- Joined
- Nov 26, 2006
- Messages
- 67
B. Smithi has been around a long time....still popular, or boring and time to move on ? What do you think ?
+1 I think that extends to nearly all the red-legged Brachy's.Since the average tarantula owner only has one spider, and many of them want one they can hold, smithi are always going to be popular. With the difficulty in breeding them and their slow growth rate, demand will always exceed supply.
Agreed. They're relatively calm and docile, gorgeous colors. People will always love them. You don't see them for sale nearly as often as you should, because it's difficult to get viable sacs from them, and the slow growth (compared to most tropicals). That keeps demand high, supplies low, and prices high. Most pet stores aren't going to carry 1/2" slings, nor are they likely to have $300 adult females.+1 I think that extends to nearly all the red-legged Brachy's.
W/c adult females were $10 in pet stores in the 1970's. What do 1" slings go for now? Do the math. Do you see a decrease in popularity?Do you think that slow growth rate has diminished their popularity since the days when they were imported?
Nostalgia is part of it, but most of us that were around back then are old now, and few are still in the hobby. Smithi was the perfect spider to kick off the hobby, with it's color, hardiness, and temperament. Those qualities got many people interested in tarantulas. As a collector looking for new species in the 1970's, I got tired of seeing them everywhere, and got burned out after seeing hundreds and hundreds of adults. But over time they got scarce and now I can appreciate them again for the great spider they are. There definitely is some nostalgia with me.B. Smithi will always be popular since it was a B. Smithi that supposedly started it all.
Same here. If I can figure out how to breed them, it'll fund a lot of OW purchases.I'm trying to concentrate on buying old world Ts(mainly because I'm tired of those damn urticating hair) and I still bought a smithi sling a couple of months ago so I'd say they still got it.
Rosea popularity is based on low prices for w/c adults. It helps that they're hardy, but price is the biggest factor. God only knows how much damage has been done to the native populations.The past availability of wild caught adult/subadult b. smithis makes me wonder about the wild caught g. roseas now available in the the pet trade. If g. rosea wasn't available as an inexpensive, large specimen, for the general public to buy on a whim, what would their status in the hobby be? They are a staple now, but given the choice between raising a slow growing smithi or a slow growing rosea from a sling, I have a feeling that the roseas wouldn't be as popular as they are now.
+1... and I think I'm even older than you. [emoji6]Nostalgia is part of it, but most of us that were around back then are old now... There definitely is some nostalgia with me.