Ordering a Heteroscodra Maculata next week, what to expect?

[cold blood]

Soo when i was talking about H macs on another thread i meantioned Taps, and everyone jumped at me saying taps were Worse then pokies and etc to have.

My main point was eventually my end game T's are an OBT/H Mac/T. Gigas, and that i will have them eventually, but wanted to know what to get before them over the years to gain that experience. The general consensus was dont get them anyway.

I just wish there was like an official or unoffical like ladder list of specific species/genus to own to work up to some of the crazier olds worlds. Would be nice to get some specific recommendations from you guys who have beeen doing this for years.
Because like you guys said. While as far as genuses go there kind of is but some specific ones are crazier or harder to handle or more defencive/faster then others of normally more afvanced genuses even.

I think you misunderstood. What was said was that taps were faster than poecs, which they are....not that they are more advanced, they are not.

Because taps are NW, like the Psalms, they make a good stepping stone (or ladder rung) genus leading to poecs. With a tap or a psalm you may actually get a more high strung animal than a poec, but the end result of a mistake, a bite, an escape + dog/cat/child/friend/heck, ferret, etc. bite wouldn't be nearly as disasterous, just a lesson learned (and with less experience, the chances of bites, bolters and escapes goes up dramatically). People that take it slow rarely encounter the issues that those jumping right into the deep end seem to have regularly.

You want to learn any lessons BEFORE you get into the ones that can actually hurt you or cause real troubles...for you and the spider and anyone or thing else living in or visiting your house (except fish, fish are pretty safe from spiders...well except maybe H. gigas, but that's a whole 'nuther story)

The gist wasn't that you should NEVER own those species, just that you shouldn't until you are more experienced....down the line, with proper experience, there is no reason why you couldn't get one or twenty....you just shouldn't do it without proper hands on (not literally) experience. If those are your end goals, a tap would be your bridge/ladder rung species and the one of the three to own (to adulthood) first.

Which ladder you take is dependent on what your final goal is.

If its high strung baboons like H. gigas, P. muticus or expensive or particularly nasty baboons, then it might go LP, genic, or chromatus...to pamph or phormic to augecaphelus/ceratogryus (darlingi/marshalli) or M. balfouri onto OBT to the rest of the OW terrestrials are basically fair game after that.

If your end goal was H. maculata or poecilotheria sp., I would start with a few Avics, then onto either Psalms or Taps (I really love the Psalmopeous personally) and once you are comfortable with them (and they are grown), poecs and H. macs and any other OW arboreal.

Once you really learn about the genera, the ladder system will become pretty obvious.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

I think you misunderstood. What was said was that taps were faster than poecs, which they are....not that they are more advanced, they are not.

Because taps are NW, like the Psalms, they make a good stepping stone (or ladder rung) genus leading to poecs. With a tap or a psalm you may actually get a more high strung animal than a poec, but the end result of a mistake, a bite, an escape + dog/cat/child/friend/heck, ferret, etc. bite wouldn't be nearly as disasterous, just a lesson learned (and with less experience, the chances of bites, bolters and escapes goes up dramatically). People that take it slow rarely encounter the issues that those jumping right into the deep end seem to have regularly.

You want to learn any lessons BEFORE you get into the ones that can actually hurt you or cause real troubles...for you and the spider and anyone or thing else living in or visiting your house (except fish, fish are pretty safe from spiders...well except maybe H. gigas, but that's a whole 'nuther story)

The gist wasn't that you should NEVER own those species, just that you shouldn't until you are more experienced....down the line, with proper experience, there is no reason why you couldn't get one or twenty....you just shouldn't do it without proper hands on (not literally) experience. If those are your end goals, a tap would be your bridge/ladder rung species and the one of the three to own (to adulthood) first.

Which ladder you take is dependent on what your final goal is.

If its high strung baboons like H. gigas, P. muticus or expensive or particularly nasty baboons, then it might go LP, genic, or chromatus...to pamph or phormic to augecaphelus/ceratogryus (darlingi/marshalli) or M. balfouri onto OBT to the rest of the OW terrestrials are basically fair game after that.

If your end goal was H. maculata or poecilotheria sp., I would start with a few Avics, then onto either Psalms or Taps (I really love the Psalmopeous personally) and once you are comfortable with them (and they are grown), poecs and H. macs and any other OW arboreal.

Once you really learn about the genera, the ladder system will become pretty obvious.

