Curly Hair (Brachypelma albopilosum?) or Chaco Golden Knee (Grammostola pulchripes?)

[Redbarren]

so I'm a High school teacher trying to select a class pet for my biology class (I'm already know to be the crazy teacher with the bugs and snakes in the class room). But I've run into a problem of species selection. the room I'm in is very dry, with temps that fluctuate with the season (70 near summer, upper seventies with the winter... administration is so bright lol). for a while I've had my heart on on a Chaco Golden Knee because it's a good size, mostly visible (little burrowing), terrestrial, docile, cheap, and will enjoy the conditions in the room. the problem is that it's so slow growing. I can imagine that 4"or 5" animals are expensive so I'd probably be forced to go with a sling. which lead me to the curly hair, I understand that It's faster growing, dry, docile, cheap (similar to the Golden Knee). Do I have it right that their care is similar? and do Curly Hairs burrow?

 

[nicodimus22]

Curly hairs burrow like crazy when they are slings, but they drop that as they get bigger. They grow a little faster than the G. pulchripes, but they don't get quite as big. The care is basically the same. Which one do you like the look of better?

 

[Redbarren]

definitely the G. pulchripes, and I do feel like it would fair better in this environment. But I'd rather not be caring for 1" or 2" spider for 3 or four years... if I can help it. I'm trying to limit the cost of the animal it's self to 15-25$.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

They grow a lot faster than the G. pulchripes*

Fixed that for you

*At least as far as I've noticed, since my G. pulchripes hit 2" it's on par with my B. emilia for growing painfully bloody slowly (both are females around 3").

 

[nicodimus22]

definitely the G. pulchripes, and I do feel like it would fair better in this environment. But I'd rather not be caring for 1" or 2" spider for 3 or four years... if I can help it. I'm trying to limit the cost of the animal it's self to 15-25$.

Anecdotal as this may be, it took my G. pulchripes specimen 3 years and 3 months to go from 1/4 inch to 4 inches. Temps mostly in the 70s, and feeding twice a week until it was over 2 inches, then once a week.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

definitely the G. pulchripes, and I do feel like it would fair better in this environment. But I'd rather not be caring for 1" or 2" spider for 3 or four years... if I can help it. I'm trying to limit the cost of the animal it's self to 15-25$.

I was going to suggest trying to get a juvenile (around 5cm) female B. albopilosum until I realised that they cost seventy five frickin' dollars* on your side of the pond.

A 5cm female will double in size in around 9-12 months and they're less temperamental than Grammos too.

*Y u hav such stewpid churanchula pryces Umerika?

 

[Ungoliant]

definitely the G. pulchripes, and I do feel like it would fair better in this environment. But I'd rather not be caring for 1" or 2" spider for 3 or four years... if I can help it. I'm trying to limit the cost of the animal it's self to 15-25$.

At $15-25, you will generally be limited to slings -- maybe smaller juveniles of the least expensive species.

If you want a spider that grows faster and tolerates (loves) dry conditions, you might consider Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens. It eats well, is colorful (even as a sling), and makes interesting webs. The slings might be a little more expensive than $15-25, however.

My male was 0.75" when I got him last September and was 3" by July.



Here is a thread that another teacher (looking for a classroom tarantula) started in February -- lots of good advice in there, including setup and care instructions.

 

[RemyZee]

Have you considered aphonapelma chalcodes? They're generally readily available and pretty cheap even as sizeable juveniles. They're also gorgeous, thrive in dry conditions, aren't too picky about temps (temps can drop low overnight in their natural habitat) and (generally) docile.