Trust it or no?

emilin96

Arachnopeon
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Feb 18, 2021
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I was talking <edit> about the WC A. Chalcodes they have. I was pretty worried that they are gravid but the seller said they're not. Each of the Chalcodes costs $50. Is it a good deal, or should I keep on looking? Thanks!

Edit: Btw guys. You can recommend sellers to me that have CB A. Chalcodes. I really would appreciate that.
 
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Sterls

Arachnobaron
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Jan 1, 2018
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449
If it's a wild caught female there's no way they can absolutely guarantee it's not gravid, unless it's abdomen is tiny I guess. I'd ask for a picture.
 

Jess S

Arachnobaron
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Mar 10, 2019
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572
I presume these are adult females.

If you bought one and it did make a viable egg sac, would that really be so bad? It would be nice to have slings available in the hobby. Most keepers don't want chalcodes slings as they are very slow growing, but I think attitudes are changing towards CB vs WC. I'm sure if sellers sold them cheaply enough that people could add a couple onto an order, or even give them as freebies, in time we'd have a captive bred population.

But if you really don't want to deal with slings, and you end up with a sac, post on here and one of us can advise you what to do, to quickly deal with the situation.
 

jrh3

Araneae
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If it's a wild caught female there's no way they can absolutely guarantee it's not gravid, unless it's abdomen is tiny I guess. I'd ask for a picture.
They can if it has laid a sac for them already.
 

Matt Man

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I presume these are adult females.

If you bought one and it did make a viable egg sac, would that really be so bad? It would be nice to have slings available in the hobby. Most keepers don't want chalcodes slings as they are very slow growing, but I think attitudes are changing towards CB vs WC. I'm sure if sellers sold them cheaply enough that people could add a couple onto an order, or even give them as freebies, in time we'd have a captive bred population.

But if you really don't want to deal with slings, and you end up with a sac, post on here and one of us can advise you what to do, to quickly deal with the situation.
and to add, I am guessing there is a member or a shop near you that would be happy to deal with the sac/slings.
Gravid WC Females is nothing new to the hobby
 

joossa

Arachnobaron
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Nov 21, 2020
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333
Don't mean to stir up controversy, but wouldn't it be better not to support the harvesting and sale of wild Ts? ...especially for a species that is so common and affordable?
 

emilin96

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Feb 18, 2021
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Are they sexed female?
Yep! sexed adult female

Don't mean to stir up controversy, but wouldn't it be better not to support the harvesting and sale of wild Ts? ...especially for a species that is so common and affordable?
I actually didn't know that. I've been looking through quite a few online shops and only one of them had a CB female and it was about $145. Please, if you have any recommendations I would really appreciate that.

I presume these are adult females.

If you bought one and it did make a viable egg sac, would that really be so bad? It would be nice to have slings available in the hobby. Most keepers don't want chalcodes slings as they are very slow growing, but I think attitudes are changing towards CB vs WC. I'm sure if sellers sold them cheaply enough that people could add a couple onto an order, or even give them as freebies, in time we'd have a captive bred population.

But if you really don't want to deal with slings, and you end up with a sac, post on here and one of us can advise you what to do, to quickly deal with the situation.
I'm a beginner haha and I'm not a fan of small spiders, so I'm looking at videos to see how to deal with the issue if I had to get a WC and it's gravid :/
 

Jess S

Arachnobaron
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Mar 10, 2019
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572
I'm a beginner haha and I'm not a fan of small spiders, so I'm looking at videos to see how to deal with the issue if I had to get a WC and it's gravid :/
I understand, but as Matt says:

I am guessing there is a member or a shop near you that would be happy to deal with the sac/slings.
Absolutely. They would probably be able to remove the sac from mom if you didn't feel able to yourself.

Edit: not to be mention, we are discussing a hypothetical scenario of her being gravid, when she may not produce a sac. However, it's always good to be prepared and shows you are researching beforehand. Wish everyone did!

Should a sac be produced, then post on here and someone will definitely help with further advice. I'm sure there will be members and sellers on here that would be happy to come to an arrangement with you about the sac and any babies!
 

Sterls

Arachnobaron
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I actually didn't know that. I've been looking through quite a few online shops and only one of them had a CB female and it was about $145. Please, if you have any recommendations I would really appreciate that.
Captive bred adult Aphonopelma cost money, because it takes a lot of time and investment to get them to that size. If you want to support the conservation of the species, you should either shell out the money for CB or commit to breeding any WC specimens you acquire, preferably the first.

