OBT or not to OBT, that is the question.

[Jones0911]

i was told it was just african/asian.....google isnt perfecr neither am i.

and widows are more dangerous than any T bite..I neither said they were close.

no one wants to get nailed by ANY tarantula regardless of venom potency

so that was pointless

 

[spiderengineer]

i was told it was just african/asian.....google isnt perfecr neither am i.

Australia is defenitly old world territory. I mean funnel webs are practically prehistoric

 

[Poec54]

Hum, Australia is OW as far as I know?

New world is North, Central, and South America. Old world is Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia.

---------- Post added 03-29-2013 at 09:44 PM ----------

widows are more dangerous than any T bite

Widows are very timid and shy spiders & slow and clumsy out of their webs; OBT's are the opposite of all those. My grandmother could work with widows; OBT's would scare the wig off her. Attitude, size, and speed make all the difference. There's a number of T's with hot venom. Do a search on first-hand accounts of Poecs and Stromatopelma; their bites are aren't much different than widow's, and in some cases may be worse.

The key to keeping OBT's and any fast, aggressive tarantula is providing a retreat they feel safe and secure in. That's their first choice when disturbed, and they aren't nearly as likely to bolt out of their cages. When they feel vulnerable is when things can get out of hand. I use 6" forcepts with a curved tip for cage maintenance, which keeps my fingers from looking like Swiss cheese.

 

[freedumbdclxvi]

Do a search on first-hand accounts of Poecs and Stromatopelma; their bites are aren't much different than widow's, and in some cases may be worse.

I get what you are saying, but that is one helluva stretch. While uncommon, widow bites have caused deaths. T bites have not. I would say death is far worse than just about any symptom an OW T bite will get you.

 

[Poec54]

I get what you are saying, but that is one helluva stretch. While uncommon, widow bites have caused deaths. T bites have not. I would say death is far worse than just about any symptom an OW T bite will get you.

Sometimes Poec and Stromatopelma bites are worse than widow bites. People have gone to emergency rooms and still had problems weeks or months later. Very few widow bites are fatal, especially to healthy adults, and there's much better record-keeping in many of those countries. What happens in third world countries is usually a mystery. For someone with a health condition or if venom is delivered directly in a vein or artery, or in the head or neck (which would happen occasionally in the wild with arboreals), the results could be very serious and death is not out of the question. Stromatoplema are known for attacking people picking fruit in palms and trees and giving multiple bites. One of the effects is heart arrhythmia, which is serious stuff for someone with a heart condition. If a fruit picker falls 30 feet out of a tree in a West African jungle and later dies in his village, who's going to know what part a spider bite played in that? They're not taking them to hospitals or doing autopsies.

Venom aside, the point is that in a home situation, a large, fast, angry T is significantly harder to work with than a slow, small, timid widow. OBT's are best-suited for experienced keepers. I've had T's for 40 years and have a large collection now of almost entirely fast, highly defensive species, and I can assure you that I would be on pins and needles if an adult female OBT was loose in the house; concerned for me, my wife, our grandchildren, and our cats and dogs. I just don't want someone to take on more than they can handle. There's no rush to get into the crazy species.

 

[naychur]

I found "The Orange Baboon Tarantula Care Guide" PDF book on the internet. Is is a good buy? I already have and have read TKG.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

 

[Poec54]

I found "The Orange Baboon Tarantula Care Guide" PDF book on the internet. Is is a good buy? I already have and have read TKG.

I think you can probably learn everything in those guides from online searches and asking questions on forums.

What T's do you have now? Any baboons or OBT's yet? The care is the same as for most savannah dwellers: fairly dry substrate and good ventilation, a piece or two of cork, and a water bowl. They do not like damp, stuffy cages. I use sweater box size containers for my adults. OBT's especially need a retreat they feel safe in. Other baboons will also stand and extend fangs, but OBT's are so fast, you have to do whatever you can to keep them from racing out of the cage, because then things can get crazy. They have the personality of a snapping turtle. The lid needs to be able to be closed quickly, use tongs for maintenance, and keep a deli cup in arm's reach. The less you disturb them, the better. This isn't a species to see how much you can get away with. They grow fast, males can mature in a year. The best time for cage transfers is on a cool morning when they're winding down.

 

[freedumbdclxvi]

Like I said, I get where you are coming from, and I absolutely get your point. But again, at their very worst, the worst widow bites are worse than the worst T bites. If I had to choose, I am picking OBT bite over just about any widow bite.

 

[naychur]

I think you can probably learn everything in those guides from online searches and asking questions on forums.

What T's do you have now? Any baboons or OBT's yet?

