What is the best first tarantula?

[ElfDa]

being a good newb

i'm checking the threads listed in the "read these before you post anything!" stickies, but haven't found the data i want... and thr searh function just isn't working with my ipod. >_>

hopefully someone sees this and pities this wee n00b, lol!

Are slings much harder to care for than adults?
having kept a number of critters, with skeletons on the inside, in the past, I know that babies can be extra hard. especially when it comes to exotic pets.
(2 rounds of antibiotics have not cleared up my hatchling tortoise's URI, as an example)

I'd love to get a wee T; I would carry it in a wee bottle, in a pocket, for special occasions! Like video game expos, where i could use an extra female presence, even if no one else saw it. She would be Gal Pal Val.

in all seriousness, I would like to get a wee one from a local breeder, but worry that a sling would be a poor first T for this starving artist. :/

---------- Post added at 03:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:26 AM ----------

also; I totally fell in love with my friend's rosie, Harriet!
she's a 15-year-old lady, and I'm amazed at how much i miss her.

i know they make good starters, but i kinda want a curly or gold-legged (grammasola aura..something i think it's now g. pilch or something like that).

i loooove a. versicolors, but they have to wait until I gain more confidence.

 

[grayzone]

uh........ seriously? slings in your pocket is a good idea if ya want a dead pet? id suggest reading more, and askin alot more ? before deciding on gettin a t. either way welcome to the hobby... i think..

 

[PhobeToPhile]

i'm checking the threads listed in the "read these before you post anything!" stickies, but haven't found the data i want... and thr searh function just isn't working with my ipod. >_>

hopefully someone sees this and pities this wee n00b, lol!

Are slings much harder to care for than adults?
having kept a number of critters, with skeletons on the inside, in the past, I know that babies can be extra hard. especially when it comes to exotic pets.
(2 rounds of antibiotics have not cleared up my hatchling tortoise's URI, as an example)

I'd love to get a wee T; I would carry it in a wee bottle, in a pocket, for special occasions! Like video game expos, where i could use an extra female presence, even if no one else saw it. She would be Gal Pal Val.

in all seriousness, I would like to get a wee one from a local breeder, but worry that a sling would be a poor first T for this starving artist. :/

---------- Post added at 03:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:26 AM ----------

also; I totally fell in love with my friend's rosie, Harriet!
she's a 15-year-old lady, and I'm amazed at how much i miss her.

i know they make good starters, but i kinda want a curly or gold-legged (grammasola aura..something i think it's now g. pilch or something like that).

i loooove a. versicolors, but they have to wait until I gain more confidence.

Grammstola pulchripes, aka the chaco golden knee. Brachypelma albopilosum, the curly haired tarantula. Really, you shouldn't carry a tarantula around with you like that, especially a sling-good way to end up with a dead T. Also, slings that tiny generally aren't sexed. Try searching for "sling housing" to get an idea of the setup needed to care for a sling. And like the above poster said, do your research on what you want. Avics have humidity requirements that many of the other "starter" tarantulas don't have.

 

[campj]

in all seriousness...

He/she was obviously joking about carrying it in the pocket. I hope anyway.

Most slings are fairly rugged, especially if you're used to taking care of finicky vertebrates. Actually, you may end up giving the sling too much attention. They really aren't that hard if you read up (especially from EXPERIENCED hobbyists, not the ones who have had five spiders for three months and think they know it all), and have your wits about you. I'll warn you though, some of the new world terrestrials grow painfully slow. Your example of G. rosea can take six years to mature.

 

[ElfDa]

i was, indeed, joking; the only things that make good "pocket pets" are made of plastic. maybe a really friendly hamster, in a breast, at your desk. maybe.

after caring for a wide variety of fish and mammals, and several reptiles, (some were babysat, some were owned) I found the extremely low-maintenance of the T very, very refreshing.

I have about as much interest in holding a T as they have in being held; basically none.

my walk-in closet stays around 70-75 in spring, summer, and some of autumn, and would only need heating in the winters. we have a 5 gallon plastic rubbermaid-type box with holes poked in the lid (sides are a work in progress, but I'm in no hurry to house anything in it, just yet).
anyway...

I don't mind so much if they're slow growing, but a juvie still sounds better than a sling, especially in terms of feeding (pinhead crickets... ugh), and price, compared to adults, for me.

glad to know that you guys will say "easy if you're an old hand at it", rather than what some herp people will say. (baby chameleon? no harder than an adult; and those aren't really any harder than a gecko!)

I'm also glad you will double check jokes like that, haha!
even if they could survive hangin' out in your pocket, in a wee ja, they're still hate the experience; jet setters, Ts are not.

 

[RyTheTGuy]

Didn't realized this post was from 2004. -Deleted-