Semi new to the hobby, OBT safe? got kids what do you think..

[eXel]

And if i leave arbo a bit. I heard Colo's were one of the biggest hair kickers, does the Chromatus gonna kick like them?

 

[Chris11]

Pic posted-the cyano is actually pretty big. Ephos are Avicularianea(?),so have to have some connection to their avic brethren(my faves). Getting off eXel's topic(srry),but I do think,even as terrestrials,in nature they build some form of tree-web,like a fort-the reason for their urticating hairs being on their pedipalps. Make sense?(I'm actually not sure,lol).

You are correct in that they and Avics belong to the same subfamily but Ephebopus are fossorial.

 

[Benurmanii]

@ Benurmanii-
I swear,I am as unknowledgable as ANYONE with 50+ T's. I have a regalis,a striata,an OBT. Dangerous O/W centipedes,widow-spiders. Whole 9 yards.
Haven't had an incident yet,but I suspect I will one day.
And it will be my damned cambridgei,wait and see,lol.
I'm teasing,but speed/agressiveness-again,I only know what I know,but I am more "afraid" of my cambridgei than any of my other T's,purely from observation.
Not taking the piss,tho,honest. Is an awesome spider,one of my favorites.

Huh, funny, perhaps I just forced myself to develop quick reflexes with my P. cambridgei when it was a sling. When I recieved it, as soon as I started to take the paper towel out of the vial it crawled into my shirt. I also remember it escaping once when I went to feed it and I had to quickly cup my hand over it without squashing it (it did lose a leg in the process).

My E. murinis always went into threat posture instead of just running away when startled (although this could have had something to do with it being a wild-caught that was infected with parasites). Perhaps E. murinis may be a better option, for someone interested in a defensive and cool T, but without venom as potent as OBTs.

 

[Chris11]

Huh, funny, perhaps I just forced myself to develop quick reflexes with my P. cambridgei when it was a sling. When I recieved it, as soon as I started to take the paper towel out of the vial it crawled into my shirt. I also remember it escaping once when I went to feed it and I had to quickly cup my hand over it without squashing it (it did lose a leg in the process).

My E. murinis always went into threat posture instead of just running away when startled (although this could have had something to do with it being a wild-caught that was infected with parasites). Perhaps E. murinis may be a better option, for someone interested in a defensive and cool T, but without venom as potent as OBTs.

Any Ephebopus ive encountered is very defensive... its just something with fossorial spiders, theyre all like that.

 

[Rogerpoco]

I have to look up fossorials,evidently ! Love new knowledge.
Unboxed my cambridgei,long ago,lopped off a leg(fine now). Kinda funny,you too.
And defensive-Woo! cyanognathus turned upside down on me and the Wife,fangs straight up in the air,for an hour,most pissed I'd ever seen a spider. I didn't know was a common trait,cool thing to check into.
Stick my nose into stuff,wind up learning. Good deal!

 

[Poec54]

Would you want to risk an OBT loose in the house, with two small children?

 

[Rogerpoco]

I think He's reconsidering/open to listen.Poec.
Glad this board exists. Glad there's a place to ask these questions.

 

[eXel]

Yup glad it exist. I was mainly going to buy couple of them tomorows. i'm browsing what else looks cool, i still got the Irmina on my mind tho, i really like that Versicolor too. Do you guys handle some of your arbo?

 

[Rogerpoco]

I don't handle much at all-not "politically correct",or"safe for the spider",just...afraid of losing one,haha.
If you do want to handle arboreals,tho,I'd say most people would recommend avics.
I have versis from different sacs,future breeding project-gave Son one for Christmas,first T. All he talks about now. Highly recommended.
Don't. Dont,don't,don't try to handle the irminia,tho. Just my experience-they are sweethearts as slings,but mean as crap as juvies/adults.

 

[Haksilence]

Had an accidental handling of my avicularia avicularia. I don't know what you don't like about them, I find the genus fascinating.
But she decided at feeding time that she was gonna poke out and say hi so she crawled out of her enclosure, very calmly and slowly I might add, into my waiting hand and then was replaced back into the container to receive her cricket. Calm as could be.
That being said I know others who have ones that are quite quick.

Colors are pretty nice in the species as well, dark colored exo with bluish tint on their leg tips and redish orang hairs on the abdomen. Not super flashy, but definitely beautiful.

 

[Bugmom]

Avics are fast. Easily as fast as the Psalmos. Their bite just isn't as bad from what I understand. I understand not necessarily wanting an Avic though - I haven't enjoyed them as much as other species and only have one now.

Thanks Radium. Jewelry making is one of my other hobbies.

 

[eXel]

Thanks i'll give a try on avic i then i guess, the nicest of the genus in my opinior are the Versicolor and the Diversipes. i'll try to find them!

 

[cold blood]

Thanks i'll give a try on avic i then i guess, the nicest of the genus in my opinior are the Versicolor and the Diversipes. i'll try to find them!

Oh man, look around at the different Avic species, there are some real beauts. I used to have little interest in the genus, after being pushed there I have changed my tune. Even the relatively cheap and abundant urticans are incredible looking, there's a lot of super looking Avics...and fyi, adult diversipes, while still nice looking, are nothing compared to what they look like as slings/juvies....not to discourage, I want a few myself, just sayin'.

And if i leave arbo a bit. I heard Colo's were one of the biggest hair kickers, does the Chromatus gonna kick like them?

