A. geniculata vs C. cyaneopubescens for a first pet tarantula

[Pyrelitha]

That's good to hear. Seems mileage may vary though. Some specimens are quite calm, but it seems others can be quite skittish just based off of what I've heard. I reckon the same holds true with the A. geniculata. Some can be calm. Others can be rather defensive. I mean heck, from what I've heard there's even been folks who've ended up with OBTs who were pretty chill even though it's a rarity.

You'll find this a lot.. Ive personally found every single T ive had to only behave poorly when I'm capturing them for whatever reason. If you give a T a well sized enclosure with ample(often multiple) hides and a lot of digging dirt they literally barely notice you exist. They just chill in their proffered spot. IME.. And I do own a lot of "skittish" species

 

[Pyrelitha]

Great but yours is the exception, not the rule.

What if yours is the exception and not the rule? I have 5 they all do not kick unless I bother them with capture lol

 

[The Grym Reaper]

What if yours is the exception and not the rule? I have 5 they all do not kick unless I bother them with capture lol

How big are they all?

Spoken to way more keepers over who've owned flicky ones than not so, yes, yours are the exception, not the rule.

 

[ScorpionEvo687]

C. cyaneopubescens are overrated, they look best as slings, go through an awkward transitional juvie phase that seems to last forever, and when they do finally get their full adult colours you only get to enjoy it for about a week before they kick themselves bald

D. diamantinensis do the colour scheme much better, take up less space, and can't kick themselves bald, they're effectively a GBB version 2.0

I just looked up the D. diamantinensis you just mentioned. Similar coloration to a GBB. Perhaps even prettier. Thanks for that recommendation. How hard are they to come by?

 

[ScorpionEvo687]

How big are they all?

Spoken to way more keepers over who've owned flicky ones than not so, yes, yours are the exception, not the rule.

Are the GBB really that bad of hair kickers? I always thought that the GBBs were more just skittish w/ a tendency to bolt and the Genic were more notorious for being defensive kicking hairs and being bitey but I could be TOTALLY wrong on that.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

I just looked up the D. diamantinensis you just mentioned. Similar coloration to a GBB. Perhaps even prettier. Thanks for that recommendation. How hard are they to come by?

They're a bit harder to come by and a little more expensive here, not sure about how much more difficult they are to acquire in the US though.

Are the GBB really that bad of hair kickers? I always thought that the GBBs were more just skittish w/ a tendency to bolt and the Genic were more notorious for being defensive kicking hairs and being bitey but I could be TOTALLY wrong on that.

Kicking themselves bald within a week of moulting is an exaggeration for comedic effect but they're generally pretty quick to kick hairs if they don't just bolt.

When you take the feeding response out of the equation genics are generally pretty calm, you'll get the odd one that is flicky or is actually defensive (threat poses/slapping). They have a BS reputation of being "semi-aggressive" because they think everything is food and act accordingly, once they realise that something isn't food they tend to back off.

 

[Wolfram1]

Great but yours is the exception, not the rule.

if i remember this right, you say that about Lasiodora too, i see a trend

 

[Pyrelitha]

They're a bit harder to come by and a little more expensive here, not sure about how much more difficult they are to acquire in the US though.



Kicking themselves bald within a week of moulting is an exaggeration for comedic effect but they're generally pretty quick to kick hairs if they don't just bolt.

When you take the feeding response out of the equation genics are generally pretty calm, you'll get the odd one that is flicky or is actually defensive (threat poses/slapping). They have a BS reputation of being "semi-aggressive" because they think everything is food and act accordingly, once they realise that something isn't food they tend to back off.

I have 5 full grown female adults right around 5inches each. Each has molted in their current enclosure, and thus have no reason to kick hairs and are beauties.. Like are these keepers you talking to keeping them in enclosures that make them feel exposed to where they kick hairs a lot?

 

[TechnoGeek]

I have both, I would say A geniculata is one of the best first spiders and a must have T regardless of experience level.

