New to the hobby.

[miss moxie]

Btw I am gonna get hated on for this, but I don't think your choice was all that bad. P.metallica is the calmest poecilotheria sp. (I have heard it many times and own two and can confirm).

I have two P. metallica and had a female P. metallica in my old collection. Definitely the least calm Poecilotheria I've worked with.

 

[miss moxie]

A young man approached us at one of the expos, he was young and healthy and didn't seem to have any chronic health concerns, and asked how long it takes for the effects of a Poecilotheria bite to wear off. He was concerned because he had been suffering from headaches, dizziness and nausea for almost two weeks.
And he was bitten by a juvenile.

I believe that one female forum member (her username is totally escaping me-- @cold blood help??) said she kept experiencing symptoms for over a year later. Can't confirm but I think CB knows the story well enough.

 

[cold blood]

I believe that one female forum member (her username is totally escaping me-- @cold blood help??) said she kept experiencing symptoms for over a year later. Can't confirm but I think CB knows the story well enough.

Not that long, at least not the girl I know...more like a month.

20150401_182114

• cold blood
• Jan 30, 2017
• 5

arm color, post pokie bite

@IHeartTs btw

 

[The Grym Reaper]

P.metallica is the calmest poecilotheria sp.

Everything I'd read from people who've kept them stated that they're insanely skittish and mine seems to back that up, completely spazzes out at disturbances.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Not that long, at least not the girl I know...more like a month.

20150401_182114

• cold blood
• Jan 30, 2017
• 5

arm color, post pokie bite

It's always impressive to see this pic. Kinda 'Zombie' colour of once (George A. Romero) or even a 'fake' a la mannequin arm.

Incredible what we really still today doesn't know about those kind of brutal venoms post bite effects, eh?

 

[miss moxie]

Not that long. at least not the girl I know...more like a month.

20150401_182114

• cold blood
• Jan 30, 2017
• 5

arm color, post pokie bite

Ah, alright. I -know- I've read of someone on here having long lasting affects of up to a year, but it might have been from a different OW genus.

 

[cold blood]

Ah, alright. I -know- I've read of someone on here having long lasting affects of up to a year, but it might have been from a different OW genus.

I do think I recall hearing such a thing here from someone....couldn't tell you what species it was from.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

I won't say anything about taking it back because odds are you won't. I wouldn't either, it in my opinion it is one of the best looking tarantulas out there. Though, for next time I would stay away from most 'standard' beginner species such as Brachypelma sp., Aphonopelma so., Grammastola sp. for the most part because they will take forever from sling and you will probably get frustrated at looking at something smaller than a house spider for moths. I would say a C.cyaneopubescens and if arboreal is your thing then C.versicolor, man, those two tarantulas are just as stunning. Use this as a learning experience for next time. Btw I am gonna get hated on for this, but I don't think your choice was all that bad. P.metallica is the calmest poecilotheria sp. (I have heard it many times and own two and can confirm). Their bite is awful, very awful, but the chance of being bitten is very low unless you handle it. Don't even watch temps or humidity just moisten the substrate sometimes (they can handle being dry for a little while). With those temps you will get insanely fast growth. As stated before chance of being bitten is very low if not handled so.....don't handle it.

Yes but you know, it's not only about the avoiding handling part (which indeed, you're right in remembering that). There's a literally insane speed to deal with. There's (unlike someone directly purchase a sexed 0.1 and put her into a 'final' enclosure) the necessary cage upgrades/rehouse to do. There's the obviously prey remains cleaning to perform.

There's a lot to consider, always.

