Which would you pick?

[Mushroom Spore]

Guys, this is the OP's first spider. Don't tell him a GBB or Avic won't be fast or nervous because of some insane Old World species you handle all the time because you're just that awesome. To a spider newbie, those two are going to be more than fast enough - I was TERRIFIED as a newbie when I got a GBB because jerks like you guys kept insisting their speed was no big deal, and it turned out she preferred to move at roughly the speed of sound. ;P

skips, some few GBBs are handleable. Others have hair-trigger nerves and will bolt if someone sneezes on the other side of the room, and they are pretty darn fast when they put their minds to it. If you want something that's easily handled/can be easily rehoused/won't bolt, odds are you do not want this species. At all. My female is insane. Stick with terrestrials only (GBB is semi-terrestrial/semi-arboreal technically) for your first foray into something like this. They are slower, more hesitant to climb, and to my knowledge they can't really jump at all.

If you're feeling like taking a risk, the L. parahybana or A. geniculata should be plenty sassy. Some of those end up docile too, but more likely you'll have a specimen that's large and in charge and knows it.

You're pretty much playing the odds with any species you get. Some super-docile species have individuals that want to devour your children, and some people have calm, docile GBBs that never startle. But it's safer not to assume you'll be lucky.

 

[Billdolfski]

My GBB is very, very nervous and will run about the cage sometimes when I just walk in the room. That being said, it's just very defensive and I don't think it should be a problem with a first-timer... just leave it be like it wants.

I love Avics... very pretty and usually active.

Everybody loves a B smithi, but I've never had one... couldn't say from experience.

I gotta give an honorable mention to the G pulchra (not listed) cause it's probably the favorite of mine. Constantly digs, very aggressive appetite and docile.

 

[tarantulaholic]

B. Smithi, docile, large, less likely to kick hairs.

 

[skips]

Guys, this is the OP's first spider. Don't tell him a GBB or Avic won't be fast or nervous because of some insane Old World species you handle all the time because you're just that awesome. To a spider newbie, those two are going to be more than fast enough - I was TERRIFIED as a newbie when I got a GBB because jerks like you guys kept insisting their speed was no big deal, and it turned out she preferred to move at roughly the speed of sound. ;P

skips, some few GBBs are handleable. Others have hair-trigger nerves and will bolt if someone sneezes on the other side of the room, and they are pretty darn fast when they put their minds to it. If you want something that's easily handled/can be easily rehoused/won't bolt, odds are you do not want this species. At all. My female is insane. Stick with terrestrials only (GBB is semi-terrestrial/semi-arboreal technically) for your first foray into something like this. They are slower, more hesitant to climb, and to my knowledge they can't really jump at all.

If you're feeling like taking a risk, the L. parahybana or A. geniculata should be plenty sassy. Some of those end up docile too, but more likely you'll have a specimen that's large and in charge and knows it.

You're pretty much playing the odds with any species you get. Some super-docile species have individuals that want to devour your children, and some people have calm, docile GBBs that never startle. But it's safer not to assume you'll be lucky.

Spore, thanks for being candid. You know, I know understand fully what you're saying. Maybe for our purposes it would be better to go with the smithi. I know i've had the experience to know what i'm getting into (not with spiders, but pretty much everything else), but there are other students who will be working with it and the last thing I need is to hear that somebody underestimated the spider, lost it, and it wound up on crabby professor's desk a month later. Maybe in the future i'll go with the avic or GBB for my own collection. They're just so friggen pretty!

 

[Mushroom Spore]

Maybe in the future i'll go with the avic or GBB for my own collection. They're just so friggen pretty!

Definitely do this! They're great to have, and pretty hardy too.

 

[IrishPolishman]

Ok, ok. it's pretty much between smithi, aviculares, and Gbb. smithi because it's easily handleable and the others because they're impressive and lets face it, for all of us that do educational programs, impressive counts gets attention. We really just need the ability to transfer the animal to a critter carrier to do programs. Come to think of it, with my experience I'd be the only one i'd be comfortable with handling it anyway. At least for a while.

with that being said. I wouldn't go for the GBB. I would go for something a little more relaxed.

 

[gumby]

Just for reference I have found all my avics to be more docile then my B. smithi and far more easy to handle. That is just my opinion and I think Mushroom Spore makes it sounds like an avic is a beast compared to what it really is. Id say get a few different Ts and handle them before you decide and just see which works best for you. Some people may find avic more calm and some may a B smithi more calm. Ive handled many different Ts over the last few years and have showed Ts in crowds of 20+ people 12 times I always use my avics when handling in a crowd because I feel they are less likely to fall and get hurt if something unexpected does happen. nothing makes a choice easier then experience.

 

[Miss Bianca]

I'm gonna go with Smithi because of what you said you want it for... my vote would have been for an Avicularia Versicolor except they might get holed up in their tube webs and sometimes they really don't wanna come out just for nothin'... a Smithi's a great display T.... best of luck..

 

[LeilaNami]

I would go with the (apparently less popular) A. chalcodes. Mine was great and super docile. She made really awesome and elaborate burrows but was out a lot as well.

 

[IrishKnight]

well if u dont want something that fast id change my vote from GBB to B.smithi,a HOBBY CLASSIC

 

[sean-820]

1) gbb
2)versi
3) I know its not on the list, but i say obt
4) parahybana due to its sheer size
5) smithi becasue its a classic and its probably the most recognised species

Unrelated, but what other thigns do you have in the collection (non t's)?