My experience is that the chromatus kicks less than coloratovillsus. Not as irritating either...for me at least and I've raised a bunch of chromatus. There is speculation that chromatus doesn't belong in the Nhandu genus...if I recall its speculated that it could end up in Lasiodora (please correct me if I'm mistaken).

A. geneculata or anything from the Pamphobetus genus would be great additions as would chromatus.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

The way tarantula keepers talk about Pterinochilus murinus interests me a great deal. In my experience with them, they are quick to stand and fight but eventually back down and run like crazy at a disturbance. They are talked about like they are little monsters when they "posture" and bite, but I see an incredibly scared animal when this happens. More times than not, I see them housed inappropriately in containers with no suitable places to hide and stay hidden. In most pictures I've seen of them, they web up the entire enclosure they are housed in giving an indication they are using the entire enclosure as a burrow. It's no surprise then that when the lid of its container is opened, the spider is quick to attack.

Is Pterinochilus murinus a good species to have if children are around? Depends on the comfort level and experience of the adult keeper in handling high strung spiders and his or her ability to house them appropriately. I've kept many a high strung/ quick-to-bite species, including P. murinus, with a child around and it was completely safe because they were all housed appropriately. Not a single one was quick to rear back and bite during feeding or watering because they all had their own burrows/ hides to retreat to and they all used them. Cage cleanings and transfers to new cages were easily done because I was in control of the situation.

Keeping species from the Americas with urticating bristles could pose a hazard to children as well. Although not as severe as the powerful neurotoxins contained in the venom of some species, urticating bristles in theory could cause a more irritation to a child than an adult. The point though is that tarantulas are not pets. They are wild animals that have different means to defend themselves. If one does not fully understand these defenses and can read a tarantula's body language, then no tarantula should be kept around children at all.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

So i heard lot of bad things about P.Murinus... are these people exagerate or not.. looks like they bite is very dangerous. Would i be a dumba** if i get some of those? I have 2 kids. 4 and 2 year old. Sure they will be kept on the highest shelf...

Thanks for your advice.

Now that I got the rant out of my system, I would like to address your question and concern directly. I think sometimes people exaggerate the disposition of Pterinochilus murinus at times, but generally not. P. murinus seems to be a species that evokes strong emotions from people and it is at times hard to determine what is a result of that emotion and what's true. This species is quick to bite and is quick to run at very little provocation. If you have never seen in person what that means, then don't get one. As I mentioned in my previous post, most of what I have seen on the internet is from keepers that don't house them appropriately and thus label them as the worst species in temperament out there. In my experience with them, and other fast quick-to-bite species, what was hard to handle was their speed. It's easy to prevent bites, but not easy to contain them when they start running laps inside and outside of their enclosures. I stopped keeping P. murinus and other high strung species because at one point I just couldn't deal with their speed any longer. I was never afraid of getting bitten.

 

[Poec54]

The way tarantula keepers talk about Pterinochilus murinus interests me a great deal. In my experience with them, they are quick to stand and fight but eventually back down and run like crazy at a disturbance. They are talked about like they are little monsters when they "posture" and bite, but I see an incredibly scared animal when this happens.

Right, they're scared, total panic. In the wild, mongeese, honey badgers, and baboons take a huge toll on them. That fear makes OBT's unpredictable in captivity and instantly ready to bite any intruder. Last year we had a member start a thread on his OBT bite, it was a few miserable days for him. We can't have a child go thru that.

 

[natebugman]

Right, they're scared, total panic. In the wild, mongeese, honey badgers, and baboons take a huge toll on them. That fear makes OBT's unpredictable in captivity and instantly ready to bite any intruder. Last year we had a member start a thread on his OBT bite, it was a few miserable days for him. We can't have a child go thru that.

Mongeese?

 

[lalberts9310]

Eh, to the new keeper, OBTs can be very overwhelmeing.. they are fast, defensive and potent, they can easily get away from you and escape during rehouse, maintenance and feeding, combine this with a 2 and 4 year old in the house is just a bad mix. I'd steer clear, until you've gained more experience, from OWs and some high strung NW tropicals. If you want an aboreal, maybe just try the avic genus? I had no interest in avics but now i have a ton listed on my wishlist, they look like little fluffballs. Just do a ton of research on how to house them properly as they can easily succumb to incorrect husbandry, and i would suggest getting a juvenile or adult. Another great T to look into is the GBB. Gorgeous Ts that webs a ton an almost always visible, hardy and easy to keep as well, a bit skittish but not really defensive nor potent venom. P. Irminia is gorgeous but they are very secretive and defensive and very fast and skittish, and their bite sucks as well so i would hold off from them for a while. P. Cambridgei could be a better fit though, still nasty bite but waaaaay calmer than P. Irminia, just as beautiful (very underrated IMO) and not as reclusive as P. Irminia, they can be defensive as well as fast so mind you, but tends to be calmer and less skittish than P. Irminia.

 

[eXel]

My very thanks to all of you!

 

[natebugman]

...P. Cambridgei could be a better fit though, still nasty bite but waaaaay calmer than P. Irminia, just as beautiful (very underrated IMO) and not as reclusive as P. Irminia, they can be defensive as well as fast so mind you, but tends to be calmer and less skittish than P. Irminia.

I don't know about the claim that P. cambridgei is way calmer than P. irminia. When I see my P. irminia, if I try to do anything in her cage, she doesn't hang around. She heads directly back to her hole. My P. cambridgei, who is much larger (both adult females), lies in wait for me to open the door to her enclosure. I don't do anything in her home without my 10" tongs. We often fight over her water dish and she shows little if any fear of me. She has wrestled my tongs away from me on numerous occasions.