When is a good time for a "beginner" to go for a Psalmopoeus irminia?

[mrtnspdr]

Hiho,

I hope that sentence is proper english, lol. I put beginner in quotemarks cause I already got some experience with Ts. I own my oldest T for a year now, 4 other tarantulas for ~half a year. All of them are Avicularias/Brachypelmas and one is a Davus pentaloris (the fastest out of all of them).
As every beginner, I also want to grow as a T keeper and wanted to try my luck with a Psalmopoeus, cause they are always described as a transitionspecies. I know, that the difference between my pet rocks and a Psalmopoeus is night and day but I wanted to give it a shot nevertheless. A terrarium is already prepared, pic in the attachment, I wanted to put in a female P. irminia. Would you advice me to go for a Avicularia again? I feel that it's hard to say when someone is ready, maybe some long time keeper can tell me when he felt, that he/she was ready to go for something more demanding.

best regards

 

[octanejunkie]

P. irminia is fast fast fast. They are not "dangerous" like an OW, but like all spiders they can be if cornered. P. irminia would rather run and hide than stand and fight but most beginners are not ready for their speed and there's no tolerance for mistakes like leaving the enclosure open for a second.

P. irminia will hide a lot. They make dirt curtain hides behind leaning trees/cork bark and use that as their home base. They slowly venture out and shoot back in on first disturbance.

You can also consider Psalmopoeus pulcher and Pseudoclamoris burgessi - similar to P. irminia but they tend to not hide as much, in my experience, but are also more flighty than fighty.

Avics are much slower (cautious) in nature and more along the lines of a "beginner" arboreal pet rock but have rather stringent ventilation requirements - no stuffy or moist enclosures. Avic need good cross ventilation and access to clean water (dish or in webbing) not damp substrate.

That's a very nice looking viv, and can suit an adult psalmo, but I would suggest you start with a 3/4"-1" sling and raise it up so you can get used to its needs and speed.
BTW, that spathiphyllum is going to fill that enclosure (if it's real) they like to grow in really dense

 

[jrh3]

They are easy to care for. You can always start with a sling as they grow fairly quick. That way you can grow with it. There is really no reason not to get one in my opinion if you have been keeping for a year. Rehousing would be the most risk for a bolt, but I have never had an issue.

Being prepared is the key. Catch cups, brush, tongs, another catch cup, bamboo skewers, and maybe one more catch cup.

Cambridgei are my favorite of the species.

 

[mrtnspdr]

Thanks to both of you for your quick replies. I think I'll give it a shot and order a P. irminia sling. I'll setup a smaller enclosure for it tho and will leave the current one empty - for now

 

[Smotzer]

I recently got a few Psalmopoeus irminia and cambridgei slings, and the cambridgei is our far more. Both dug burrows and made arboreal dirt curtain hides behind bark. I would say don’t really be prepared to see them much. They settled in quick and made burrows and stayed there for at least the first week. But they both have a great feeding response. Fun slings to watch too.

 

[jrh3]

You can set the slings up like this in a 32 oz deli cup. They will build up around the bottom and eventually up the sides of it.

 

[jaw6053]

I have both a P. Pulcher and P. Irminia. I haven't seen my Irminia since the day I got it and because of that I would suggest a P. Pulcher.

 

[Chebe6886]

Both Irminia and Cambridgei will make a web tunnel close to the ground but IME Irminia will rarely venture beyond the entrance as sling or adult and Cambridgei will wonder its enclosure significantly more as both sling and adult. Just my experience never owned Pulcher or other species

 

[FrDoc]

A direct answer to the question posed in the title is, when the “beginner” is confident enough to make the decision on his/her own without asking.

 

[Chebe6886]

A direct answer to the question posed in the title is, when the “beginner” is confident enough to make the decision on his/her own without asking.

I agree with this 100% I’ve never dealt the need to ask. More over I have a hard time imagining the more experienced and knowledgeable people on here bothering to ask either. Not trying to be critical but clearly the OP has doubts.

