Hello, Beginner askin for help

[Kris-wIth-a-K]

you dont need a colony of crickets. If you want one then thats cool to. I have one but am experience enough with them to keep them alive. A lot of the others have a very hard time. what I do to control humidity with my t's is spray the tank down and put a piece of cerran (sp) over the lid to hold in the moisture and humidity.

 

[ReMoVeR]

you dont need a colony of crickets. If you want one then thats cool to. I have one but am experience enough with them to keep them alive. A lot of the others have a very hard time. what I do to control humidity with my t's is spray the tank down and put a piece of cerran (sp) over the lid to hold in the moisture and humidity.

im not gettin this " a piece of cerran (sp) over the lid to hold in the moisture and humidity"... im not english... my translator defines moisture as humidity and it doesnt know what cerran is neither i lol technical issues ;\

 

[Kris-wIth-a-K]

alright. "Saran Wrap" it is a cheap technique to control the humidity/moisture in a T tank. It is easier to by the space humidifier but costs more money. You can google images for saran wrap. Saran wrap is just a very thin clear wrap that goes over your foods and what now.

 

[ReMoVeR]

uuuhhh!! now i get it =) xD
thnks for all u that are helpin me =)))

really tkz **

 

[Kris-wIth-a-K]

anytime. That is what we are here for!!

Kris

 

[ShellsandScales]

Hello. Hi to everyone =) well ,im thinkin about buyin a tarantula. I've been searchin a lot on the internet, i almost search 2h a day for stuff related with T's. Soo... i went to the pet store that has there a grammostola rosea. Therefor i asked for other tarantulas wich they told me that they have available too: Avicularia metallica ; Ceratogyrus marshalli ; Poecilotheria striata and Poecilotheria regalis.I think in smthin like 2 weeks or 1 month they will have anothers, but im not sure. The thing is that a read a lot of "no's" for a tarantula rosea cauz they are usually called "pet rocks" , they usually are unactive and have sudden change of activity and start climbing ur "pet house" (i dont remember the proper name right now) makin them fall and get hurt and other stuff. i started already some research about those other T's. Since im a beginner i dont want and ofc is not good to get an agressive spider wich i would have difficulties on handling it and stuff like that. I found already that those P.'s are a bit agressive and, i found a big interest in arboreal Ts and im amazed at A.metallica. What are your opinions ? Can u give me a little help ?

Tks to everyone in advance,

Peace

*

This doesn't seem like your typical pet store list. Most of those would be considered beyond the scope of a beginner. Given that list to choose from I would start with the G. rosea and by the time they get more T's in you'll want another and will have gotten your feet wet. I would hate to see you try your hand at something a little more ambitious (and a lot more expensive), have a hard time, and get discouraged. Start with the rosie. Like I said you will want more and you won't regret starting with her.

 

[ReMoVeR]

well... portugal is retarded, and my city even more.... the thing is that i dont like very much those roseas cauz they are a bit colorless... but soon probably they will have another list of Ts. Im really in love with those Avicularias , cauz they are amazingly colorfull ... i'm sort of confused. Why couldnt i stard then with a A.metallica , from what i know, they are not that hard.

*

 

[ReMoVeR]

hello again, i have a few stupid question that i probably know the answer or they are really stupid xD but i want to make sure.

I'm used to put my sweet music wich is from metal to hip hop pretty loud and i have a hell of a subwoofer. Ts are orientated by vibrations so... if i get my music to loud my T will be stressed right ?

When u get urself smelly with ur fav parfume or smthin will it be toxic to the T if i have it in my room.. ?

If ur cleaning lady gets to clean ur rooms floor and ur shelfs closet and stuff with some stupid spray or even on the floor with the usual cleaning thing wich i dont know the name will be toxic to the T wont it ? Get me some explanations ;D ty *

 

[Kris-wIth-a-K]

1 - Everyone says that they use music to somewhat "sooth" them but not too loud idk if this theory is true or not.

2 - cologne is ok for a T. A spray or two wont hurt in if it in the room.

3 - cleaning materials have chemicals in them which might hurt the T if too much is in the air but it would have to be a lot even if she is cleaning around the t's.

 

[ReMoVeR]

on 1. is just cauz of my subwoofer that makes a lot of vibrations not sound vibration but material vibrations. Ts feel good with some "background" music ?

 

[Kris-wIth-a-K]

idk about feeling good but that is what I hear on the boards that some people do while two t's are mating. The subs would probably be too much personally.

 

[ReMoVeR]

yeah thats what i thought too =) tkz anyway m8. *

 

[Kris-wIth-a-K]

anytime. 8)

 

[quiroga]

go for a rosea or albo. They are lame but i think they're the best Ts for beginners IMO. They're hardy too.

