Check this OUT!! ALERT ALERT!!!

[Steve Nunn]

Originally posted by Ultimate Instar
<besides, P. metallica are the nicest T there has been, even if they only keep that color for a short period.>

So, they are blue only as juveniles? Are there any color differences between males and females? What do they look like as adults?

Karen N.

Hi Karen,
This is what seems to be said about them, although I can't say for sure. Either way they are beautiful T's and for sure they will keep a lot of the blue. Nicer shape too I think(thicker legs then average from what I've seen, have a look a the photo on Guy Tansley's site, mmmmm, nice!http://www.giantspiders.com/ in the gallery). Who knows, the males could be a drab brown/grey, like most pokes. This is why buying early will be a gamble, although I have to say, if I was able to buy some I'd take the gamble without even thinking twice. It's a shame that India aren't planning to export captive bred spiders so that P.metallica would survive in the hobby.

Steve

 

[Henry Kane]

Originally posted by invertepet
That's the nicest thing anyone's said all day!

bill

LOL! I just wish I had edited that darn apostrophe out of "dealers" before I had been quoted.

Atrax-the-illiterate

 

[Code Monkey]

Originally posted by kellygirl
I personally think that high prices for rare tarantulas makes sense--it seems rather obvious.

P. miranda and P. metallica are only recently being bred in captivity. What if, right now, they entered the market at $35? They would be gone in a flash but there would be no way to ensure that they'd make it into the hands of experienced keepers who would care for them properly until they reach adulthood and then make sure they were bred so as to increase the captive bred supply of said species.

At the current prices, only serious hobbyists (who probably know what they're doing) will get ahold of them, minus the handful of rich tarantula-lovers...

I mostly agree with you but I don't know that your sentiment applies to Todd in this case. Yes, P. metallica, miranda, and any number of species we'd love to get our spider loving mitts upon are going to be rare in the hobby for the next several years and rightly should fetch more than a curly hair. That's not the same thing that Todd is pulling here.

He has an alleged deal, probably legit - but he has been known to run his mouth about vaporspiders in the past, to get some number of slings of P. metallica sometime in the more or less near future. He himself doesn't even know what they will cost him, but he's more than willing to set a lower limit on the price based upon the hype machine surrounding this species (a hype machine that he has taken part in). Even whackier is that he wants people to pony up real $$$ before he has the slings, slings that at this point are only eggsacs of unknown quantity or quality. To me, that's a pretty bad way of handling things.

The good way of doing it is you wait until you have X slings in your possession and you sell them at what the real fair price turns out to be first come, first serve. Or maybe you take names in advance and sell them with a lottery system if you get more names than slings, but what you don't do is collect hundreds (thousands?) of dollars for slings you may not ever actually receive. That's called an interest free loan in my book, not exactly something any dealer deserves just because they are on someone's list for an unknown quantity of slings at an unknown price.

And also, just to add a little food for thought, the reason I only mostly agree with what you said is that if the prices were lower, the serious pokie people would be more likely to buy in multiples, get females, keep in touch with one another, and continue to get more breeding stock over the next few years. With a lower price tag, the breeding stock would reach sustainable mass much quicker in the hobby. With such an high price point, it is easily conceivable that the "serious" hobbyists will only pick up one or two as a trophy spider and the odds would be much less that the hobby in the U.S. will get a sustainable breeding population going anytime soon.

The Europeans have a much more robust breeding system going over there, and they supply many of our high priced "exotic" tarantulas. I'm sure the breeders in Europe would love to be wholesaling P. metallica to U.S. dealers for $100, or whatever the salivating, hypamongering dealers like Todd are willing to drop to be the first to deliver a U.S. CB P metallica, a pop indefinitely.

 

[Vayu Son]

><

Bill,

Point taken. I realize the striking differences in pokes. But I just dont think the adults will be as mindblowing as that single juvie model ive been seeing. IMHO anyway, when I can spend a fifth of that on a rufilata or fasciata or any number of equally beautiful species with better birth records, more chances of breeding, and an easy replacement if it dies.

-V

 

[invertepet]

Originally posted by Atrax
LOL! I just wish I had edited that darn apostrophe out of "dealers" before I had been quoted.

Atrax-the-illiterate

Well, I edited it for you! See just how much I don't suck! LOL

bill

 

[Lucifer]

'Trax, sorry if you took my message personally. It was directed with no specific post in mind simply what appeared to be the prevailing group-think/expression. My only intent was to speak an opposing opinion to anyone willing to look at the other side of the issue. It just seemed most were holding a negative connotation when the underlying premise is the freedom all those involved have to approach the situation as they desire. I did not intent to suggest that you personally or anyone else for that matter was whining, only that rather than appreciate the freedom to make such offers and allow the market to take care of itself.
Do I personally think it's a great idea to take downpayments on something that may never come to fruition? No, but then again that's my choice and I simply alleviate any problem by not sending mine. That doesn't change the fact that Todd or anyone else has the right to give people that option. For some the increased likelihood of possessing one of the rarest breeds around is enough of an incentive for them to put up their $. Interest free? Perhaps, but I assume everyone here realizes this fact and factors it in when deciding whether or not to drop down their cash.

 

[Henry Kane]

No worries Lucifer. That's very cool that you took the time to let me know though. Very respectable.
Sorry to have taken it personally too.

See ya.

Atrax

 

[kellygirl]

CM,

That makes sense. Sorry I didn't read more carefully. I'm also not totally sure what's up with this whole Todd thing but suddenly I sense a lot of bitterness. Guess I'm out of the loop. I'm actually expecting a pretty large shipment of spiders from Todd once the weather gets nice again. I have had no problems with him so far. But yeah, I can see what you're saying about taking money before he has the goods. Maybe Todd can explain his logic?

kellygirl

 

[Steve Nunn]

Originally posted by kellygirl
CM,

I'm also not totally sure what's up with this whole Todd thing but suddenly I sense a lot of bitterness. Guess I'm out of the loop. I'm actually expecting a pretty large shipment of spiders from Todd once the weather gets nice again. I have had no problems with him so far. But yeah, I can see what you're saying about taking money before he has the goods. Maybe Todd can explain his logic?

kellygirl

Hi Kell,
From what I've heard Todd ships good stock, no problems. He sells some amazing spiders, stuff nobody else can get too, no problems. He's quite outspoken about his beliefs though, which a great many other enthusiasts don't seem to agree with. One example is encouraging people not to breed the more prevalent spiders in the hobby, such as, hmmm, B.vagans. This keeps the value of said spiders up, of course this is financially speaking. Why this would be of any value at all is anyone's guess. Some of Todd's ideals seem to strike a harsh note with many enthusiasts, ideals that could be considered "questionable". I'm trying to be as nice as I can be here. I know for a fact that his breeding records on his site are "selective" according to who Todd likes and don't really reflect the hobbies history at all, making that page a waste of space really, unless it was titled something like "Todd's friends breeding history" . I probably shouldn't say anymore though and hopefully, others may choose to fill you in a bit on what's happened in the past as I shall choose to remain neutral

Cheers,
Steve