Big Red
Immature male boehmei/baumgarteni cross. No breeding for this guy, still a gorgeous specimen though.
I don't see why, in general, most people are so against hybrids. As long as they're not being mislabeled and sold as such, I don't really understand why it's so heavily advised against. Worst-case scenario, you end up with a dead male.
 
@Inverts of the Valley I don't know man, bought this one as boehmei when it was a sling so was I pretty pissed off to find out its a hybrid after all these years of raising it.

I agree with your main assessment though, but tracking hybrids is next to impossible when we have irresponsible people selling them as true species. Eventually no one knows whats what. It really only takes one selfish individual to muddy up a species forever. Not worth the rsik IMO.

What do you mean by dead male worst case scenario? Hybrids can and will successfully breed with other true species...thus the danger of further hybridization down the line.
 
That's a fair assessment, I wouldn't want to end up with a crossbreed that I wasn't expecting.
I just assume that aggressive behavior between males and females occurs more between different species.
 
@Inverts of the Valley One of the main issues is that the knowledge of the tarantula's hybrid lineage may be lost (due to dishonesty, ignorance, or carelessness). This is particularly common in the hobby, because almost no one keeps lineage records when breeding or transferring tarantulas. (Seldom does the breeder even inquire into the lineage of either parent.)

A single pairing can produce hundreds of slings, and even if you do everything you can to make sure your hybrid slings are only sold or given to responsible, honest keepers, it's out of your hands from then on. There is no guarantee that all of the new owners will take those same precautions when some of the tarantulas are inevitably sold, rehomed, or bred.

As hybrids become established in the hobby, it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish the hybrids from the purebreds. It also increases the odds that hybrids will be used in breeding projects (due to dishonesty or ignorance on the part of the breeders), resulting in an increase in hybrids and additional muddying of the genetic lines.
 
@Inverts of the Valley I am not opposed to giving a hybrid a good home on the condition that it's never bred or transferred. But even if you intend to own a hybrid for its whole life and never breed it, unexpected things can happen to you that result in someone else rehoming your hybrid to someone who doesn't know or care not to breed it.

This may seem like a longshot, but consider this scenario. Something happens to you (e.g., a serious car accident) that renders you unable to care for your tarantulas or rehome them yourself. A well-intentioned relative rehomes your tarantula collection on Craigslist or Facebook (or even drops them off at a local pet store).

At some point in the process, your labels and notes are lost or at least separated from your tarantulas. Even if your relative includes these records when rehoming your tarantulas, a subsequent owner may lose the records or not include them when he transfers ownership of the tarantula. (A long-lived tarantula can go through several owners, and many people will trade or sell their mature males to breeders.) The tarantula ends up being identified by how it looks, which may very well be like one of the two parent species and not an obvious hybrid. In a worst-case scenario, it is bred, and the a large number of hybrid offspring (that are sold as purebred tarantulas) enter the hobby.

And that's just what could happen with well-intentioned, honest parties. If you add dishonesty to the mix (maybe not you but subsequent owners), all bets are off.
 
@Ian1980 I am not familiar enough with Brachypelma to answer that, but sometimes, a hybrid can easily pass for a purebred member of one of the parent species.
 
@Ungoliant Good point, I hadn't considered what would happen if I were unable to care for my Ts. In all honesty, I have no idea where I'd send them if it came down to that. I'd probably have to find a close family member who could deal with their existence until I was able to care for them again.

I also believe that, through interbreeding, we could turn out some amazing combinations with vibrant colors and accentuated desired traits. I can't quite say the risk would be worth it but I doubt it'll stop those determined.
 

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