P. metallica - should I get it or not?

[Helix]

Hi guys.
I just got back home with P. Metallica sling. Its 1.5 inch and actually a bit bigger then declared.
Im feel happy that I got it.. if I had room for only one Poecilotheria in my collection, Im glad its metallica.

Thnx for the advices once more..and feel free to add some more..specially if you have some usefull tricks about rehousing them, since little bugger already took a swing at my forceps when I was unwrapping him
...he/she might be problematic as a teenager

@james - I understand what youre saying..it would be nice to produce a sack one day..but the problem is that the tarantula market and interest for them is relatively small in my country... and even if I wanted to give them all away, I think I wouldnt be able to find home for even half of the slings from the sack. ( except for maybe species with less then 100 slings per sack)

 

[mattking164]

i would get it there very nice Ts. if you think you are ready only you no if your ready not how my months or years you have been keeping them. like me i have had a rose hair for about 7 months and i no i can manage a cobalt blue so i have ordered one for tuesday with a eqadorian(sorry cant spell)purple pink toe. good luck

 

[Talkenlate04]

Where's the video @ :?

I say go for it dude, you will be fine as long as you use your head and respect the T. hopefully ill have 1 on Saturday if anyone has them at the show.

I have held her plenty of times. I know what I am doing. I have just not had the time to sit down and make a video of that. I have to many orders to get together at the moment. When I have free time I am sure I can get something posted.

 

[Steve Calceatum]

Hi guys.
I just got back home with P. Metallica sling. Its 1.5 inch and actually a bit bigger then declared.
Im feel happy that I got it.. if I had room for only one Poecilotheria in my collection, Im glad its metallica.

Thnx for the advices once more..and feel free to add some more..specially if you have some usefull tricks about rehousing them, since little bugger already took a swing at my forceps when I was unwrapping him
...he/she might be problematic as a teenager

@james - I understand what youre saying..it would be nice to produce a sack one day..but the problem is that the tarantula market and interest for them is relatively small in my country... and even if I wanted to give them all away, I think I wouldnt be able to find home for even half of the slings from the sack. ( except for maybe species with less then 100 slings per sack)

Congrats!!!! When I started keeping T's, I came across a pic of one and went: " I must have THAT ONE!!!!!"

Don't worry about your specimen being problematic. You'd bite the forceps too if you got packed up, shipped off, and upon being unpacked, Gargantua was poking at you with a long pair of tweezers. Right now, your little guy is probably frightened, and needs time to settle in.

Good luck, you lucky SOB!!! ;P

 

[robc]

I have held her plenty of times. I know what I am doing. I have just not had the time to sit down and make a video of that. I have to many orders to get together at the moment. When I have free time I am sure I can get something posted.

I have seen a vid of you holding her, it was about a 5-6" female ans she was just walking from hand to hand, no threats at all.

 

[JDeRosa]

Hmmm. my P. Metallica is VERY skittish and I would rather, and have, handle my HMAC first. My P. Metallica even threw me a threat posture once.

 

[Talkenlate04]

Hmmm. my P. Metallica is VERY skittish and I would rather, and have, handle my HMAC first. My P. Metallica even threw me a threat posture once.

There is no way Id handle an H mac over a metallica.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKZnQrH_Ei0

 

[Tarac]

+1 Talken, the Togo is a real beast (part of the charm, no?), I would never touch mine unless I was feeling masochistic. That said, I don't handle any of my Pokies and generally avoid handling even my puppy-dog docile Ts simply to minimize any potential risk. If you never pick them up without reason then they will never bolt/bite/fall/escape/etc. When I do have to relocate for cleaning and rehousing I do it in a tub with smooth sides just in case. For small specimens that are being scaled up in housing, sometimes I just open the vial and put it inside the new enclosure, allowing the T to come out at it's leisure. Of course sometimes they try to keep the vial as their hide, at which point the paint brush comes out.

I've only had my P. metallica for a short time (merry very early Christmas to myself ), just one molt in my care and still only about 5cm. But I notice the same thing that an earlier poster noted- much harder to get them out of their enclosure than to keep them in. All my Pokies are like that in fact, tend to hide rather than run, or run in circles around the enclosure but never out. My other Pokies make veiled threats here and there, metallica hasn't yet but it's still pretty small so might change when it feels a little tougher at a larger size. It's really nice though- more than nice- even at this tiny size it's already getting the blue glow that we all ooh and aah over. Gratz on your new purchase, they really are gems.

