Psalmopoeus personalities

[MissHarlen]

At my next expo I'm hoping to get a few Psalmopoeus slings from my usual lady who always has an amazing selection (seriously, almost every pokie). I'm interested in getting P. cambrigei, P. irminia, and P. pulchra. What can you guys tell me about the difference in behavior and personality between these 3 species?

 

[GreyPsyche]

I really like my gfs P. Cam, gorgeous, fast growing and just interesting behavior in general. Awesome Ts!

She also has a P Irminia but it's a recent purchase and I haven't gotten much personality from her besides the initial stress curl from unpacking and a bolt of beauty when we first fed her a few days later. O

 

[sasker]

Never owned any of the genus, but they are definitely high on my wish list. What I found out so far is that the P. cambrigei is the most laid back of these three. They grow the largest and are out in the open more. P. irminia is said to be the most psychotic and unpredictable of these three. You won't see them as much as the P. cam either as they getting more reclusive as they grow larger. The P. pulcher (not pulchra, it's not a Grammastola ) is somewhere in between, but not too bad.

Again, I am just repeating what I found out in my own search on the matter. There are plenty of threats on this board that mention Psalmopoeus, so make good use of the search bar and you will be able to find more first hand experience.

 

[Ungoliant]

I have only kept Psalmopoeus cambridgei, and I've only had her for a few months, so I can't give any comparisons from firsthand experience. However, P. cambridgei gets the biggest, is most likely to be out on display (when it's bigger), and is the least defensive. P. irminia tends to be the most reclusive and defensive. P. pulcher is somewhere between the two.

@cold blood has a lot of experience with Psalmopoeus and may be able to add more.

Here are some recent threads that discuss this genus:

• Psalmopoeus
• P. Irminia or P. Cambridgei
• How often do you see your P. irminia?
• Psalmopoeus cambridgei Vs. Psalmopoeus irminia

 

[johnny quango]

I have a psalmopoeus cambridgei juvenile that I received as a freebie with an order. I never actually wanted a P cam I always lent towards P pulcher however after only a couple of days I was so glad I'd kept it. Mine tends to be out and about quite a bit, it as a great feeding response and as shown zero defensive behaviour towards me. It's gone from a 2cm sling to a 3" juvenile in around a year so I'd say it's also been fast growing. All this is based around mine and others may tell you there's are defensive, shy, bad eaters etc as we all know each is a little different

 

[KezyGLA]

P. Cambridgei - fast, less reclusive as irminia and pulcher, up to 7"
P. irminia - beautiful, fast, feisty, reclusive, up to 6"
P. pulcher - fast, feisty, fairly reclusive, up to 6"

 

[mconnachan]

I have a psalmopoeus cambridgei juvenile that I received as a freebie with an order. I never actually wanted a P cam I always lent towards P pulcher however after only a couple of days I was so glad I'd kept it. Mine tends to be out and about quite a bit, it as a great feeding response and as shown zero defensive behaviour towards me. It's gone from a 2cm sling to a 3" juvenile in around a year so I'd say it's also been fast growing. All this is based around mine and others may tell you there's are defensive, shy, bad eaters etc as we all know each is a little different

I'd say you were pretty spot on with your description, P. pulcher are beautiful, P. irminia are feisty, reclusive and defensive, still a stunning Psalmo, P. cambridgei are the most stunning, laid back, beautiful of all three, they're just awesome - and they're mostly out on display, from what I've researched and heard. I own none of these but I will own them all one day - hopefully sooner than later.

 

[Andrea82]

I've had two P.irminia slings, a MM P.cambridgei and I'm raising two P.pulcher slings. The two irminia I gave away after reaching the conclusion that I got them too soon. They were extremely defensive, actually chasing my tongs and threatposing if I breathed wrong. (Back then, my most defensive species was a L.parahybana. I really wasn't ready).
The MM is grumpy, but given he is 2+ years mature, he's entitled to it.
The two pulchers are night and day, and their temperament changes after each molt, but the core traits are that I see them when they're hungry or after I added a lot of water to their enclosures. (I keep them a little humid, they seem to appreciate that by being out more).
They're fast and a bit nervous, zipping for their burrows/webtunnels as soon as I touch their enclosures. One will come out of its burrow if I accidentally breathe on it, furiously threatposing and slapping. The other just hides more.
They're beautiful though. Peach colour with slightly darker markings on their feet.
A trait all Psalmopoeus have is lulling you to being confident by moving slowly, only to do a runner when you least expect it, so stay sharp

 

[Leila]

A trait all Psalmopoeus have is lulling you to being confident by moving slowly, only to do a runner when you least expect it, so stay sharp

This.

