Looking for First Tarantula Recommendations!

[Vanessa]

A number of you recommended Brachypelma species, so I browsed some more species within that genus, and some that caught my eye are:
Brachypelma emilia
Brachypelma boehmei
Brachypelma albiceps
Brachypelma klaasi

Would any of these be poor choices?

No, none of them are poor choices - just far more slow growing and often less available and more expensive than others. They are all quite hardy and require the same husbandry overall. They can also be hair kickers. My emilia girls are avid kickers as well as my albiceps. They are also very skittish, in my experience. My klaasi girl is a bit less so, but none of them are what I would consider being anywhere as tolerant as an albopilosum. Out of those four, my most tolerant is my boehmei female, surprisingly.

 

[RJ1ZY]

Hi. Aphonopelma Chalcodes is a BEAUTIFUL tarantula. I have 2 adults. I recommend you try to find a juvenile or sub adult because this is a slow growing and long lived species. If you get a sling it will most likely burrow unlike adults which tend to stay more in the open. If you can’t find that try the Brachypelma Abolpilosum. It’s dark colored, but the wild curly long hairs give it a interesting appearance as well, plus it tends to gro a bit faster than most Brachys and Aphonos so you won’t have to get an adult for starters to help you get acclimated to your first Tatarantula. Most other bright colored brachys are either expensive slow growers like the b Hamorii and b Emilia or very skittish hair kickers like b Boehmei.

If all else fails I recommend looking on line. I got my pair of a chalcodes from Ken The Bug Guy. Very reputable breeder.

Hope that helps.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Now, i maybe not mean that a new beginner schould by a 10 inch female, but if they by a sling or juvenile of the speicies their knollage about it grows with the spider!
I know i said L parahybana! So i add a small indivudual of L parahybabana!

Lol, they don't reach 10", that's some nonsense spouted by unscrupulous breeders because it makes getting rid of a thousand plus practically worthless slings marginally easier. 7"-8" is more like it, people claim to have 9" ones but are extremely reluctant to prove it for some bizarre reason.

A. geniculata are a far better choice (they reach the same size but look 1,000,000x better and their hairs are nowhere near as bad) and I'd still recommend Brachys/Grammos/Aphonos over them as a first.

 

[Vanisher]

10 inch was a little overstatement, but i tried to make a point! I think L parahybana is exellent beginner speicies if a newbee buys a small juvenile! Sure they have major feeding response, but i never suggested handfeeding here! About the hairs. The hairs affect a experienced keeper as well, so i dont understand why this should be a reason for a newbee not to get it?

 

[The Grym Reaper]

The hairs affect a experienced keeper as well, so i dont understand why this should be a reason for a newbee not to get it?

Yeah, but experienced keepers get them knowing they have some of the worst hairs in the hobby and are prepared to deal with it, if a newbie who doesn't know that comes out in hives every time they do routine maintenance it could well put them off of keeping Ts altogether.

 

[Vanisher]

Yes and a newbee that are intrested in cooking may cut himself but i dont think thats keeping him from future cooking if he has the intrest? Some reacs diffrently on hairs. Some reacts strongly on B harmorii hairs and that is considered to be an ecellent beginner speicies! Sorry, but i dont buy that as a reason! I didnt react that strong from L parahybana hairs! A geniculata and N colloratovillosum on the other hand!

Well thats my view on it! I really dont see a Lp as a bad first tarantula! As long as the beginner gets a juvenile and not a full grown female!

 

[sasker]

if a newbie who doesn't know that comes out in hives every time they do routine maintenance it could well put them off of keeping Ts altogether.

I believe you had a very bad hairkicker if I remember correctly. The specimen that I had was very calm and never kicked any hair at all (except close to moulting). I don't have her anymore as I could swap her for a Phormictopus cubensis, which is much nicer looking. Based on the specimen that I had (cheap, calm, big, and easy to care for), I would recommend that particular specimen to a beginner as well. But knowing that individuals may vary, I am reluctant to say to any random beginner that they can easily get one. It depends on the beginner, I suppose.

However, I think there are much nicer tarantulas available. My G. iheringi quickly became a favourite of mine. They are a bit pricier than some other choices, but they grow fast, eat like champs, look stunning and don't kick hairs so much.

