Thinking of getting my 1st T.

Nephrite

Arachnoknight
Joined
Mar 1, 2016
Messages
151
Ni
How phobic are you? This is something to consider before taking on T ownership. I'd recommend visiting a T first, at a pet store or someone's home and watch them eat, move around, etc. Also, how are you around regular spiders? If you avoid them, start approaching them. Catch them in the house to let them outside, curiously approach their webs, and so on. If you are quite scared, you need to work up to something like owning a T and seeing it daily. Do not allow your fear to get in the way of taking care of an animal.

I am a behavioral therapist and treat anxiety disorders, including phobias. Id never recommend starting with the biggest challenge but working up to it. I have people watch videos, read about spiders, catch and release house spiders, let a house spider run across their hand, etc before introducing then to my T. They do not handle my T nor do I. If I have to move him I poke his butt with a paintbrush. I have an Aphonopelma Anax and he's a mellow bugger. I also bought a female Euathlus sp red, coming in the mail this week. (Yay!) I think these are good species both for me as a beginner and for my clients who are afraid of Ts.
Mind if I ask where you purchased it?
 

Nephrite

Arachnoknight
Joined
Mar 1, 2016
Messages
151
Ah
Got it from Anastasia at net bug. It was her last MF and I bought it last month and waited for shipping since I was traveling. They are hard to find.
I see, I actually bought some Euathlus sp. red from her too, but it was the little 1/4" slings, since you lucky dog bought the MF before me :p. Take care of it for me! <3

edit: omg I just wanted to point this out but I finally got the active member tag, pretty hype
 

Garth Vader

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jun 25, 2016
Messages
427
Ah

I see, I actually bought some Euathlus sp. red from her too, but it was the little 1/4" slings, since you lucky dog bought the MF before me :p. Take care of it for me! <3

edit: omg I just wanted to point this out but I finally got the active member tag, pretty hype
Yes she had two MF and the first one went quickly so I jumped on it. I can write off T expenses as business costs. Very dangerous. But I'm done. Quite sure my colleagues will disagree if I want more!

And yes- active member! Nice.
 

Nephrite

Arachnoknight
Joined
Mar 1, 2016
Messages
151
Yes she had two MF and the first one went quickly so I jumped on it. I can write off T expenses as business costs. Very dangerous. But I'm done. Quite sure my colleagues will disagree if I want more!

And yes- active member! Nice.
Plan on breeding the Euathlus or just took advantage of the amazing deal?
Also what enclosures do you use for your T's. I'm trying to soak all the info I can. I'm on my way to my 5th T.
 

Garth Vader

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jun 25, 2016
Messages
427
Plan on breeding the Euathlus or just took advantage of the amazing deal?
Also what enclosures do you use for your T's. I'm trying to soak all the info I can. I'm on my way to my 5th T.
I don't think I will breed them. I can't imagine dealing with hundreds of slings! I made an enclosure with a 5 gallon glass aquarium and an acrylic lid with holes drilled in. It's probably a bit large for this species but I think it will work! I'll post some pics of the full deal when she arrives on Thuraday.

My A anax is a sling, about 2 inches and lives in a lidded plastic container I drilled holes in. I don't love it but it works for now. There are great posts on this board about enclosures. Check them out!
 

Jeff23

Arachnolord
Joined
Jul 27, 2016
Messages
620
Got it from Anastasia at net bug. It was her last MF and I bought it last month and waited for shipping since I was traveling. They are hard to find.
Ah

I see, I actually bought some Euathlus sp. red from her too, but it was the little 1/4" slings, since you lucky dog bought the MF before me :p. Take care of it for me! <3

edit: omg I just wanted to point this out but I finally got the active member tag, pretty hype
I got my 1/4" ones from her as well.
 

rally

Arachnosquire
Joined
May 12, 2016
Messages
56
@Forlorn112 This thread has slipped a bit, but please do show us what you eventually decide on, in a new thread or here! And protip--Poke around the forum to see what comprises a good enclosure. A good setup, in my opinion, is the most important aspect of keeping Ts healthy and feeling secure (which equals more of the natural, interesting behaviors that every keeper likes to observe).:pompous:
 

Veribug

Arachnosquire
Joined
Mar 14, 2016
Messages
86
I've thought about B. albopilsum's, but i've heard many of them are skittish & defensive...
My first T is a Brachypelma albopilosum. It arrived in pre molt, and after it set up a burrow and molted it certainly did get a little speedier. But I've certainly not had any problems and it doesn't make me nervous - it loves its setup so spends most of its time lurking around its burrow and has never attempted to escape or dart around when I lift the lid. Now that a couple of months have passed since the molt it seems to have settled down... I wouldn't call it defensive, I'd call it hungry. :astonished: I tested it with a paint brush and it didn't threat pose, just bit the brush hairs. It clearly wants to eat all the time :happy: I bought a juvenile for a good price (probably about $30 in the US, I think it was about £15~ish here in the UK) and for me it's a great starter [edit: in my experience definitely not even touchable let alone handleable, I've only ever touched mine with a paint brush twice]
But I've never been nervous around insects (bar the time a Noble false widow that found its way onto my bath towel as I was drying off in the shower :zombie:) so if you could find a Euathlus sp Red or Yellow, they're amazingly gentle starters from what I've seen. Problem with slings is they grow at an absolutely glacial pace so if you do end up having to down that route expect it to be dinky for a couple of years at least. I also would not recommend slings as starters as they are much more delicate and sensitive to temperature/humidity (I think - I've not owned one so reach out to people who have that experience or read the forums should you desperately want a Euathlus).
 

