t blondi ID

[ultrastarman303]

hi, I'm interested I'm interested in buying a t blondi from this dealer but i asked for a picture and he sent me this. now im not sure wether its a stirmi or a blondi can anyone help?

 

[Philth]

stirmi

Later, Tom

 

[Poec54]

Almost every Theraphosa for sale in the US is w/c stirmi or slings from a gravid w/c female, even though a number of them are called 'blondi'. You have to be pretty good to tell the 3 Theraphosa species apart, and most importers and reptile dealers aren't that knowledgeable about tarantulas. I've seen too many mislabeled to trust them.


This is also good news, as stirmi is by far the hardiest Theraphosa in captivity. I love Theraphosa and have a bunch of them, but see no point in owning blondi. You get a stirmi with hairy knees that's a lot more delicate.

 

[dementedlullaby]

This is also good news, as stirmi is by far the hardiest Theraphosa in captivity. I love Theraphosa and have a bunch of them, but see no point in owning blondi. You get a stirmi with hairy knees that's a lot more delicate.

Seriously, this.

I don't own any Theraphosa species (I'd really prefer not to deal with the worst uricating hairs ever) but every person that has a blondi typically ends up having problems with said blondi. May as well just leave them in the wild where they actually don't die for seemingly no reason or have a horrible molt.

I've also noticed that blondi typically is more expensive than stirmi. Probably a reason why people mislabel them. Gotta make that chinga-ching-ching.

 

[Tomoran]

Almost every Theraphosa for sale in the US is w/c stirmi or slings from a gravid w/c female, even though a number of them are called 'blondi'. You have to be pretty good to tell the 3 Theraphosa species apart, and most importers and reptile dealers aren't that knowledgeable about tarantulas. I've seen too many mislabeled to trust them.


This is also good news, as stirmi is by far the hardiest Theraphosa in captivity. I love Theraphosa and have a bunch of them, but see no point in owning blondi. You get a stirmi with hairy knees that's a lot more delicate.

^ This all the way.

I still don't understand the infatuation with owning a T. blondi. I guess if someone was a Theraphosa aficionado and was trying to collect each species in the genus, that would make sense. But I've talked to several folks who have turned up their noses at getting a stirmi over a blondi like it's a bargain brand spider even AFTER being told it's essentially the same spider with much more forgiving husbandry. I have a difficult time with the idea of paying more money for essentially more headaches (and most of the time, it seems they pay more money and get a stirmi anyway). To each their own, I guess.

 

[cold blood]

^ This all the way.

I still don't understand the infatuation with owning a T. blondi. I guess if someone was a Theraphosa aficionado and was trying to collect each species in the genus, that would make sense. But I've talked to several folks who have turned up their noses at getting a stirmi over a blondi like it's a bargain brand spider even AFTER being told it's essentially the same spider with much more forgiving husbandry.

Agreed, even more funny are the people that turn up their nose at a stirmi, then pay through the nose for a blondi....only to have the "blondi" simply be a mis-labeled stirmi....most of these people don't ever notice until someone with actual Theraposa knowledge points it out to them.

Choosing blondi over stimi is like having 2 cars that are virtually the same, but one has a tempermental motor that is in contant need of work, while the other runs like a top, maintenance free....and you still go out of your way and spend twice the price on the one with the tempermental motor. Makes no sense.

It also appears that those most driven to get a blondi are less experienced, and the exact people that should NOT be owning such a rare and picky(difficult) breed. I mean c'mon people, stirmi is the same size, looks the same, and has the same ridiculous feeding response, yet is 100 times more hardy....the fascination for one while having distain for the other is utterly ridiculous and laughable.

 

[Poec54]

It also appears that those most driven to get a blondi are less experienced, and the exact people that should NOT be owning such a rare and picky(difficult) breed. I mean c'mon people, stirmi is the same size, looks the same, and has the same ridiculous feeding response, yet is 100 times more hardy....the fascination for one while having distain for the other is utterly ridiculous and laughable.

