best T book?

[skadiwolf]

okay guys, if you had to pick the best top three T books out there with information on lots of different species, knowledge, etc. what would you suggest?

lay it on me, come on!!!

 

[D-Man]

Hands down

The Tarantula Keeper's Guide!

 

[DiStUrBeD-OnE]

Yea, the Tarantula Keepers Guide is like a Tarantula Bible

 

[kellygirl]

I can't think of a third, but these 2 books have helped me the most:

#1 Schultz, Stanley A. and Marguerite J. Schultz (The Tarantula Keepers Guide)
#2 Marshall, Samuel D. (Tarantulas and Other Arachnids)

While you should keep these on hand as a reference for tarantula basics, most of the questions you have can be answered in this forum! We've got a handful of rather experienced collectors/hobbyists, breeders, dealers, and even a few arachnologists frequent this board from time to time! You've come to the right place.... but just you wait. Your collection is about to grow exponentially. =D :}

kellygirl

 

[skadiwolf]

(grin) well, hey, that was easy!

yeah, i know, but i like to have my own materials on-hand. don't even ask me about all my reptile books and magazines...(groan)

so, that was easy...i guess i'll get that one. sweet.

thanks guys.

 

[kellygirl]

I think there are some online invertebrate journals available as well... anyone wanna confirm? I believe ATS (American Tarantula Society) does one so I assume its British counterpart does as well...?

kellygirl

 

[kellygirl]

Hey skadiwolf, I PMed you.

kellygirl

 

[alidpayne]

The ATS publishes their "Forum Magazine". It is available in either hard copy or electronic edition for ATS members.

ATS membership is $20 a year I think

Ali

 

[Mendi]

As for books, definately get the 2 kellygirl mentioned. The 1st one is generally the "bible" for pet Ts. The other has very good information also, so you'll likely get them both. As for others, they are getting a bit older and running into too many old Latin names and outdated materials. I've got maybe 6-7 books on them, but none come close to the previously mentioned books. You might just want to collect them for the pictures though and ebay is a good site to find therse older books.

As for the ATS membership price, it is $20 for one year if you are getting the Forum magazine mailed to you, but if you opt for the web only version that you download in PDF format, you get 2 years instead of just one. That's the route I've chose, and you can always save them on CD for long term storage

 

[skadiwolf]

okay, awesome. just ordered those two books via amazon.com (gotta love them).

so yay, oh, i also checked my PMs, sorry! lol. i'm kinda slow sometimes...blargh.

 

[Lostkat]

Originally posted by kellygirl
I think there are some online invertebrate journals available as well... anyone wanna confirm? I believe ATS (American Tarantula Society) does one so I assume its British counterpart does as well...?

kellygirl

Yup, the BTS does an online journal for it's overseas members. I am lucky enough to get both the paper version and the online version

 

[Steve Nunn]

The first two books mentioned in this thread are definately the best two. After those you could either look at any of Andrew Smith's books or maybe "The Tarantula" by Baerg, or equally "Biology of Spiders" by Rainer Foelix. Andrew's books are fantastic, great guy too. Baerg's book is a definate classic and Foelix's book is a must if you want to find out exactly what makes a spider tick.

All else is junk, frankly.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[skadiwolf]

i got and finished reading 'Arachnomania - General Care & Maintenance of Tarantulas & Scorpions' by Philippe de Vosjoli.

i enjoyed it very much and learned a lot. though some of the scientific classifications have changed the information is excellent.

de Vosjoli is known for his excellent quality publications in the reptile world.

 

[belewfripp]

Originally posted by skadiwolf
i got and finished reading 'Arachnomania - General Care & Maintenance of Tarantulas & Scorpions' by Philippe de Vosjoli.

i enjoyed it very much and learned a lot. though some of the scientific classifications have changed the information is excellent.

de Vosjoli is known for his excellent quality publications in the reptile world.

I have no experience with his reptile books but I'm not a fan of the book you mentioned.

As others mentioned Schultz and Marshall's books are the best. Schultz is best for really in-depth stuff, especially regarding medical care, biology and breeding. The only thing I don't like about it is the lack of species accounts, which is where Marshall's book comes in. The other info is great, too, but the species accounts are the best part, especially considering few other books on Ts really present info on a lot of different Ts.

One that does is Dr. Breene's Concise Care Guide to the 80 Most Common Tarantulas. Some of the info is repetitive, but that's the nature of the beast when it comes to tarantula caresheets. It also has some bare-bones taxonomic info on who first described each species and when and some background material on some of the species.

Adrian

 

[skadiwolf]

for me, as a beginner i liked the basic information it provided. i have purchased the two already top mentioned books and am awaiting receipt of those.

however, almost anything unless dead wrong is better than nothing. and nothing was basically what i had.

 

[skadiwolf]

okay, just got in The Tarantula Keeper's Guide and Tarantulas and Other Arachnids published by Barron's.

i must say - wow!

now i see why the de Vosjoli book was touted much. these books are much larger, and the Guide is HUGE. awesome.

i am very impressed and feel like this was definitely money well-spent. nevermind all the gorgeous pictures of Ts everywhere! hehehee!

i also have now been exposed to some new ones that i find just amazingly beautiful. i'm sure they'll all nasty and mean and aggressive however. (sigh) oh well, unlike others, i choose to view the unfriendly ones at a distance, through a tank, NOT in my home.

thanks for everyone's suggestions, you guys are fabulous darlings! =D