Most enjoyable T's

darkavenger

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 3, 2009
Messages
12
Hello everyone,
I have been in the hobby for a few years now. My spider collection consists of an A. Chacoldes which I wild caught by my home, H. lividum, P. Mirnius, P. Regalis and P. Irminia:) I have a long time freind that use to be petrified of spiders till I showed him how cool and fascinating tarantulas really are and in doing so smashed his missunderstanding and fear of them. Fast forward a few years and now the time has come and he wants to start a collection of his own. His birthday Is right around the corner and I was gonna get him his first one or two t's, and start him out on the right foot. He hasnt ownEd any of his own t's yet but is not what I would call a rookie. He has helped me with my t's most of which are very venomous so he knows how to deal with even the cranky ones:) my question to everyone is which t or t's have u gotten the most enjoyment out of keeping and why? Or What r ur favorites and for what reason?
 

Terry D

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 21, 2009
Messages
733
Darkavenger, Ime, for reasons of docileness and ease of maintenance I'd go with G pulchra, B emilia.

Two other easies, although maybe more prone to an occasional threat display- which would more than likely be a misplaced feeding response- would be A geniculata and N tripepii. The latter two are the best overall display spp in my collection.

Hope this helps, :) Terry
 

BrettG

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Messages
1,315
Anything Avicularia.Pretty easy to care for,and they are a GREAT stepping stone to psalmo's and pokies.They will teach you how to handle something darty,and how to properly maintain humidity.The webbing is a bonus,and except for diversipes,they are pretty even tempered.
 

madTparty

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 5, 2010
Messages
22
Well, I enjoy any avics. Versicolors are a great way to start. Very pretty, nice and fun to watch. They are a little nervous and fast. But nothing like a pokie. But I love my whole collection!:rolleyes:

You say he isn't a "rookie" and has some experience with fast agressive Ts, right? Why don't you show him a couple 'for sale' lists, and see what he likes... Hopefully, he won't pick something like a P. metallica.:p

If you don't want to do something like that, then I think if you get him two Ts, get one 'display' T like a P. regalis, P. irminia, L. violeaceopes, P. pulcher or any other 'agressive' . And one 'docile' T, like a B. smithi, B. albopilosum, A. versicolor, A. avicularia, G. pulchra. Of course there are the more 'agressive' or 'skittish' new worlds too: A. geniculata, B. boehmei, C. cyaneopubescens, E. cyanognathus, and none of these are very expensive.

Good luck with your search! Hope this helps!
 

2oCHEVYo0

Arachnosquire
Joined
Aug 29, 2010
Messages
67
I would say the P. Irminia is a must! They are very exciting to watch and fairly easy to take care of. Of course mine is just a little 1.25 but man she is a fun little T to watch. I also have a Singapore Blue, pretty awsome to watch as well! Both are very quick and love to destroy crickets :D IMO these two would be awsome to start with, but a versicolor would be awsome too. Of course to me, any T would be sweet to have, but yea these three are quite interesting so get him two of these (or 3) ;P
 

killy

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
May 20, 2009
Messages
250
The ones I love most are the ones that love me back, so I'll go with GBB, pulchripes and pulchra ... and as for my vagans, we have a love/hate relationship - I love him, he hates me !
 

Offkillter

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jun 18, 2010
Messages
149
Love my avics,Gbb's,brachys,aphono,and pokie,but my little Acanthoscurria brocklehursti has been a kick to watch grow.It never hides,kills like no other and grows quick,he's become quite the personality as of late.It really depends on personal preference (do you want arboreal terrestrial etc) and ones own confidence level,but no matter the spider I find them all enjoyable.:drool:
 

Anubis77

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 15, 2005
Messages
281
Don't want to take the thread off track, but the Aphonopelma species you caught near your home (if that was in Nevada) likely isn't A. chalcodes. It's some other species. Can't remember what exactly. A. iodius maybe.

