And there speed is nothing to sniff at either, I have two slings prolly half an inch housed in 32 oz delis and have witnessed a startled one jump from one side of the deli to the next and proceeded to do a few laps. It challenging just to follow them with your eyes let alone try to react.
Beginner old world T?
- Thread starter jdoolittle761
- Start date
I guess grey is a cool colorthey get better with size.
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- 631
Mileage may vary but out of all the lividus I've had over the years, and I've had quite a few, I didn't consider any of them to be particularly troublesome. I had the one escape artist, but I've never had a close call with one and I went straight from rosies to lividus.
Back then, the only thing available to me were adults, there were no slings in my neck of the woods so all I've ever had experience with were adults, most likely wild caught. They were all pet holes anyway. Deep substrate and they tunnel to the bottom and they stay there. The only time I ever saw most of them was when they came up to the surface to eat and that was rarely. Most of the time the crickets I put in ran straight down the hole, never to be seen or heard from again. It's not that hard to avoid being attacked by a hole in the ground. Just stay away from the hole. The only time to worry is during a transfer or some other situation where you need to get the thing out of the hole and even then mine only stood their ground and bit anything that got within range. They never tried to climb or leap at my throat or anything.
That said, they are fast and grumpy so caution is definitely warranted but with a bit of care I don't see a problem with them being a first OW.
Back then, the only thing available to me were adults, there were no slings in my neck of the woods so all I've ever had experience with were adults, most likely wild caught. They were all pet holes anyway. Deep substrate and they tunnel to the bottom and they stay there. The only time I ever saw most of them was when they came up to the surface to eat and that was rarely. Most of the time the crickets I put in ran straight down the hole, never to be seen or heard from again. It's not that hard to avoid being attacked by a hole in the ground. Just stay away from the hole. The only time to worry is during a transfer or some other situation where you need to get the thing out of the hole and even then mine only stood their ground and bit anything that got within range. They never tried to climb or leap at my throat or anything.
That said, they are fast and grumpy so caution is definitely warranted but with a bit of care I don't see a problem with them being a first OW.
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T. ockerti
Pamphobetus sp.
P. irminia
I find P. cambridgei to be one of the better looking spiders. Green is the rarest T color...calm disposition, ravenous eaters, fast growers, and great display spiders as they grow. Probably my overall favorite species...and they're cheap, so there's no reason not to own several.
As for an entry OW, I like the A. ezendami as well...fast, but also not difficult to work with...can be defensive, but generally, they're not. Plus they look great.
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I like the fluffy legs and olive-tinged coloring of the adult Psalmopoeus cambridgei. Moreover, interesting behavior can, in my opinion, compensate for less vibrant coloring.
GreyPsyche
Arachnosquire
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- Jun 19, 2016
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My gf has a P Cam sling, I think I've seen it twice in a blur, it does have awesome behavior though. I can see the legs sticking out right now for the first time in a month or more.
Andrea82
Arachnoemperor
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They become more visible as they grow bigger
. It is one of those species that has to be seen irl to appreciate it. Pictures don't do it justice at all.
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Aye I understand your point. I love my lass but wouldn't want more than 1.
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No joke. N. coloratovillosus and P. cancerides are hands down the most willing to bite out of my collection, easily beating out the likes of H. maculata and P. sp. "Black". And for large spiders, they're not exactly slow either.Nhandu sp.
P. cancerides...nasty disposition
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- Dec 11, 2005
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- 214
My first Ts were actually a pair of P. cambridgei slings. I won't deny there were a couple of teleportation incidents, but they were generally calm and I grew and bred them without too much trouble. Ditto when I eventually got an OBT and a pokie, though the former was definitely more prickly. (Would be odd if it wasn't) I don't know if or why I got lucky, but they had room and decent hides in their tubs, and I had 12" tweezers and a healthy respect - partly a result of buying them as slings. I got to witness the speed or aggression when they were still relatively small and harmless.
I'd say that I don't expect my experience to match anyone else (especially after reading the bite reports here) but also that my old world Ts were some of my favourites. If I'm getting back into keeping, I'm going for an OBT first.
