Overrated and underrated tarantulas

[Cmac2111]

IMO:

Overrated:
A. genic. No hate fantastic T but some folks act as if it is the holy grail of spiders... It looks good & is large, has a good appetite, is easy to care for, stays out a lot; all great things about them but many other species do this just as well and get nowhere near the reverence of this species. The main thing l liked about my girl was how little she cost in comparison to some of my pampho/phormic sp, great bang for your buck that I must say. Again, not saying it is a bad species but the fact that it is held so far above so many other equally as awesome T's (lasiodora, nhandu sp etc)... I just don't get it personally.

Underrated:
Nhandu's in general, for all the reasons @spideyspinneret78 described. Thrixopelma cyaneolum: stunning coloration, usually has an even temperament, a good eater in my experience, amazing excavators, out a lot, smaller size but still large enough for those who don't want anything too little, easy as pie to care for... I just see no weak point to this species other than availability, perhaps if there were more of them out there they would get the recognition they absolutely deserve.

 

[Spinnenfritzi]

@Tentacle Toast If i am completely honest a P. subfusca lowland was often a short visitor of my shoppingcart...

 

[Tentacle Toast]

@Tentacle Toast If i am completely honest a P. subfusca lowland was often a short visitor of my shoppingcart...

"Was," indeed...

 

[fiendish foe]

T. blondi, sorry to any fans out there. Being a species that's both defensive and as large as they are, I just don't see the appeal.

 

[Tbone192]

Basically any blue tarantula is immediately overrated by the hobby. Most become ridiculously expensive immediately. They are beautiful but they are just vastly overrated.

As for underrated species I would have to say Chilobrachys Fimbriatus. I'm sure people like them but I almost never hear any praise for them. Their patterns and coloration never ceases to amaze me. On top of that they are usually quite inexpensive.

Gotta be honest I love all Chilobrachys sp I come across. Some of which happen to be blue. My C dyscolus are among my favorite Ts. C fimbriatus are gorgeous and have a lot of personality for sure, was caring for one for a pal, definitely on my life list.

IMO Poecilotheria rufilata, Psalmopoeus cambridgei, Chilobrachys dyscolus, and Orphnaecus philippinus are underrated and overshadowed by Poecilotheria metallica, Psalmopoeus irminia, Chilobrachys natanicharum, and Pterinochilus murinus, respectively. Do not get me wrong I absolutely adore all the T's I just mentioned. That being said, I have noticed the love tends to diffuse towards the "more visually stunning" ones.

Take O philippinus for example. This is a bright orange Asian fossorial with an attitude. Most people new to OWs often go straight for the OBT though, which fair enough. This is another vibrant orange T but with more markings, and just as expressive. Both are awesome but OBT gets all the attention, in terms of orange Ts.

 

[synthz]

Pulchra are really fun to keep because they bulldoze the enclosure every day and make the weirdest dirt mounds, plus they eat really well and don't hide much.

Mines married to its hide at this point,she Peeks out sometimes loll

 

[AphixLights]

underrated; neostenotarsus... I think they're just so beautiful and I love the greens that they have, both french guiana and suriname. Might be a shame to some that they're burrowers but I think it makes it all the more special when you do finally get to see them pop up to stalk for a feed.

 

[TechnoGeek]

Overrated: T seladonia, tiny trapdoor spiders meaning you'll almost never see them if you keep them properly. Most old world Ts that are fossorials as well for the same reason. They're still admirable animals but imho have no value as pets.

Underrated: The Brachypelma genus, they're usually considered too common or beginner pets so more advanced keepers look down on them which makes no sense to me cause they're some of the best looking inverts on earth. T vagans are good eaters and gorgeous.

Also somewhat underrated: T blondi, a lot of people say things like just get a T stirmi and save some money or that they're just another big brown spider.. first off, for the life of me, I just don't get how an 11 to 12 inch spider with monstrous appetite isn't literally stunning. 2nd, there's no comparing them to T stirmi IMHO. Blondi is much more pinkish/purple especially after a fresh molt, and they're significantly less spicy than stirmi and apophysis in my experience. They're still bolty and skittish especially as juvis, but they're not as skittish and no way near as defensive. My T apophysis would hiss and slap at me for almost no reason at all, while me T blondi is extremely well behaved.

 

[ant ramblings]

I will only talk about the 70 odd spiders I actually own.
overrated first
My balfs have just not really inspired me yet even when compared to similar ow burrowing spiders .
Then my c.versi has not really grabbed me the way I expected apart from the constant paranoia I was going to kill it when it was tiny , but this could change .
That's it ,I probably have about 15 other spiders that could loosely fit this bracket but it's unfair as they are still very small slings and not had a chance to shine .
Underrated from collection would be my A.hentzi ,p.muticus,s.calceatum,g.pulchripes,a. avic,b.horrida,d.pentaloris. And all my 7 dwarfs .

I think g.pulchra is overpriced but not overrated mine is one of my friendliest and most active little spiders even if it doesn't want to grow very fast.

 

[Arachno32]

Overrated: T seladonia, tiny trapdoor spiders meaning you'll almost never see them if you keep them properly. Most old world Ts that are fossorials as well for the same reason. They're still admirable animals but imho have no value as pets.

Underrated: The Brachypelma genus, they're usually considered too common or beginner pets so more advanced keepers look down on them which makes no sense to me cause they're some of the best looking inverts on earth. T vagans are good eaters and gorgeous.

Also somewhat underrated: T blondi, a lot of people say things like just get a T stirmi and save some money or that they're just another big brown spider.. first off, for the life of me, I just don't get how an 11 to 12 inch spider with monstrous appetite isn't literally stunning. 2nd, there's no comparing them to T stirmi IMHO. Blondi is much more pinkish/purple especially after a fresh molt, and they're significantly less spicy than stirmi and apophysis in my experience. They're still bolty and skittish especially as juvis, but they're not as skittish and no way near as defensive. My T apophysis would hiss and slap at me for almost no reason at all, while me T blondi is extremely well behaved.

Odds of T blondi getting 11 to 12 inch is near zero, heck 10 inch is already very rarely achieved

 

[TechnoGeek]

Odds of T blondi getting 11 to 12 inch is near zero, heck 10 inch is already very rarely achieved

10 inches is the default size, 11 inches isn't uncommon and 12 is where it gets rare.

 

[Arachno32]

10 inches is the default size, 11 inches isn't uncommon and 12 is where it gets rare.

Only one male t blondi reached 12 inches and holds the world record for longest t. I have yet to see a 11 inch blondi next to a ruler

 

[SpookySpooder]

Does everybody commenting on T. seladonia have experience with one? Or are y'all parroting rhetoric based on what you assume their behavior is like?

Well, I will concede that you can make an assessment about something without personally experiencing it.

I just prefer to try things before I knock them.

IME, I see mine quite often. More than my fossorials for sure. Especially when they're hungry or thirsty.


I got one that will switch between locations. It's working on a third curtain right now.

The third one abandoned it's trapdoor. I think it needs a bigger hole.

Overrated: those generic big brown/black T's that are "so spicy" and "so defensive"