A large part of that is people reading old literature, before stirmi was described (or even apophysis), and thinking blondi was all there was, 'the big one'. They get that species name fixed in their heads and won't accept anything else. Less experienced people shouldn't be getting a blondi anyways; too much money for something that delicate. Not fair to the animal. The best thing that could have happened did: stirmi have come in reasonably-priced and now many people can afford a hardy Theraphosa they can keep alive long term. I have them all sizes, & don't keep them 'swampy' (terrible description and terrible advice). They're on moist top soil, like my Asian terrestrials and I've never had a stirmi have a molting problem. They're easy as long as you give them decent cross ventilation, keep the water bowl full, and don't forget they have no drought tolerance. Other than they, you're just putting in food and taking out boluses. They're a impressive species.

 

[lalberts9310]

IMHO, Stirmi is waaaaaay more beautiful than blondi. I don't dig the hairy patellas on the blondi.

I also think why most uninformed people choose blondi above stirmi, is that they actually believe one day they'll have a 12" spider. They think blondi gets ridiculously large, and stirmi doesn't.

 

[Poec54]

I also think why most uninformed people choose blondi above stirmi, is that they actually believe one day they'll have a 12" spider. They think blondi gets ridiculously large, and stirmi doesn't.

Exactly. The two are basically the same size, and some say stirmi gets bigger. With individual variation, there is no guarantee. Neither one averages 12". 9-10" is more realistic for both. Look how many people are misinformed about LP's and think they're getting a 10" spider.

 

[Tomoran]

Choosing blondi over stimi is like having 2 cars that are virtually the same, but one has a tempermental motor that is in contant need of work, while the other runs like a top, maintenance free....and you still go out of your way and spend twice the price on the one with the tempermental motor. Makes no sense.

It also appears that those most driven to get a blondi are less experienced...

Perfect analogy.

And, yes ... it does seem to be those without much experience who are dead set on getting only a blondi; which makes it even more perplexing when they stubbornly refuse to listen to an experienced voice of reason telling them there is a cheaper, more reliable, almost identical "model".

---------- Post added 09-15-2015 at 01:12 PM ----------

Exactly. The two are basically the same size, and some say stirmi gets bigger. With individual variation, there is no guarantee. Neither one averages 12". 9-10" is more realistic for both. Look how many people are misinformed about LP's and think they're getting a 10" spider.

There is an annoying misconception out there that the Blondi grows "much" larger; that's the main response I've gotten when I argue that the two species are almost identical. Drives me nuts.

Ah, yes...the fabled 10+" LP.

 

[dementedlullaby]

A large part of that is people reading old literature

It's one of those situations when wikipedia is really not helping either.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goliath_birdeater

"The Goliath birdeater (Theraphosa blondi) is a spider belonging to the tarantula family Theraphosidae. It is the largest spider in the world. By leg-span, it is second to the giant huntsman spider, but it is the largest by mass.[1] It is also called the Goliath bird-eating spider"

People casually reading and just wanting the largest possible spider will no doubt stumble upon this and think "wow gotta have that!". Maybe someone can go and revise the wiki page . From my understanding stirmi can reach the same proportions. I'd do it but don't feel like I have the expertise others here have, especially regarding Theraposa.

 

[Beary Strange]

It's one of those situations when wikipedia is really not helping either.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goliath_birdeater

"The Goliath birdeater (Theraphosa blondi) is a spider belonging to the tarantula family Theraphosidae. It is the largest spider in the world. By leg-span, it is second to the giant huntsman spider, but it is the largest by mass.[1] It is also called the Goliath bird-eating spider"

People casually reading and just wanting the largest possible spider will no doubt stumble upon this and think "wow gotta have that!". Maybe someone can go and revise the wiki page . From my understanding stirmi can reach the same proportions. I'd do it but don't feel like I have the expertise others here have, especially regarding Theraposa.