 

[toast4nat]

Gratz on your new purchase, they really are gems.

Or uh... two year old purchase yay for random thread revivals!

 

[ijmccollum]

Or uh... two year old purchase yay for random thread revivals!

Oh Wow! I checked this thread because I have been torn between A. metalica and P. metalica. There is a huge price difference but one is suppose to be more hardy than the other. I have terrestrials and wanted to try an aboreal....with colour. Right now I have G. pulchra and L. klugi and parahybana.

 

[Comatose]

They're two very different spiders. You might start with another poecilotheria species if you're leaning towards metallica, or, if you want a stunning avicularia I recommend A. amzonica, or even A. versicolor.

Good luck!

 

[ijmccollum]

They're two very different spiders. You might start with another poecilotheria species if you're leaning towards metallica, or, if you want a stunning avicularia I recommend A. amzonica, or even A. versicolor.

Good luck!

Thanks for the response. Yeh, I was aware they are totaly diff and am kind of intimidated by the Gooty and was leaning toward the Avics -- will check out the ones you recommended.

Wow, the A. versicolor looks pretty stunning considering I had contemplated a green bottle blue -- I know totaly different spider but the colours are reminicent. I really would like to try an aboreal.

 

[Comatose]

Look at versicolor for sure... a hobby standard and a stunner.

 

[ijmccollum]

Look at versicolor for sure... a hobby standard and a stunner.

Many thanks, will do.

 

[grayzone]

def get the pokie... a versi too...

 

[Midknight xrs]

Oh Wow! I checked this thread because I have been torn between A. metalica and P. metalica. There is a huge price difference but one is suppose to be more hardy than the other. I have terrestrials and wanted to try an aboreal....with colour. Right now I have G. pulchra and L. klugi and parahybana.

I've been thinking with the few pennies i have left to get one. As for color, Avic. versicolor is awesome color, Avic. metallica is not bad, but my guys are still a little small. I think this Christmas I will be getting a P. metallica though.

 

[ijmccollum]

I'm just not sure I am ready for a pokie -- although the P. metalica is gorgeous!

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

P metallica is a very easy to care for pokie I got mine & am surprized its a lot less skittish /prone to bolting then any of my other pokies
my Female & Male P ornata have both BOLTED.. & teleported outa there cages to try & escape
P Ornata is more of a ADvanced pokie...
A versicolor TBH... looks just as good as P Metallica ..except adult female P Met.. is hard to beat

 

[jb62]

I had the same worry about poeciotheria and I asked owners/breeders on Facebook from other forums and every one told me that pokies run and hide before they would ever bite.
I now have two metallica slings,one regalis sling,two pederseni's a female subadult and possibly a juvi male,a subfusca lowland grown on juvi and a formosa subadult female and a juvi miranda..
None of them have at any time tried to make a run for it and normally just move to corkbark or keep still then walk away.
I keep my slings in a 7x5 container so once big enough I'll just remove the lid and place in the main tank so they can come out on their own.
then I'll remove the small container with no worries.
So I'd say go and get the gooty.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

I had the same worry about poeciotheria and I asked owners/breeders on Facebook from other forums and every one told me that pokies run and hide before they would ever bite.
I now have two metallica slings,one regalis sling,two pederseni's a female subadult and possibly a juvi male,a subfusca lowland grown on juvi and a formosa subadult female and a juvi miranda..
None of them have at any time tried to make a run for it and normally just move to corkbark or keep still then walk away.
I keep my slings in a 7x5 container so once big enough I'll just remove the lid and place in the main tank so they can come out on their own.
then I'll remove the small container with no worries.
So I'd say go and get the gooty.

Once your pokies all reach juvie size ...there personality shows;.. some Ts JUST love to BOLT.. I guess others are more relaxed
theres no set caresheet for such a Un-predicatable spider...Personality & agressivness Varyies with every T.. Regardless of species
my B Vagans thinks its a OBT...LOL