See my original post for my collection.

I now have an OBT ordered, but the whole reason for the thread was to see if you guys thought I was ready for my first one. Enough people thought I was as long as I take things seriously. So I ordered a 1/2" sling and enclosure from Jamie's Tarantulas before the big debate began on this thread. I should have the OBT by the middle of next week.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

 

[Poec54]

The point is that OBT's (or Poecs, or Stromatopelma, etc) are far more difficult to work with than any widows.

 

[freedumbdclxvi]

The point is that OBT's (or Poecs, or Stromatopelma, etc) are far more difficult to work with than any widows.

Yep, hence why I said I got your point.

 

[DVMT]

If I were you and on the fence I would get a Psalmopoeus cambrigei and get used to speed first. Psalmos have (normal) venom but are lightning fast. Then maybe you can know more about your personal handling capabilities.

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[cascade]

Evening all.
A bit of a long winded post.

You also can not compare a widow to a tarantula nor it's venom.
Both spiders are on 2 different scales of the Spider hobby, and people will reacted differently to a bite.
When you disturb a widow they curl up into a ball, they are small and I have never seen a widow give a threat pose.

I think this is a miss interruption of the P murinus, yes, the spider can deliver a nasty bite, yes, they can be fast, yes, they can be defensive and yes, they make you a bit nervous when they reach full leg span and turn out to be a female.
But if treated and housed in the right conditions you will not have issues, no matter if you are 1 day into the hobby or 20 years
into the hobby. How else do you learn your spiders and your keeping abilities??

Only way a person learns is to take the spider by the "fangs" and see what comes from your own personal ability in keeping of
curtain spider.

I will give you some tips on "handling" your OBT or any aggressive, fast, scary tarantula at the bottom of this post!

A bit of history in my OBT keeping skills.

Once apon a time in SA, when we were "allowed" to keep OBTs, I had 8 adult females.
I have never had one OBT run out and attack me or chase me down. I have had defensive threats though. Which tarantula,
at some point in a persons hobby has not given you the slap threat or the butt in the air threat?
My OBT's would run and hide in their awesome webbing, the only time I would get a defensive threat is when I touched them
with the tweezers (I provoked them) or when I have caught them off guard and opened the enclosure to fast, that is
when they go to red alert and defend themselves.

I have not had an adult OBT run out of a enclosure when feeding or watering them unless I bug them.
Smaller slings and Juvenal's, another story, it has happened a couple times. But, smaller tarantula's are easier to handle and allot less
aggressive when out of their enclosure. But you have to bear in mind, at any given time they can still bite you.
The picture is of a OBT that was given to me 5 months into my hobby, that got out of it's container when I was cleaning the plastic
container.



As some members have suggested, that you start with a small sling, which you have done, which is perfect!!
A small sling is far from aggressive at this stage, so you can handle it (with care) and work with the spider much easier and grow with it.

I don't know you personally or know your experience level with tarantulas, but I'm a firm believer in taking the leap and see the outcome.
The only way you know you are ready, is to give it try, if you feel that it is to much you can sell or trade your spider for something else.
So best of luck and enjoy your spider!!:biggrin:
Post some photo's when it arrives and been moved into it's new place.

Tips on "handling"

I have only ever re-housed my OBT's 2 to 3 times, from sling to adult.
Also had a communal of 12 OBT's from sling to adult females, that was a challenge at best of times.:exhausted:

While the spider is still small and you need to re-house the spider, your bath tub is the place to be.
When your spider gets to 8cm and bigger, the bath room becomes to much of a confined space to be able to work safe with a fast spider.
The lawn is the next safe place to do any future re-housing, you have a wide open space which allows your spider to bolt if it needs to and
gives you the space to move out of the way.
The benefit of the lawn? The grass will slow the spider down and the spider will come to a stop shortly after leaving the enclosure, all you do is put the new enclosure in front of the spider, encourage the spider to climb up the side of the new tank and over the spider goes and
bobs your uncle, less stress for you.
This is also a perfect opportunity to take some photo's of your awesome spider.

Here is a photo of my girlfriend holding her female P murinus
It was given to her at that size.
This size of OBT is where I drew the line to handle. My girlfriend really wanted to handle her spider so I helped her take it out and onto her
hand. Not saying that every one must go out and hold an OBT, it is just showing that they are not this mean biting machine, out to bite
everything that moves!!!! everything in moderation.

View attachment 114923


After year in the hobby I got to point where I treat my tarantulas like you would treat venomous snakes, with care and respect and they
stay in their enclosure.

Again, enjoy the new addition, they are stunning spiders.