Vietnamese and South East Asia Tarantulas?

TomC88

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 2, 2017
Messages
6
Hi I am fascinated by Tarantulas but do not own any myself. Last year I went on a trip to South East Asia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand etc. I have a friend who is a collector of Tarantulas, however only owns American species of tarantula. He would like to branch into some old world Asian species of tarantula. Having no luck spotting any on my travels other than the ones you could eat from the markets. I would like to know what species you get specifically in Vietnam, is it the same Thai Zebra and Thai black Tarantulas or do you get some of the Chinese bird eaters too. My friend would like some spiders with colour and already has several black ones like the Brazilian black in his collection. Any suggestions would be appreciated and I know these spiders are more aggressive and harder to handle too right?
 

Venom1080

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Sep 24, 2015
Messages
4,611
If your friend wants OWs, look to online dealers. Most slings aren't very expensive.
 

Jason B

Arachnosquire
Joined
Sep 10, 2016
Messages
88
Hi I am fascinated by Tarantulas but do not own any myself. Last year I went on a trip to South East Asia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand etc. I have a friend who is a collector of Tarantulas, however only owns American species of tarantula. He would like to branch into some old world Asian species of tarantula. Having no luck spotting any on my travels other than the ones you could eat from the markets. I would like to know what species you get specifically in Vietnam, is it the same Thai Zebra and Thai black Tarantulas or do you get some of the Chinese bird eaters too. My friend would like some spiders with colour and already has several black ones like the Brazilian black in his collection. Any suggestions would be appreciated and I know these spiders are more aggressive and harder to handle too right?
Aggressive is not really the right phrase, their defensive, but most asian species are defensive to the point any attempt at handling them is most likely going to end with a bite that your gonna feel for a week or two and a lost spider as not only is their venom considered medically significant but they all move at teleport speed.

If your friend wants more colorful Tarantulas their are plenty of that in species from south america that are colorful, most asian tarantulas outside of the pokies from india aren't exactly the most visible of species. And by that I mean your not going to see them very often because they want to stay hidden for the most part.

Not knowing what else your friend has kept in the past I will say their is a world of difference between the care, speed and defensiveness compared to something like a pet rock like g. pulchra. If all he wants is something more colorful look into something from the avic genus or a green bottle blue.
 

Moonohol

Two Legged Freak
Joined
Aug 8, 2016
Messages
115
My most recent acquisition were two Vietnamese Ts, Cyriopagopus sp. Bach Ma (formerly Haplopelma sp. Bach Ma) which are native to Bach Ma national park. If your friend is American, they can get slings from Paul at Pet Center USA (got mine from him). They're definitely NOT for handling and they are extremely reclusive, but seeing them out is an absolute treat because they are jaw-droppingly beautiful in my opinion. Look up some photos if you don't believe me!
 

Walker253

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jun 12, 2016
Messages
554
Your friend should sign up for an account here and the information can flow first hand. You sound like you need your first tarantula.
 

cold blood

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
13,223
My most recent acquisition were two Vietnamese Ts, Cyriopagopus sp. Bach Ma (formerly Haplopelma sp. Bach Ma) which are native to Bach Ma national park. If your friend is American, they can get slings from Paul at Pet Center USA (got mine from him). They're definitely NOT for handling and they are extremely reclusive, but seeing them out is an absolute treat because they are jaw-droppingly beautiful in my opinion. Look up some photos if you don't believe me!
such a gorgeous species.
 

korg

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 24, 2013
Messages
596
You/your friend want to know what species of tarantula native to Vietnam are available in the hobby? Is there some reason for the focus on Vietnam in particular? A good starting place would be the following described species, all of which are decently available in captivity through breeders and dealers you can find online:

Chilobrachys dyscolus
Cyriopagopus longipes
Cyriopagopus schmidti
Cyriopagopus vonwirthi
Selenocosmia kovariki

(The Cyriopagopus spp. here were formerly known as Haplopelma spp. and may still be listed as such on occasion)

There are also a number of Vietnamese species available in the hobby that are still technically undescribed by science, like Cyriopagopus sp. "Bach Ma" and Ornithoctoninae sp. "Ho Chi Minh." Both of those are beautiful, as others have noted. You may also see something like Haplopelma/Cyriopagopus sp. "Vietnam" or Chilobrachys sp. "blue" or sp. "Vietnam blue," which are likely just synonymous with one of the above species. Certainly not an exhaustive list, I'm sure. If your buddy just wants a colorful Asian fossorial tarantula then Chilobrachys fimbriatus or maybe Orphnaecus philippinus come to mind. Care for everything I've described here is the same: deep, moist substrate in a well ventilated enclosure. These are quick and decently venomous spiders that can be defensive and will probably spend a large proportion of their time out of view. Hopefully the buyer here is comfortable with those realities.
 

TomC88

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 2, 2017
Messages
6
Thanks for the replies this is a joint account so he just logs on here as we live close by. We live in UK and he likes the look of a Burma chocolate brown and just wondering if anyone has info on care and how defensive this Tarantula species is. We also do not handle any tarantulas he owns but how docile is this species too.
 

Jason B

Arachnosquire
Joined
Sep 10, 2016
Messages
88
There is no such thing as a docile asian T... they are all very defensive, the one you mention chilobrachys dyscolus is a fossorial which means for the most part your gonna have what alot of us like to call a pet hole. It will spend the vast majority of its time in its burrow. Fossorials in general are a bit easier to deal with since they spend most of their time in their burrow but you need to consider this is a tarantula you might not see for months at a time.

As far as care goes I tend to give my asian fossorials 10-14 inches of substrate, and I like to give them a starter hole when making their new enclosures. Substrate should be damp but it shouldn't drip if you squeeze it. If you can, setting them up in someplace dark and quite will increase the chance you'll see them out of their burrow.
 
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