Help Needed Choosing Spider

Bjorgly

Arachnodemon
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Aug 7, 2002
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Hi everyone, I am thinking of expanding my small collection (2 T's, b.smithi, a.geniculata). I would like something that maxes out around 6 inches or so, terrestrial, good eater, medium-docile temperment, looks good, not crazy expensive, and not super high humitidy/temp requirements.

I realize these are very specific and picky requirements so of course im willing to vary quite a bit but that would be my ideal spider. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark
 

galeogirl

Arachnoprince
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Aug 15, 2002
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How about a curlyhair (B. albopilosum)? They're inexpensive, usually pretty docile, and their care is very similar to B. smithi. I've seen captive bred slings on a few price lists in the past week or so, most under $10. I have five of them that I've raised from little specks and they're already calming down even though they're only around an inch in legspan.
 

Immortal_sin

Arachnotemptress
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curlyhairs are great, and if you want a sling, I'll have some ready within the next month or so :D
I'd also recommend the Pink Zebra Beauty (E campestratus). They are usually quite docile, good eaters, and seem to be quite hardy.
My most docile, easy going, low humidity spider is my A chalcodes (desert blond), but their temperments can vary quite a bit.
 

scarkro

Arachnopeon
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Jul 27, 2002
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do you want to handle them????

i have a chilean rose that is great to handle....i had a flame knee that was ok to handle as well
 

Code Monkey

Arachnoemperor
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Inexpensive and easy to care does resolve to two obvious choices: the Curly and Rose. Curlies are dirt cheap because the breed readily, drop huge eggsacs, and grow like weeds. I'm personally in favor of the Curly ove the Rosies but I think that's a personal bias.

I'm thinking of getting PZB the next time I order some Ts myself though.
 

savian

Arachnoknight
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Jul 17, 2002
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My vote is for a G. Aureostriatum ( Chaco Golden Knee ) They will get a little bigger than 6in but they don't need high humidity and the are able to be handled. Mine is w/c and is very calm.:D ;) :)
 

ArachnoJoost

Arachnobaron
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Aug 6, 2002
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Hey,
Don't know about the price, but for good looks, medium docility and around 6 inches you could also think about the greenbottle blue, they certainly have good looks!
greetz,
Joost
 

Botar

Arachnoprince
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I'm picking up a green bottle blue (C. cyaneopubesnens) and it should be here tomorrow. Listed at 3/4" for $25 from Swifty. So it all depends on what you call "inexpensive", but you might consider that as well.
 

Blackwidow69

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 1, 2002
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Green Bottle Blues..

Green bottle blues are way cool,, i love there color and have had no prob handling them at all. I just make sure they eat good befour i handle mine..And they dont need it real high for humidity nither and mine make some real cool webbing to...But the color, wow its the best!!!!!! :cool:
 

Immortal_sin

Arachnotemptress
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I handle both my GBBs on a semi-regular basis...
They are a bit nervous, and very quick, but seem to settle down once you have them out.
And you just can't beat the colors!
 

jwb121377

Arachnoangel
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My vote goes for E campestratus (Pink zebra beauty) I have two adult females and they are the sweetharts of my tarantula collection! :)
 

Paul Day

Arachnosquire
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Sep 8, 2002
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Well, I'm assuming you want something a little different then you have now so you can get some more experience with T's.

A Green Bottle Blue is certainly an excellent choice, as it is so easy to take care of (you don't even need to give it a water dish, it hates humidity). But for docilty, I certainly suggest the Chaco Golden Knee. It doesn't grow as fast as the GBB, but certainly looks nice and is as great spider, while getting large.
Also, you might want to try arboreals since you have 2 terrestrials already. An Antillies Pinktoe is an excellent choice, because it is one of the easiest to maintain pinktoes while being one of the most beautiful. The humidity requirements for A. versicolor are slightly less then other pinktoes, but in general, all Pinktoes are easy to take care of, if you provide daily misting and good ventilation.
 

Bjorgly

Arachnodemon
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Aug 7, 2002
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Thanks alot everyone, ive done a little looking and i think ive narrowed it down to the chaco golden knee and greenbottle blue, especially due to their low humidity requirements! And no, I do not handle any of my tarantulas for both of our safety =)


Mark
 

Kenny

Arachnoknight
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Aug 7, 2002
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Water dish.

Hi..:)

A "warning" word here about some info. in prev. post,,,Green Bottle Blue DO need a water - dish!!!!!!!

Just keep the substrate bonedry.

Kenny
 

Paul Day

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As for not using a water dish, I haven't used one for almost 6 months on my Green Bottle Blue, with several molts and no problems. It kept webbing over it or throwing dirt in it. There are few T I would recommend that with. Including the Usumbara baboon, which is also a stickler for dryness. Tarantulas rarely rely on standing water for moisture. A water dish is intended to keep humidity up in the enclosure rather then for the spider to sip out of on a regular basis For a species like a GBB, which can be killed with high humidity easily, can be maintained on room-humidity alone, as they absorb a great deal of moisture through there food. Of course, a water dish doesn't hurt. But don't tell me it's required for that species.

As for water dish woes... from experience, I can tell you that humidity is an overrrated topic in the hobby, especially concerning GBB. If your spider starts shrivling up, of course use one, but I don't waste my time.

Pauyl
 

Kenny

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Water dish

Weeeelll.

I can just relate to what my own GBB s'ling did the very first day in the cage.

