Overrated and underrated tarantulas

[Craig73]

This is a very under represented species, but not underrated. They are rarely offered in Canada and are gone in a heartbeat. They seem to be more difficult to breed than other Avicularia. I know several people who have tried and never gotten a successful egg sac and then, in a blink, all the males are gone.

Overrated: Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens, Pterinochilus murinus.
Underrated: All dwarfs, Neoholothele incei, Brachypelma albiceps, Phormictopus cancerides.

Good way to put it. If I ever tried pairing this would be at the top of the list. I have several Dwarfs coming in tomorrow. I should have pulled the trigger on the Minatrix, but wasn’t thinking because if I ever did pair this would be one I would want to.

 

[liquidfluidity]

Underrated - N. chromatus - beautiful and great eater and gets decent size with attitude

Overrated - been said but all blue OWs

 

[Jess S]

Underrated is Aphonopelma seemani. You see a photo and think, meh. See one up close though and you have to stop to admire it's beautiful clean, sharp white leg stripes.

They are forever rearranging their enclosures, and filling their water dishes with substrate. Very interesting and entertaining little characters. Yes they burrow and can fast for long periods. But so do a lot of other more higly rated species.

Here's mine admiring the view out of the window of her new home.

 

[USNGunner]

I'm the noop, but honestly feel this is a false premise. Each species is unique. I find that fascinating.

Personally I like the brightly colored ones and the dwarves. I have a GBB, C. Versicolor and 3 of the dwarf species. All slings.

They are the ones I liked the most after researching the bejeebers out of them with my grandson when he got his B. hamorii which I'm likeing more all the time. So I got them.

We all have our own scales of desire. To each their own.

 

[Butterbean83]

Great thread.

My jaw dropped that people have A. geniculata as overrated? No way! Best large T around IMO.

Overrated?
P. murinus - never see it, so unfortunate because theyre beautiful
G. pulchra - overpriced
L. parahybana - some sellers actually have slings @$20-$25 a pop LOL they arent worth any more than $10 and thats pushing it. Boring colors and the appetite is too hyped.



Underrated?
N. incei - speed demon, great appetite and color
A. geniculata - I think some of you forgot. White Knees are a starving tiger trapped in a tarantulas body. I swear the amount of times Ive dropped my tongs or jumped from them coming after me is quite the show.
T. vagans - beautiful adult colors, ferocious appetite, and have quite the variety of temperaments.
T. albopilosum - a great all around T, always out and about. Hardy, long lived, good eaters, and interesting personalities.

Sorry to dog up an old thread but searches this as looking to get my first T and have to say A Geniculata and N Incei Gold are both on my list. I see a lot of love for the curly hair and they're not a bad looking species. I'm not really a fan of The red knee, leg etc type Brachys or the Chilean Rose. A Geniculata I overlooked a lot until I saw a few adults and heard about their great feeding response, not complete psychos and no problems feeding and on display a lot, I didn't know until lately they had that lovely red sheen to them as adults. G Pulchra take the P price wise considering they're not fast growers either. Loving this thread though as although I've done plenty of research it's always great to get the view of all the experienced keepers

 

[Matt Man]

Sorry to dog up an old thread but searches this as looking to get my first T and have to say A Geniculata and N Incei Gold are both on my list. I see a lot of love for the curly hair and they're not a bad looking species. I'm not really a fan of The red knee, leg etc type Brachys or the Chilean Rose. A Geniculata I overlooked a lot until I saw a few adults and heard about their great feeding response, not complete psychos and no problems feeding and on display a lot, I didn't know until lately they had that lovely red sheen to them as adults. G Pulchra take the P price wise considering they're not fast growers either. Loving this thread though as although I've done plenty of research it's always great to get the view of all the experienced keepers

when you see a real good example of a Chilean Rose Hair. your opinion may change. The rosy glow is pretty infectious

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

when you see a real good example of a Chilean Rose Hair. your opinion may change. The rosy glow is pretty infectious

That’s the most underrated t besides the lp. Both are some of my favorites.

 

[campj]

Overrated: all the NW terrestrial pet rocks (most Grammostola, Brachypelma, Lasiodora)

Underrated: African arboreals. They have such bad reputations as being demon spiders, but they're really interesting, hardy, and beautiful. It has always astonished me that Stromatopelma and Heteroscodra slings are so cheap and difficult to sell. I wish Encyocratella would drop in price!

 

[Kada]

Seems P. metallica is so over rated based on how beautiful, good eating, usually on display they are. I fail to see the over part of over rated with them haha.

 

[GarField000]

Overrated ..... well. I have some species I don't like. But other love them. So what does it mater . H.gigas .. I will never own one. LP. Never (allthough I got an L.stratipes in my first mysterybox and do live the beast).