 

[cold blood]

A. geniculata are a far better choice (they reach the same size but look

From all standpoints except looks, raising a genic is no different than raising an LP.

Are they the best starters, no, but they are certainly doable....i could think of a lot of much worse starter ts than an LP.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

I believe you had a very bad hairkicker if I remember correctly. The specimen that I had was very calm and never kicked any hair at all (except close to moulting).

One was insanely skittish, flighty and a massive hair kicker (I sold her to another member on here last year), the other one isn't as much of a hair kicker but is pretty defensive (she's off tomorrow as I've sold her to a guy on FB). I also have a much worse reaction to their hairs than to those of any of the other genera I react to (Nhandu/Acanthoscurria/Phormictopus).

Are they the best starters, no, but they are certainly doable....i could think of a lot of much worse starter ts than an LP.

I never said they weren't do-able, I just think they make a much better 2nd/3rd/4th T than a 1st.

 

[RedVelvet]

To add to this discussion, I recommend Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens, or Acanthoscurria geniculata. Both grow like weeds, eat like garbage dumps, and are out a LOT, I mean, a lot. They are a fair bit more skittish than some suggestions in this thread, but they are pretty hardy. The GBB [C. cyaneopubescens] is gorgeous and goes through different color changes until it hits adulthood. While A. geniculata stays relatively the same throughout the juvenile stage, all the way through adulthood. As slings, genics will usually shy away from live food (from personal experience), but they lose that shyness at around 1" or so. My GBB came out of the gate hungry and frequently takes live prey, almost as big, if not just a hair bigger than itself.

Both can be kept relatively the same, terrestrial setups, however, GBB's like anchor points, since they make intricate webs. Acanthoscurria geniculata will appreciate humidity, in the form of slightly damp soil, while the GBB abhors any moisture. Keep them bone dry, even as a sling. Just offer it a water dish and you'll be fine.

 

[Ungoliant]

From what I've read, my hope is for an 'Aphonopelma chalcodes' sling, but I have only been to one reptile expo before and I'm not super familiar with the hobby so I don't know what is and isn't likely to be available at an expo, so I'm looking for a few "plan B" species to look for if I don't see the species I want.

-Must be somewhat likely to be available at a reptile expo
-Must be an inexpensive species
-Must be a species that tends to be slow moving/docile (I might be a little easy to startle, so I don't want a species that will lunge at me often or bolt out of the cage as my first T)
-My preference would be a species that doesn't burrow or web much, for visibility, but this isn't an absolute must
-I have a slight preference for lighter colors, but that's not very important at all

I don't know what you consider to be inexpensive, but nearly any reasonably priced Grammostola, Aphonopelma, or Brachypelma is a fine option for beginners.

Here are some choices that check most or all of those boxes:

• Aphonopelma chalcodes
• Brachypelma albopilosum
• Brachypelma emilia (can be expensive)
• Grammostola pulchra (extremely docile but can be hard to find and/or expensive)
• Grammostola pulchripes
• Homoeomma chilensis (formerly sold as Euathlus sp. "red")

EulersK made these videos highlighting some beginner species:

Tomoran also has these recommendations for beginner species:

A number of you recommended Brachypelma species, so I browsed some more species within that genus, and some that caught my eye are:
Brachypelma emilia
Brachypelma boehmei
Brachypelma albiceps
Brachypelma klaasi

The only Brachypelma I've kept is Brachypelma emilia. The only downsides are that they are slow-growing as slings and expensive as juveniles or adults.

However, they tend to be extremely docile, and they look great. I bought this 4.5" female (she was unsexed but I could tell she was female) at an expo for $150, which was a steal. She did not kick hairs at me even when I harassed her to get sexing pictures.


I also like the look of Brachypelma albiceps, with its cream-colored carapace.

 

[PuppyMintMocha]

Just got back from the expo, here's what I got!

It's a 1/2" Aphonopelma chalcodes, so what I had originally hoped to get. Thank you all SO much for the input, though!! it helped me feel confident in my choice and also helped me construct a list of alternate options to look for if they didn't have a chalcodes.
When I got to the expo they had two of these slings, and one table had a larger $80 chalcodes, and by the time I made my way around the expo, the other of the two slings was gone so I snatched this baby up!