My first T - Lasiodora parahybana

[Marija Takac]

Hi everyone,
I got my first T about 4 weeks ago. I always loved tarantulas and wanted to get one but my fiance wasn't a big fan
Finally after years of begging I got myself a Lasiodora parahybana. It's a she, confirmed by you guys (thanks for that by the way). She is 5 years old and about 17 cm leg span. I made her a nice 60x30 cm terrarium and I think she likes it
She's a sweetie, very nice behaved. Held her twice and she was very calm.

 

[Ashley2070]

Awhh she's so cute!

 

[Tarantula20]

Could you post a full on picture of the terrarium, Thanks

 

[Amimia]

My second T was a L. parahybana! I still have her, got her at 1/2" and she's about 4" maybe?
Anyway, they're great Ts. Very hardy and very fun. I hope you enjoy yours!

 

[Marija Takac]

Awhh she's so cute!

Thanks so much

 

[Andrea82]

She looks great!
I must admit I'm a bit worried about the open spaces in her enclosure, it seems like there is a lot of things she could fall on, and from quite a height as well. The space between the top of the enclosure and the substrate should be less than 2times her diagonal legspan. Anything higher, especially with all the ornaments in there, and she could get severely injured if she climbs and falls. But maybe it is just the way it looks from the pics. Could you post a picture of the entire setup?

 

[Marija Takac]

Could you post a full on picture of the terrarium, Thanks

It's an old fish tank that I had at home. It still has the filter in the corner (it's glued to the glass and I couldn't get it out) but I've taken out the sponges and glued a piece of plexiglas on the top so she wouldn't fall in. She has live plants in that I've planted in small pots and buried them in the substrate. Also these last few days she has a small heater on the back glass because it got cold in the room.

 

[Marija Takac]

My second T was a L. parahybana! I still have her, got her at 1/2" and she's about 4" maybe?
Anyway, they're great Ts. Very hardy and very fun. I hope you enjoy yours!

I got mine as big as she is now. It was a birthday gift from a good friend of mine that works at the ZOO.
I like her a lot, she is very active, always climbing on the glass, a real joy to watch
For my second T I'm thinking G pulchripes
Must admit, I was always kind of scared of getting a sling and they are not so fun to watch.

 

[Marija Takac]

She looks great!
I must admit I'm a bit worried about the open spaces in her enclosure, it seems like there is a lot of things she could fall on, and from quite a height as well. The space between the top of the enclosure and the substrate should be less than 2times her diagonal legspan. Anything higher, especially with all the ornaments in there, and she could get severely injured if she climbs and falls. But maybe it is just the way it looks from the pics. Could you post a picture of the entire setup?

Oh, I never thought it would be tall for her. The tank is 30 cm tall and I have about 10 cm of substrate in there. I can add more if it's needed Here is a picture, hope you see everything you need from it

 

[Amimia]

I got mine as big as she is now. It was a birthday gift from a good friend of mine that works at the ZOO.
I like her a lot, she is very active, always climbing on the glass, a real joy to watch
For my second T I'm thinking G pulchripes
Must admit, I was always kind of scared of getting a sling and they are not so fun to watch.

G. pulchripes is another great one! Have you looked into brachypelmas? They're a very colorful genus! I also am a fan of aphonopelma, personally.
For slings, they're really not so hard once you get the hang of it and get comfortable with it. I'd suggest starting out with a hardy sling like a grammastola or brachypelma (warning: very slow growers). They aren't colorful or have 'wow' factor but little slings can be fun with their constant busy body-ness. And raising them from little ones is always rewarding. Anyway I'm not trying to make it sound like you need to start raising them as soon as possible, just my experience!

 

[Marija Takac]

G. pulchripes is another great one! Have you looked into brachypelmas? They're a very colorful genus! I also am a fan of aphonopelma, personally.
For slings, they're really not so hard once you get the hang of it and get comfortable with it. I'd suggest starting out with a hardy sling like a grammastola or brachypelma (warning: very slow growers). They aren't colorful or have 'wow' factor but little slings can be fun with their constant busy body-ness. And raising them from little ones is always rewarding. Anyway I'm not trying to make it sound like you need to start raising them as soon as possible, just my experience!

I like B smithi a lot also. If you ask me I would keep a lot of them
A guy near my town is keeping tarantulas and he has a G pulchripes for sale. The moment I saw her I knew I have to have her, it was love at first sight. It's a young tarantula, still small and he's not sure about the sex so we wait for a few weeks until she molts. If it's a female I'll buy her right away (still working on getting her home so my fiance doesn't freak out , he says I'm insane and I have a problem).
Well, once you look at the slings like that you're right. Since it was my first I was scared that I wouldn't do right but I can try when I decide to get a third T

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

Depending on the species, s'lings are really not that difficult at all. I had never raised a sling until two years ago. out of six, spiders I received, I have 4. But, ome was a sub-adult that simply matured male and eventually passed and the other and the other was an A. geiniculata that suffered the Tragic Moult, and by that time it was a juvenile. So technically, I had complete success with the raising of the s'lings I received, as well as with the A. geniculata sling I was given over a year ago to replace the one I lost.

