What would be the best Brachypelma (hamorii, emilia, boehmei) for someones first tarantula?

[baileyy]

I've been wanting to get a tarantula for some time now, however, I don't know which one would be best for me since I have zero experience with tarantulas.

I do gravitate towards Brachypelmas, specifically hamorii, emilia, and boehmei.

I have heard that boehmei is a little more feisty and more of a hair kicker, which I'm a little afraid of.

What is everyone's experience with these three? Or are there different Brachypelmas that would be better for my first?

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

I've been wanting to get a tarantula for some time now, however, I don't know which one would be best for me since I have zero experience with tarantulas.

I do gravitate towards Brachypelmas, specifically hamorii, emilia, and boehmei.

I have heard that boehmei is a little more feisty and more of a hair kicker, which I'm a little afraid of.

What is everyone's experience with these three? Or are there different Brachypelmas that would be better for my first?

I haven’t had the emilia but the other two kick enough hairs to wear protective gear around haha . Last time I had them , I have zero of the genus right now . I’d suggest Honduran curly hair Tliltocatl albopilosus which kicks hairs but you really gotta annoy mine to get that to happen. Yesterday it was sleeping on the water dish somehow and I was worried about it. Turns out it was fine . They are a former member of Brachypelmas genus. Just don’t do that , very foolish of me .

 

[kingshockey]

out of your 3 listed i own a hamorrii and boehmei. the boehmei being to more hair flicky out of all my ts along with being more prone to run. thing is they are all different and dont always live up to the rep they have. so just do your research and buy the one you like best

 

[cold blood]

Any Brachypelma is a suitable first...no one is better than the other...personal preference....hair kicking isnt something to be afraid of or even worried about.

 

[baileyy]

I haven’t had the emilia but the other two kick enough hairs to wear protective gear around haha . Last time I had them , I have zero of the genus right now . I’d suggest Honduran curly hair Tliltocatl albopilosus which kicks hairs but you really gotta annoy mine to get that to happen. Yesterday it was sleeping on the water dish somehow and I was worried about it. Turns out it was fine . They are a former member of Brachypelmas genus.

The Honduran curly hair is so adorable I'll put them into consideration... also, a lot of people seem to love the green bottle blue. Do you have any experience with them?

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

The Honduran curly hair is so adorable I'll put them into consideration... also, a lot of people seem to love the green bottle blue. Do you have any experience with them?

Yeah they’re also very easy to care for , typically move a bit faster and I’m sensitive to the brachy/nhandu hairs the worst so I might have over exaggerated their effectiveness. Just don’t clean the cage out without gloves , that’s how I got more allergic to it too it it seems or made me more sensitive to them. For 95% of the time I can avoid the hairs . It’s cleaning cages & rehouse I run into issues. It’s nothing to be afraid of just as cold blood said .

 

[WhiteMoss]

I have all 3 and they're all great. Boemei is definatly the more skittish of the 3. All 3 kick hair, but usually only during a rehouse or when I'm putting the lid on their enclosure when they're holding onto a meal. Like @cold blood said, unless you got your face right in there it's not a concern.

IMO any brachy is a good choice (have almost all except baumgarteni). Klaasi is my favorite, but thats personal preference.

 

[baileyy]

Any Brachypelma is a suitable first...no one is better than the other...personal preference....hair kicking isnt something to be afraid of or even worried about.

I'm mainly scared about hair flicking because I have sensitive skin, and am afraid I would have more of a reaction.
But then again, I've never been around a tarantula while it's flicked hairs, so I don't know how I would actually react.

 

[WhiteMoss]

The Honduran curly hair is so adorable I'll put them into consideration... also, a lot of people seem to love the green bottle blue. Do you have any experience with them?

Gbb is another good choice, especially if you love heavy webbers. They too are a little more skittish side. Although as a sling mine was very docile and slow moving.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

I'm mainly scared about hair flicking because I have sensitive skin, and am afraid I would have more of a reaction.
But then again, I've never been around a tarantula while it's flicked hairs, so I don't know how I would actually react.

For my more skittish spiders(all of them ) I always give them a pre made starter burrow (plastic circular cream cheese, container, )with the end cut off normally example a half circle cork bark hide to run to which is a better choice. And slings same thing but way smaller , hairs aren’t really an issue til 2-3”+ ..
Just read the beginners articles on here maybe search for them , it’s all just basic knowledge what I said.

 

[HooahArmy]

The boehmei at my house is a notorious hair flicker, even when feeding or if someone walks by too loudly by the enclosure. If you're avoiding hairs, I'd go no on this one, just as others are noting.
The hamorii my mum keeps was a little skittish when she was younger, but mellowed out quite a bit with age. When started by fast movements when doing tank maintenance, they will prefer to run and hide, but if the agitation persists, they will kick some hairs, albeit not as readily as the boehmei.
One of my homegirls has an enormous emilia and some juvies, and I would say that the temperament is similar to the hamorii. When they're older and larger, they behave much like the hamorrii-- calm unless something riles them up. As juvies and slings, they are skittish and prone to running for a hide, or kicking some hairs as mid-sized juvies.
As for the GBB, my mum and I both keep one. This T varies by individual. My mum's big male as a beautiful display T that is as docile as a stone, except when feeding with the zeal of a gator. He rehouses easily and rarely ever has kicked hairs. As for my 4" maturing female, she has the soul of a tigress. She too pounces on prey with gusto, but slings hair only slightly less than the boehmei. A slight breeze can cause her to be alarmed.
Two brachys that I've encountered to be more on the chill side are the albiceps and auratum; my friends keep these in adult form but love them so much, they are looking to adopt more slings and juvies.