Both eat like champs, and both grow like weed, so it's not like the default beginner T (Brachypelma and Grammostola genus) where you have to wait for ages before your sling resembles a T instead of a tiny spec. So good news! You can save money and buy a couple slings (to ensure you'll have a female). But A geniculata gets significantly bigger, and from my experience (I've kept 10 A genics or so with 6 of em still with me) are less bolty and more confident especially as they get bigger. Also, around where I live A genics are significantly cheaper as slings so there's that.

Important note about their urticating hairs, GBB hairs caused me the most discomfort and itching of any T that I've interacted with and I have been exposed to the hairs of things like T apophysis, A geniculata, and L parahybana. T apophysis hairs barely registered while GBB hairs made me nearly scratch my skin off (this didn't change even after years of exposure). Meanwhile, a friend of mine can't go anywhere near his Theraphosa sp Ts without wearing gloves or he'll get blisters.

How your body will react to urticating hairs depends on you, whether your body's reaction will worsen with time also varies greatly from my experience. But generally speaking A geniculata hairs aren't nearly as bad as things like LP and Theraphosa genus for example.

Just my 0.02, best of luck!

 

[viper69]

C. cyaneopubescens are overrated, they look best as slings, go through an awkward transitional juvie phase that seems to last forever, and when they do finally get their full adult colours you only get to enjoy it for about a week before they kick themselves bald

D. diamantinensis do the colour scheme much better, take up less space, and can't kick themselves bald, they're effectively a GBB version 2.0

I def agree on mini-GBB, lack of UrS is why I bought them followed by size.

But that trash you wrote about GBB, man that’s like blasphemy!!

The ones I’ve owned never went bald- you need to stop handling yours!

They are the most flicky species aside from certain Brachy’s that is commonly kept- mine no exception

 

[viper69]

I just looked up the D. diamantinensis you just mentioned. Similar coloration to a GBB. Perhaps even prettier. Thanks for that recommendation. How hard are they to come by?

Depends on what part of the world you live in.

For you, not easy. I think someone has some but haven’t checked their site. Owned them, def a good species

 

[curtisgiganteus]

Me too!

But if you get the mini-GBB— no UrS!! And they aren’t any different behavior-wise IME

Dolichothele diamantinensis, Thrixopelma ockerti, or Aphonopelma moorea

 

[ScorpionEvo687]

Depends on what part of the world you live in.

For you, not easy. I think someone has some but haven’t checked their site. Owned them, def a good species

Darn. That sucks. Means I'll still probably go w/ a GBB for a 2nd T. Not that that's a bad thing, since GBBs are great too. Just that the way you made it sound the D. diamantinensis would probably be even better. That said, Genic will still probably be first.

 

[viper69]

Darn. That sucks. Means I'll still probably go w/ a GBB for a 2nd T. Not that that's a bad thing, since GBBs are great too. Just that the way you made it sound the D. diamantinensis would probably be even better. That said, Genic will still probably be first.

Just PM me if you want to know more

 

[me and my Ts]

I would get either a T. vagans or a T. albo both are very easy to keep and juveniles are easy to find.

 

[campj]

D. diamantinensis

These are pretty small spiders, just a heads up. I know if a couple online shops that currently have them, they're not too hard to find.

 

[Pyrelitha]

I would get either a T. vagans or a T. albo both are very easy to keep and juveniles are easy to find.

My T vagans is a mad lad. Also literally the worst rehousing ive ever experienced with all her damn striking.. Ive had her get her fangs through plastic catch cups

 

[Cmac2111]

My T vagans is a mad lad. Also literally the worst rehousing ive ever experienced with all her damn striking.. Ive had her get her fangs through plastic catch cups

Same. T vagans are fantastic T's and really overlooked IMO, but from my own experience and reading about the experiences of others, it certainly seems as though they tend to have a real mean streak.

 

[Pillenslikker]

Get yourself a juvenile female Nhandu chromatus.

 

[Pyrelitha]

Same. T vagans are fantastic T's and really overlooked IMO, but from my own experience and reading about the experiences of others, it certainly seems as though they tend to have a real mean streak.

Oh theyre wonderful and strikingly beautiful when they get their red abdomen and jet black carapce/legs.. but mine is easily my most defensive T, though this literally only applied during rehousing. Other than that shes constantly on display looking awesome