Looking for suggestions for my next T purchse.

[Nightshady]

My educated opinion.

Youre talking about Facebook groups like they're God's gift to spider keepers. They're not. Educate yourself before you educate others.

Bolded words make you look childish. Not intimidating.

How odd... another thread where someone said something about people not being nice/respectful.

 

[Cassiusstein]

My educated opinion.

Youre talking about Facebook groups like they're God's gift to spider keepers. They're not. Educate yourself before you educate others.

Bolded words make you look childish. Not intimidating.

You're may very possibly be a child who just likes to argue.

A. Not sure how I made it seem like they're God's gift, they're full of idiots, just like anywhere else you go. However, in my "educated" opinion, they're more suitable for newer keepers.

B. If you think I was trying to intimidate you, you're pretty full of yourself, I didn't even make the text bold on purpose. It's a quote from a movie you dork lol.

 

[Venom1080]

You're may very possibly be a child who just likes to argue.

A. Not sure how I made it seem like they're God's gift, they're full of idiots, just like anywhere else you go. However, in my "educated" opinion, they're more suitable for newer keepers.

B. If you think I was trying to intimidate you, you're pretty full of yourself, I didn't even make the text bold on purpose. It's a quote from a movie you dork lol.

I like educating people. Whether they like it or not.

Then don't recommend it. That's just common sense. This place isn't.

Intimidating, cocky, whatever. I just always found it amusing when people try to raise their "voices" on the internet.

Yes, I'm the dork cuz I didn't get the reference..

@Nightshady try Facebook then. Or block me. Makes no difference to me.

 

[miss moxie]

Yeah, well, that's just like, your opinion, man.

Sort of? But not really. This is the best website for information, even one of the most prolific and well known hobbyists recommends this forum highly. I joined another forum and was astonished by how many people there put pebbles/sponges/etc in their water dishes and argue when presented with scientific articles and evidence that tarantulas cannot drown.

No one is obligated to deliver information as if they're dealing with a kindergartener trying to figure out how to pull their pants up. We're all adults around here, and if you're underage then you've still no excuse because this is a hobby that requires a ton of responsibility. Especially when dealing with OWs. Responsible teenagers don't need their hands held either.

As for a second tarantula, my suggestions (in order of least difficult to most difficult):

1. Grammostola pulchra -- These Ts are the bees knees. I love my girl. They're (typically, but individual temperaments can vary) sweet, calm, and beautiful.
2. Euathlus sp. "red" -- Oh man these are the sweetest little dwarf Ts, and because they're dwarves you don't need a ton of space for them.
3. Grammostola iheringi -- GORGEOUS, big tarantulas, that need more moisture in their substrate than your G. pulchripes does but other than the moist substrate they're pretty similar in care and set up. They can be skittish however, and are incredibly fast with those legs. My girl just took off on me yesterday and reminded me how quick she is.
4. Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens -- Beautiful tarantulas, with easy care needs. Set them up in a terrestrial (longer rather than higher) enclosure with various pieces of cork bark around the edges and/or fake plants. They need places to web onto as they will typically web up the entire enclosure and until you've SEEN a heavy webber, you can't really appreciate the beauty of it. But I'm a sucker for heavy webbers. As said, they are skittish and fast, which can overwhelm a newbie.
5. Acanthoscurria geniculata -- These are gorgeous too, and they get BIG. They need a lot of moisture in their substrate however, so you have to wet it down pretty often. They have an incredible appetite, however, which means they can mistake things for food and I remember when I was new and my girl went for my tongs. It was scary, but once you know to expect that behavior then it won't bother you anymore.

 

[Cassiusstein]

I like educating people. Whether they like it or not.

Then don't recommend it. That's just common sense. This place isn't.

Intimidating, cocky, whatever. I just always found it amusing when people try to raise their "voices" on the internet.

Yes, I'm the dork cuz I didn't get the reference..

@Nightshady try Facebook then. Or block me. Makes no difference to me.

Clearly, you're misguided by the meaning of common sense. Again, since you didn't seem to absorb this part of my message, I didn't even mean to make it bold, so who was trying to "raise their "voice"". You're not a dork because you didn't get the reference, you're a dork for taking anything on the internet that serious and to think I'm attacking you in some way.

 

[Jacob Thibodaux]

Sort of? But not really. This is the best website for information, even one of the most prolific and well known hobbyists recommends this forum highly. I joined another forum and was astonished by how many people there put pebbles/sponges/etc in their water dishes and argue when presented with scientific articles and evidence that tarantulas cannot drown.

No one is obligated to deliver information as if they're dealing with a kindergartener trying to figure out how to pull their pants up. We're all adults around here, and if you're underage then you've still no excuse because this is a hobby that requires a ton of responsibility. Especially when dealing with OWs. Responsible teenagers don't need their hands held either.