It walked around as all s'ling do in beginning inside the cage to "explore" and when it found the very small bottle lid with water I had in there, it stopped and it leaned over when it felt the water, like they do, first one leg into the water and then next, and sat on the side of the lid, leaning inward the water for at least 45 sec to 1 minute with part where mouth is, in the water.

Suddenly, as it had approached the water the s'ling went backwards and left the water.

Now, was that s'ling admiring it's image in the water? trying to drown itself, ( it approached the water by its own "machine", i.e. it didn't fall in ) maybe, what do I know??

Sure, they get water/liquid from food, and s'ling DO need more humidity than it's grown counter part most of the times, no matter species.

Sure, humidity can be an exxagerated matter many times, but why take chances by not having the waterdish in there?
My chaco was by one source, caresheet, a "low" humidity T, just to become a "medium" humidity at an other caresheet.
The chaco goes probably fine between 60-/+% to 80-/+%.

I must say, by the way, I haven't encountered one book,info. that say not to have a waterdish.

Kenny
 

MrDeranged

He Who Rules
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Kenny,

Sling's are an entirely different matter than adults. Adult greenbottle blue's are very low humidity tolerant. They can technically go without a water dish, but I don't recommend it personally. I just keep a bottle cap in with mine with some water in it. It dries up every couple of days and I refill it a day or two later.

When you're dealing with slings, you're always going to need a moderate to high humidity environment.

Scott
 

Kenny

Arachnoknight
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Yup...

Hi

Exactly what I do too with my GBB.:)

When cap is empty I just fill it up a little. No misting at all.

That's what I meant that s'ling need more humidity than when they're grown.

A grown GBB can die if it gets to high humidity, what I have understood.

Kenny
 

Paul Day

Arachnosquire
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"It walked around as all s'ling do in beginning inside the cage to "explore" and when it found the very small bottle lid with water I had in there, it stopped and it leaned over when it felt the water, like they do, first one leg into the water and then next, and sat on the side of the lid, leaning inward the water for at least 45 sec to 1 minute with part where mouth is, in the water. Suddenly, as it had approached the water the s'ling went backwards and left the water."

Spiderlings are certainly a different case then adult or subadult greenbottle blues. All spiderlings need high humidity. While I wouldn't provide any spider under 3 inches in legspan a water dish (it really isn't nessisary since they live in such a small space, you can easily keep humidity up with misting), it was probably thirsty from the trip. Of course spiders drink water! But they don't have to if you know how to mist. I rarely have ever seen spiders drink out of their water dishes! This is because I keep humidity up using misting so they don't have to.


"Now, was that s'ling admiring it's image in the water? trying to drown itself, ( it approached the water by its own "machine", i.e. it didn't fall in ) maybe, what do I know??"

I never claimed that spiders don't drink out of water, they just don't do it often. Spiderlings definitly don't need water dishes. In fact, in a confined area, it poses a risk to the spiderling as it might drown!! I had that happen once with a pinktoe, which did not have enough room to get out. Fortunatly I saved the bugger, resilient little things. Misting is the best way to maintain humidity for spiderlings.


"Sure, they get water/liquid from food, and s'ling DO need more humidity than it's grown counter part most of the times, no matter species."

Yup :)


"Sure, humidity can be an exxagerated matter many times, but why take chances by not having the waterdish in there?"

There is little probability with proper misting and a trained eye, that a spider is all of a sudden going to collapse due to dehydration. Their are normally signs, such as a shrinking abdomen. Wee wee little spiderlings are of course a different matter, but I have never had a problem. In fact many of my spiders I've given up on there water dishes, the largest of this group (my Giant White Knee) at 6.5 inches hasn't had a full dish of water for 3 successive molts. Those are medium humidity species, and if something was wrong, I would know already. If you do not know what your doing in regards to humidity, please use a water dish, but I know otherwise.


"My chaco was by one source, caresheet, a "low" humidity T, just to become a "medium" humidity at an other caresheet."

Chacos are medium, as are most Grammastola besides Rosea being from tropical rainforesty type places.


"The chaco goes probably fine between 60-/+% to 80-/+%"
That's a big range :)

"I must say, by the way, I haven't encountered one book,info. that say not to have a waterdish."


Unfortunatly most books are outdated on the subject. This hobby is a constantly growing megaplex of information, and a rather new one at that. Books can not possibly keep up. The suggestion not to use a water dish with certain species actually was suggested to me by someone on a forum. It wasn't something I figured out one day, until I tried it, and found that it was more practical then sitting around waiting for a spider to slop up a water dish.

Pauly
 
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Paul Day

Arachnosquire
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I agree with you Scott, but I have not raised a single spiderling under 3 inches with a water dish since I've entered the hobby (except possibly my first), and have not had a single death or any complication :). But I mean, it is the safer way to go, so if you feel unconfident, by all means. But spiderlings in particularly (if you keep them in the right sized container) are easy to maintain humidity for.

Humidity theory (in my opinion of course) is about keeping moisture in the air, not supplying the spider with a drinking supply of water. This means misting, and using a water dish if misting isn't enough, or if it is a particularly high-maintance species like a T. blondi... it is important to understand that most desert tarantulas (and particularly dry climate ones like GBB) go their WHOLE lives without a standing source of water! The burrow keeps moisture in, as the spider eats it's prey and absorbs it, and gets humidity with occasional rains. And humidity in a desert isn't 40 or 50% like in our homes: it's like, 10% or less.

Pauly
 
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