a. geniculata keepers...

hupababy83

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
Messages
30
I have decided to get this T. I have read and read and read and read some more. What I am asking for is first hand "i own one!" Experience. Everything from enclosure to bite. From personality to "he does this little thing". From age to size. I want keeper stories. Straight from the horses mouth, you know. It's better than reading books, when you can get it from the keepers key board. I hope understand where I'm coming from, and don't think I'm weird. LOL I'm also hoping for some pictures too. They are so beautiful.



Respectfully,
Betty Mae Scott
 

LV-426

Arachnobaron
Joined
Sep 26, 2010
Messages
497
i just bought an 1inch A geniculata on sunday. it is bold (out in the open alot), and eats what ever you throw in front of it.
 

killy

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
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May 20, 2009
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250
A Cautionary

Tale ...

I'm cannibalizing one of my previous posts to respond to your thread ...

I had a peculiar experience a couple of weeks ago.

I've handled just about all of my Ts over the past year and a half with no ill effects or itchiness, in spite of (infrequent) hair flicking. This includes a 1/4 inch A geniculata I got back in May. He was such a cute little guy that I decided to start a photo-account of his growth rate each molt. I would hold him in my hand alongside a dime and the exuvium for the shot, then let him crawl around. This has gone on right up to his next to last molt, at which time I allowed him the traditional crawl all around my left hand before returning him to his enclosure. Keep in mind that at no time did he ever flick any hairs.

About a 1/2 hour later, my left hand started itching like a son-of-a-gun, all over, and this continued for 2 hours before the itching subsided. And we're talking about just a wee little tyke – ¾ inch - imagine what damage he'll be able to do when he grows up!

Although the jury is still out, and further experimentation is required, I'm going to go with the following tentative conclusions: 1) little Rocky has reached "urticating hair maturity," - 2) I'm allergic to A genic hairs, and 3) no flicking is required to trigger the itchiness.

Just to make sure that it's the A avic hairs and not me, I've since taken my much bigger GBB, A avic, G pulchripes and B smithi out for similar strolls without a glitch, a hitch, or (thankfully) an itch! However, it's 'HANDS-OFF' on the A genic photo shoots from now on!

Don't let this anecdote deter you from acquiring your A. genic, it's a dandy T to have, but, that said, you're doing the right thing to learn as much as you can about them as possible before getting one. :D
 
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hupababy83

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
Messages
30
Thank you both for posting.

I do not plan on holding my T, but I am smart enough to understand she can still kick hairs, which can float, so I really appreciate the info on hairs reaction.
 

KoriTamashii

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 21, 2009
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419
Mine's about 3 1/2".... and an angry little bugger. Gorgeous, but feisty. And ALWAYS hungry. Skittish, too. Never tried to handle her.
 

winwin

Arachnoknight
Joined
Feb 24, 2010
Messages
271
Well they are great eaters. Really, they don't just pounce, they grab the food will all it's legs even if the food is really small. Always fun to watch and always out in the open, mine has a hide but she covered it with substrate. Lol and ohhhh they grow fast, really really really fast. Here's a pic:

April, 2010, 4th week:


Last week: Molted on November 4, 2010:


See what I mean by fast?
 

Sleazoid

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
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Jul 18, 2010
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242
That is one big butt gal (hopefully) you got there winwin. :D
 

DemonAsh

Arachnosquire
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May 10, 2010
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104
IME, they love to stay out in the open. I only have one little one left now, but before my big girl left my care this summer, I experienced very bad reactions to the u-hairs. I have NO problems with Teraphosa hairs, or B. boehmei hairs, but the genics really bug me. (and i never ever handled mine, but they seem to drop hairs all over their enclosure, so whenever I went to get the waterdish, I would itch for hours afterward.) Other than the hair issue, I really love these Ts. Great eaters, fast growers, out in the open a lot, and stunning aesthetics.
 