As for a second tarantula, my suggestions (in order of least difficult to most difficult):

1. Grammostola pulchra -- These Ts are the bees knees. I love my girl. They're (typically, but individual temperaments can vary) sweet, calm, and beautiful.
2. Euathlus sp. "red" -- Oh man these are the sweetest little dwarf Ts, and because they're dwarves you don't need a ton of space for them.
3. Grammostola iheringi -- GORGEOUS, big tarantulas, that need more moisture in their substrate than your G. pulchripes does but other than the moist substrate they're pretty similar in care and set up. They can be skittish however, and are incredibly fast with those legs. My girl just took off on me yesterday and reminded me how quick she is.
4. Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens -- Beautiful tarantulas, with easy care needs. Set them up in a terrestrial (longer rather than higher) enclosure with various pieces of cork bark around the edges and/or fake plants. They need places to web onto as they will typically web up the entire enclosure and until you've SEEN a heavy webber, you can't really appreciate the beauty of it. But I'm a sucker for heavy webbers. As said, they are skittish and fast, which can overwhelm a newbie.
5. Acanthoscurria geniculata -- These are gorgeous too, and they get BIG. They need a lot of moisture in their substrate however, so you have to wet it down pretty often. They have an incredible appetite, however, which means they can mistake things for food and I remember when I was new and my girl went for my tongs. It was scary, but once you know to expect that behavior then it won't bother you anymore.

Thank you that was enlightening. Great suggestions, with pictures too. Beautiful.

 

[miss moxie]

Thank you that was enlightening. Great suggestions, with pictures too. Beautiful.

No problem!

 

[Cassiusstein]

Sort of? But not really. This is the best website for information, even one of the most prolific and well known hobbyists recommends this forum highly. I joined another forum and was astonished by how many people there put pebbles/sponges/etc in their water dishes and argue when presented with scientific articles and evidence that tarantulas cannot drown.

No one is obligated to deliver information as if they're dealing with a kindergartener trying to figure out how to pull their pants up. We're all adults around here, and if you're underage then you've still no excuse because this is a hobby that requires a ton of responsibility. Especially when dealing with OWs. Responsible teenagers don't need their hands held either.

I often recommend AB myself and tell people it ought to be their bible. I've gotten most of my information from old threads full of knowledge. However, I've also met some of my best friends on facebook groups, who have given me 10x more just through our PMs. I like to offer both, Facebook groups and Arachnoboards, because they both are beneficial, but people on AB pretend like Facebook is nothing put complete morons, and people on Facebook act like AB is nothing but assholes. The truth is both can be very useful tools.

 

[Nightshady]

It's pretty awesome. I definatly have alot of tarantulas to google while I pretend to work.

Haha, I did the same thing when I was looking to get my T. I had like 15 different pages opened at once trying to figure it out haha.

I'm a noob here, but I did just go through a similar process so I will offer you my noobish advice for what it's worth when picking out your first.

Definitely go with something non-aggressive. The New World spiders tend to be less aggressive and are highly recommended over the Old World ones for a starter T. Don't risk an aggressive OW biting you or escaping until your comfortable keeping T's.

Decide if handling is something you're going to do. It's almost universally discouraged to not do so, even for species that can safely be handled. If your dead set on the fact you're going to handle the T, it will significantly limit your choices. I had no intentions of doing so, so it gave me more options.

Decide if you want an arboreal versus terrestrial spider. I went terrestrial (a more common first T), but there are certainly some species of arboreal that can be good first T's.

Get something hardy that doesn't require difficult husbandry. It's your first T... don't make it too complicated.

Find something that you find attractive. Personally I like brightly colored T's, so that's why I leaned towards the GBB.

Decide what age spider you want. I didn't put as much thought into this as I should have. I ended up getting a GBB sling that is only like 1". It looks nothing like the adult, and it's certainly more vulnerable to mistakes. I'm not sure there is a consensus on what is best here - adult, juvenile, or spiderling. At first I was a little disappointed I didn't get an older spider, but on the other hand I'm excited to see it grow and mature.

Make sure to research the proper size/style of habitat for your T. I botched this a bit too and put my sling in a 5 gallon tank at first.

Take this advice FWIW... one noob talking to another. Good luck man!

 

[miss moxie]

It's your first T... don't make it too complicated.

It's OP's second tarantula. They have a G. pulchripes already.

I often recommend AB myself and tell people it ought to be their bible. I've gotten most of my information from old threads full of knowledge. However, I've also met some of my best friends on facebook groups, who have given me 10x more just through our PMs. I like to offer both, Facebook groups and Arachnoboards, because they both are beneficial, but people on AB pretend like Facebook is nothing put complete morons, and people on Facebook act like AB is nothing but assholes. The truth is both can be very useful tools.

The problem with offering FB groups to beginners is that they can get steered the wrong way rather easy, since unlike you they don't know which information is legit and which is not. Sort of like the blind leading the blind. I'm sure you can find a very experienced, knowledgeable hobbyist on reddit, on the tarantula forum I was talking about, on facebook, tumblr-- etc. But you sort of have to know what you're looking for first, and this is the best place for beginners to get steered in the right direction and get an idea of what is legit and what is nonsense.

 

[Jacob Thibodaux]

Haha, I did the same thing when I was looking to get my T. I had like 15 different pages opened at once trying to figure it out haha.

