What's a Good Baboon tarantula to start with? Or New World

[Chris LXXIX]

OP keeps posting threads about getting an OW, what a certain OW is like, etc. and on those threads people keep gently telling them "You're not ready for an OW, don't get an OW please." and yet they keep posting more threads "So which baboon should I start with?" and expecting different results perhaps?

I feel like that's the definition to some word, can't remember which......repeating the same action and expecting different results.

It's proved by incontrovertible facts that there's few (lucky) people out there that keeps living everyday the same day, over and over, again and again... nurtured by a wonderful loop where time, space and logic doesn't exists.

Who said that today is August 12, 2017, one moment? On which basis I can't deny, for instance, that today isn't December 24, 1986, there's a gentle snow outside and, in TV, 'Trading Places' to see with Aykroid/Murphy?

 

[Mojo288]

Who said that today is August 12, 2017, one moment? On which basis I can't deny, for instance, that today isn't December 24, 1986, there's a gentle snow outside and, in TV, 'Trading Places' to see with Aykroid/Murphy?

Kurt Vonnegut would applaud this statement.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

I'll forgo the "You're too young/inexperienced to go messing about with OW species" as I feel it's been said enough times already.

I'll answer the other question on NW species without urticating setae or those that rarely kick them.

Species without urticating setae:

D. diamantinensis
N. incei (both forms)
Any Holothele sp.
Any Psalmopoeus sp. (They're bloody fast, some have a bit of an attitude and they have stronger venom than other NW species though)
Any Tapinauchenius sp. (They're all stupidly fast and they have stronger venom than other NW species though).

None of these are really handleable, not that I'd encourage handling anyway, it's selfish, risky and does nothing other than stress out the Tarantula.

Some pecies that have urticating setae but rarely/don't kick:

- Pretty much any Grammostola sp. (I have pulchripes and iheringi and neither have ever kicked hairs)
- B. albopilosum
- Any Avicularia sp.
- Any Caribena sp.
- Any Ybyrapora sp.

Brachypelma and Aphonopelma are a bit hit and miss, some don't kick, others seemingly kick for fun (My B. emilia, B. hamorii and A. chalcodes almost never kick hairs), their hairs aren't even bad anyway (the only genera I've kept so far with hairs bad enough to make me itch are Acanthoscurria and Lasiodora, the latter are by far the worse of the two).

 

[Ungoliant]

- Any Avicularia sp.

Avicularia don't kick hairs. They rub their abdomens against you (causing many people to mistakenly believe that they like being petted).

Of course, even an easygoing tarantula that never kicks hairs may still shed urticating hairs in their enclosures, especially before molting. So be sure to reduce your exposure by using tongs for maintenance, and wash your hands after working in the closure.

 

[sasker]

Are there any bald species or one that doesn't use the hairs as much.

Any bald species you say? Hmm. B. boehmei comes to mind. They are usually quite bald. Oh wait, that's because they kick a lot to hair

@Ignia I think you have received enough tips and information to make an educated decision when you choose your first tarantula. Instead of asking for the same information over and over again, please make more use of the search function on this forum. If that's too complicated, I doubt that you are at all ready for any tarantula, OW or NW.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Avicularia don't kick hairs. They rub their abdomens against you (causing many people to mistakenly believe that they like being petted).

If you don't handle your Avics then it's not really a problem.

My reaction when people are like "My Avic loves bum rubs, tee hee!"

"No, it actually hates you and is trying to rub irritating hairs directly into your skin so that you'll leave it alone"

Of course, even an easygoing tarantula that never kicks hairs may still shed urticating hairs in their enclosures, especially before molting. So be sure to reduce your exposure by using tongs for maintenance, and wash your hands after working in the closure.

Things like pouring water directly into the substrate instead of misting (honestly, mist a Lasiodora/Theraphosa/Nhandu enclosure and see how quickly you regret it lol) and being careful when you open up the enclosure (so as not to kick up any hairs were previously discarded) also help.

 

[Ungoliant]

If you don't handle your Avics then it's not really a problem.

When my elderly Avicularia avicularia passed away last March, I made the mistake of cleaning out her enclosure with my bare hands, because I was too lazy to put on gloves. Mild hairs or not, my hands had itchy welts for two weeks. I won't make that mistake again!

 

[Trenor]

When my elderly Avicularia avicularia passed away last March, I made the mistake of cleaning out her enclosure with my bare hands, because I was too lazy to put on gloves. Mild hairs or not, my hands had itchy welts for two weeks. I won't make that mistake again!

I second this. I've haired myself worse than any of my Ts cleaning out substrate from old enclosures. My hands and forearms were burning for weeks too. Now I have throw away gloves that I only use for that.

 

[Ignia]

Why P.lugardi "was a unpredeictible" (unpredictable, you mean, btw?) ?

If yes, well, all T's are unpredictable at the end.