 

[cold blood]

@Chris LXXIX, message me, I cannot access your profile to message you.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

@Chris LXXIX, message me, I cannot access your profile to message you.

You have the PM box full

 

[cold blood]

You have the PM box full

fixed, try again my friend.

 

[Tanner Dzula]

I think you misunderstood. What was said was that taps were faster than poecs, which they are....not that they are more advanced, they are not.

Because taps are NW, like the Psalms, they make a good stepping stone (or ladder rung) genus leading to poecs. With a tap or a psalm you may actually get a more high strung animal than a poec, but the end result of a mistake, a bite, an escape + dog/cat/child/friend/heck, ferret, etc. bite wouldn't be nearly as disasterous, just a lesson learned (and with less experience, the chances of bites, bolters and escapes goes up dramatically). People that take it slow rarely encounter the issues that those jumping right into the deep end seem to have regularly.

You want to learn any lessons BEFORE you get into the ones that can actually hurt you or cause real troubles...for you and the spider and anyone or thing else living in or visiting your house (except fish, fish are pretty safe from spiders...well except maybe H. gigas, but that's a whole 'nuther story)

The gist wasn't that you should NEVER own those species, just that you shouldn't until you are more experienced....down the line, with proper experience, there is no reason why you couldn't get one or twenty....you just shouldn't do it without proper hands on (not literally) experience. If those are your end goals, a tap would be your bridge/ladder rung species and the one of the three to own (to adulthood) first.

Which ladder you take is dependent on what your final goal is.

If its high strung baboons like H. gigas, P. muticus or expensive or particularly nasty baboons, then it might go LP, genic, or chromatus...to pamph or phormic to augecaphelus/ceratogryus (darlingi/marshalli) or M. balfouri onto OBT to the rest of the OW terrestrials are basically fair game after that.

If your end goal was H. maculata or poecilotheria sp., I would start with a few Avics, then onto either Psalms or Taps (I really love the Psalmopeous personally) and once you are comfortable with them (and they are grown), poecs and H. macs and any other OW arboreal.

Once you really learn about the genera, the ladder system will become pretty obvious.

Thank you for this!

Now if only somebody could put it all into some type of colorful flow chart

But seriously its good to have a general idea to follow. i understand that also all spiders are there own individual and that some may be more high strung then others also,


But in the End, basically, My 3 final goals are OBT's, H maculata/P. metallica, and then just my personal favorite, T. Blondi, the goliath bird eater.

i would like to end up with these three as quickly as i can, Which i understand is not going to be very quickly as all. basically personally I'm trying to plan ahead and know what i SHOULD have to be prepared for what i want to have, but also have some fun along the way.

Also good to hear that LP/Genics are a good first step towards OBT's because i have both currently and they are quite fun at the moment! Planning on an A. Versicolor Next and Maybe an Aphonopelma chalcodes(simply because i live in arizona and having an Arizona Blonde would be pretty cool).

 

[EulersK]

Also good to hear that LP/Genics are a good first step towards OBT's because i have both currently and they are quite fun at the moment! Planning on an A. Versicolor Next and Maybe an Aphonopelma chalcodes(simply because i live in arizona and having an Arizona Blonde would be pretty cool).

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you have L. parahybana and A. geniculata as slings, yes? The genic will become much, much more defensive as it grows. They're sweethearts as slings, and demons the rest of their lives.

 

[Ryuti]

Thank you for this!

Now if only somebody could put it all into some type of colorful flow chart

But seriously its good to have a general idea to follow. i understand that also all spiders are there own individual and that some may be more high strung then others also,


But in the End, basically, My 3 final goals are OBT's, H maculata/P. metallica, and then just my personal favorite, T. Blondi, the goliath bird eater.

i would like to end up with these three as quickly as i can, Which i understand is not going to be very quickly as all. basically personally I'm trying to plan ahead and know what i SHOULD have to be prepared for what i want to have, but also have some fun along the way.

Also good to hear that LP/Genics are a good first step towards OBT's because i have both currently and they are quite fun at the moment! Planning on an A. Versicolor Next and Maybe an Aphonopelma chalcodes(simply because i live in arizona and having an Arizona Blonde would be pretty cool).

I have a really nervous chalcodes. Never threat pictured but has attacked the tongs when I touched her leg twice and tends to be pretty skittish when I first open the enclosure

She's a sweetheart once she's out though just gotta take it slow

 

[Poec54]

Take your time, enjoy it, don't be in a hurry to get advanced species. Many grow fast & can soon be a source of a lot of stress.