 

[Mushroom Spore]

I think Mushroom Spore makes it sounds like an avic is a beast

Except my post was 99% about GBBs? Avics only got an offhand mention, because even if you have a calm one they certainly have the ability to get nervous and jump/bolt. I've seen an abundance of "lol my avic ended up on my back somehow" posts over the years, so no matter how lazy yours is you still can't let your guard down like if you had a G. rosea in your hands.

3) I know its not on the list, but i say obt

Oh yeah, that's a FANTASTIC suggestion to a tarantula newbie that clearly stated in their first post that they're looking for an animal they can handle and use in presentations around other people. And that can be frequently rehoused without difficulty. And...dude what are you thinking? (skips: seriously don't listen to this. OBTs are an Old World species, with all the more challenging traits that implies, and their venom is not fun.)

EDIT: OBT bite report thread, includes discussion of the venom and of the behavior of your standard specimen. http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=133925

 

[gumby]

I agree with Mushroom Spore that many of the Ts on the list would not be an ideal choice of a first T. GBB and OBT would be two of my last choices if I were showing before an audience. I think the key is making sure who ever does the handling has time to practice before hand and has something not their finger to help guide the T. somewhere they feel comfortable having it during a show.

 

[jeff1962]

I would go with the (apparently less popular) A. chalcodes. Mine was great and super docile. She made really awesome and elaborate burrows but was out a lot as well.

I agree 100% . But once again a great T. gets overlooked because its does not have the "bling" factor that alot of people here seem to think makes a T. desirable.

Of the T.s on the list to me it obviously fit the bill over the others. My second choice would be a Smithi, a great looking classic but all 3 of mine are hair kickers. To me this is not a good handable trait especially if new people are going to be exposed to it.

I know next someone is going to say they have a Smithi that they handle all the time and it never kicks hair. The problem with this is that it is more the exception than the rule with most Brachys.The only brachys I have that don't kick hairs as soon as you go mear them are my Albopilsoms.

 

[JNG]

i just picked an L.P. cuz it was the only one of the choices that i had. But woulda picked an OBT, if it was a choice. Just got 11 T's, and 7 are OBT's. Dont really care for a Brachy-anything. Have an A. Avic, but dont have a versicolor.

 

[skips]

1) gbb
2)versi
3) I know its not on the list, but i say obt
4) parahybana due to its sheer size
5) smithi becasue its a classic and its probably the most recognised species

Unrelated, but what other thigns do you have in the collection (non t's)?

Well, a few points to make. I may think of getting an evic too and see how it goes but origionally keep it as a display animal only.

The second point is that by "doing programs" does NOT mean that we have to actually handle the T. All that needs to be done is transfer it into a critter carrier so that people can see it and then be transferred back. That's what we do at our zoo.

What else do I have? Well, at the moment all I have is 2 poison dart frogs (dendrobates tinctorius), a scorpion (pandinus cavimanus militares), roaches (B. Lateralis, G. Portentosa, B. dubia), culture meal worms, a tanzanian millipede, and a ball python.

I went to college and got homesick for the zoo...so me and a friend started the animal collection in our biology building a few years ago. Seriously, I thought dart frogs were an addiction, then I hit invertebrates and i'm stuck equally on them too, but they cost alot less.

 

[jeff1962]

Well, a few points to make. I may think of getting an evic too and see how it goes but origionally keep it as a display animal only.

The second point is that by "doing programs" does NOT mean that we have to actually handle the T. All that needs to be done is transfer it into a critter carrier so that people can see it and then be transferred back. That's what we do at our zoo.

What else do I have? Well, at the moment all I have is 2 poison dart frogs (dendrobates tinctorius), a scorpion (pandinus cavimanus militares), roaches (B. Lateralis, G. Portentosa, B. dubia), culture meal worms, a tanzanian millipede, and a ball python.

I went to college and got homesick for the zoo...so me and a friend started the animal collection in our biology building a few years ago. Seriously, I thought dart frogs were an addiction, then I hit invertebrates and i'm stuck equally on them too, but they cost alot less.

Even if that is the case, with the transfering back and forth I would still make a choice where your chance of getting something mellow is greater.


You don't have it on your list but a Grammostola aureostriata , or whats comonly called a chaco gold knee would also be an awesome choice.


Whatever you do please ignore the people on here that are suggesting you get an OBT, this is about the worst thing you could get. Anyone on here with any experince at all with T.s WOULD NOT be suggesting one of these.

 

[sean-820]

Sorry, i didnt read you want to handle it. Obt would be and easy species to keep, however not good for handling or rehousing if you have to do it that often. I was thinkign more of a display that stays in the same tank

 

[Lucara]

Something easily handled would be the versicolor. Its got some stunning colors to boot =D. You really can't go wrong with them.
I also agree with the G. aureostriata. Its not overly flashy but they're generally docile and get to a fairly impressive size. Mine never used their hides so they make good display T's.

 

[skips]

1) gbb
2)versi
3) I know its not on the list, but i say obt
4) parahybana due to its sheer size
5) smithi becasue its a classic and its probably the most recognised species

Unrelated, but what other thigns do you have in the collection (non t's)?

Right, sorry. what I listed above was my collection. THE collection (the university's) is a red tail boa, ball python, corn snake, blue tongue skinks, golden gecko, two blue tongue skinks, scorpions (heterometrus spinifer, vaejovis spinigerus, hadrurus spadix), a salt water tank with a few cnidarians and arthropods, and soon we'll have some chinese mantises. It's not huge but it's less than a year old.