"But maybe a new world?" Ah ah no offence but seems that you are a bit uncertain

My opinion is that Ceratogyrus marshalli isn't only one of the best 'baboon' out there (in general) but IMO on the Top 10 of the best looking Theraphosidae (despite NW, OW).

As a 'Pro' that never harmed no one, really cheap as well (at least here in Europe).

However, if you don't have a bit of experience, it's better to look for something else.

Alright. I am very undecisive. What I meant was some people say P.Lugardi is hellspawn and others say they are mellower.

 

[Ignia]

OP keeps posting threads about getting an OW, what a certain OW is like, etc. and on those threads people keep gently telling them "You're not ready for an OW, don't get an OW please." and yet they keep posting more threads "So which baboon should I start with?" and expecting different results perhaps?

I feel like that's the definition to some word, can't remember which......repeating the same action and expecting different results.

Not what I'm trying to do pal. Just looking if there are better species pal. Please don't assume. It's not like I am going to rush out to go get it in the next twelve seconds.

 

[miss moxie]

Alright. I am very undecisive. What I meant was some people say P.Lugardi is hellspawn and others say they are mellower.

If you can't handle a P. lugardi at it's worst and most hellacious and vicious then you shouldn't get one. This is true of any species. If you can't manage a certain tarantula species at it's worst then don't get it.

Not what I'm trying to do pal. Just looking if there are better species pal. Please don't assume. It's not like I am going to rush out to go get it in the next twelve seconds.

I am not your pal, and from what I've seen you shouldn't get an OW in the next twelve months let alone twelve seconds.

Yes there are better species for you to learn with and none of them are OW Ts.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Alright. I am very undecisive. What I meant was some people say P.Lugardi is hellspawn and others say they are mellower.

Ah ah, it's normal to be a bit uncertain where every freaking second jumps out a picture of a Theraphosidae to "add", son. It's fine

P.lugardi. Let me explain... all of us had (and we can still have) a bit of different experience with the same T's, no matter. Therefore what was said here in this thread is valid, even if seems that users were arguing.

Which means that, yes, P.lugardi can act as 'pet hole' but, at the same time (rehouse, cage upgrades etc) since they are and remain 'baboons' at the end of the day, things can turn pretty nasty if a "Ooops!" happens.

That venom is not something a 15 years guy would love to enjoy. Actually, wait a freaking minute, not even I, at almost 40, would.

 

[miss moxie]

Ah ah, it's normal to be a bit uncertain where every freaking second jumps out a picture of a Theraphosidae to "add", son. It's fine

P.lugardi. Let me explain... all of us had (and we can still have) a bit of different experience with the same T's, no matter. Therefore what was said here in this thread is valid, even if seems that users were arguing.

Which means that, yes, P.lugardi can act as 'pet hole' but, at the same time (rehouse, cage upgrades etc) since they are and remain 'baboons' at the end of the day, things can turn pretty nasty if a "Ooops!" happens.

That venom is not something a 15 years guy would love to enjoy. Actually, wait a freaking minute, not even I, at almost 40, would.

Exactly. The venom of this and most every OW can land a person in the hospital.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

If you can't handle a P. lugardi at it's worst and most hellacious and vicious then you shouldn't get one.

Reminds me of that fake Marilyn Monroe quote that pretty much every woman on Wastebook shares incessantly...

"I'm out of control and at times hard to handle.
But if you can't handle me at my worst then you
sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Exactly. The venom of this and most every OW can land a person in the hospital.

True. But that's not only the main issue in this case IMO. I mean, an adult man/woman is responsible for him/herself, a 15 years older person, not.

I don't think would be fair that a father or a mother, especially those parents that loves their son/daughter to the point to let them even own a (pretty venomous) spider deserves (if things turns crap) to be blamed, questioned maybe by Docs etc in a moment were they are already feeling crap for a (hypotethical) bite happened to their son.

 

[miss moxie]

True. But that's not only the main issue in this case IMO. I mean, an adult man/woman is responsible for him/herself, a 15 years older person, not.

I don't think would be fair that a father or a mother, especially those parents that loves their son/daughter to the point to let them even own a (pretty venomous) spider deserves (if things turns crap) to be blamed, questioned maybe by Docs etc in a moment were they are already feeling crap for a (hypotethical) bite happened to their son.

You're right and I didn't even think about that. If their son got bitten, the doctors could potentially call social services and say "Hey these parents let their child keep a venomous tarantula" or even worse if OP has a little brother or sister that wandered into their room and got bitten? What if they have an elderly grandparent living with them? Sure it's hypothetical, sure I don't know if OP has siblings at all, it's all hypothetical but it's worth worrying about. Even adults with experience on this site get bit or suffers an escaped tarantula. When it comes to old world tarantulas no scenario is too "far out" to consider.

There is scientific proof that teenagers don't have a fully developed frontal lobe, which is responsible for thinking out your actions fully, the consequences, etc. It's part of the "immortality" that a lot of teenagers feel.

