TheHound
Arachnoknight
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2021
- Messages
- 163
Hi all. Been thinking more and more about getting a first tarantula - watching videos, reading articles, the usual. I feel really close to pulling the trigger on this, having visited my local exotic pet shop today. I'd been thinking about a B/T Vagans. The shop didn't have these but did have some Sabulosums, so pretty close - Guatemalan rather than Mexican Red Rump. They had them as slings and a couple of juveniles, unsexed. They seem a good age to start if you're a beginner and want to nuture a young one a bit, but maybe not from sling stage.
But I was going over in my mind about whether I wanted to start with a male or female. At first I thought a male, similar to MrPole in the mature males thread, to dip my toes in and see to what degree the hobby is for me. But females obviously have their own self-evident attractions.
The other question is to what extent this is academic if I get spiders of the age I saw today. I've attached screengrabs of the videos I made today for reference (I can sort slightly higher-res ones if helpful). You can see the salesgirl's fingers in the first shot for size reference. The other pic is the same size enclosure, slightly bigger spider, looking like it may moult soon. I'm not great at estimating size, but mayber the smaller one was closer to 2 inches and the bigger closer to 3?
In any case, a couple of questions for you knowledgeable people:
1. Are either of those spiders at a size where they could be reliably sexed after a moult?
2. What's the etiquette with an exotic pet shop on requesting a sexing of a juvenile spider? Is it a reasonable thing to do?
3. I've read that Sabulosum and Vagans have been inter-bed over the years and diluted. Is that really a widespread problem and if so is there some kind of means of validating purity, some sort of provenance/document/seal like the dog pedigree system or suchlike? I'm in the UK.
Part of me is thinking maybe, regardless of the answers, just go for one of them, and see what happens. If it turns out a male I could send him out to do his thing somewhere (some sources seem to suggest this is kinder than leaving him in his home wandering around sexually frustrated) then if I'm really up for a female buy a maturer, sexed one. Or if it turns out a female then it's a female and I look after it, knowing there would ultimately be the option of selling it if truly required.
I guess it would be harder to pick up an adult Sabulosum, as they seem to be much rarer than Vagans, but that's fine. I'd be happy to look at a Red Knee or something else. I should probably say at this point that although could I envision myself potentially having a couple of tarantulas, maybe three, I don't think it's something that will explode to dozens in my case, and it's also possible I'd stick to one, especially if a female.
So, what do you guys think? Can/should I ask for them to be sexed? Should I just get one of the Sabulosums anyway and see what happens (especially given the relative rarity of the species)? If so, should I get the bigger or smaller one? I do quite like the darker black of the Vagans, but also read that Sabulosum grows bigger, which is kind of cool. Though as per my question 3 the could theoretically be a doubt if it's pure Sabulosum I not.
Anyway, can't wait to hear your feedback. This stuff is playing across my mind a fair bit and I'm itching to get involved in looking after a spider.
But I was going over in my mind about whether I wanted to start with a male or female. At first I thought a male, similar to MrPole in the mature males thread, to dip my toes in and see to what degree the hobby is for me. But females obviously have their own self-evident attractions.
The other question is to what extent this is academic if I get spiders of the age I saw today. I've attached screengrabs of the videos I made today for reference (I can sort slightly higher-res ones if helpful). You can see the salesgirl's fingers in the first shot for size reference. The other pic is the same size enclosure, slightly bigger spider, looking like it may moult soon. I'm not great at estimating size, but mayber the smaller one was closer to 2 inches and the bigger closer to 3?
In any case, a couple of questions for you knowledgeable people:
1. Are either of those spiders at a size where they could be reliably sexed after a moult?
2. What's the etiquette with an exotic pet shop on requesting a sexing of a juvenile spider? Is it a reasonable thing to do?
3. I've read that Sabulosum and Vagans have been inter-bed over the years and diluted. Is that really a widespread problem and if so is there some kind of means of validating purity, some sort of provenance/document/seal like the dog pedigree system or suchlike? I'm in the UK.
Part of me is thinking maybe, regardless of the answers, just go for one of them, and see what happens. If it turns out a male I could send him out to do his thing somewhere (some sources seem to suggest this is kinder than leaving him in his home wandering around sexually frustrated) then if I'm really up for a female buy a maturer, sexed one. Or if it turns out a female then it's a female and I look after it, knowing there would ultimately be the option of selling it if truly required.
I guess it would be harder to pick up an adult Sabulosum, as they seem to be much rarer than Vagans, but that's fine. I'd be happy to look at a Red Knee or something else. I should probably say at this point that although could I envision myself potentially having a couple of tarantulas, maybe three, I don't think it's something that will explode to dozens in my case, and it's also possible I'd stick to one, especially if a female.
So, what do you guys think? Can/should I ask for them to be sexed? Should I just get one of the Sabulosums anyway and see what happens (especially given the relative rarity of the species)? If so, should I get the bigger or smaller one? I do quite like the darker black of the Vagans, but also read that Sabulosum grows bigger, which is kind of cool. Though as per my question 3 the could theoretically be a doubt if it's pure Sabulosum I not.
Anyway, can't wait to hear your feedback. This stuff is playing across my mind a fair bit and I'm itching to get involved in looking after a spider.
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