Salmon Pink Birdeater or Cobalt Blue
- Thread starter joebarry
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Go with the Salmon Pink (L. parahybana). They grow really quickly, eat like machines, get huge, and are out all the time. Did I mention that they are very inexpensive, and sometimes free??
The Cobalt Blue (H. lividum) is beautiful, but you will literally never see it. It will dig a very deep burrow and stay there. You won't know when it has molted. It will disappear for 6 months, and then you'll catch a fleeting glimpse and find it to be 2" larger. Then it will disappear again. You will have little more than an expensive box of dirt to look at.
L. parahybana are easy in every way. They require no special care or setup.
The Cobalt Blue (H. lividum) is beautiful, but you will literally never see it. It will dig a very deep burrow and stay there. You won't know when it has molted. It will disappear for 6 months, and then you'll catch a fleeting glimpse and find it to be 2" larger. Then it will disappear again. You will have little more than an expensive box of dirt to look at.
L. parahybana are easy in every way. They require no special care or setup.
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Get the L. parahybana now, and save the H. lividum for a little later. If you're fairly new to the hobby, you will much prefer the gratification of seeing and interacting with your giant hairy spider. What fun is a blue spider if you have to convince your friends that it's actually in there? People that do have Cobalt Blue's usually have several other Ts to look at, so they don't mind almost never seeing it.
Amanda pretty much covered it. As cool as my H lividum is, I have not seen it in months. My L para, on the other hand, is rarely hiding.
To buy one, you could order from someone on the For Sale/Trade forum on here, but I would recommend looking around at local pet stores and animal shows first. It will save you shipping costs.
To buy one, you could order from someone on the For Sale/Trade forum on here, but I would recommend looking around at local pet stores and animal shows first. It will save you shipping costs.
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- Jun 29, 2008
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You should be able to purchase an L.p. from a multitude of these folks: http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/forumdisplay.php?f=24
They are very good if you want to be able to see something in the terrarium.
If you get a sling, you don't need a container any larger than twice it's size. Having said that, you'll need to rehouse a few times a year because they grow swiftly. I have a 20 gallon set up for mine.
They are very good if you want to be able to see something in the terrarium.
If you get a sling, you don't need a container any larger than twice it's size. Having said that, you'll need to rehouse a few times a year because they grow swiftly. I have a 20 gallon set up for mine.
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- May 26, 2008
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If you buy a female LP and plan to keep her until the end of her life, a minimum 10 gallon tank must be in your plan. I have a 8" in a 10 gallon and she's crawling and using very bit of it.
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I like the LP because they grow quick, eat a ton, and are a bit feisty. Not to mention that they are darned near indestructible.
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My LP is a great pet. Easy to care for and always out where it can be seen. My HL is still a good pet but I'd think it was dead if it wasn't for all of the crickets disappearing.
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Another nice thing about LP is that they're cheap enough that you can buy a 2" or so specimen without breaking the bank. $20-$30 should get you a T that looks like a real tarantula, not a tiny baby tarantula...
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To set it up, you will need an appropriately-sized container, some clean dirt, some kind of water dish, and something for it to hide under. Any other decorations (little statues, fake plants, etc.) are entirely up to you because the spider won't care one way or another.
I'm positive that any L. parahybana you buy now won't be nearly large enough for a 10gal yet, so don't worry about that. Shop around on the dealer's sites and choose whatever size you want and can afford. Tell us how big the listing says it is, and we can give you suggestions on good containers before you actually buy it. Trust me that anybody with parahybana spiderlings to sell certainly isn't going to run out of them any time soon, so you'll have time to choose it and then get the setup right before you order.
The substrate you choose needs to be clean. Dirt out of your yard will have bugs or mold spores in it. I like to buy the smallest bag of the cheapest soil from a garden department. Just make sure that it has NO added fertilizers or pesticides! Don't buy Miracle Grow or anything like that. Some people buy coconut fiber in bricks from the pet store. That will work too.
For water, it depends on the size of the spider. Water bottle caps, milk bottle caps and tiny glass bowls work great. Again, it depends on the size of the spider.
To hide under, larger spiders will use a coconut shell hide that you can get at the pet store. With the small ones, I've used a seashell (not the spirally kind) or a single leaf off of a fake plant.
Setting up can be fun and creative. Providing for their basic needs is very simple. How you make it look can be really exciting. Check out the photo threads on the board if you need any inspiration.
Like I said... pick a size (The size listed refers to the diagonal legspan measured from the first leg on one side to the last leg on the other.) and let us know. Then we can be more specific with our advice.
HAVE FUN SHOPPING!
I'm positive that any L. parahybana you buy now won't be nearly large enough for a 10gal yet, so don't worry about that. Shop around on the dealer's sites and choose whatever size you want and can afford. Tell us how big the listing says it is, and we can give you suggestions on good containers before you actually buy it. Trust me that anybody with parahybana spiderlings to sell certainly isn't going to run out of them any time soon, so you'll have time to choose it and then get the setup right before you order.
The substrate you choose needs to be clean. Dirt out of your yard will have bugs or mold spores in it. I like to buy the smallest bag of the cheapest soil from a garden department. Just make sure that it has NO added fertilizers or pesticides! Don't buy Miracle Grow or anything like that. Some people buy coconut fiber in bricks from the pet store. That will work too.
For water, it depends on the size of the spider. Water bottle caps, milk bottle caps and tiny glass bowls work great. Again, it depends on the size of the spider.
To hide under, larger spiders will use a coconut shell hide that you can get at the pet store. With the small ones, I've used a seashell (not the spirally kind) or a single leaf off of a fake plant.
Setting up can be fun and creative. Providing for their basic needs is very simple. How you make it look can be really exciting. Check out the photo threads on the board if you need any inspiration.
Like I said... pick a size (The size listed refers to the diagonal legspan measured from the first leg on one side to the last leg on the other.) and let us know. Then we can be more specific with our advice.
HAVE FUN SHOPPING!
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2007
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You can't go wrong with the L. para! I have four right now from 1" sling to 7".
Like you read earlier, the H. lividum is gorgeous T but once they dig in you'll rarely see them. The Salmon Pink's are active and out in the open 90% of the time. The females can grow up to 10" in legspan and are just plain awesome. They have very large broods of slings so they are cheap to obtain a small one. Plus-they'll go from a little sling to good size in almost no time.
Here's Pandora as I received her at about 1.25" (crummy pic, sorry)in Nov. 2007:
Same T on Sept. 2008 after a molt:
And here she is after her last molt on Jan. 24th 2009-now 5.5":
I feed all of mine about every 5 days, crickets & superworms. They'll blow up like the Hulk in no time!
Like you read earlier, the H. lividum is gorgeous T but once they dig in you'll rarely see them. The Salmon Pink's are active and out in the open 90% of the time. The females can grow up to 10" in legspan and are just plain awesome. They have very large broods of slings so they are cheap to obtain a small one. Plus-they'll go from a little sling to good size in almost no time.
Here's Pandora as I received her at about 1.25" (crummy pic, sorry)in Nov. 2007:
Same T on Sept. 2008 after a molt:
And here she is after her last molt on Jan. 24th 2009-now 5.5":
I feed all of mine about every 5 days, crickets & superworms. They'll blow up like the Hulk in no time!
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- Jul 16, 2008
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- 971