 

[Vinny2915]

I'm just saying from my experience. I've worked with many tarantulas and so long as you rehouse properly (in a bathtub, doors closed, bottoms of doors blocked off, under sinks blocked off, drain plugged, etc) I don't see how there is a problem. I think this 'insane speed' is just a bit overrated. I've seen how fast some can be (tapinauchenius being the fastest I've seen) and i still don't think it's that crazy. Should someone with no experience buy one....no probably not, but that's my opinion I am not going to tell someone, bring it back because you have no experience, kids, dogs, cats etc. Because it is their money they've worked hard for, it's not my place to say how to spend it. Though, I would give my opinion and that is all. I also would be a hypocrite because I followed no ladder system, and I'm 18, have a boyfriend, a cat and still have old world tarantulas. I just don't in myself are it as this huge deal people make it out to be. I also see these analogies as extreme. For instance, I don't know who said it but someone said it is like giving a baby a Ferrari. It really isn't at all like that. If the baby even could decipher how to put the keys in and press down on the gas pedal, it would be going to its almost certain death. Buying a P.metallica or any other old world is not even close to comming to certain death. Mind you the venom is extremely bad, but not baby in a Ferrari bad....not even close.

 

[Vinny2915]

There's always a chance of being bitten whether experienced or beginner. It boils down to if you're going to buy an old world and noone can convince you otherwise then buy a sling so you can gain knowledge as it grows. Buy something like an M.balfouri or ceratogyrus sp. This guy didnt and that is his choice to make. He sounds from his post well into his 30s at least and by then you are old enough to make your own decisions. Thus, I will not put him down for that.

 

[miss moxie]

There's always a chance of being bitten whether experienced or beginner. It boils down to if you're going to buy an old world and noone can convince you otherwise then buy a sling so you can gain knowledge as it grows. Buy something like an M.balfouri or ceratogyrus sp. This guy didnt and that is his choice to make. He sounds from his post well into his 30s at least and by then you are old enough to make your own decisions. Thus, I will not put him down for that.

In this hobby, there is the potential for the many to suffer for the mistakes of a few. You should know this, you live in Canada. As I have learned from @VanessaS, the tarantula hobby is in danger of becoming illegal there.

If you don't see how a kid getting bit by an escaped OW tarantula could impact the hobby negatively, you still have some growing up to do.

 

[Vanessa]

Though, for next time I would stay away from most 'standard' beginner species such as Brachypelma sp., Aphonopelma so., Grammastola sp. for the most part because they will take forever from sling and you will probably get frustrated at looking at something smaller than a house spider for moths.

Brachypelma albopilosum, boehmei, Grammostola actaeon, pulchripes, iheringi, grossa, all Lasiodora, Davus pentaloris, Acanthoscurria geniculata, All Avicularia/Caribena/Ybyrapora, All Psalmopoeus, All Tapinauchenius, All Nhandu, All Pamphobeteus... all of those genera and species, and more that I have not included, to choose from that are not slow growing. All those dozens of species that are far more appropriate for someone just starting out.
I know that people keep making excuses that there aren't any, but they just simply haven't done their homework. And if they haven't done even that much homework, then you are never going to convince me that they have made an effort to learn anything else either.

 

[Vinny2915]

I mentioned 3 genus not the rest. If I ment all I would've added "etc". And there are some under those genus but I was not going to list them all off. And I think it is G.pulchripes not B.pulchripes. and G.pulchripes is slow growing. Tapinauchenius, Psalmopoeus and Acanthoscurria I would not recommend because Tapinauchenius are one of the fastest group of tarantulas, psalmopoeus are fast and defensive, and Acanthoscurria tend to be defensive. Though, a better buy than any old world.

 

[Vinny2915]

I can see how it negatively effects others but getting mad at these people is a futile effort. They are gonna do it anyways. Besides if it goes full illegal (ontario as a whole), which I'm sure it is, people are still going to keep Ts, I sure will. Would I sell old world tarantulas to noobs though...no. But it is obvious they will just buy them elsewhere

 

[Vanessa]

Besides if it goes full illegal (ontario as a whole), which I'm sure it is, people are still going to keep Ts, I sure will.

Where are you going to get them from? Tangled in Webs will be gone, because they are in Ontario. Tarantula Canada and Arachnophiliacs will never ship them into Ontario, because they will be on the hook for that if they are caught. Canada Post and all couriers will be screening packages from them anyway and they will be prevented from shipping them. Neither of those dealers are going to be even hoping to make a shred of a living with Ontario eliminated from their client base. How long do you think they will be able to last?
Where does that leave you? A few people within the province who are in a position to breed a handful of species? And then, when all those males are gone or you are all out of new species, where are you going to go then?
I have seen a healthy hobby dwindle down to less half of what it used to be 20 years ago - all as a result of Toronto and a few other municipalities having bans. You think this hobby can survive Ontario having a ban?

