Possible new T for a begginer

[Joeyo]

i have an avic avic and i absoulty love her! i want to get a terrestrial T now. what is a good one for a beginner? docile and easy to work with is a + for i love building their habitat and planting real foliage for them.

My a avic is very active at night and i love to watch her. are there any good active Ts for beginners? i don't want something that needs experience to care for. the last thing i want to do is acidentally kill an innocent T.

 

[druid8783]

Hello, do a search for beginner on the forum, you'll get a lot of answers that way.

My first T was a Chaco golden knee G. aureostriata. Very docile.. B. smithi is another one that is recommended. They are hair flickers though. G. rosea's are another good choice.

If you like to watch them web up the place I have an A. seemanni that loves to do that.

My B. vagans is a burrower. I don't see it much.

That's really all I can comment on because that's all I have experience with!

(I have an Avic avic too. I love it!)

 

[Joeyo]

id love to see one web up the tank. my avic has no web. a burrower would be ok i guess, but id like to have one i can display and watch. my friends love to come over and look.

one of my friends who has a terrible fear of spiders came over today. when he was on the phone with me beforehand he told me to put it away and not to bring it out. he said if i did, he would probably kill it and not mean to simply because he is so afraid of them. so he shows up and the first thing he says is "ok, where is this spider?"

I took him over to her tank and showed him that she was on the side there in plain view. he bent over a little and looked at her and said "can i touch her?"
i said "yeah, i guess so. just dont freak out if she moves and knock her off the side"
Reluctantly, he said "ok"
so i opened the lid and watched as he backed up. I put my hand in there and stroked her a little on her abdomen. she raised up a little and kind of rubbed back. i said to him "see, she isn't gonna bite"
he said "which way is her front? i dont want her to be facing me"
i said "its pointing towards the floor"
He stepped back over to the tank and peered inside. he made a shivery heebie geebie kinda sound and shook a little.
"go ahead. just be careful" i told him
he looked at me then back into the tank. he stuck his hand in with his finger extended and put it near her. he sort of hovered there for a few seconds before he got up some courage. When he touched her she raised up a bit and extened her front legs out a little and he sort of jumped a little and retracted his hand.
"i did it!"
i said "see, i told you."
we talked about spiders for a little bit after that. i think i helped him start getting over his fear

boy, that story was longer than i thought it would be.

 

[Kaulback]

Always good to see people curing themselves of arachnophobia

General opinion from what I've seen:

G. rosea is THE starter tarantula. However, there are some others that are just as easy to care for for beginners, just not as popular, including:

B. smithi
A. seemani
A. avicularia (but you already have these, plus they're arboreal).

 

[leo3375]

Any species in the Grammostola and Brachypelma genera are good terrestrial Ts for beginners. I cuurently have a G. rosea and a G. pulchra. I used to have a B. smithi but it died of unknown causes. These Ts are "opportunistic burrowers," which means that they may or may not make a burrow and can quickly adapt to a provided hiding place.

 

[Immortal_sin]

best post ever for this question right<<<HERE>>>

 

[Pokie1]

Nix the A. seemanni from list

After owning one and seeing others do so, I must say that they are not a great beginner species. They tend do be very skittish, very quick (when retreating) and seem to have no problem jumping to their deaths. They are hard to handle. In addition, mine has gone from not kicking setae to having gone completly bald from flicking them at every little start. It has turned into a classic "pet hole" to boot. Add to that the higher humidity/temp requirements and all the extra cleaning that goes with it, and I think that bumps it out of the "good newbie" category.

My G. rosea, on the other hand, is colorful, slow moving, easy natured, easily handled and does not ever flick setae. In addition, she is very visible and active even during some daylight hours. She just moulted and is gorgeous. Her care requirements are well, a pool, live plant and that is about it. Dry substrate, low humidity (60 or so) and room temperature is all that she needs. What a treasure!

Most people start with the G. rosea for good reason. That would be my vote.

Good luck and welcome to the club.

Pokie1

 

[MrsT]

I'm pretty new to keeping Ts, I started off with an G.Rosea, then I got a B. Albopilosum don't see her much, she comes out mostly at night, she has made a big burrow under her log,

Then I went on to get Avic Avic and C. cyaneopubescens, I got them both on the same day,

Then I went on to get my A. Seemani, and I agree they are not really a beginner T, mine is very fast, and can catch a cricket in mid air, I still love her tho, I love all my Ts very much and the Avic Avic is just cool to watch, mine lets me stroke her abdomen and she starts wiggling her body and spinning its cool, and shes on a mission every evening running round her little sling tank.

The Eupalastrus campestratus is supposed to be a fairly good beginner T, I have one on order, cant wait for her to arrive, and I find that the C. cyaneopubescens is ok, I just don't see her much, she's always webbed up, they are a beautiful T, mind you they all are, My B. Albopilosum has kicked hairs off at me a few times but once she gets used to me in the tank she calms down and stops running away.

 

[Letsgochopping]

I will put my vote in for Grammastola Aureostriata. They are pretty, hardy, kind and get big. I don't think you can ask for more.