 

[bareass]

word of advise to a beginner. get a digital hydrometer. the analog ones do not last long and will stop moving, or will give really false readings. and you will never know it. digital is much better and worth the little bit of money

 

[ReMoVeR]

u mean both digital for temp. and humidity ?

 

[equuskat]

you don't need a hydrometer or thermometer, unless you're getting something fragile like a T. blondi. Most of the beginner species don't require any such equipment.

 

[reverendsterlin]

I realize this is just to your opening question but it is my standard answer you can find other nearly exact copies if you search. First let me say welcome to the forums. Prepare to get bit lol, T's are like potato chips can't have just one. Be very careful, your being a novice will garner suggestions from the majority for what are commonly called "beginner species", generally inexpensive and mostly considered docile. Keeping in mind that a female T can live 10-30 years you can wind up with one that you may lose interest in quickly but will remain in your collection for years. The difference between an easy to keep species and a more difficult to keep type is pretty minimal, temperature, humidity, ventilation, and temperament are pretty easy to learn (an hour or two reading can cover the differences pretty fully). Some folks here will tell you that you need 'experience' before attempting to keep some species. In the long run that's pretty much bunk, with some exceptions. I would suggest holding off buying some of the high end varieties (several can be very expensive) but there are usually low end varieties within the same species for that little extra confidence. Slings (baby tarantulas) especially those under about 2 inches are generally a bit more sensitive and delicate as well and experience with the 'cheaper' ones can give you some specialized learning. Your best bet is to look through galleries and see what catches your eye. Your choices are terrestrial (ground walkers) best for viewing but a fairly small group and many are 'another brown tarantula', arboreal some of the most beautiful in the T groups and having a large selection, and burrowers another large group but some may be rarely seen (lol our pet holes as we call them). We also sub-divide into Old World and New World, a very loose generalization NW flick itchy hair and OW may have a bit worse temperament and slightly stronger venom, not really much of a consideration people handle both types all of the time. You should read and look at the pictures to get an idea of what appeals to """"YOU"""" and mostly ignore suggestions from others (including myself lol). You'll be much happier with your collection that way. Here we have folks that collect one species like Avicularia spp., Aphonopelma spp., Poecilotheria spp. (my personal favorite), Haplopelma spp. (another I'm very partial to lol), or they may be more general and keep only baboon tarantulas or arboreal species, some prefer New World, other's Old World (my tendency), and some folks keep a little bit of everything (especially novices but others as well). A quick look at the Buy/Sell forum will show you that there are plenty of opportunities and choices available, time isn't a factor. Do your research, find what appeals to you, ask specific questions, use the search function (and ignore those few that complain and tell you how many times the question you’re asking has already been answered). Most folks here are pretty nice and many of us have years of experience with nearly any type of T, scorp, or pede you care to ask about. www.eightlegs.org , www.birdspiders.com , www.atshq.org , www.thebts.co.uk , http://www.ub.ntnu.no/scorpion-files/ are a few web sites you should look at and the ATS and BTS (American and British Tarantula societies) both have articles you can view for free that will answer many of your questions. The Tarantula Keepers Guide is a book in most of our libraries and there are a few other more advanced books available as well. Ask questions, look around, be selective with conflicting advise (common here lol), ignore anyone acting a jerk, and you'll be just fine. No need to rush to fill an enclosure, and ALWAYS pick your pets because they appeal to you, not because someone else suggested it. You'll do fine. Hope to hear you've made a good choice, possibly we'll catch you on chat (I'm occasionally there myself), and maybe soon we'll see the first pictures of the new members of your collection.
Rev

 

[bareass]

i started out with a little lizard (crested gecko) so i was used to keeping humidity and tempurature levels up with the speicies needs... if you've kept anything else befor it might be easier for you. i would suggest what ever spider you would like to get... and research to see how much care they need and what kind of setup to build them... and build the tank up before you get it to see if its something you can handle..

 

[Strix]

Just to throw in my two cents...

First and foremost welcome to the boards and the hobbie. As for the beginner advice for which T to pick up I agree with all the other posters. The rosea while boring is a good starter and the avic depending on size is also good.

As for a cricket colony I really wouldn't suggest to hassle with that at all. Crickets have a very short life span and tend to smell.... bad. If it is legal where you live and you don't mind handling roaches I'd suggest looking into a colony of non-climbers. Blaptica dubias, Blatta lateralis, Blaberus discoidales.

The roaches are much better feeders because they cannot bite or harm the T like crickets can and they seem to have a much better "meat to shell" ratio then crickets and are much much easier to care for.