Given your views on appropriate Ts for newbies, I can see you recommending TKG for beginners.
Indeed. Most information I have found on OWs was from the internet. And for a newbie, it's not always easy to discern what is good information and what isn't.
How far do we take this naturalistic vivarium idea? Is some dirt and a lean to piece of cork bark enough for arboreals? Are fake plants not ok? If adequate humidity and temps are kept, is good enough good enough? Do we need cluttered enclosures with live plants and supplementary heating? It seems to me that a lot of hobbyists breed there T's. Are they all using naturalistic set ups and extra heating or are alot of the species thriving and breeding at room temp (65-75F) and a general cycle of moistening and drying out that may be slightly varied by species? Also, are we to completely disregard the standard used to dictate adequate cage size? This is very thought provoking and yet, to newer keepers, could lead to the over thinking and subsequent over manipulation of the conditions in which a spider is kept....do we make our own individual judgement calls as to the health, vigor, and contentment of our T's? I think we have to while keeping our ears wide open to the observations of the veterans so we can tweak our methods.
I'd love to be one of the people he consults, but there are others who know a lot more than me who he should also talk to, in the US and Europe. I'd really like to see the TKG 'knock it out of the park' with this final edition.
- I think plastic plants are worthwhile, they give the cage some variety and texture, and the spiders don't feel so exposed out in the open. I prefer them to real plants, as their needs can compete with a tarantula's. That being said, some people do an excellent job with live plants, but it's more expensive and time consuming to make a beautiful terrarium with them, a factor that comes into play as your collection grows.
Have you bred many species? Just curious
In spite of any differences in the spiders we prefer and how we care for them, Stan and I are friends. We've both spent decades with these animals. And yes, I too am very pleased to see Stan's positive reaction. This can be a very healthy process we all benefit from.Poec, I will be honest with you, I thought this was a thread that would go straight into a fire, quickly. I am surprised by how well it has went lol! Awesome thread!
Ah, but a large portion of slings that are rare species are European imports. Many US dealers are doing this now. In fact that's the trend with many big dealers; some of those newly-imported slings are traded to other dealers and are sold by a number of people. There's still plenty of imports in the classifieds here. The species being produced in the US is a fraction of what's being done in Europe. We're still very dependent on them.
I think a lot of people who are new to the hobby want to think they are going to be on the forefront of modern keeping techniques or even revolutionize the hobby. There are a lot of wannabe scientist out there who don't want to believe how easy it is to keep these animals. They want to think they are involved in something that is a lot more difficult then it truly is and believe that they know more than people that have been involved in the hobby for decades simply because they deem other people's husbandry methods outdated.
This is the exact thing this thread is trying to change. Keeping spider's alive is very different than having spiders thrive. I don't think replicating a specific species natural temps, humidity and seasons is "trying to revolutionize" anything. It's just trying to create the best environment for the spider. Isn't that the goal? Are you keeping them all the same for ease and convenience? If so, that's what needs to change.
Neither of those is how I keep my T's. I simply stating that this hobby can be VERY easy if you are not trying to breed and simply want to have a nice collection. Many spiders would not suffer under these conditions even if they are less than ideal. When I had a few dozen species I had a nice set up. I had a cabinet with wire shelves. There was a heat light at the top of the cabinet. This created a heat gradient with each shelf being a different temperature. I had a computer fan exhausting the cabinet on a timer every hour. I varied the humidity by varying the substrate moisture and ventilation. I didn't keep water bowls with most of my collection except for adult females. That's what worked for me at the time.
I stated that room temps and drilled out shoes boxes with 4" of substrate and a water dish will work for many species. Advan made this seem rudimentary at best. So I decided to check current conditions in my stirmi's box and in French Guiana and it turns out I ain't too far off the mark.