Help deciding on a species

[Tarantuland]

I’d get a versicolor or A geniculata of those. Everyone else makes valid points but they are my two faves and both easy to keep

 

[TheraMygale]

at almost 2 inches, you already see tiny stripes.

 

[Tarantuland]

View attachment 486219

at almost 2 inches, you already see tiny stripes.

I know this way of thinking is unpopular, but I’d bet that one is male based off body shape. You can sex with a microscope at that size, have you done it?

 

[TheraMygale]

I know this way of thinking is unpopular, but I’d bet that one is male based off body shape. You can sex with a microscope at that size, have you done it?

I tried but, i never get the molts soon enough. By the time i do, they dont have much to look at. I have three g pulchripes slings. With luck, one could be female. At this point, with my luck, all but three of my tarantulas will turn out to be male .

so im not in a hurry to find out. I do know what to look for with the ventrals, but i still want to get a chance to observe and confirm under lens. For the body shape i dont rely on it because slings can change after each molt and these are so small compared to my adult mature female.

 

[Cmac2111]

Another vote for g. pulchripes its the best T for beginners IMO.

Grammostola pulchripes

• Cmac2111
• Jul 19, 2024
• chaco golden knee tarantula grammastola grammostola pulchripes new world tarantula pictures

'Dora', g. pulchripes sub/young adult female. Wee stunner so she is :)

 

[Arachnopotamus Rex]

M. balfouri would be my pick off that list.

A lot of people will tell you don't start with old worlds, but I've found that species to be easiest to care for out of all my Ts.
It likes a dry arid substrate so misting is low frequency and bad molts or molded sacs are rare (i've never seen either happen personally or online, though i'm sure it has happened at least once from overmisting or being in a basement),

its easy to find a large enclosure for because its mostly terrestrial.
it cares for its own offspring until they can catch food, so you don't need to worry about having to remove an eggsac before mom eats it.
it prefers to stand its ground rather than bolt if feeling defensive, so escapes during feeding/watering are less likely.
it always eats unless in premolt, so sticking to a feeding schedule is fairly straight forward.
It has a fairly wide temp range tolerance.
Its communal, which means you can get many without the added enclosure expenses. Also, because its communal, if a feeder manages to hide in the web castle when dropped in, its odds of living long enough to attack a molting T are low (though as always, if you can help it, retrieve uneaten feeders). Plus being communal means that at least some of them are usually visible.

So most of the problems/downsides you might see with caring for Ts just arent as common with this species.

Plus its coloration is nice (though the blue will fade to black with time).

 

[TheraMygale]

M. balfouri would be my pick off that list.

A lot of people will tell you don't start with old worlds, but I've found that species to be easiest to care for out of all my Ts.
It likes a dry arid substrate so misting is low frequency and bad molts or molded sacs are rare (i've never seen either happen personally or online, though i'm sure it has happened at least once from overmisting or being in a basement),

its easy to find a large enclosure for because its mostly terrestrial.
it cares for its own offspring until they can catch food, so you don't need to worry about having to remove an eggsac before mom eats it.
it prefers to stand its ground rather than bolt if feeling defensive, so escapes during feeding/watering are less likely.
it always eats unless in premolt, so sticking to a feeding schedule is fairly straight forward.
It has a fairly wide temp range tolerance.
Its communal, which means you can get many without the added enclosure expenses. Also, because its communal, if a feeder manages to hide in the web castle when dropped in, its odds of living long enough to attack a molting T are low (though as always, if you can help it, retrieve uneaten feeders). Plus being communal means that at least some of them are usually visible.

So most of the problems/downsides you might see with caring for Ts just arent as common with this species.

Plus its coloration is nice (though the blue will fade to black with time).

i like that you brought a whole different opinion. I also agree with this choice.

not all ow’s are as defensive. And bite reports are very low. To be honnest, if you get bitten by this species, you probably did everything wrong. Or it was sheer badluck. Atleast its not h mac or obt bite.

 

[FatBadBay]

Out of all my pet holes, I see my m. Balfouri the least. At least the g. Pulchripes will be out and about vs guessing whether or not your pet hole is dead or alive XD

 

[Arachnopotamus Rex]

Out of all my pet holes, I see my m. Balfouri the least. At least the g. Pulchripes will be out and about vs guessing whether or not your pet hole is dead or alive XD

Interesting, I have the inverse situation. my M. balfouri is usually visible, either at the mouth of the burrow or on top wandering around, whereas my G. pulchripes is usually buried under substrate in the day (a shame with how pretty it's peanut butter and chocolate coloration is) and constantly bulldozing all of it at night (i've given up on decorating its enclosure at this point, its all I can do just to refill the water dish it flips over / fills with dirt everyday lol).

I also see my O. "quezon blue" out and about all the time, almost as much as my A. avic and P. metallicas (which are out 24/7), and I was told it was going to be a pet hole.

 

[Stu Macher]

I'd vote for A geniculata. G pulchripes are a good choice too. A geniculatas have everything. Prey drive, beautiful, visible, grow large, and hardy. Keep your fingers away though because they will think it's food

 

[Kajo]

Update: I got my first T on tuesday! But it didn't quite go as planned as what I ended up getting was not my first choice to get as my first. Still, this species is one I was considering and is not a bad choice for a beginner keeper. I've read that they might be a bit faster and flightier than other NW terrestials but I believe if I stay aware of their nature while doing maintenance etc. I won't be having any problems. I've also seen them being described as having a "bad attitude" and being pretty feisty when fully grown! Obviously I can't really know how I'll end up liking this species until keeping this little one for a while but from what I've researched this sounds like an amazing species to keep

Here's my new baby:


They're a T. vagans! About 3-4cm or 1.5 inches I'd say and already showing a bit of color. This little guy popped up for sale close to me from a keeper who couldn't have them anymore and since the timing was perfect and the species one I believed I could handle it seemed like it was meant to be. So this T pretty much me

I also got a mealworm colony from the previous owner (along with the spiders papers) and the T ate one the same night I got them when I offered it carefully. Pounced right on it! Last night they were busy at work digging a burrow and it was almost surreal watching this little spider move the dirt around.

I'm still thinking up a name for them, one idea I have is picking something asteroid/space related since the species is from the Yucatan. Or maybe something from the mayan cultures. But I've really enjoyed having this spider already, even though it's only been like two days

Would love to hear if someone wants to share any insight on this species or anything in general! Or name ideas!

Also thank you again for anyone who originally replied, even though I didn't end getting what you guys reccomended your messages were of great help and I loved looking into all the species mentioned! I'll make sure to remember each and every one for the future...


P.S. My mom took the news pretty well:
We'll see if she'll visit me ever again... My little sister's excited though!