Beginner Info - READ before posting

[Arachnopets]

If you are thinking about acquiring your first tarantula, this is the thread to read.
If you are thinking about purchasing your second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, or tenth T, this is also the right thread!

Please refrain from starting new threads about beginner T’s until you have read this one. All new threads asking about starter T’s will be deleted, and the thread starter sent a private message with a link to this one.

Generally, your first tarantula should be a New World species because as a rule, they tend to be less defensive. Due in part because they possess urticating hairs as a defense mechanism. Here are some links on urticating hairs;

• The difference between OW and NW.
• What urticating hairs are.
• Treating reaction, and effects of continued exposure.

You likely don’t want to invest too much money into your first spider, so the top three will be relatively inexpensive species, on dealers’ lists, and commonly available in pet stores.

Grammostola rosea

• Sold under the common name of Chilean Rose Hair, it is the classic first spider.

Aphonopelma seemanni

• Sold under common names such as: Stripe Knee, Zebra Tarantula

Avicularia avicularia *arboreal

• Sold under the common name of Pink Toe.

Other suggestions for beginner T’s can be found here:

• Which T's are NOT for beginners
• Good First Arboreal
• Good Starter Tarantulas
• More on arboreals
• Good intermediate tarantulas
• More beginner tarantulas
• Beginner care advice
• First OW Suggestions
• More starters

Some quick care tips:

• Do not place cotton or a sponge in the water dish, it breeds bacteria and is not required. The gel that pet stores sell is completely useless for a tarantula as it cannot obtain any hydration from it at all.

• Do not use sand, gravel, or bark chips as a substrate.

Substrate Poll


Heat and Temps

• A heat source is not required if your home is consistently kept at room temperature.

Falls

• Tarantulas can easily fall and die from a ruptured abdomen if they are not arboreal. They should have no more than approx. 1.5x their body length in space from the ground to the top of their enclosure. Links for research:
• Rupture and Injury 1
• Rupture and Injury 2
• Rupture and Injury 3

Feline owners beware;

• Curiosity
• Killed

To handle or not to handle...

• That
• Is
• The

If you answered "yes"...

• handling methods

Escapes!

Hopefully not something you have to contend with, but if you have to do some intensive research... here is a thread with a ton of good suggestions.


Feeding

• Can I feed my tarantula vertebrate prey? (mice, meat)

Live Feeding

• Mice

SEXING

• Very detailed info.
• Spider Shoppe's Gallery of the spermathecae of different species to know what you are looking at to sex from a molt.
• Excellent picture of a fresh female exuvium.

Mating Hooks

• List of species that do not have tibial spurs after the ultimate molt.

Molting

• Molting Problems (stuck in skin)

Random (but common) Questions:

• What the heck does OBT mean???

Common Polls

• Check these out before posting new ones!

What does the numbering system (0.0.0 or m.f.u) mean?

For inventory and communicative purposes, it is a way of expressing how many tarantulas one has, where m = males; f = females and u = unknown sex


Tarantula Hobby Tracking Software/Programs/Spreadsheets

• Link
• Link

Enjoy and welcome to Arachnoboards! Please use the search function liberally before posting questions. The results will be instant and incredibly informative. If you do not find the answers you seek, we look forward to trying to answer them for you.

As always, if you see a subject worthwhile that is not covered in this thread, pm us. If you have found threads that should be added under existing topics here, pm us. If you have an idea as to how newcomers could be alerted to the existance of this thread? Yup, you guessed it.


The AB Team