Moltar

ArachnoGod
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Apr 11, 2007
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Dunno if you're going for a sling or a larger specimen but... I had one that I raised from a 3" juvenile to MM. These guys really are fun. They are pretty feisty for a NW T though. You'll need to watch your fingers as they can be very defensive of their space. It's mostly for show though, they'll do a lot of posturing and slapping the ground but you're still not all that likely to actually be bitten. (But it's always a possibility, even with super-docile species)

They make great display animals. They sit out in the open a lot, tend to be fairly active, eat like a pig and, -like I mentioned above- will tend to throw down if you intrude on their space. All of this makes a nice T to show off to your friends. It's also a nice T to transition toward more defensive species. Because they're mostly "all bark" you can get a feel for how a defensive spider will act without the potential nastiness of say, OBT or Haplopelma venom.
 

hupababy83

Arachnopeon
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
Messages
30
Oh my gosh! Thank you all for replying.

I plan on buying a sexable female, that's the plan anyways. I plan on only getting one T and this is it, so I don't want it to pass away after a couple years. I want one to be with me for awhile. I have boas that will be around when I'm old and grey, so I want a spidey to be there too lol



Respectfully Betty Mae Scott
 

Moltar

ArachnoGod
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Well, A. geniculata are not the longest lived T's by any means. One can expect Grammostola's, Aphonopelma's and Brachypelma's to last upwards of 20 years (females) but I think 12-15 years, maybe as much as 20 tops is more reasonable for an Acanthroscurria. A good rule of thumb is that the faster they grow the shorter they live.
 

TalonAWD

Arachnoprince
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Jul 28, 2007
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1,139
Great one to own. Always hungry and holds their ground. Sometimes even literally turning arounf to face the action ready and willing. The hairs are horrible. Iget slight swelling with tiny blister bumps with itching lasting up to 2 weeks. They grow fast and are an excellent display species.
Definately a fast grower and they look huge due to their bulkiness figure.

As stated when they feed, its violent. Not just a grabbing prey but violently pouncing, and stabbing victim with enough force to make prey explode its guts out lol.
Absolutely no regrets when you have one in your collection.

Heres my video of how fast they can be.

[YOUTUBE]QW2zn6G1b3w[/YOUTUBE]
 

Introvertebrate

Arachnoprince
Arachnosupporter
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Dec 18, 2010
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1,199
Cool video TalonAWD. Are we looking down on it, or is it walking on the side of the enclosure? It's pretty nimble for a terrestrial T.

Tom
 

Terry D

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
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Nov 21, 2009
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Hupababy, In my experience which consists of raising a single indiv female from around 2.5" to adult now since Dec of last year-

I don't find them defensive so much as being greedy eaters. My female has slapped at me once or twice but most of the other movements that could be attributed to aggression have been, by behavior shown at the time, a feeding response. She's actually much more handleable than say, my B boehmei- certainly moreso than my L klugi and of recent, the subadult male G pulchra. I would say that my A geniculata and N tripepii are my two most handleable adult t's. The genic's hairs used to bother me some but she rarely even kicks now. There's a recent pic of her in Killy's "handling A geniculata" thread.

Well they are great eaters. Really, they don't just pounce, they grab the food will all it's legs even if the food is really small. Always fun to watch and always out in the open, mine has a hide but she covered it with substrate. Lol and ohhhh they grow fast, really really really fast. Here's a pic:

April, 2010, 4th week:


Last week: Molted on November 4, 2010:


See what I mean by fast?
WinWin, Nice, healthy t! :D However, I found out that my girls but grew even more and more misshapen from frequent feedings. It got worse and worse. I slowed her down tremendously after she was only slightly bigger than the above pic. They seem to be prone to this moreso than some other spp- likely a reflection of their eagerness to feed. The huge female I got Joey (possumburg) was grossly overweight when I got her. He's slowed her down now and she's a beaut!! They're an awesome addition to any nw terrestrial collection. :)

Terry
 

TalonAWD

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
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Jul 28, 2007
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1,139
Heres a picture of my girl (I just noticed you requested pics in your 1st post)

Most recent


This one is cute. She use to do this alot but now she likes another spot.

 

killy

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
May 20, 2009
Messages
250
That's not a geniculata, that's a lotta genic!

Here's the last time, and I mean the VERY last time, that I held Rocky... cute little guy, but now just looking at his pic makes me itch ...

 
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