 

[Vinny2915]

The hobby will take a massive beating, companies will crumble but the hobby will remain. For instance, it is a somewhat bad example but one nonetheless, B.dubia, illegal can buy them all over Toronto and the GTA from numerous people. If people want it and there is a market it will survive. Plus once it becomes more scarce it will be sold at a higher price, thus enticing more people to breed them.

 

[Vinny2915]

There are bans on a multitude of things in this country, yet sometimes things that are banned are actually quite prevalent.

 

[Swoop]

I'm pretty sure everyone who does drugs would prefer they be legal so your argument kind of falls on its face.

In any case, getting a pet that can do as much damage as a German Shepherd and can ALSO hide behind furniture for months is a bad idea.

 

[cold blood]

Because it is their money they've worked hard for, it's not my place to say how to spend it.

Its more about being smart about how one spends their hard earned money. Buy something over your head (anything) and its not gonna be a good decision. Look at the first charger hellcat sold in CO...guy wasn't experienced enough to handle it, but bought it simply cause he could afford to...bad decision as he totaled it on the way home...the first time his foot went to the floor. Now I getcha, people aren't risking their lives necessarily in this hobby...but having something that's over your head or that can scare you without the right experience is the definition of money not well spent. https://jalopnik.com/first-hellcat-sold-in-colorado-wrecked-an-hour-after-pu-1673994344

Had the guy with the hellcat listened to sound advice, he'd still have the 80 grand and his insurance wouldn't be through the roof for the next decade (not to mention the embarrassment of his mistake being out there on youtube for all to laugh at)......because in the end, that advice would have been great advice to hear and listen to.

And I get your bathtub and proper re-housing explanation, totally understand where you are coming from...but usually the problems encountered by inexperienced keepers involves the t out, when the person is NOT prepared or expecting it.

Just a few weeks ago for example, I opened a pokie cage to add water...this normally calm female instantly was on the outside between the wall and the enclosure. My first thought was "if this happened to an inexperienced keeper, this would be bad really fast". Only (IMO) because of my experiences, more than just with the speed, but also with the behavior aspect and their reactions was I able to turn a potential disaster into an uneventful situation.

There's always a chance of being bitten whether experienced or beginner

Yes, but with experience those chances go way way way down.

but getting mad at these people is a futile effort.

But that's just not the case. Its not about anger, its about tryng to help the person make a better, more well educated choice.

No one ever says "never", its always, get this, raise it a year, gain the experience, then get that. We always get frustrated when these keepers think its about anger or a demand, its not, it just seems that way when new [impatient] keepers get defensive....it is all about helping them spend their money better, in a more productive manner for their future, when they should get the OWs they desire.

Really, a year raising something like a Psalmo isn't much to ask if you are in this hobby for the right reasons and for the long haul.

People don't just jump to pro ball from ground zero...people don't enter races the day they get their license, heck a doctor has to go to school for nearly a decade before he can even write a prescription, much less perform an internal surgical procedure (examples are in everything and are endless)......waiting and learning the basics are an invaluable part of any learning experience...jumping from zero to advanced is never the easiest, best way to learn anything.....if you don't know the basics, how can you be expected to understand the more advanced aspects?

Anyone who has gone to a university knows that in order to take any advanced classes, there are more remedial classes that are required...there's good reason for that.

I just don't get how some don't think this is applicable to animal ownership, especially venomous animal ownership. We see it all the time with dogs, and as a result every pound or shelter in America if FULL of pitbulls that were over their new owners heads. Great dogs, but they aren't a beginner breed and we all see the headlines and bans created by people making poor choices jumping to get one as their first dog...just because they can.


Just the way I see things anyway.

 

[Vinny2915]

A german Sheppard can kill you in a matter of seconds. An old world tarantula will not kill you if you're healthy.so I think yours kind of falls on its face.