Forlorn112

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jul 29, 2016
Messages
12
It's good you are asking questions, but it seems you don't know enough to get one yet. At this point, I certainly wouldn't recommend a T to you as a pet, not at all. Ts aren't for everyone either, no animal is. I'm not a guinea pig person for example.

If you bought one sooner rather than later I'm suspect you'll be another new owner w/a new pet who will be asking the types of questions that should have been asked/answered before purchasing an exotic animal.

I strongly consider you do a significant amount of research on this forum and learn more about Ts and T husbandry. The comments I've read suggest you haven't done enough to own a T anytime soon.

I DO NOT suggest you use YouTube as a source of information as you are already learning bad T husbandry from owners. You want to see a T move, eat, that's fine. But not to learn husbandry, not for a new person like yourself, TERRIBLE idea.

Perhaps instead of arachnids (which aren't insects), you should stick with insects if you enjoy invert pets. Giant millipedes are great to own, so are the Giant Hissing Cockroaches (quite a few species too).



Get a cat or a dog then. This is completely the opposite behavior you want to do w/a tarantula.



And their "moods" can change before you blink. Touching a T is simply sending off a warning sign to a T not a good thing, nothing more. They do not like to be touched at all.
Thanks very much for the brutal honesty and i'm still debating getting tarantula. I'm not a spider person and maybe i never will be, but i want to be tarantula person:).

i know i need to do more research before purchasing a T. and i do a little (or sometimes a lot) almost everyday. I'm not going to buy a T. until i'm 100% sure i know how to keep it healthy/happy. Also as i said before i don't plan on mating any T.'s or even owning more then one at a time at least for the first few years. Being able to see my T. move eat or honestly whatever it wants to do is fine.

How phobic are you? This is something to consider before taking on T ownership. I'd recommend visiting a T first, at a pet store or someone's home and watch them eat, move around, etc. Also, how are you around regular spiders? If you avoid them, start approaching them. Catch them in the house to let them outside, curiously approach their webs, and so on. If you are quite scared, you need to work up to something like owning a T and seeing it daily. Do not allow your fear to get in the way of taking care of an animal.

I am a behavioral therapist and treat anxiety disorders, including phobias. Id never recommend starting with the biggest challenge but working up to it. I have people watch videos, read about spiders, catch and release house spiders, let a house spider run across their hand, etc before introducing then to my T. They do not handle my T nor do I. If I have to move him I poke his butt with a paintbrush. I have an Aphonopelma Anax and he's a mellow bugger. I also bought a female Euathlus sp red, coming in the mail this week. (Yay!) I think these are good species both for me as a beginner and for my clients who are afraid of Ts.
I don't think i'm that bad, i don't have panic attacks or anything like that. I just begin feel really anxious when one is a bit too close to me, what i'm probably overly scared of is getting bitten. Also strangely enough large web building spiders and common house spiders bother me a lot more than say a wolf spider or jumping spider.

@Forlorn112 This thread has slipped a bit, but please do show us what you eventually decide on, in a new thread or here! And protip--Poke around the forum to see what comprises a good enclosure. A good setup, in my opinion, is the most important aspect of keeping Ts healthy and feeling secure (which equals more of the natural, interesting behaviors that every keeper likes to observe).:pompous:
When i decide i'll definitely update this thread, but i'm going to continue to do research on what's the best not overly expensive starter species and how to properly care for them. Thanks so much everyone for all the feedback and advice it's given me quite a bit to think about :).
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 8, 2006
Messages
17,851
I have a juvenile B. albopilosum and it is far from skittish or defensive. Allows for handling just fine.
It's a crapshoot with any member of the Brachypelma genus. My AF B. albo wouldn't tolerate such an activity. She's more than happy to flick.
 

Tenevanica

Arachnodemon
Joined
Feb 18, 2015
Messages
726
I've thought about B. albopilsum's, but i've heard many of them are skittish & defensive...
My Brachypelma albopilosum is the sweetest T I've ever encountered. :) That species is my #1 recommendation for a beginner tarantula.
 
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mistertim

Arachnobaron
Joined
Sep 4, 2015
Messages
548
The most consistently laid back tarantula I've seen is my E. sp red. She's an adult female and is very mellow and curious. Whenever I go to feed or water she always comes out to see what's going on and many times will try to get out of the enclosure to see what all the fuss is about...but not in a "blinding fast escape attempt" way, more just a leisurely stroll kind of way. They aren't easy to find though, can be expensive, and grow VERRRRY slow. I bought my girl as an adult and it was relatively expensive.

My B. smithi...well she is/was (escaped recently....still trying to find her) very on and off. One day she would be out and just chill and not seem to have a care in the world when I was doing maintenance and the next she would flick hairs and be super skittish at the slightest provocation (or no provocation).
 

rally

Arachnosquire
Joined
May 12, 2016
Messages
56
My B. smithi...well she is/was (escaped recently....still trying to find her) very on and off. One day she would be out and just chill and not seem to have a care in the world when I was doing maintenance and the next she would flick hairs and be super skittish at the slightest provocation (or no provocation).
How big is she?
 

cold blood

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
13,223
I'd get either a B. albopilosum or G. pulchripes....I have both, personally I prefer the pulchripes, although the albo's still pretty cool.
 
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