. Not saying I wouldn't have botched it later on though.

 

[athlete96]

I'll suggest the fluffy B. albopilosum. I got a 1" sling as my first, and it's been fantastic. The growth rate for mine has been quite fast.. reached 2" in about 2 months. The more it grows the fluffier it gets (which is adorable fyi).

They're generally very calm, reserved tarantulas. Mine has never thrown a threat pose, bolted, or kicked hairs before and I have prodded the hell out of it (pls don't do this I was worried about it the first week I got it). I can open its enclosure and it just comes out, says hello, and just sits there while I water or prepare food. I don't regret having this species as my first.

If I had pics I would upload.. but alas, none to be had.

 

[Fruchtpudding]

Well you already got so many great suggestions so at this point I'm just gonna throw in a few favorites of mine.

Grammostola pulchra is my personal favorite out of that entire genus. Beautiful, as calm as a spider can be, great eaters, and in my experience not actually THAT slow growing with a bit of additional heat. Also not as much of a pet rock as others, especially as sling they can be little bulldozers. Can be hard to find though, especially if you want a sexed juvenile.

All the same points also apply to Aphonopelma chalcodes, though that one is much easier to come by.

Also I'm always reluctant to recommend, for example a G. rosea to someone, or most of the Brachypelmas. The common ones tend to be absolute pet rocks, which I think will become very boring rather quickly to many beginners. Also, as a former archnophobe told me, it made him uneasy to see the spider sit so completely still for so long. He prefers when they actually move, but slowly of course.

 

[Walker253]

If a poster states that they never want to hold their new tarantula, my suggestion will start with an A genticulata. Most Acanthoscurria are pretty busy and aggressive eaters as far as NW terrestrials go. I find that a lot more entertaining

 

[The Grym Reaper]

I'll suggest the fluffy B. albopilosum. I got a 1" sling as my first, and it's been fantastic. The growth rate for mine has been quite fast.. reached 2" in about 2 months. The more it grows the fluffier it gets (which is adorable fyi).

They're generally very calm, reserved tarantulas. Mine has never thrown a threat pose, bolted, or kicked hairs before and I have prodded the hell out of it (pls don't do this I was worried about it the first week I got it). I can open its enclosure and it just comes out, says hello, and just sits there while I water or prepare food. I don't regret having this species as my first.

If I had pics I would upload.. but alas, none to be had.

Yeah the growth rate is decent, my Honduran/hobby form had more than doubled in size (from 2" to over 4") in 8 months (I've had her for a year and a half but her last moult was 9 months ago) and my Nicaraguan form has gone from about 1/4" to about 1.5" in 5 months.

Temperament is great, my sling is a little skittish but my SAF is pretty much the definition of calm, she's only kicked hairs at me once in the year and a half I've had her, she usually just calmly walks into her hide/burrow when disturbed, no trouble at all.

You'd be hard pressed to find a "psycho curly hair" (although anything is possible).

If a poster states that they never want to hold their new tarantula, my suggestion will start with an A genticulata. Most Acanthoscurria are pretty busy and aggressive eaters as far as NW terrestrials go. I find that a lot more entertaining

While everyone should have a Murderess*, I think their proclivity for trying to eat anything that moves could be a bit scary for someone who is both slightly arachnophobic and never kept a tarantula before.

*0.1 Acanthoscurria geniculata DTTI (Death To The Infidels)

 

[Ronniepotter]

Thank all of you for your replies and advice!! I'm glad to know I'm not the only hobbiest who starts out agoraphobic! I rally lie Brachypelma Smithi, for some reason they don't freak me out as much, it might have to do with the fact that most toy tarantulas and most tarantulas found on film are that species! I had been looking for the E. Sp Red but I had heard they're really hard to find! Thank you all for the advice, like this helped way more than any of the other research I had done!

 

[Ronniepotter]

Good for you...too many buy them impulsively. Bad news is that most places offer poor advice, so if you have been reading care sheets or getting info from pet stores...well, you are gonna have to forget it all and start over...but you're in a great place now.


Many of us were arachnophobic when we started.