Underrated: A.geniculata ...I can't get enough off this one. I buy a sling ... and when it has it's adult colours I buy a new one ....... and so on and on .... I have 1.1.2 now and it's time for a new one .
They are great eaters. You can throw in anything like the T.blondi. If they do not eat you know it will molt the upcoming week. And for me they look amazing.
Slings are so cheap and higly available so I won't be selling mine so I might have to stop at 5 .

 

[catboyeuthanasia]

Overrated: any species where they have an acronym for their common name. I thought the whole point of common names was to make things easier to read. Just use a Latin name!

Underrated: dwarf species, amblypygids. Dwarfs are so pretty, and the ones that I have had are great eaters. Lots of blacks, reds and oranges give them a very Halloween vibe.

Amblygypids are the much less popular giant spindly arachnid pet, but they have some really cool traits. The pedipalps are crazy looking and some species can get huge in terms of legspan. These things are much lighter than Ts, which makes them a lot sturdier to falls, but more fragile in terms of breaking limbs.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

This is an answer best given by breeders and vendors on what sells the most compared to what doesn't.

IMO in regards to this old thread.....beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

[DonLouchese]

With the love for all the tarantulas this answere is always hard to give. It's not a "hate" sign to the species itself if you count it as overrated. But yeah there are multiple tarantulas that go in the shadows because of the throne that some are "sitting" on.

So called "overrated" :

- G. pulchra
.
.
.
- A. geniculata
- P. metallica
.
.
- GBB
- B. hamorii
- M. balfouri
- H. sp. Colombia
- C. natanicharum
- P. irminia
- C. lividus
- P. murinus

Underrated :

- B. albiceps
- B. auratum
- N. tripepii
- P. pulcher
- Thrixopelma sp.
- Ceratogyrus sp.
- Pamphobeteus sp.

 

[Spinnenfritzi]

I think Brachypelma are underrated... I especially dislike the "beginners T" tag...


I love my B. klaasi she is active every day (just in a relaxed manner) and eats like a monster...



Overrated ...i Just can't relate to the " I have dangerous Spider"... crowd.
I think some spiders are especially loved because they are "oldworlds".

Dont get me wrong i really love my P. murinus!

 

[Tentacle Toast]

Overrated: what YOU like...
Underrated: what I like...

For realzies though, all terrestrials suck ass, & the Holy Grail is OW arboreals. Hate for the Gooty is just jealousy manifest; same low-energy lament crippled peasants have for their King....

 

[Spinnenfritzi]

I oddly resonate with the low-energy lament crippled peasent.
Still wont touch your Gooty

 

[spideyspinneret78]

All subjective, of course. This is just my opinion.

Overrated:
- T. seladonia. Beautiful and unique, but the high price tag and all the hype surrounding them just isn't deserved in my opinion.
- H. chilense They're cute, but they take forever to grow out of the sling stage and are very expensive for what you get.

Underrated
- Nhandu species. Big, fluffy, colorful, and spicy. Can't go wrong with one of these.
- G. rosea. A lot of people think that they are just 'beginner' species that are basically pet rocks. Not at all from my experience. Pink, fluffy, and surprisingly active. Although they grow slowly, females live for practically an eternity.
- P. cambridgei. Basically the perfect tarantula all in one package. Green, extremely food motivated, always out at night, get to an impressive size.
- S. calceatum. They have a reputation for being aggressive and reclusive. I see my female out surprisingly often once it's dark. She's an incredible hunter and has beautiful markings on her carapace and abdomen. She's very skittish, but I've never seen defensive behavior from her, although each specimen is different.
- Aphonopelma genus in general. Yes they grow slowly. At a glacial pace, actually. But there are a lot of unique, beautiful spiders in this genus. Think A. mooreae, A. moderatum, A. pallidum, A. burica, etc,

 

[ADHDARACHN1D]

H.Maculata Are Very Underrated In My Opinion

 

[catboyeuthanasia]

I'm just here to read hot takes and maybe see a fight or two.

A lot of you don't know this but Gootys are actually supposed to be gold and white. All the black and blue photos are just a trick of the light .

 

[Scoot]

Still wont touch your Gooty

@Spinnenfritzi you sound like my other half.

Joking aside, and although obviously subjective, this is an interesting topic to track what seems to go in and out of 'fashion' in the hobby.

It seems to me that Phormictopus are underrated, at least when compared with the apparent status of Pamphobeteus.

Lasiodora klugi doesn't seem to get much love. I always find that odd.

Neoholothele incei seem exceedingly cheap (at least here in the UK) for such active little beauties.

Contrastingly, there's an easy formula for instant over-hype:
1. Take a boring brown Asian fossorial. It doesn't particularly matter what it looks like, no-one will ever see it.
2. Call it 'newly-introduced' and sling a vaguely 'Eastern'-sounding epithet on it, something like 'bang bang tuk tuk militia' ©
3. Call it 'spicy' in character.
Sit back on your throne of €¥$