Each T is going to have their own personality, just like humans do, so I rarely every buy online since I cannot meet the T in person. If you are seeking temperament features to be your buying point, the best place to go is a show or local breeder, if you have some nearby. Seeing the T in person, watching them feed, and reacting to stimulus is the best way to determine if your future pal is going to be a hair-slinging nut or a laid-back buddy.

Ah, and as a point of note for your future pal, some brachys are notorious earth-movers, so be prepared for long-burrowed molts and soil all over the place. They may need more maintenance than some other species if their digging gets out of hand.
For some of my brachys, they find that a substrate of about 50% invert mix and 50% buried water dishes to be prime...

 

[YellowBrickRoad]

I like the klaasi. Just got this beauty a few weeks ago. Not a hair/bristle missing even after shipping. There are some just like mine in the klaasified's (my klaasi funny for the day) if you fancy yourself getting one?

And one of my males, same thing, nothing out of place even after shipping.

Much like the albiceps if disturbed they'll run away, but once the all clear has been given they'll be the first to go back to being a nice display tarantula.

Female 5.5in





Male:



Cheers!

 

[NMTs]

Welcome! Any of the 3 (or maybe now it's 5) you're considering would be good. Just keep in mind that if you get a spiderling of basically any Brachypelma variety, it will likely be very small (like 1/2" leg span or less) and they take a LONG time to grow up. It's good because it gives you plenty of time to learn about keeping T's as they grow, but not particularly ideal for beginners because slings are definitely more fragile than larger individuals. If you can find a young specimen in the 1.5-2" range, you'll get to see it grow plenty, but won't have to wait ages to see color besides tan...

 

[viper69]

Emilia or ham., boehmei most flicky - I’ve owned all 3

 

[Cmac2111]

I have all three and they are great looking, easy to care for T's. Whichever one of these brachys (or any other species for that matter) you like best after doing research is the one you should get as said many times above.
I'll give a mention to B. albiceps, another beautiful brachypelma that differs from the more orange/red colors of the others in its genus by instead going for a mostly black & gold theme, Sam Sparro style lol.

 

[TechnoGeek]

Oh the ones you mentioned, I'll vote emilia as mine is hands down that calmest spider I've had so far and they're very hardy and easy to keep.

If you're willing to consider more species T albopilosus is also unique with those curly hairs and very chill too. I would recommend the Honduran or hobby form tho.

And finally, as said in the post above B albiceps is an excellent pic too. Great looks and usually docile Ts.

If you're buying slings I'd recommend buying more than one (or buy 1 of each sp lol) to maximize your odds of scoring a female. It would suck to wait 2 years for it to reach a decent size only for it to be male.

 

[baileyy]

Oh the ones you mentioned, I'll vote emilia as mine is hands down that calmest spider I've had so far and they're very hardy and easy to keep.

If you're willing to consider more species T albopilosus is also unique with those curly hairs and very chill too. I would recommend the Honduran or hobby form tho.

And finally, as said in the post above B albiceps is an excellent pic too. Great looks and usually docile Ts.

If you're buying slings I'd recommend buying more than one (or buy 1 of each sp lol) to maximize your odds of scoring a female. It would suck to wait 2 years for it to reach a decent size only for it to be male.

Someone said B. auratum would be a good choice as well.. I really want a T with orange/red coloration.

I'm planning on getting a T over an inch long, I don't want a teeny tiny baby.

I'll probably wait on getting anymore Ts after my first (mostly because of my boyfriend.. maybe I can talk him into getting more than one when we go to get my first haha)

He personally said I should get a Brazilian Black, which I think is beautiful, but like I said, I really want a T with the orange/red coloration. I'll probably then think more about other species.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Someone said B. auratum would be a good choice as well.. I really want a T with orange/red coloration.

I'm planning on getting a T over an inch long, I don't want a teeny tiny baby.

I'll probably wait on getting anymore Ts after my first (mostly because of my boyfriend.. maybe I can talk him into getting more than one when we go to get my first haha)

He personally said I should get a Brazilian Black, which I think is beautiful, but like I said, I really want a T with the orange/red coloration. I'll probably then think more about other species.

Hard to say you can’t really go wrong with any of the common beginner species . Many of them still being favorites for advanced keepers .

 

[TechnoGeek]

mostly because of my boyfriend.. maybe I can talk him into getting more than one when we go to get my first haha

Lol I've never consulted my fiancee about getting Ts.. I feel like I shouldn't have to They don't bother other household members in any way and they just sit in one corner and mind their business. Luckily she doesn't care, but she's strongly opposed to me keeping crickets for obvious reasons. Not that I can fault her for that, and I wouldn't keep crickets for more than a day or 2 regardless

Anyhow, if you want something with orange in it, grab yourself a B emilia and thank me later:

 

[kingshockey]

Someone said B. auratum would be a good choice as well.. I really want a T with orange/red coloration.

I'm planning on getting a T over an inch long, I don't want a teeny tiny baby.

I'll probably wait on getting anymore Ts after my first (mostly because of my boyfriend.. maybe I can talk him into getting more than one when we go to get my first haha)

He personally said I should get a Brazilian Black, which I think is beautiful, but like I said, I really want a T with the orange/red coloration. I'll probably then think more about other species.

anniversary, xmas and birthdays(yours) are an easy way to add a few more ts