B. Emilia vs. B. Smithi

[Katronmaster]

No, no tarantula fights here.

I'm trying to pick. A certain dealer has both, and I have a bit of extra cash. Currently, what's keeping me back is I've heard B. emilia tend to be a tad more skittish than B. smithi (From only one source) Originally a tie of Brachypelma albopilosum as well, but it was nixed due to being cheap enough to get on a whim later anyway.

A bit of help here? I can hardly find any into on B. emilia at all and want to be sure there's no vital drastic thing I'm missing about them. I'm looking for a docile educational demonstration T.

 

[IguanaMama]

My B. emilia is one of the most docile ts I own (I own a lot). I can't generalize because I only have one emilia and several smithis, but I've heard from others too that their emilias are pretty laid back. All of my smithis are docile, but not as docile as my emilia, she is literally a rock. Then again, although you can make generalizations about a certain species, you can always end up with a spider that lies on one of the ends of the bell curve, so to speak. If I were you, I would just get the one that "speaks" to you, whichever you think is prettier, as luck does play a part unless you are buying a juvie or adult with a known "personality".

And DEFINATELY give in to your whim at some time, the B. albopilosum is a very nice and underrated T.

 

[Arachnophilist]

well I think if you really want a docile T you should get the B.albopilosum but of those 2 I dont know that it is going to matter too much.. I think either one can be a bit skittish. its just going to depend on the individual spider.. i know people with redknees that are bald cause they kick so much and you could never think of holding it. As well as people who have calm handlable B.emelias I think it is just going to be a color preference on your part to decide. perhaps start with the B.smithi if you feel they more commonly possess the trits you want. but I dont know that it will be a significant difference.

Christopher

 

[Never_2_Old]

I have two Smithi and one Emila and they are generally very docile but each Tarantula is an individual. One of my B.Smithi is a hair kicker and the other is "usually" very tolerant of being held or disturbed in general.

Buy a juvenile from a reputable dealer who can vouch for it's general temperment.

 

[Steven.WK]

I've kept both and I think the temperaments are about the same. I think it's down to the individual personality. You should choose base on your personal perference. I would pick the B. emilia because I think it's more colorful.

I hope you are getting adults spiders. Because if you get a sling, your students would have graduated, gotten a job, and married by the time they reach adult size.

 

[IguanaMama]

BTW, I think if you are using this for educational purposes, you might be best off with the B. albopilosum, as they are almost guaranteed to be docile, they are inexpensive and they are faster growers than the other two. Get one of the others for yourself, but get the curly hair for teaching.

 

[Arachnokid 93]

I have a B.smithi and I love him and he is easy to handle. So I would go whith the smithi

 

[southern]

I have one of each - my emilia is slightly more skittish than the smithi - but I would say.....get both

 

[Alice]

the smithi i owned flicked a lot of hair, the emilia i owned (male, died this summer ) was one of the most docile ts i ever had. but that might depend on the individual - so stick your finger in their boxes and go for the one that doesn't bite you . then again, why chose between two beautiful t's when you have extra cash???

 

[Katronmaster]

Currently leaning towards the Emilia AND the curly hair. I'd get the Emilia and smithi, but I'm an art student, thus not that gifted with cash.

Besides, saving up for a G. Pulchra.

And the sling perchase is actually strategic. Currently I'm caught up in four years of having next to no free time, but after which I can resume my demonstrations, with a few larger beasties.

Currently my 'show list' is:
Adult G. Rosea (Very tame)
Sub adult A. Avic (Great color)
Juvi G. aureostriata (Color again)
G. Rosea sling (Because everybody knows tarantulas are six inches long when the aliens drop them )
Flat rock scorpion
A bunch of Millipedes of various colors and sizes
A corn snake

And the oddball...

A lionhead dwarf bunny.

 

[sick4x4]

No, no tarantula fights here.

I'm trying to pick. A certain dealer has both, and I have a bit of extra cash. Currently, what's keeping me back is I've heard B. emilia tend to be a tad more skittish than B. smithi (From only one source) Originally a tie of Brachypelma albopilosum as well, but it was nixed due to being cheap enough to get on a whim later anyway.

