Looking for suggestions for my next T purchse.

[Venom1080]

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.

You recommended Facebook.

 

[Cassiusstein]

You recommended Facebook.

And again, maybe you've had different experiences than I have, but believing Facebook groups have no value is ridiculous. You forget that people like Tom Patterson and Chase Campbell regularly comment, and many many other very knowledgeable people. The lack of your ability to find decent groups isn't grounds to discredit an entire platform.

 

[Venom1080]

And again, maybe you've had different experiences than I have, but believing Facebook groups have no value is ridiculous. You forget that people like Tom Patterson and Chase Campbell regularly comment, and many many other very knowledgeable people. The lack of your ability to find decent groups isn't grounds to discredit an entire platform.

I joined AB Facebook. One of the larger ones I believe.

For every good keeper there's a dozen idiots.

 

[Cassiusstein]

I joined AB Facebook. One of the larger ones I believe.

For every good keeper there's a dozen idiots.

It's not about finding the largest, often the larger the group the worse it is. It's important to find groups with adamant admins who actually care about the hobby and information being spread. There are much much smaller groups than the AB group that still have big names in them, and even idolize these knowledgeable people.

 

[Venom1080]

It's not about finding the largest, often the larger the group the worse it is. It's important to find groups with adamant admins who actually care about the hobby and information being spread. There are much much smaller groups than the AB group that still have big names in them, and even idolize these knowledgeable people.

Could you recommend some then?

I believe it, I still think arachnoboards is far superior. Try finding something specific on Facebook. You have to make a new post everytime. And hope there's good people logged in.

 

[Cassiusstein]

Could you recommend some then?

I believe it, I still think arachnoboards is far superior. Try finding something specific on Facebook. You have to make a new post everytime. And hope there's good people logged in.

I think East Coast Arachnids and Inverts is great, the owner Roberto Vargas is a good friend of mine and a great guy, knowledgeable as well. Midwest Fang Gang is great, and the group I had in mind when mentioning very knowledgeable active members (although this group has problems in its own right). Yes, I agree Arachnoboards is superior, however, it simply isn't suitable for everyone. I'm only back on AB now because I'm more experienced and find it better now that I have more to offer.

Even when I am on facebook, I'm constantly pointing people toward AB, and I tell people "old Arachnoboards threads should be your bible".

 

[Venom1080]

I think East Coast Arachnids and Inverts is great, the owner Roberto Vargas is a good friend of mine and a great guy, knowledgeable as well. Midwest Fang Gang is great, and the group I had in mind when mentioning very knowledgeable active members (although this group has problems in its own right). Yes, I agree Arachnoboards is superior, however, it simply isn't suitable for everyone. I'm only back on AB now because I'm more experienced and find it better now that I have more to offer.

Even when I am on facebook, I'm constantly pointing people toward AB, and I tell people "old Arachnoboards threads should be your bible".

I'll check them out.

 

[Ungoliant]

Trying to expand my collection a bit. I am a beginner so that should be taken into consideration. Something that would require a similar setup to what I have with my Chaco gold knee would be ideal..

Any reasonably priced Aphonopelma, Brachypelma, Euathlus, or Grammostola could be a good option.

If you can find one, I am a huge fan of Grammostola pulchra. They are affectionately known as "the black labs of tarantulas," because they are very easygoing.

The Watering Hole (♀ Grammostola pulchra 3.5")

• Ungoliant
• Feb 21, 2017
• 2
• brazilian black tarantula bulldozer female grammostola grammostola pulchra juvenile juvenile female pulchra

Bulldozer, my 3.5" female Grammostola pulchra.

@EulersK made these videos highlighting some beginner species:

@Tomoran also has these recommendations for beginner species:

 

[Ungoliant]

I like to offer both, Facebook groups and Arachnoboards, because they both are beneficial

Your mileage may vary, but I prefer a format like Arachnoboards, because the discussions are threaded and organized into different topics (boards). Having a viable search function is particularly important, as there is a lot of good information that has been posted over the years. (Whereas once something is no longer current on Facebook, it can be hard to dig up.)

That and I am not a fan of Facebook (the privacy issues, the fact that it slows the entire browser to a crawl, and of course the feed itself being mostly full of garbage). There is a reason I deleted my account a few years ago (and haven't looked back).

However, I've also met some of my best friends on facebook groups, who have given me 10x more just through our PMs.

One advantage of having discussions in public (as opposed to via private messages) is that other people can benefit from that information. I have learned a lot from other people's threads. (That's why I generally don't invite people to PM me with questions. I enjoy answering questions, but when I spend time doing so, it is not solely for the benefit of those who asked.)