Well, they can all move fast when they want...but most of the best beginners are just that because they tend to be calmer and easy to keep. They all also tend to be long lived with females of the species I will mention living anywhere from 20-40+ years.

Brachypelma can be good, although some will flick more than others...they tend to be good eaters, but as with most long lived species, they can go for long times without wanting or needing food. Hamorii and albopilosum are pretty good ones that tend to be on the less skittish side...emelia as well.

Resized952017032695121222

• cold blood
• Mar 26, 2017
• 8

formerly smithi

albo

• cold blood
• Jun 13, 2017
• 3

B. albopilosum

T. cyaneolum just may be the best...super calm, doesn't flick or get defensive often (if at all), they tend to sit calmly...they are also spectacular eaters...but also very hard to find and expensive when you do, but very much worth it.

0612141253a_463443

• cold blood
• Feb 2, 2017
• 13

T. cyaneolum

Euthalus sp. red/yellow are also of a calm, undefensive nature...but super slow growers with adult females becoming increasingly expensive and rare. They also are more prone to wandering out of an open cage, so while they are dwarves, they may not be the best for an arachnophobe as sitting still is a good thing when one is lacking confidence....but truly a great beginner species.

G. pulchripes are great. Super eaters, good looking, calm and one of the great beginners in the hobby. They do get on the larger side though, with females reaching the 7" range. Theyre easy to keep, grow a little faster than most beginner species and are readily available and not terribly expensive at all.

Resized952017031995214443

• cold blood
• Mar 19, 2017
• 5

G. pulchripes #3

• cold blood
• Nov 11, 2017
• 1

G. pulchra are also great, a bit smaller than pulchripes, these black ts have sort of a cult following, which helps keep them expensive and a little harder to locate. Great eaters, but slower growers than pulchripes...but a similarly calm species in general.

P. scrofa is another great dwarf species. Great eaters, calm demeanor, not defensive or intimidating in any way, and a joy to own.....they can be harder to locate, but theyre not expensive...I believe @Blue Jaye still has some available.

MM P. scrofa

• cold blood
• Dec 6, 2017
• 7

Chilean rose hair species can be great for arachnophobes...cheap and they are the definition of a pet rock. Their lack of movement is enough to ease the mind of any arachnophobe....but this lack of activity also means they are quite boring, can be poor eaters and tend to fast a lot, as adults can go up to 6 years between molts. So while great in some manners, they aren't so great in others...as they can take a long time to learn from. I had one for 10 years, just the one...got a pulchripes and hamorii and learned more from them in 2 months than I did in a decade with that old rose hair.

Resized952017020795002757

• cold blood
• Feb 7, 2017

porteri

No tarantula needs or ever wants to be held. Most of us here frown upon handling and prefer to see them as observational pets. There are no positives to handling, only potential negatives. I guarantee you do not need to handle to get over the arachnophobia.


Best of luck with your decision. Check the classifieds here, even if you don't buy there, its always good to know what the ts you are interested in are worth

Thank you so much!! This is so much great information! There were a couple of T's on your list I didn't know about!

 

[mack1855]

Welcome..and you are about to enter a fascinating world.

 

[Goopyguy56]

In my experience, B. Albopilosum is probably one of if not the best beginner species as well as one of the best pet t's one can own. I would also consider an lp. Heck my B emilia has been great as well. Thats my 2 cents. Everyone else made good suggestions as well. My first was g porteri. It was a good t. Had some mood swings and would fast for a few months every year. When it did eat it was the best eatet though.

 

[Goopyguy56]

Also, in my experience, most pet stores are trash. I would order online from a well known dealer. The shipping is expensive but you will have more options and you will know where it came from.

 

[OhGeezRick]

Get yourself a g. pulchra, they're the best. Not to mention they look amazing.

 

[Goopyguy56]

Maybe they mean they want a tarantula that doesnt need to be held constantly to keep it somewhat tolerant of handling. Although in my experience a tarantula ether is or isnt tolerant of handling. I am always suprised when people talk about trying to tame down a tarantula by getting it used to contact. I don't think a tarantula can be conditioned for handling. I could be wrong and I am willing to change my mind if someone has experience in this. I dont think they are like snakes that can learn to get used to being handled.