I Finally Broke Down...

[Mojo Jojo]

The Tarantula Keeper's Guide

I finally broke down and bought The Tarantula Keeper's Guide. I really should have done it a long time ago. But I have been fine without it. But now that I have decided to breed my female A. geniculata, I figured that I might need it. Plus, I feel like its time to take my hobby to a new level and really get to understand the tarantula's anatomy and how scientific names are relevant to the species.

Jon

 

[Bry]

Cool, I should get myself a copy of that book. Where can you get one? At a reptile show?

Bry

 

[conipto]

That is a great book, IMO. The Schultz's did a fantastic job on it.. I consider it the best entry level T book out there.

Bill

 

[Inuleki]

i picked up my copy at Barnes & Noble.... have read it about 6 times in the month or so i've had it... some rather good info in it, mostly interesting and easy to read

 

[MrT]

I bought a book the other day called THE GUIDE TO OWNING A TARANTULA. Written by some guy named Jerry G. Wells.
It has some great pictures of T's in it. But it also says that there is a case where someone died from a T bite. It says the Australian speces of Atrax, a genus of the small tarantula family Dipuridae, are known to have killed at least a dozen humans, but they are not theraphosids so they don't count.

Then it says that baboon spiders from eastern Africa have a nasty bite and also have allies ( smaller species not yet in the hobby ) that are known to cause human deaths in rare cases.

Anyway, you walk away after reading this book thinking T's are very dangerous. And hardly worth thr risk of owning them.

I bought it at petco, anyone else read it?

Ernie

 

[belewfripp]

Regarding the Wells Book...

Not a very good book. Very poor in making it clear what they mean by a tarantula. Most people that I have met, even if they don't like the word tarantula, consider it as usually being used to describe the Theraphosidae. Instead of pointing that out and then going on to say that in that book they are going to use a broader definition and consider it to be some/all of the mygalamorph families beyond theraphosids it ends up as a confusing muddle. Contrast this with Sam Marshall who is sure to point out very early on in Tarantulas and Other Arachnids just what he means by the word tarantula and also giving a taxonomic breakdown later on in the book, all of which make it clear that he is talking about theraphosids. I don't particularly care for the various common names for theraphosids but it isn't really a problem so long as people make it clear early on what scientific group they are using the common name to designate.


Not to mention a lot of the rest of the book is lousy, too.


Adrian

 

[SkyeSpider]

Originally posted by MrT
I bought a book the other day called THE GUIDE TO OWNING A TARANTULA. Written by some guy named Jerry G. Wells.

Anyway, you walk away after reading this book thinking T's are very dangerous. And hardly worth thr risk of owning them.

I bought it at petco, anyone else read it?

I've got a copy. I have to agree. He did overstress the dangers, but I think everything he said was justified.

I especially agree with the statement made that is along the lines of: It only takes one person being seriously injured or killed from a tarantula bite to destroy the hobby. It may not seem likely, but with all these Pokies, Togos, King Baboons and the like, it MIGHT happen.

-Bryan

 

[JDK]

I still never bought a copy of that book......... I guess I should though....... Now theres, "Tarantulas keepers guide #2."

 

[jwb121377]

If you have never owned a tarantula and bought wells book first, I don't think you would want a trantula after that. He was way over the top in that book, in regards to the dangers of tarantulas as pets. I can understand his fear of someone new to the hobby getting a old world tarantula for their first t, but to label all tarantulas as very dangerous is a little extreme.

 

[Mojo Jojo]

Originally posted by JDK
I still never bought a copy of that book......... I guess I should though....... Now theres, "Tarantulas keepers guide #2."

There's a new edition of The Tarantula Keeper's Guide? One that calls a rosie G. rosea?

Jon

 

[Vys]

In all truth I didn't find the Schultz' book all that interesting. If I had bought it in the beginning, as in before I did any major research and before I got a spid, I have no doubt I would have found it very helpful, as it goes trhough all the basics and lots of more things.

 

[MizM]

I ordered mine at B. Dalton, they didn't even ask for a deposit.

I read it from cover to cover, and now keep it handy to look stuff up when no one on this website can help me!!!

Part II is out?!?!

And isn't a Rosie a grammosotla rosea?

And thanks Jon, Exotic Pets was C L!

 

[Mojo Jojo]

Originally posted by MizM
I ordered mine at B. Dalton, they didn't even ask for a deposit.

I read it from cover to cover, and now keep it handy to look stuff up when no one on this website can help me!!!

Part II is out?!?!

And isn't a Rosie a grammosotla rosea?

And thanks Jon, Exotic Pets was C L!

Glad to hear it!

Jon