New spider owner

[Silence9280]

Just started my collection. I have 3 beautiful babies to raise. Never thought of starting with a spiderling, but I am glad I did. 2 Brazilian white banded and an ornamental babboon. Looking for continuing advise and good luck for my new family members. Will post pics as I watch them grow into such beautiful creatures.

 

[Ashton]

Why the baboon? I understand the appeal of the fast, feisty spider, but it is not the best decision.

 

[XBabysinX]

I was just thinking the same the, New spider owner + baboon = not a good idea. It's your decision and yours only but that's a more experienced collectors tarantula.

 

[Beary Strange]

An H.maculata is definitely not the best choice for a first spider but what's done is done. Be extremely careful: no holes bigger than it's carapace, make sure of it's location prior to opening it's container, disturb it a bit to encourage it to run into it's burrow (for most of my OWs, simply picking up the container is sufficient), don't EVER try to hold this spider-it has medically significant venom.
As to the other two you call "Brazilian White Banded" I'm guessing you mean A.geniculata? If so, be aware they're feisty and their hairs are no joke. Another I would really discourage you from attempting to handle.

When getting into tarantulas, cheaper is not always better. Many of the more dangerous species are extremely prolific and therefore also extremely cheap. But this does not mean they are good beginner tarantulas by any means. In any case, best of luck and as I said, be careful-for your own sake but also for the tarantulas'.

 

[cold blood]

Never thought of starting with a spiderling, but I am glad I did. 2 Brazilian white banded and an ornamental babboon. Looking for continuing advise and good luck for my new family members. Will post pics as I watch them grow into such beautiful creatures.

First off, raising a spiderling is something everyone should do, its very rewarding as the t grows. You're gonna love it. Slings are eating, molting machines very often, and those are 2 very appealing aspects for most beginners (for many of us actually). Molts always fascinate me, and the added growth of a young t makes it even more exciting, its almost like getting a new t every molt.

But what the heck is a white banded, never heard that one...I'm guessing N. chromatus (maybe coloratovillosus perhaps), A. geniculata or maybe one of the other many"stripe leg" species. Common names are exceedingly confusing, especially ones involving red legs/knees and stripe legs, there's just so many of them and common names are all over the place, even overlapping in many cases. You will be doing yourself a big favor in the hobby by learning the scientific names of the species. Browsing online dealers is a good way to put "names to faces" so to speak as they generally have good pics.

I also agree with the others that an H. maculata (I'm assuming that's what you have anyway, as its the only ornamental occasionally described as a baboon) is about the worse choice for a beginner t you could pick. I would sell/trade it before it causes an issue. They are exceptionally fast, ill tempered (even if they are reclusive most of the time) and have nasty venom on top of that. It will grow far quicker than you will be able to adapt to, and reading and watching videos cannot prepare you for its capabilities, only hands on experience can do that. Its wise to move up in steps as opposed to jumping in the deep end when dealing with fast spiders with potent venom. A bad experience will often have people in fear of the t, or at least not comfortable enough to properly take care of or enjoy it, which can totally ruin what should be a great experience. Avicularia genus or even Psalmopeous would make a better choice for a first arboreal. Avics are less aggressive and have mild venom (but are still incredibly cool and diverse), psalmopeous are really fast, and while their bites can be painful, they're nothing compared to an old world and they tend to act similarly.. Good stepping stone genus to prepare you for old world arboreals.

I'm not telling you what to do, just what I would do if I were in your shoes, or what I would tell a family member I cared about who was starting out, its your decision and regardless of your choices, I wish you the best of luck and welcome you to the hobby, its very interesting, there's darn near 1000 species and hundreds of available choices that are more suitable for beginners that are still really cool looking, and acting as well.

I've been at it 14 years, I started with arboreals a year ago and still don't feel an H. mac is a good choice for me yet either, as I am still far from what I would consider an "expert".

 

[Jones0911]

Just started my collection. I have 3 beautiful babies to raise. Never thought of starting with a spiderling, but I am glad I did. 2 Brazilian white banded and an ornamental babboon. Looking for continuing advise and good luck for my new family members. Will post pics as I watch them grow into such beautiful creatures.

Make sure you have tongs that are very long, Zoomed I think is there brand name that makes some very long/sturdy metal tongs