 

[viper69]

You want to learn any lessons BEFORE you get into the ones that can actually hurt you or cause real troubles...for you and the spider

As I read once, "Common sense ain't common"

 

[Tanner Dzula]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you have L. parahybana and A. geniculata as slings, yes? The genic will become much, much more defensive as it grows. They're sweethearts as slings, and demons the rest of their lives.

No not as slings.
when we were first getting them(we had gotten a A. Geniculate and a B. albopilosum together, i just recently picked up the LP last week) we planned on getting A. genie and G. pulchripes slings,
But when we got there he had a juvenile A Genic for not much more then the sling( and being out first T's we didnt want to get a sling too small) and the only G. Pulchripes sling left wasnt doing to great, He was in a half death curl(the breeder only comes to the shop every sunday-wednesday, and we had met him there sunday when he opened up for the day), so he took it out of the case and didnt want to sell it the way it was looking, so he sold me a Confirmed female B. Albo for the same price as the sling( with the extra enclosure set up/extra cork bark/coco fiber/ dozen crickets, ~30$ total) . My LP is about ~3" and is in Pre-molt at the moment (so is my B albo which has me super excited) and the A. Genic is just slightly larger then 3", so 3-3.5"

My B albopilosum is the little one, she was only about ~2.5", but thankfully she is confirmed as female, even pulled out his magnifying lens and gave me a quick tutorial on sexing and how to tell with a female, she had molted about 3 days before we went to pick them up.

 

[Crone Returns]

I still think that genus Psalmopoeus (and genus Tapinauchenius) are the real deal. Nothing against 'Avics', don't get me wrong, but i have yet to see an 'Avic' seriously high strung like certain P.irminia.

I say (not to you of course) work with those for some years, then, eh... you can try African & Asian arboreals, with a proper experience.

Speed is academic, when discussing arboreals, because there aren't slow arboreals. Yes, 'Avics' are fast, but they are, in general, a nothing in terms of temperament. They are 'poop snipers', not defensive like a P.irminia could be.

I still think that genus Psalmopoeus (and genus Tapinauchenius) are the real deal. Nothing against 'Avics', don't get me wrong, but i have yet to see an 'Avic' seriously high strung like certain P.irminia.

I say (not to you of course) work with those for some years, then, eh... you can try African & Asian arboreals, with a proper experience.

Speed is academic, when discussing arboreals, because there aren't slow arboreals. Yes, 'Avics' are fast, but they are, in general, a nothing in terms of temperament. They are 'poop snipers', not defensive like a P.irminia could be.

Chris! Poop snipers?! You insult my T sir! Seriously I never will have a T that can rot my body inside out and blow me up into stinking hamburger! I'm gonna get more avics like my little beast!

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Chris! Poop snipers?! You insult my T sir! Seriously I never will have a T that can rot my body inside out and blow me up into stinking hamburger! I'm gonna get more avics like my little beast!

Ah, ah... i love all Theraphosidae 'Avics' included, even if i am, definitely, lol, not an 'Avic' man.

As i've said, i'm happy for you, crone, happy for your 'Avic', and i hope that your genuine passion and your Theraphosidae family will grow

 

[Crone Returns]

As I read once, "Common sense ain't common"

Didn't Yogi Berra say that!

 

[Crone Returns]

Ah, ah... i love all Theraphosidae 'Avics' included, even if i am, definitely, lol, not an 'Avic' man.

As i've said, i'm happy for you, crone, happy for your 'Avic', and i hope that your genuine passion and your Theraphosidae family will grow

It will. Don't worry.

 

[Gman32176]

So.. um.. guys.. bit of help.. think I may have gotten in over my head here.. Well, from what I've read I'm 99.9% sure I have. See, I ordered an H. Mac last night.. $30 with the shipping, so one of the reasons was because it was a good deal. However.. I'm just getting into the hobby.. I've kept a few true spiders before, but currently have only one T.. a 0.5-.75" G. Pulchripes sling. Not even an arboreal.. I have realized my mistake and contacted Ken. I am very hopeful that I can cancel the order in time, but in the event that it is indeed too late.. What do I expect? It's a 0.5" sling. I believe I could care for it for a while, but what about rehousings?? The enclosure is decent sized, though I may keep it in something a bit smaller.