I'd say that I don't expect my experience to match anyone else (especially after reading the bite reports here) but also that my old world Ts were some of my favourites. If I'm getting back into keeping, I'm going for an OBT first.
That! Don't forget the orange toes.
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- Mar 21, 2005
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- 631
I think the closest calls I've ever had came from a P. irminia and an OBT. Those are the only two I've ever had that actually came after me. They were both super fast and had no problem climbing things to get to me. Those were the only two though. I've had other ones that weren't nearly as aggressive in their defense as these two were. In fact, it was one of the things that made me fall in love with irminias in the first place (aside from the velvety black and those awesome lightning bolts). One of my favorites.
Nightstalker47
Arachnoking
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- Jul 2, 2016
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Not at all, they are very attractive looking spiders, for their price/coolness ratio you can't go wrong. You need to rethink your life lol
http://arachnoboards.com/gallery/p-cambridgei.40990/
http://arachnoboards.com/gallery/p-cambridgei.40841/
Now your pictures really brings out their beauty. Good job with those shots. I want to see one IRL.Not at all, they are very attractive looking spiders, for their price/coolness ratio you can't go wrong. You need to rethink your life lol
http://arachnoboards.com/gallery/p-cambridgei.40990/
http://arachnoboards.com/gallery/p-cambridgei.40841/
The Grym Reaper
Arachnoreaper
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- Jul 19, 2016
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Mine kicks hairs like it's her one job in life and bolts from anything that isn't food.
Hahaha, I love my Psalmos although, to be fair, there aren't that many OW species that I'm interested in owning anyway.Psalmopoeus are dangerous. You might get one and like it so much you never even want an OW.
That's a long way off for me.
Any Psalmopoeus sp. - Fast, can be defensive & have more potent venom than other NW (but nowhere near as potent as OW venom).
Any Nhandu sp. - Fast & can be defensive.
Any Ephebopus sp. - Stupidly fast & can be defensive.
Any Phormictopus sp. - Fast & extremely bad-tempered.
Any Tapinauchenius sp. - See Psalmopoeus, swap "fast" for "teleporters".
Any Pamphobeteus sp. - Fast & can be defensive.
Try any of those for a bit, if you can keep any of them without incident then you're well on your way to getting an OW.
Andrea82
Arachnoemperor
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- Jan 12, 2016
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A word if caution for the Tapinauchenius though....this genus is considered the fastest of the Theraphosidae family. Faster than any OW too.
Luckily, they have weaker venom, and are, aside from T.gigas, generally not defensive.
But I would not recommend this genus as a second T after a L.parahybana.
I'm quick to support intentions if keeping and breeding them, I absolutely love them, and they are beautiful with their velvety colours, but not as a second T. A member of this genus can do laps around your L.parahybana with only four legs and still being a bolt.
Luckily, they have weaker venom, and are, aside from T.gigas, generally not defensive.
But I would not recommend this genus as a second T after a L.parahybana.
I'm quick to support intentions if keeping and breeding them, I absolutely love them, and they are beautiful with their velvety colours, but not as a second T. A member of this genus can do laps around your L.parahybana with only four legs and still being a bolt.
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- Jul 12, 2007
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The best beginner old world t, which mirrors old world t's, is p. cambridgei or p irminia, definitely
GreyPsyche
Arachnosquire
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- Jun 19, 2016
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- 92
I've learned that pictures RARELY do Ts any justice at all.They become more visible as they grow bigger
It is one of those species that has to be seen irl to appreciate it. Pictures don't do it justice at all.
Exception to this would be P. Metallica who often look better in pictures then they do under a more natural light.
1+ on this.
I began with Grammostola & Brachys & L para. After 12 months or so, I got 5 obt slings. Loved them. Best advice I had when doing a cage change or packing them up to ship is doing it in the bath tub with your catch cup.
Kelvin Lee
Arachnopeon
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- Jun 25, 2017
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My very first T was an OBT. Thought it was so cute just sitting there minding her own business. Got home, wanted to transfer her to a new house. A bleeding hand, spilled substrate and ripped-out electrical trunking later, she was... happily relocated. Learnt to respect OW tarantulas a lot more from that day on. That was 12 years ago, I still keep OBTs now