Question about Old World Tarantulas

[Andrea82]

I know I'm backtracking a bit, but my friend who is an experienced T keeper said P. Regalis is a good OW species to start with because they have even temperament. I know each individual's personality will vary, but is that generally true of this species?

No no no.... Poecilotheria is near the top of the ladder when it comes to OW.
You have no arboreal experience aside from a Tappi sling, and you definitely need that. Poecilotheria venom is no joke, as is their speed.
If you are really, REALLY itchy for an OW and can't contain yourself, Augacephalus ezendami would be a much better first OW. But not a Pokie. Especially not with kids in the house.

Edit:
This is a very big, mature man with a high treshold for pain who gets bitten by a Poecilotheria:

Edit2:
And here's one that has been bitten by a P.murinus. Pokies have worse venom than P.murinus.

 

[Rushophobia]

So I have a problem. I can't stop buying tarantulas... I am an experienced herp keeper, but I have never acquired reptiles so fast. I now have 5 slings and 1 sub adult in a little over two months. What is it about this hobby that is so addicting?

I have a question about Old World T's. Why are they not recommended for beginner keepers? There is an expo coming up in my area and I was thinking about purchasing some M. Balfouri slings to make a communal enclosure. I have the design planned out, but I wanted to ask if this is a stupid idea for someone who has only recently started keeping T's. I don't want to be irresponsible, and there is always next year, so I would appreciate some advice in that regard.

Pretty much what everyone said is true and you should take it slow before jumping into OW tarantulas and as people mentioned a sling doesn’t even come close to an adult when it comes to “ Difficulty “
In my case my first T ever was full grown OBT not a sling but a full grown adult trust me it’s a bad idea I was young and I thought it was cool in my case it all worked out but it was a bad idea and I don’t encourage anyone do it.

To be honest there’s a lot of OWs that can be easier to work with and in my experience are good beginner OW Ts
• H.villosella
•E.Pachypus
•Pterinochilus lugardi

Those three would be the best ones to start with and if you really want to do a communal setup wait for another year or so the H.villosella is very easy to keep communally and they are hardy.

hope this helps out

No no no.... Poecilotheria is near the top of the ladder when it comes to OW.
You have no arboreal experience aside from a Tappi sling, and you definitely need that. Poecilotheria venom is no joke, as is their speed.
If you are really, REALLY itchy for an OW and can't contain yourself, Augacephalus ezendami would be a much better first OW. But not a Pokie. Especially not with kids in the house.

Edit:
This is a very big, mature man with a high treshold for pain who gets bitten by a Poecilotheria:

Edit2:
And here's one that has been bitten by a P.murinus. Pokies have worse venom than P.murinus.

No no no.... Poecilotheria is near the top of the ladder when it comes to OW.
You have no arboreal experience aside from a Tappi sling, and you definitely need that. Poecilotheria venom is no joke, as is their speed.
If you are really, REALLY itchy for an OW and can't contain yourself, Augacephalus ezendami would be a much better first OW. But not a Pokie. Especially not with kids in the house.

Edit:
This is a very big, mature man with a high treshold for pain who gets bitten by a Poecilotheria:

Edit2:
And here's one that has been bitten by a P.murinus. Pokies have worse venom than P.murinus.

your 100% right they are no joke but still they aren’t the most defensive I never had one give me a threat pose so I wouldn’t say they are on the Top of the ladder.

 

[Andrea82]

Pretty much what everyone said is true and you should take it slow before jumping into OW tarantulas and as people mentioned a sling doesn’t even come close to an adult when it comes to “ Difficulty “
In my case my first T ever was full grown OBT not a sling but a full grown adult trust me it’s a bad idea I was young and I thought it was cool in my case it all worked out but it was a bad idea and I don’t encourage anyone do it.

To be honest there’s a lot of OWs that can be easier to work with and in my experience are good beginner OW Ts
• H.villosella
•E.Pachypus
•Pterinochilus lugardi

Those three would be the best ones to start with and if you really want to do a communal setup wait for another year or so the H.villosella is very easy to keep communally and they are hardy.

hope this helps out




your 100% right they are no joke but still they aren’t the most defensive I never had one give me a threat pose so I wouldn’t say they are on the Top of the ladder.

There are NW spiders that are way more defensive than Poecilotheria, (Phormictopus anyone?) that is not why they are at the top end of the ladder. They are there because of speed and venom

 

[Rushophobia]

There are NW spiders that are way more defensive than Poecilotheria, (Phormictopus anyone?) that is not why they are at the top end of the ladder. They are there because of speed and venom

And beauty lol

 

[Andrea82]

And beauty lol

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I think the saying goes.

 

[viper69]

What is it about this hobby that is so addicting?

they aren't addicting, you can live w/out them

Why are they not recommended for beginner keepers?

OWs have a stronger venom, and OW vs NW - OWs in general are much faster than NWs

but I wanted to ask if this is a stupid idea

It is!

P. Regalis is a good OW species to start with because they have even temperament.

The best genus to get started with a faster "class" of Ts is Ceratogyrus. Reasoning, if you can't handle a fast moving T in 2 dimensions, then you cannot deal w/a genus that moves in 3 dimensions.

In my experience, P. metallica

Lucky you! They are generally the more flighty member of the genus. This coming from a well known breeder of this species, and many other OW owners.