If you're absolutely set against a CB spiderling, which would be dirt cheap most places tbh, at least consider a juvenile instead. It may still be WC, but at least it wasn't a sexually mature specimen removed from it's habitat. Removing tarantulas of breeding size from the wild is worse than removing juveniles imo.

My first spider was a likely WC juvenile Aphonopelma sp. They're every bit as rewarding as an adult, just smaller.
 

emilin96

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If it's a wild caught female there's no way they can absolutely guarantee it's not gravid, unless it's abdomen is tiny I guess. I'd ask for a picture.
I do have one. Want me to show you? I'm new so Idk if I can post on this thread or not.
 

Sterls

Arachnobaron
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Jan 1, 2018
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I do have one. Want me to show you? I'm new so Idk if I can post on this thread or not.
Yes you're allowed to post it. The big thing with pictures is to post sex and ID requests in the proper places. Pics that help us answer your question are always encouraged.
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
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Is it a good deal
No it isn't. I see this price for WC all the time. A good price would be free or 10$

Also, don't support the mass taking of this N. American genus, it's just raping nature at that point. I've seen so many taken. I'm pretty sure I saw CBs of this species, but I can't remember where right now. If I see them, I'll let you know.
 

Arachnophobphile

Arachnoangel
Active Member
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Dec 24, 2018
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I was talking <edit> about the WC A. Chalcodes they have. I was pretty worried that they are gravid but the seller said they're not. Each of the Chalcodes costs $50. Is it a good deal, or should I keep on looking? Thanks!

Edit: Btw guys. You can recommend sellers to me that have CB A. Chalcodes. I really would appreciate that.
Not a good deal at all. With wild caught T's I would be more worried about parasitic infections like nematodes than being gravid any day.

You're in the U.S. and CB A. chalcodes are easy to find here and at a decent price.
 

HeartBum

Arachnobaron
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Nov 14, 2020
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360
Not a good deal at all. With wild caught T's I would be more worried about parasitic infections like nematodes than being gravid any day.

You're in the U.S. and CB A. chalcodes are easy to find here and at a decent price.
100%. If you do get her, please please please make sure you quarantine her away from the rest of your collection. The other issue with WC is you have no idea how old she is - could have her a month and she might pass of old age.
 

Matt Man

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Jul 4, 2017
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While I concur with the notion against WC tarantulas I want to assure folks here Chalcodes are not being stripped from their environs. Anyone who has ever spent time in AZ will know this to be true. I have taken the distribution map from Chamberlin's Taxonomic Revision and overlaid the Google map of the state on top of it. The 2 areas I have highlighted in green are the areas I am guessing the majority of WC are taken from, and I'd further guess the area is a fraction of what I have highlighted here (see east of Phoenix). A huge swath of them lay in wilderness areas or on reservations. Now add in the difficulty in which it is to search for them (rough terrain, unbearable heat most of the year) plus the fact that they are relatively cheap to buy (low profit margin) there really isn't much incentive to search for them. Yes, people in the business can collect them to add two their sales but it isn't going to be a major profit center when subadults to adults sell for under $50 in Western Shows. So as a rule I prefer LESS taking of wild specimens, I am just posting this so people don't think the chalcodes is gonna be harvested to the point of extinction. Chalcodes.jpg
 

joossa

Arachnobaron
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^We shouldn't only think of the extemes (i.e. risk of extinction, overharvesting, etc.). Taking Ts from the wild is still taking diversity away from the wild populations' gene pool, which is reason enough to not support it.

The hobby should emphasize captive breeding and sale of captive bred individuals when sensible to do so.
 

emilin96

Arachnopeon
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Feb 18, 2021
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Y’all, thank you so much for your help and opinions. I’ve decided to not consider it and look for shops that sell captive bred. Again, thank you all for your help.
 

joossa

Arachnobaron
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Nov 21, 2020
Messages
333
I wish the COVID situation would get better faster so we can have hobby club meetings and expos again. I know some vendors at expos carry wild caught T's but there are a lot that don't (some that are breeders or work with breeders). I've seen A. chalcodes at different sizes at almost all expos and shows I've gone to.
 

Envoirment

Arachnosquire
Joined
Feb 3, 2016
Messages
93
^We shouldn't only think of the extemes (i.e. risk of extinction, overharvesting, etc.). Taking Ts from the wild is still taking diversity away from the wild populations' gene pool, which is reason enough to not support it.

The hobby should emphasize captive breeding and sale of captive bred individuals when sensible to do so.
You would likely need to introduce wild Ts into the captive population from time to time to keep them genetically healthy.
 
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