First T for a child: Sling vs Adult

[Offkillter]

I recently got my five year old son a G.pulchripes sling that we can raise together.He absolutely gets a kick out of watching it feed and looks forward to every molt.I personally like knowing that this is a T (male or female) he will get to enjoy for years to come.It also has the benefit of not requiring huge amounts of care,for him right now the perfect introduction to tarantulas.

 

[Rue]

First you have to decide whose T its really going to be. Dad's, or the child's?

Let's say you manage to get a healthy T that lives for 20 years (being conservative). Is your son going to look after it when he's a teenager, finds a girlfriend goes to college and has kids? Or, realistically, will it be YOUR spider?

My son's snake is now my snake. Er, and so is his cockatiel...

If it's yours...choose what you want. If it's truly his...let him pick.

From what I've read, something like a G. pulchra is a good choice for a child to learn about/look after. Impressive and docile.

I've had my G. pulchra spiderling for an entire week now...and it's adorable.

Alternatively, get two. A G. pulchra (or similar 'easy' species) for him...and something more 'exciting' for you.

 

[Upjohn252]

I have to give a thumbs up for G. pulchripes. The first T should be terrestial, and easy to care for, Avics require higher temps and humidtiiy.
G. pulchra and E. campestratus are also great beginner T's but the pulchra can be costly buying as a sub-adult, and E. campestratus as well. E. campestratus is a smaller species on reaching adulthood. A juvenile or sub-adult G. pulchripes seems to be the best bet, hardy, very docile, grows to a large size and is long lived, and will likely be around to be a bridesmaid at your son's wedding.

 

[drich]

I think starting with a sling is good to get him started taking care of a T but they are very delicate.