I'm a noob here, but I did just go through a similar process so I will offer you my noobish advice for what it's worth when picking out your first.

Definitely go with something non-aggressive. The New World spiders tend to be less aggressive and are highly recommended over the Old World ones for a starter T. Don't risk an aggressive OW biting you or escaping until your comfortable keeping T's.

Decide if handling is something you're going to do. It's almost universally discouraged to not do so, even for species that can safely be handled. If your dead set on the fact you're going to handle the T, it will significantly limit your choices. I had no intentions of doing so, so it gave me more options.

Decide if you want an arboreal versus terrestrial spider. I went terrestrial (a more common first T), but there are certainly some species of arboreal that can be good first T's.

Get something hardy that doesn't require difficult husbandry. It's your first T... don't make it too complicated.

Find something that you find attractive. Personally I like brightly colored T's, so that's why I leaned towards the GBB.

Decide what age spider you want. I didn't put as much thought into this as I should have. I ended up getting a GBB sling that is only like 1". It looks nothing like the adult, and it's certainly more vulnerable to mistakes. I'm not sure there is a consensus on what is best here - adult, juvenile, or spiderling. At first I was a little disappointed I didn't get an older spider, but on the other hand I'm excited to see it grow and mature.

Make sure to research the proper size/style of habitat for your T. I botched this a bit too and put my sling in a 5 gallon tank at first.

Take this advice FWIW... one noob talking to another. Good luck man!

Thanks for sharing. I really appreciate the advice.

 

[Nightshady]

Apologies OP... I thought you were getting your first T, not your second. My fault, but I'm on mobile so it's not as easy to see the thread title. Cheers.

 

[Venom1080]

Clearly, you're misguided by the meaning of common sense. Again, since you didn't seem to absorb this part of my message, I didn't even mean to make it bold, so who was trying to "raise their "voice"". You're not a dork because you didn't get the reference, you're a dork for taking anything on the internet that serious and to think I'm attacking you in some way.

I got it. I didn't think it was important. I just explained why I thought it was funny in the first place.

I take my hobby seriously, when some ignorant "dork" gives out bad advice, I prefer to correct them on it rather than let the op have to sift through the bad for the good himself.

I don't feel attacked. This is the internet.

 

[Cassiusstein]

The problem with offering FB groups to beginners is that they can get steered the wrong way rather easy, since unlike you they don't know which information is legit and which is not. Sort of like the blind leading the blind. I'm sure you can find a very experienced, knowledgeable hobbyist on reddit, on the tarantula forum I was talking about, on facebook, tumblr-- etc. But you sort of have to know what you're looking for first, and this is the best place for beginners to get steered in the right direction and get an idea of what is legit and what is nonsense.

I can agree with that, there's a lot of occasions where I see people saying dumb things and no one correcting them, more so than on AB. However, I did offer to be PM'd because I have particular Facebook groups in mind.

I got it. I didn't think it was important. I just explained why I thought it was funny in the first place.

I take my hobby seriously, when some ignorant "dork" gives out bad advice, I prefer to correct them on it rather than let the op have to sift through the bad for the good himself.

I don't feel attacked. This is the internet.

Seems like you tend to forget it's the internet. I always love the "I'm abrasive therefore I'm a genius!" approach

 

[Nightshady]

I can agree with that, there's a lot of occasions where I see people saying dumb things and no one correcting them, more so than on AB. However, I did offer to be PM'd because I have particular Facebook groups in mind.

Which FB groups do you like? I joined a couple, but I haven't really even looked at them because I've found this to be such a good resource. If it's an issue posting other sites here publicly, I can send you a PM. Thanks!

 

[Venom1080]

Seems like you tend to forget it's the internet. I always love the "I'm abrasive therefore I'm a genius!" approach

Elaborate.

I'm under no illusions I'm some arachnogod, just an experienced keeper who likes interacting with fellow minded people.

 

[Jacob Thibodaux]

Apologies OP... I thought you were getting your first T, not your second. My fault, but I'm on mobile so it's not as easy to see the thread title. Cheers.

It' cool. This all started with an early birthday present, a pretty little G. pulchripes. I didnt' even know I wanted one. Best present ever! I felt like I giddy school girl when I saw her.

 

[Nightshady]

It' cool. This all started with an early birthday present, a pretty little G. pulchripes. I didnt' even know I wanted one. Best present ever! I felt like I giddy school girl when I saw her.

Funny how people fall into hobbies right? This started for me because my son wanted a T for his birthday, so I started doing research into which one would be a good T, and I was like... "I think I need one too!"

 

[Jacob Thibodaux]

Funny how people fall into hobbies right? This started for me because my son wanted a T for his birthday, so I started doing research into which one would be a good T, and I was like... "I think I need one too!"

I get that.

 

[Cassiusstein]

Elaborate.

I'm under no illusions I'm some arachnogod, just an experienced keeper who likes interacting with fellow minded people.

You seem to make a lot of assumptions, including that I'm an inexperienced keeper and need to "educate myself", I don't know why, perhaps because I'm an arachosquire? Regardless, you have a very sneering demeanor, at least a slight indication of superiority, or at least the belief of.