beginner T question

[Spike]

MY niece just started to get interested in Ts and is probably going to get one. I decided i would get it for her, the thing is her mom is a little spooked at some of the ones i have and when I mentioned it she basically said please just not one that gets very big.... Any one know of a small docile T? I was thinking maybe P.scrofa any suggestions?

 

[skadiwolf]

hmmm...well, PZB don't necessarily get to be smaller than most normal Ts... however, they're kinda pretty, pastelish colors and very docile.

perhaps you could start her out with a 2" one. small, but not too small and then she and her mom could get used to it as it got larger?

good luck.

 

[Kenny]

Size.

Hi.

My suggestion would be start out with a s'ling , let say 3/4 inch and during process of growing you'll get used to it.

Most grown, "normal" T's have a size around anything from 4 inches and up with exceptions for species on either end like Blondis ( Goliath Birdeather, very big or smaller "pygmee" species ).

Then there are exceptions within species as well when it comes to size so there is no given formula.

 

[Buspirone]

I don't know about its temperment but a Tanzanian dwarf tarantula(Heterothele villosella) is only about 1" .

 

[Mojo Jojo]

I have to disagree with the notion of getting a s'ling for a first spider. I personally prefer raising tarantulas from s'lings. But I think that per species, s'lings are less tollerant of human error. I think that a juvenile Pink Zebra Beauty (E. campestratus) or Chaco Golden Knee (G. aureopilosum) would be good choices except for the fact that they get rather large. However, being that the mother of the child is considering allowing her child to acquire a spider, I think that it is in her best interest to learn as much as possible about tarantulas. The first thing that you should teach her is that size does not equal level of danger.

Jon

 

[Venom]

I would suggest a sub-adult PZB ( Eupalastrus campestratus). A subadult will only have about a 4 - 4.5 inch legspan, but will grow to 5.5 - 6.5. That way the spider starts out at an unintimidating size, and doesn't freak the mom out. Also, since pzb's grow pretty slowly, she will gradually get used to its size, and the kid ends up with a nice sized T. And they're over-all the best beginner T IMO.

 

[SpiderTwin]

The A. minatrix does not get very large, fully grown, they won't get any larger than 4". They are not cheap, but they are beautiful and doscile.

 

[Arachnopuppy]

I strongly disagree with getting a sling for first pet tarantula. As I explained in another post, they drop like flies if not cared properly enough. Adults are more tolerant to our mistakes. I say get a G. rosea or an A. seemanni. Can't go wrong with them. They are inexpensive and they don't get very big.

 

[Sean]

Originally posted by lam
I strongly disagree with getting a sling for first pet tarantula. As I explained in another post, they drop like flies if not cared properly enough. Adults are more tolerant to our mistakes. I say get a G. rosea or an A. seemanni. Can't go wrong with them. They are inexpensive and they don't get very big.

Totally agree with you on this

 

[si_sleaf]

Absolutely agree too. Spiderlings are less tolerant to mistakes and are much more prone to dessication (drying out) if the humidity level isn't kept right. Out of the T's I have, I would probably say get a G.rosea (Chile rose). They don't burrow as much as a B.albipolosum (Curly) so you would see it more. I would probably pick G.rosea over B.smithi (Mexican red knee) because, although pretty docile, they do kick a lot of urticating hair off. Mine is a bit on the bald side.

 

[pategirl]

What about A. avicularia? They can be skittish at times, but are not usually prone to try to bite or anything. They're nice looking with the cute pink feet and most stay fairly small, I believe. They need a little more humidity than a rosie, but they're not hard to care for.

 

[hk4989]

hmmm................ i think G. rosea is the best!!

 

[Arachnopuppy]

Originally posted by pategirl
What about A. avicularia? They can be skittish at times, but are not usually prone to try to bite or anything. They're nice looking with the cute pink feet and most stay fairly small, I believe. They need a little more humidity than a rosie, but they're not hard to care for.

I personally wouldn't recommend A. avic just because they like to climb. This doesn't apply to everybody, but beginners tend to still be afraid of tarantulas even thought they want them as pets. There is more of a chance that an A. avic will climb up its owner's hand when the owner is doing some house cleaning. Again, this doesn't apply to everybody, but I would imagine that the natural reaction "normal" person has to a big bug with many legs crawling on his/her arm would be to shake the arm violently until the spider flies off his arm.

Maybe I'm just too paranoid.

 

[Palespider]

I think an E. Campestratus or B. smithi would be great, but I (may get some grief for this one but...) don't think that G. rosea's are the best choice for beginners. They fast for extremely long periods of time and this always ends up confusing the owners into thinking something is wrong with the T. Some people lose interest in the T after they see how inactive they become when they quit eating and can lead to neglect. I for example am the new owner of a friends rosie which was starved and only has one fang (which is deformed) due to a troubled molt while being dehydrated. I'm happy to say she has recovered and is nice and fat now. I'm looking forward to her molting so she can get a new set of teeth

Jim B.

 

[abstract]

Originally posted by Palespider
don't think that G. rosea's are the best choice for beginners. They fast for extremely long periods of time and this always ends up confusing the owners into thinking something is wrong with the T. Some people lose interest in the T after they see how inactive they become when they quit eating and can lead to neglect
Jim B.

I disagree! This happened to me - It wasn't that I started losing interest in my rosie though, more that I started gaining interest in all of the other types out there!

I would start with a rosie, and then after learning to care for it, feed the addiction by starting to acquire lots of different spiders; there will never be a dull moment!

Plus - after you get used to keeping beetles/mealworms/crix/waxworms/whatever else they eat - you'll have plenty of food for everyone!

Bottom line: one spider will never be entertaining ALL the time.....

 

[Palespider]

Originally posted by abstract
I disagree! This happened to me - It wasn't that I started losing interest in my rosie though, more that I started gaining interest in all of the other types out there!

I would start with a rosie, and then after learning to care for it, feed the addiction by starting to acquire lots of different spiders; there will never be a dull moment!

Plus - after you get used to keeping beetles/mealworms/crix/waxworms/whatever else they eat - you'll have plenty of food for everyone!

Bottom line: one spider will never be entertaining ALL the time.....

*Some* people lose interest. I'm just saying that they aren't the best beginners species IMO. E. campestratus, B. smithi, and A. seemanni are all hardy, docile, and have low humidity requirements like a rosea, but without the mood swings

 

[Palespider]

A. seemanni will require a little more humidity than the others.