It's always nice making converts. I've recently had two. I get the most enjoyment out of spiders with attitude. Heteroscodra maculata, Stromatopelma calceatum, Poecilotheria spp., Psalmopoeus spp., and more. Can't pick favorites, but a bit of risk is always nice. I'm also big into Aphonopelma species from the Southwest. Sometimes for docility (but many aren't docile at all), mostly for the lifespan.
 

KnightinGale

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 16, 2009
Messages
170
I like the idea of doing one agressive and one docile if you can get the right price. I think as a first tarantula, whether one has experience with aggressive ones or not, it is nice to have a docile species. This is not because a person can't deal with something more challenging, but because it is nice at that beginning stage to be able to have a more tactile relationship with the wonderful world of arachnids. If one can do that AND a flashy agressive type then all the better!
I'm a real sucker for P. Regalis and my first love was B. Smithi...even if she didn't turn into the docile little lady I got her for. :)
 

mickey66

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 27, 2009
Messages
207
what to get??

What Brett said +1 and I would like to Add aphonopelma sp. USA..... Chalcodes is very good they don't kick hairs and are docile(at least mine are). P. Regalis or a pokie for a nice display T.
 

BigJ999

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 1, 2010
Messages
188
I like the T's with more attitude myself though i started out with a rosea which was docile. My Pelinobius muticus is pretty fun to watch when she eats as she is such a aggressive eater.
 

Chris_Skeleton

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Messages
1,309
G. pulchripes!!!! for a docile one, they are great. As far as a defensive one, I can't recommend any, I have two H. lividum and they are still slings.
 

NikiP

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 16, 2006
Messages
539
Another vote for G. pulchripes or any Avicularia sp.

And another vote for maybe something a little bit tough if he has experience. I'd vote for any of the Psalmopoeus (cambridgei, irminia, reduncus, pulcher, etc) because they are little more flightly, sometimes a bit more attitude, but without the OW venom.
 

smallara98

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 30, 2009
Messages
430
IMO , I would get him a adult female or juvenile versicolor , and albopilosum :) The versicolor holds the beauty and speed , and the albopilosum has the appetite and temperament . Either way , he will be happy with those two [:
 

venomous.com

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 20, 2008
Messages
263
I'd pick a GBB for a great display animal/first timer T for the webbing, hardiness, ease of care, fast growers and they never hide. Did I mention the colors? :clap:
 

ZergFront

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
May 2, 2009
Messages
1,956
1. ) GBB because they web EVERYTHING! Even my water dishes have some web over them.

2. ) P.irminia or P.reduncus because given some steady structure to web (fake or real plants, bark, etc) they make fascinating web funnels. P.irminia do get more bold as they age.

3.) A. brocklehursti because they get pretty good size, eat very well and are just beautiful when they have their adult colors.

Haven't had experience with some of the others previously mentioned here.
 

KELROCK

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 17, 2010
Messages
0
1. ) GBB because they web EVERYTHING! Even my water dishes have some web over them.

2. ) P.irminia or P.reduncus because given some steady structure to web (fake or real plants, bark, etc) they make fascinating web funnels. P.irminia do get more bold as they age.
They sure do get bold.... Re-housing my juvenile was interesting. So fast. Like lightning. I wouldn't suggest this genus to a newb, even if they do make an attractive web.
 

kylestl

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 23, 2010
Messages
95
I am going to say get him a gbb and a grammostola pulchra. I probably sepnd more time looking at my GBB more then any other t. My grammostola pulchra is in the mail but everyone I have talked to enjoys them a lot. They get big and are black.
 

ZergFront

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
May 2, 2009
Messages
1,956
They sure do get bold.... Re-housing my juvenile was interesting. So fast. Like lightning. I wouldn't suggest this genus to a newb, even if they do make an attractive web.
Yeah, probably not but five of them were my first tarantulas. :D
 

Amelia

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 3, 2007
Messages
198
Of mine, my favorites are my B. emilia. It is GORGEOUS, and very bold; my P. cambridgei. It has an amazing tube web, is excitingly quick, and once it feels the danger is gone, is right back out. It is one of my favorites; and heck, get him a L. parahybana. They are cheap, hardy, and get huge.
 
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