"By adolescence, most of the brain has been myelinated except for the frontal lobe, the center for “executive functioning,” where planning, sequencing of activities, and prioritizing long-range goals take place. Biologically, the long-range planning part of the brain is simply slower, less ‘hard-wired’ than the here-and-now-information-processing parts of the brain."

Therefore, thrills and rewards are, frankly, more thrilling and rewarding to teenagers. In part due to the slower inputs from the frontal lobe, adolescents perceive short-term rewards as more rewarding than adults, and even small rewards are experienced as larger, better, more engrossing than they are in adults. Jokes are funnier, experiences are often ‘the best,’ everything is more urgent and more intense. The reward center of the brain is over-valued in terms of neuronal connectivity, and easily activated in a variety of otherwise underwhelming circumstances. It’s primed to be tweaked!

The reward center serves to motivate us by producing a small but powerful response to food, sex, and novel situations. Teenagers just get a whopping dose of this. Everything is worth doing because it feels so good, so right. The brakes, or the ability to contextualize certain pleasures and to appraise the relevant risks, is simply not hard-wired yet.

source

The combo of a teenage brain that isn't fully capable of realizing the full consequences of an action combined with the "high" that comes from risk-taking, makes it a bad idea for teenagers to get an OW, especially a teenager without any experience with any tarantula let alone a fast and defensive one. I'm not saying all teenagers are incapable of caring for tarantulas, there are some on here that do very well.

This is just why I'm always very wary when the topic of teenagers and OWs come up.

I'm also not saying OP shouldn't get a tarantula at all. If they're here to learn about OWs for the future, great. But they should definitely start with a NW tarantula.

 

[Ignia]

You're right and I didn't even think about that. If their son got bitten, the doctors could potentially call social services and say "Hey these parents let their child keep a venomous tarantula" or even worse if OP has a little brother or sister that wandered into their room and got bitten? What if they have an elderly grandparent living with them? Sure it's hypothetical, sure I don't know if OP has siblings at all, it's all hypothetical but it's worth worrying about. Even adults with experience on this site get bit or suffers an escaped tarantula. When it comes to old world tarantulas no scenario is too "far out" to consider.

There is scientific proof that teenagers don't have a fully developed frontal lobe, which is responsible for thinking out your actions fully, the consequences, etc. It's part of the "immortality" that a lot of teenagers feel.

source

The combo of a teenage brain that isn't fully capable of realizing the full consequences of an action combined with the "high" that comes from risk-taking, makes it a bad idea for teenagers to get an OW, especially a teenager without any experience with any tarantula let alone a fast and defensive one. I'm not saying all teenagers are incapable of caring for tarantulas, there are some on here that do very well.

This is just why I'm always very wary when the topic of teenagers and OWs come up.

I'm also not saying OP shouldn't get a tarantula at all. If they're here to learn about OWs for the future, great. But they should definitely start with a NW tarantula.

I don't think I am immortal, I know I am going to die nor do I think I am invincible. And I don't want an adrenaline high either. And I know consequences. And I am doing research and looking for a lock and am researching. But I am probably going to start with a New world. However I am very careful with my pets and haven't had an escapee, as a reptile owner I know how to deal with not letting them escape.

 

[miss moxie]

I don't think I am immortal, I know I am going to die nor do I think I am invincible. And I don't want an adrenaline high either. And I know consequences. And I am doing research and looking for a lock and am researching. But I am probably going to start with a New world. However I am very careful with my pets and haven't had an escapee, as a reptile owner I know how to deal with not letting them escape.

That's like comparing apples to oranges. Having experience with reptiles doesn't equal having experience with tarantulas.

Having a lock on an enclosure keeps people other than you out of the enclosure, it does not account for escapes during feeding/watering/cleaning/rehousing.

 

[sasker]

And I don't want an adrenaline high either.

Why then, prey tell, do you insist on having an OW as your first T? It is not because you know their behaviour is that much different and more interesting than any NW, because that doesn't make sense. The reason you want an OW tarantula is because they are much more venomous so you can brag to your friends that you have a 'dangerous' pet, am I right?

Just let your parents read this thread and see if they agree with you and allow you to start with an OW tarantula, or they will tell you to start with a NW species. Their frontal lobes are more developed so they should be able to make a wiser decision. That is also why they are responsible for you and your behaviour. So it makes sense that they have the last say in the matter

 

[miss moxie]

Why then, prey tell, do you insist on having an OW as your first T? It is not because you know their behaviour is that much different and more interesting than any NW, because that doesn't make sense.

Agreed. From what I've read a lot of OW tarantulas like to burrow rather than stand out in the open to be appraised and gazed upon.

Also OP, do you have any plans of going off to college? If so, what happens to your T then? You can't keep venomous pets in a dorm room. A lot of college dorm rooms don't allow any pets at all. So who's caring for your tarantula while you are in college? Your parents?? Who likely have zero experience caring for tarantulas as well.