In regard to s'lings not being as fun to watch, that depends on your point of view. They are arguably more interesting to watch as they develop at a faster pace as they head towards being juveniles. Naturally, they aren't as impressive to look at as older spiders, but I think there is something special about looking at them after they've grown and remembering that you successfully nurtured them to that point. I still look at my L. parahybana and remember when she lived in a tiny deli cup and was a small thing the size of my thumbnail that was able to dart up my arm when she decided to make a break from that deli-cup one evening. Now she could do it from her current much larger enclosure enclosure, but it would be a bit more unsettling.

G. pulchripes are nice tarantulas. Mine has been a relatively slow grower, though, only slightly out-pacing my B. smithi. But I've read other accounts of their growth rate being a bit faster than what I've experienced with mine.

 

[Andrea82]

How big is the L.parahybana?
From what I've seen on the other pics, there is a lot of space, in combination with sharp edges on the hide and the skull. I would raise the substrate, and bury that skull a bit more. Maybe put some substrate on the pointy ends of the hide. Especially since you've seen her climbing the glass a lot. They like to climb but are not very good at it unfortunately.
Note there's a difference between USA keepers and European keepers. I often see Dutch keepers and breeders who don't apply the 'one and a half or two DLS' advice, and everything goes fine. I myself apply it for the awkward climbers. I have a MM L.parahybana, who of course climbs a lot. I have like 20cm of substrate in a 30cm tall box, and I planted the sides with soft fake plants, should he lose his grip and fall, he at least has a soft landing.

 

[DeanK]

How cold is it in the room? Heat mats are never a good idea for T's. Also it could for sure use more substrate, if she were to fall from the thermometer in the 1st pic she would land on the water dish and that could cause a lot of damage

 

[Marija Takac]

How cold is it in the room? Heat mats are never a good idea for T's. Also it could for sure use more substrate, if she were to fall from the thermometer in the 1st pic she would land on the water dish and that could cause a lot of damage

It was 20°C two days ago so I placed that heat mat at the back because as I read 20°C is low for this species and that 25°C is ideal. Now its 23°C. The heat mat is very weak, only 7W, but if it's bad for her I'll remove it. I've put more substrate right after I read that it's too high for her but I think I need to buy more tomorrow. I've also put some substrate over the scull and moved the water dish.

 

[Andrea82]

@DeanK , another difference between USA and European, cables and mats are (carefully and sparingly) used in Europe. But always high up on the sides, never on the bottom. Electricity prices are insanely high here, so a space heater is not always the best option.

 

[Andrea82]

Wow, @Marija Takac , good to see you taking action so fast! Good job!

 

[Marija Takac]

How big is the L.parahybana?
From what I've seen on the other pics, there is a lot of space, in combination with sharp edges on the hide and the skull. I would raise the substrate, and bury that skull a bit more. Maybe put some substrate on the pointy ends of the hide. Especially since you've seen her climbing the glass a lot. They like to climb but are not very good at it unfortunately.
Note there's a difference between USA keepers and European keepers. I often see Dutch keepers and breeders who don't apply the 'one and a half or two DLS' advice, and everything goes fine. I myself apply it for the awkward climbers. I have a MM L.parahybana, who of course climbs a lot. I have like 20cm of substrate in a 30cm tall box, and I planted the sides with soft fake plants, should he lose his grip and fall, he at least has a soft landing.

She is about 17 cm ls. I had some substrate left at home so I've put all I have in the tank, covered the scull and moved the water dish from the thermometer. I still think I need more substrate so I'll buy some more tomorrow. Until I got her she was kept in a tank for arboreal species 20x20 cm, about 40 cm high and had much less substrate, also the tank was full of some real sculls, a big reptile dish and a hide made of coconut shell.

 

[Marija Takac]

@DeanK , another difference between USA and European, cables and mats are (carefully and sparingly) used in Europe. But always high up on the sides, never on the bottom. Electricity prices are insanely high here, so a space heater is not always the best option.

I've put the heating mat on the back. The mat starts where the substrate finishes. I didn't want the substrate to get dry from the heat but I wanted to give the tarantula a space to go to if she's cold.

 

[Marija Takac]

Wow, @Marija Takac , good to see you taking action so fast! Good job!

I really love her and I don't want to see her get hurt and I want her to have the best conditions to live in. Might sound crazy but she's kind of my baby