advice for picking a type of tarantula

[hayleycole]

hello! im looking to get my boyfriend a tarantula. im more into reptiles so i dont really know much about tarantulas. he used to have a rose hair that was very friendly. id like to get him something besides a rose hair. i came across a green bottle blue which is absolutely gorgeous. but i keep getting contradicting info on if they can be handled or not. if anyone has any info on those id love to hear it! id like to get him one that isnt just brown and/or red. i would like to get one that has blues or greens or purple or a different kind of pink one. but also a type that can be handled. any advice will be appreciated!! i basically want to get something he can handle but is also just as exciting to look at.
thanks,
hayley

 

[spiderengineer]

hello! im looking to get my boyfriend a tarantula. im more into reptiles so i dont really know much about tarantulas. he used to have a rose hair that was very friendly. id like to get him something besides a rose hair. i came across a green bottle blue which is absolutely gorgeous. but i keep getting contradicting info on if they can be handled or not. if anyone has any info on those id love to hear it! id like to get him one that isnt just brown and/or red. i would like to get one that has blues or greens or purple or a different kind of pink one. but also a type that can be handled. any advice will be appreciated!! i basically want to get something he can handle but is also just as exciting to look at.
thanks,
hayley

basically the reason your getting contradictory response to handling is because its a personal choice with the owner of the T. some will never do it because they don't want to take the risk of having it falling or something along those lines. other will hold not often but on occasion and some will hold them when ever they feel like it. heck some people have held T's that are consider defensive and have potent venom and are label the non hand-able type.

I am on the side of not handling T's because I don't want them to fall, or pick up anything that I have on my skin. not to mention I don't wont loose hair on me because I react bad to it and most of my T's are considered hot. I don't own a GBB so I can't tell you anything about it, but maybe some one else will chime in.

another thing to consider is that some T's establish burrows or make a home that the spend the majority of their time in and rarely venture out. this means that even getting them to come out will cause stress and possibly get a threat posture response. from what I know about GBB they are huge webbers and may fall in this category.

if I had to throw out a T that might be what your looking for I think avicular are you best choice. colorful, are use to being up high in trees, and I see allot of people handling them the most.

 

[McGuiverstein]

Green bottle blues really are stunning spiders from slinghood to adulthood, but they aren't really one to handle due to their skittish nature. Not that they're necessarily ready to bite at the drop of a hat, they're just nervous and jumpy. The GBB I got for my brother is relatively mild mannered and calm, but from what I've read that is uncommon within the species. The Brachypelma genus is full of beautiful and usually very docile species (though it always depends on the individual; unlike yours, my rosea is very very angry haha). But if you're into really colorful spiders, the Avicularia genus is the way to go. Most are relatively docile, but as these are arboreal spiders, they can be fast and jumpy. Just trying to point you in the right direction.

 

[TGIRL23]

I would go with an Aviculara Versicolor. They are a brilliant blue as a spiderling and then they change to an array of colors. I believe they are docile but they can be skittish and can jump.

 

[hayleycole]

thank you for all of your suggestions!! another question to throw out there, are tarantulas like snakes in the sense that with more handling they grow more docile?

 

[poisoned]

They may get used to handling to some degree, but it's always streasful to them. If you want an animal to cuddle, get yourself a mamal. Ts are more like fish, look but don't touch.

 

[spiderengineer]

thank you for all of your suggestions!! another question to throw out there, are tarantulas like snakes in the sense that with more handling they grow more docile?

its a topic that has been debated on here countless time and their is no clear answer

 

[pardozer]

I personally have owned a GBB from .75" to a 4.5"+ mature male. He could be skittish at times but for the most part was pretty cool. When I sold him off, even the buyer commented on how laid back he was.

I believe tarantulas can be acclimated to being held. Granted I have only held NW species. I haven't held any of my OW's excluding 1 P. Metallica.

 

[pannaking22]

Something from the genus Brachypelma can't hurt either. They are usually pretty laid back. My little B. smithi is always out and relaxing and goes into pet rock mode whenever I take it out to be handled. I can get it to move a step or two, but then it just settles back down again. Never kicks hairs, no threat postures, no skittering. Just a very relaxed tarantula

 

[Storm76]

An often discussed topic. Sadly, no one can give you a 100% answer on it. We can suggest, but in the end it's you / your BF having to make the decision.

Personally, I like to suggest this way:

Make a list what you're looking for in a T and choose for example from the stuff down below, this will help narrow down possible genera/species:

Temperament? (docile / skittish / defensive)
Colors? (dull/colorful)
Behaviour? (terrestrial / burrower / arboreal / semi-arboreal)
Size? (dwarf / medium / big / huge)
Old-World/New-World (in other words: Not so potent venom & urticating bristles -versus- more potent venom & NO urticating bristles) - with some exceptions on the NW's as not all do have those!
Big webber? (yes/no)
Speed? (slow/fast/"teleportation")
PRICE? (cheap/moderate/expensive)

Make some notes, then start looking up species and check if they meet your criterias you set yourself...it'll take a bit of time, but you'll be able to give your T a good home and care correctly for it in the long run!

Plus, if you want to see it grow it, get a sling or a slightly bigger juvenile. Or get an adult if you want to have them already at full size...(some species grow very slow, others quick - teaches you patience in the long run )

Once you've decided, get the enclosure and interior for it BEFORE you get the actual T! That way, you can adjust things that aren't right, or need tweaking beforehand and without having to disturb the T once it's in there.

Most vital:
HAVE FUN & READ THE BOOKS (do your research) and never forget that sooner or later you'll have to do a) maintenance and/or b) rehousing! So you WILL have to deal (interact) with the T itself...

I hope this will help you some.

 

[Rob1985]

thank you for all of your suggestions!! another question to throw out there, are tarantulas like snakes in the sense that with more handling they grow more docile?

Much of what a tarantula does is instinct based. It's been debated that they "learn". In my experience I have only noticed changes in temperament to hot/cold, feeding schedule and a substrate setup. All things based upon their instinct to survive. Some tarantulas are more tolerant than others and that has everything to do with their stress level and instinctive temperament.

I don't handle any of mine and thats because I respect that it probably doesn't want to be handled (neither would I). As I've said here on many occasion, I let tarantulas do tarantulas things like eat and not move for long periods of time.

 

[MarkmD]

As suggested, Brachypelma are colorful and "docile" natured, same as Avicularia, Lasiodora,parahybana are bigger in adult size with a nice pinky color, Brazilian,black are just silky black but are docile natured, GBB have a nice range of colouration but a little more tempered, but as storm76 has put in his post is a good way to limit the possible T's, till you find one you/your BF might like.

 

[hayleycole]

thanks for the suggestions. I really like the versicolor pink toe. sorry im very bad wtih scientific names. I think im going to call a few pet shops ask if they have the gbb and the versicolor and take him to one by surprise and let him pick it out.

 

[Storm76]

thanks for the suggestions. I really like the versicolor pink toe. sorry im very bad wtih scientific names. I think im going to call a few pet shops ask if they have the gbb and the versicolor and take him to one by surprise and let him pick it out.

Look up pictures, show them to him, then order them from a breeder - it's the first step into the right direction

 

[sierra53]

I agree brachys. are not only great display spiders but would be the best to start off working with to hold. personaly i dont hold mine and my b.vegans (red rump) always gets pissed even if i touch her with my tweesers lol. get somthing that looks good on and good temperment. thats a great idea for a gift im sure he will like it either way.