A bit of help here? I can hardly find any into on B. emilia at all and want to be sure there's no vital drastic thing I'm missing about them. I'm looking for a docile educational demonstration T.

B.e. as a rule are more likely to kick hairs then a smithi, yet both will do it...remember t's dont like to be messed with, but a smithi imo is more tolerable then an emilia....but for a demo t, probably your best bet like mentioned above is going to be albopilosum...these guys are just plain hill-billy like...they just go with the flow without much worry...even though, they are not as appealing as the other two... they more then make up for it with shear tolerability....

 

[Beardo]

I prefer the emilia myself, but smithi is an awesome spider in its own right. Get both of them lol!

 

[Alice]

huh, how much are b. slings where you live? in germany you can get slings of both emilia and smithi for a few dollars - i was offered a baby smithi recently for 3 euro, that's about 4 dollars. not in pet shops, of course .

but on the other hand, how poor are artstudents in you country? *lol* i finished my art studies last summer and i'm glad to be able to afford more spiders now.

 

[syndicate]

keep in mind if your gettin smithi or emilia slings your gonna be waiting a longgg time for them to grow up lol.ive never owned an emilia but ive kept albop andsmithi which i find are both hairkickers and rather skitish.

 

[bonesmama]

I have to jump in here and reiterate what everyone else said about individual personalities- even though albopilosums are supposed to be the most docile, mine is the most squirrely of all my Brachys! I have never been haired or threatened by my emilias, but I have been haired by my smithis. And size definately matters! They tend to calm down as they get older, in my experience.

 

[ShadowBlade]

I like the emelia's coloration more then the smithi's. I don't know if you could really say one is more docile then the other.. But if anything, the emelia's a bit more nervous.

 

[Midnightrdr456]

haha i was torn with the same decision, and my final choice was B Boehmei lol. The colors on them especially after molt are so beautiful. Plus it was the only one i could find bigger than .25" (im not big on slings that small if they take forever to grow like the brachy's)

But of those 2 i would choose Emilia (i find Smithi a little too "common" even though its beautiful)

But seriously check out the Boehmei, a little more skittish than both but so beautiful, then get the Curly for teaching.

 

[Taceas]

I've been having the same delimma myself, so I'm glad you asked the question and I hope you get some good answers.

The two Brachy's I ended up going with initially were B. auratum and B. boehmei. Both were around 2" LS when I got them and have molted once in my care so far and are now around 3" LS now.

I like the Boehmei's bright leg colors and the Auratum's subtle patterning but vibrant knee colors. I also don't hold my spiders, so handleablility wasn't top on my priority list initially anyway. I just like to sit and look at my spiders mostly.

My Boehmei is skittish as heck. Any table movement or container movement and she freaks out and runs laps. She doesn't really kick hairs except when truly annoyed.

My Auratum is more of a "take a sniff of these hairs while I calmly walk off" type of gal. If I briefly cast a shadow on her container while I'm doing feeding or maintenence of a neighboring spider, she flicks hairs. She molted a few weeks ago and her butt is already bald.

I'm really hoping they "learn" I'm not going to eat them and get over the spastic attitude at some point. Hopefully they grow out of it.

 

[aleksandar]

emilia is more colorful, but skittish.... smithi is the most common t you can find... but is a must...
get them both... that's the only way you won't be sorry tomorrow... hehehehe
albopilosa is an excelent spider, but mine is more than evil... that's the only spider that ever tried to bite me... :evil: and still is... evry day...
my experience tells me that best spider for your needs is grammostola aureostriata... it is big, gentle and docile... beautiful
good luck

 

[Thoth]

I'm not sure about others, but my B.smithi undergoes a personality change with every molt (sometimes very dramatic) He has gone from thinking he is an arboreal to pet hole to always sitting out in the open and switching from being very docile to kicking hairs if I look at him funny. Thinking of dosing his water with anti-schizophrenia meds. So docile sling or juvenile does not mean docile adult and vice versa.

My curly hair is a big chicken and will run and hide if I come near its enclosure.

I would go with the B.emilia just because it seems to me that as compared to a few years ago smithi slings are getting cheaper.