You can always message me with questions, alternatively, there's a lot of Facebook groups, where you'll tend to meet friendlier people (just being honest) and your questions will get answered quicker

I think this forum has pretty good turnaround time for most questions, and misinformation seldom goes uncorrected.

As for the personalities on this forum, I don't think Facebook is inherently friendlier. Every online community has a mix of all types. Sure, we have some cranky or blunt members, but we also have some friendly members, and the quality of information is good.

 

[Venom1080]

Joined a bunch of groups, interesting to see pics but can't say they're particularly friendly. In fact, I'd say they're probably a little less so than AB.

Many many poor setups there. Probably mainly because there's no search option, or create a thread.

As for asking questions.. good luck.. unless your group is quite small or inactive, your post will be washed away within a few hours. If you get more than one or two responses. You're lucky.

My honest opinion is that both are good. But AB is still fat superior.

Least CEC and Philth are active there. :/

 

[Jacob Thibodaux]

Joined a bunch of groups, interesting to see pics but can't say they're particularly friendly. In fact, I'd say they're probably a little less so than AB.

Many many poor setups there. Probably mainly because there's no search option, or create a thread.

As for asking questions.. good luck.. unless your group is quite small or inactive, your post will be washed away within a few hours. If you get more than one or two responses. You're lucky.

My honest opinion is that both are good. But AB is still fat superior.

Least CEC and Philth are active there. :/

I agree, 100 percent. Every question I have asked has gotten at least 10 excellent answers and gotten so many great suggestions? It's really been awesome. Thank you all.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

there's a lot of Facebook groups

That are full of idiots who either parrot stuff they have no clue about or spout misinformation and then resort to group bully tactics when you call them out on their BS.

Granted, people on here can be a bit short with you at times (there's a ton of different personalities here, some are bound to clash) but, generally speaking, I've found here to be much friendlier and a much more reliable source of information then any Wastebook groups I've been in.

Facebook groups almost all suck.

Agreed.

Apart from a few seller groups/pages I avoid them like the cancer they are.

 

[Swoop]

OP, did you pick one (or a bunch) yet?

I use facebook and craigslist to find deals. It's a crapshoot whether what you get is actually what was sold to you but I've got some great spiders that way at a steal. Also try Tarantula Chat for stuff like 'which T should I get?', it's more laidback about multiple threads and post count and such.

Similar care to a chaco? Brachypelma, Acanthoscurria, Grammastola, Nhandu, Aphonopelma (I never spell that right on the first try), Lasiodora. Whichever one you like and can afford at the size you want. All are new world with multiple species to choose from within each genus.

 

[Jacob Thibodaux]

I got a gbb, versicolor, avic, red knee and another Chaco. I found a guy a few hours away and went get a few off him.

 

[Cassiusstein]

That are full of idiots who either parrot stuff they have no clue about or spout misinformation and then resort to group bully tactics when you call them out on their BS.

Granted, people on here can be a bit short with you at times (there's a ton of different personalities here, some are bound to clash) but, generally speaking, I've found here to be much friendlier and a much more reliable source of information then any Wastebook groups I've been in.



Agreed.

Apart from a few seller groups/pages I avoid them like the cancer they are.

I still think you can't fully appreciate AB until you got a bit more experience under your belt. But that's why an opinion is an opinion.

Also, yes, AB is far superior when it comes to getting information and having a lack of BS and messing around. I definitely prefer smaller groups with active and strict admins. For the most part I would suggest different platforms for different personalities.

 

[Ungoliant]

Apart from a few seller groups/pages I avoid them like the cancer they are.

You can't even sell animals on Facebook anymore. It's against their TOS as of April 2017. (I tried to use my husband's account to post my male on a few different selling groups, and Facebook rejected the ad for that reason.)

 

[Swoop]

You can't even sell animals on Facebook anymore. It's against their TOS as of April 2017. (I tried to use my husband's account to post my male on a few different selling groups, and Facebook rejected the ad for that reason.)

Yep. And somehow there are still thousands of buy/sell/trade pets pages.

What you have to do is post it as a 'discussion' instead of a 'for sale' post.

 

[Trenor]

Meh, I use several facebook tarantula groups. Some great breeders are there and I often buy from them. @Austin S. is one of the best breeders I know. He got me started with a number of groups that I still use.

As far as rude people go, I've seen plenty both there and here. Sometimes this place doesn't seem all that friendly either. Especially to new people.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

You can't even sell animals on Facebook anymore. It's against their TOS as of April 2017. (I tried to use my husband's account to post my male on a few different selling groups, and Facebook rejected the ad for that reason.)

Doesn't seem to stop anyone, you just post your sales list as a discussion and conduct sales via PM, the vast majority of my recent purchases have been via FB, I also just sold off some of my lats because I have way too many.