So fix it.:3 It takes barely any coding knowledge to update a wiki. I went through and fixed a bunch of conservation statuses on Poecilotheria the other day because they were way out of date.

 

[ultrastarman303]

Thanks for the help!! great knowledge definitely buying a stirmi

 

[Angel Minkov]

I wouldn't say blondi has problems in captivity. The problems come if the keeper is inexperienced. The only 2 people to breed blondi in EU often never have problematic molts with their Ts. And I also dont think they shouldn't be kept, unlike some species like M. mesomelas. I loved blondi.ever since I saw it 6 years ago, although Ive grown to like apophysis more, I think. Glad Ill be getting both species soon. I dont think I'd own stirmi, as I don't like it all that much, but who knows... I didnt like most Poecilotheria as well and now I have most of them. In the end, it comes down to taste and delicacy shouldnt be a deciding factor when buying Ts, imo.

 

[BobGrill]

If I want a large tarantula I'll get an A.geniculata or some type of large Asian arboreal like P.rufilata, P.ornata, or an LV.

Sent from my LG-D801 using Tapatalk

 

[Poec54]

I wouldn't say blondi has problems in captivity. The problems come if the keeper is inexperienced. The only 2 people to breed blondi in EU often never have problematic molts with their Ts.

That says a lot right there: 'The only two people in EU to breed blondi'. And yes, blondi does have problems in captivity, it's ideal conditions are pretty narrow. These guys have figured out what they need, especially to be able to breed them, but most people don't know, hence the problems.

 

[Angel Minkov]

That says a lot right there: 'The only two people in EU to breed blondi'. And yes, blondi does have problems in captivity, it's ideal conditions are pretty narrow. These guys have figured out what they need, especially to be able to breed them, but most people don't know, hence the problems.

Those guys are one of the nicest guys I know. They breed every Theraphosa. One of the two breeds or has bred every member of Xenesthis and Pamphobeteus. The other has bred most. Very nice guys who share their experience and will never refuse help. Saying you dont need blondi because you can buy stirmi is the same as saying you dont need a hanumavilasumica because you have fasciata.

 

[Poec54]

Saying you dont need blondi because you can buy stirmi is the same as saying you dont need a hanumavilasumica because you have fasciata.

That analogy doesn't work. I have 13 species of Poecs, all are easy to keep and don't require specialized knowledge or care. If all 3 Theraphosa were as easy as stirmi, you'd see a lot more blondi and apophysis around and prices would be much lower. They're rare for a reason, and they've been in the hobby much longer than stirmi. W/c blondi used to be imported into the US in the 1990's (like stirmi is now) and no one here could keep them going. Blondi looks too similar to stirmi to justify the higher prices and higher losses. I would like to have some apophysis, as that one truly is different (and really doesn't belong in the genus; it used to be in Pseudotheraphosa because the males have tibial spurs).

 

[Angel Minkov]

That analogy doesn't work. I have 13 species of Poecs, all are easy to keep and don't require specialized knowledge or care. If all 3 Theraphosa were as easy as stirmi, you'd see a lot more blondi and apophysis around and prices would be much lower. They're rare for a reason, and they've been in the hobby much longer than stirmi. W/c blondi used to be imported into the US in the 1990's (like stirmi is now) and no one here could keep them going. Blondi looks too similar to stirmi to justify the higher prices and higher losses. I would like to have some apophysis, as that one truly is different (and really doesn't belong in the genus; it used to be in Pseudotheraphosa because the males have tibial spurs).

People just keep them too warm and too wet, most likely. That's the root of the problems. Theraphosa shouldn't be kept too warm. One of the aforementioned people keeps them at 22-23,5 at most. Blondi aren't the ones with the problems, it's the keepers who don't know how to keep them. They're not like mesomelas where you need very low temps which are very hard to achieve for most. They just need proper humidity and temps

 

[jigalojey]

Can anyone explain to me why Blondi's are so fragile while Stirmi's are quite hardy in captivity?? Aren't they found in the same area?