 

[viper69]

So.. um.. guys.. bit of help.. think I may have gotten in over my head here.. Well, from what I've read I'm 99.9% sure I have. See, I ordered an H. Mac last night.. $30 with the shipping, so one of the reasons was because it was a good deal. However.. I'm just getting into the hobby.. I've kept a few true spiders before, but currently have only one T.. a 0.5-.75" G. Pulchripes sling. Not even an arboreal.. I have realized my mistake and contacted Ken. I am very hopeful that I can cancel the order in time, but in the event that it is indeed too late.. What do I expect? It's a 0.5" sling. I believe I could care for it for a while, but what about rehousings?? The enclosure is decent sized, though I may keep it in something a bit smaller.

I'll assume you are the average T owner based on your comments above.

1. Did you research an H. mac. before ordering?
2. If you did, what led you to think you could handle owning one?
3. What has led you to think you cannot handle owning one?
4. You should expect a very fast, secretive and beautiful OW T. Being arboreal they are QUITE nimble! So have fun w/that!
5. In the beginning one decent method to transfer it would be to use the bag transfer method (google it/read before asking, it's NOT rocket science!)
6. If your abilities are not advanced/good enough to deal w/this species, it will rapidly outgrow your skill sets. That is, you may not be able to learn enough by experience to keep up w/the pace of its growth.

If you really wanted an OW, you should have bought a Ceratogyrus. They are very fast as well, ie don't be lulled into complacency w/this genus or you'll be tagged.

Good luck!

 

[Chris LXXIX]

So.. um.. guys.. bit of help.. think I may have gotten in over my head here.. Well, from what I've read I'm 99.9% sure I have. See, I ordered an H. Mac last night.. $30 with the shipping, so one of the reasons was because it was a good deal. However.. I'm just getting into the hobby.. I've kept a few true spiders before, but currently have only one T.. a 0.5-.75" G. Pulchripes sling. Not even an arboreal.. I have realized my mistake and contacted Ken. I am very hopeful that I can cancel the order in time, but in the event that it is indeed too late.. What do I expect? It's a 0.5" sling. I believe I could care for it for a while, but what about rehousings?? The enclosure is decent sized, though I may keep it in something a bit smaller.

The problem is not cage upgrades or a rehouse, there's a lot of way for that, including (if you fear an escape, and I can understand) to put the little enclosure into the new, bigger one. The problem IMO is that you will receive a very little Theraphosidae if my understanding of inches are good (I don't use inches) so pay a particular attention while feeding and mantaining the proper humidity (slings are more delicate than juve/adults) for that those "bolt".

 

[Gman32176]

1. I did.
2. Being 100% honest, overconfidence.
3. Common sense.. The closest thing to one of these I've ever worked with is my little grass spider I have in a deli cup. While I've never had an issue with it, it's not something I would want to try to rehouse. That being said, a common little grass spider is nothing compared to an H. Mac. While I do think I could handle some kind of arboreal, thinking about a P. Irminia tbh, I know I'm just not ready for this. I just don't have any where near the experience. Hell, I recognize that even a P. Irminia is a bit much for me right now but I'd much rather take risks with that than an H. Mac.
4. They're beautiful coloration and markings are the main thing that attracted me to them. I was looking at it or a Wessel's Tiger Ornamental and the H. Mac was so much cheaper and I more attractive imo.
5. I think you may have just saved my ass on that one.. I'm surprised I haven't come across that yet.
6. This is one of the main reasons I want to cancel. I am actually confident that I could keep an H. Mac sling and grow it to a decent size. However, as you said, I know that by the time it does get that size I'm still going to be a beginner in the hobby. I believe this enclosure would easily house it until its 3" maybe 4". I certainly don't want my first arboreal rehousing to be this.

 

[Gman32176]

The problem is not cage upgrades or a rehouse, there's a lot of way for that, including (if you fear an escape, and I can understand) to put the little enclosure into the new, bigger one. The problem IMO is that you will receive a very little Theraphosidae if my understanding of inches are good (I don't use inches) so pay a particular attention while feeding and mantaining the proper humidity (slings are more delicate than juve/adults) for that those "bolt".

I expect it to be slightly smaller than my g. pulchripes. I've been doing well with it, though I haven't had it long. I have access to small enough prey, and I make sure to keep the humidity slightly higher since it's a sling.