So frickin true. Lol.

 

[cold blood]

Psalms are just the best!

Mating Psalmopoeus irminia

• cold blood
• May 3, 2017
• female irminia male mating mature female mature male psalmopoeus psalmopoeus irminia suntiger tarantula venezuelan suntiger tarantula

irminia...hubba hubba

Resized952017030395145946

• cold blood
• Mar 3, 2017
• 3

cam dumpster

Psalmopoeus cambridgei

• cold blood
• Mar 11, 2017
• 7
• cambridgei psalmopoeus psalmopoeus cambridgei trinidad chevron tarantula

cam...the camster..the caminator, the cam-meister...Dr. Camenstein...Cam-a-lama-ding-dong...mass...

Resized952017040695224617

• cold blood
• Apr 7, 2017

irminia female #2

20170421_224427

• cold blood
• Apr 21, 2017

AF irminia

 

[TyjTheMighty]

I got a 2inch female P. cam as a freebie (my T dealer is awesome, and I buy way too many Ts) a few months ago, and I bought a P. irminia sling around the same time. I pretty much never get to see my P. irminia. And I'm pretty much in love with my P. cam, watching her take down prey is the best! Plus she's really tidy, she puts all her boluses and molts in a corner on the opposite end of her enclosure for me

 

[Nightstalker47]

All require the same care. I currently have all three of these species, if you have to prioritize on one or the other I would do it in this order.

P.cambridgei > P.irminia > P.pulcher.

 

[Venom1080]

irminia are A-holes. They hide alot and are skittish. But MAN those colors are great.

cambrigei, more skittish than anything. But wow are they out alot. My 4" female is almost never hiding when not in premolt.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Genus Psalmopoeus is the best arboreal genus ever. A complete one.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Psalmopoeus is quite an interesting genus to keep, I currently have irminia, cambridgei, pulcher (all juveniles) and an ecclesiasticus sling.

irminia - Everyone says they're the most defensive and reclusive, mine is obviously a freak as she is the calmest, most visible and easiest to work with out of the lot, she's only bolted on me once (as a sling) and she's never given me a threat posture (she did once threat posture at and slap a roach when she was in premoult though) and she's the only one that's never really burrowed (she's built a large web chamber just above ground with multiple exits). I think they max out at about 6".
pulcher - Easily the most reclusive, skittish and defensive of the bunch, he was initially prone to bolting in random directions when spooked, tends to either run straight to the bottom of his web tube/burrow or throw up a threat posture now, has burrowed quite a bit as well as web up a lot of the enclosure. One of the smaller species that max out at between 5"-6".
cambridgei - Somewhere in the middle of the other two, pretty skittish and reclusive, it bolts straight to its hide at the slightest disturbance but I've never seen a threat posture from it, best feeding response out of the lot (they are all great eaters though), has excavated a large chamber under its cork tube but not really webbed much from what I can see. Biggest of the genus and max out at around 7".

 

[Leila]

@The Grym Reaper, how big is your ecclesiasticus sling?
My juvie is about 3 inches; it is incredibly skittish and reclusive, but I've yet to see any defensive behavior.
What about yours?

 

[The Grym Reaper]

@The Grym Reaper, how big is your ecclesiasticus sling?
My juvie is about 3 inches; it is incredibly skittish and reclusive, but I've yet to see any defensive behavior.
What about yours?

A little under an inch, it's a little skittish at times but generally pretty chill.

 

[mconnachan]

All require the same care. I currently have all three of these species, if you have to prioritize on one or the other I would do it in this order.

P.cambridgei > P.irminia > P.pulcher.

Prioritise - please clarify what you are meaning, care, temperament, defensiveness, or all three - if you can please that would clarify any doubts, cheers @Nightstalker47

 

[Nightstalker47]

Prioritise - please clarify what you are meaning, care, temperament, defensiveness, or all three - if you can please that would clarify any doubts, cheers @Nightstalker47

I meant if she had to choose one of the three species to prioritize in that order.

P.cambridgei > P.irminia > P.pulcher.

Basically I ranked them in line with my preference.

 

[mconnachan]

I meant if she had to choose one of the three species to prioritize in that order.

Basically I ranked them in line with my preference.

Ok I get your meaning by prioritize - they're all stunning species, I don't have any of these ATM but I will do - sooner than later - P. irminia IMO is an awesome spider, those lighting swooshes are a sight to behold, absolutely stunning!