 

[testdasi]

Hiho,

I hope that sentence is proper english, lol. I put beginner in quotemarks cause I already got some experience with Ts. I own my oldest T for a year now, 4 other tarantulas for ~half a year. All of them are Avicularias/Brachypelmas and one is a Davus pentaloris (the fastest out of all of them).
As every beginner, I also want to grow as a T keeper and wanted to try my luck with a Psalmopoeus, cause they are always described as a transitionspecies. I know, that the difference between my pet rocks and a Psalmopoeus is night and day but I wanted to give it a shot nevertheless. A terrarium is already prepared, pic in the attachment, I wanted to put in a female P. irminia. Would you advice me to go for a Avicularia again? I feel that it's hard to say when someone is ready, maybe some long time keeper can tell me when he felt, that he/she was ready to go for something more demanding.

best regards

I completely disagree with anyone suggesting the P. irminia as a "transition" species.
My first impression with an adult female P. irminia was screaming "holy <edit> black devil" (or something to that effect) - and note that I have had extensive experience with Pokies prior to that encounter.
My Pokies seriously are all sweet hearts if compared to that P. irminia.

If you want a Psalmopoeus, I would suggest a P. cambridgei / pulcher instead.
They probably are the transition species before you get a P. irminia, which hates everything, even fake plants.

Having said all that and you still want a P. irminia (which I don't recommend but can understand - the thing is beautiful!), please at the minimum watch as many Youtube videos about P. irminia as you can.
You have to be comfortable with their speed and attitude.

Once you have had the P. irminia and get over the honeymoon period (or shall I say shattymoon period), you probably think about your initial reaction in retrospect and laugh at it as severe over-reaction.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

You've already been keeping Aviculariinae so if you haven't had any issues and feel you're ready to step it up a notch then go for it.

If you want a Psalmopoeus, I would suggest a P. cambridgei / pulcher instead.

I wouldn't recommend either of those tbh, both of my cambridgei specimens make my uber reclusive Ornithoctoninae look outgoing, and all three of my pulcher specimens have been really scatty/bolty and occasionally pretty defensive.

I've only had 2 threat postures from my irminia, once was at a feeder because she was in early pre-moult, and the other when I backed her into a corner during a rehouse.

If any Psalmo should be described as a rage daemon then it's victori

 

[viper69]

Hiho,

I hope that sentence is proper english, lol. I put beginner in quotemarks cause I already got some experience with Ts. I own my oldest T for a year now, 4 other tarantulas for ~half a year. All of them are Avicularias/Brachypelmas and one is a Davus pentaloris (the fastest out of all of them).
As every beginner, I also want to grow as a T keeper and wanted to try my luck with a Psalmopoeus, cause they are always described as a transitionspecies. I know, that the difference between my pet rocks and a Psalmopoeus is night and day but I wanted to give it a shot nevertheless. A terrarium is already prepared, pic in the attachment, I wanted to put in a female P. irminia. Would you advice me to go for a Avicularia again? I feel that it's hard to say when someone is ready, maybe some long time keeper can tell me when he felt, that he/she was ready to go for something more demanding.

best regards

Only you know if you’re ready.

This genus is a good transitional species for OW.

The person above in the thread who said it isn’t, doesn’t know what they are taking about.

Almost all serious and knowledgeable keepers recommend this genus as transitional- to suggest otherwise is irresponsible, and quite frankly shows how little the person knows.

 

[jrh3]

I completely disagree with anyone suggesting the P. irminia as a "transition" species.
My first impression with an adult female P. irminia was screaming "holy <edit> black devil" (or something to that effect) - and note that I have had extensive experience with Pokies prior to that encounter.
My Pokies seriously are all sweet hearts if compared to that P. irminia.

If you want a Psalmopoeus, I would suggest a P. cambridgei / pulcher instead.
They probably are the transition species before you get a P. irminia, which hates everything, even fake plants.

Having said all that and you still want a P. irminia (which I don't recommend but can understand - the thing is beautiful!), please at the minimum watch as many Youtube videos about P. irminia as you can.
You have to be comfortable with their speed and attitude.

Once you have had the P. irminia and get over the honeymoon period (or shall I say shattymoon period), you probably think about your initial reaction in retrospect and laugh at it as severe over-reaction.

Maybe yours was broken. My P. irminia was laid back and calm once she reached around 2 1/2 inches. A little skittish as a sling but mellowed out alot as she grew.

 

[Chebe6886]

I’ve raised multiple Irminia and relative to most weren’t defensive at all. Every single species has individuals that are exceptions. To classify an entire species based on experience with one spider is pretty reckless

 

[mrtnspdr]

A direct answer to the question posed in the title is, when the “beginner” is confident enough to make the decision on his/her own without asking.

that's a good one! you're absolutely right. It never hurts to ask long time keepers tho . I'm pretty sure I'm able to handle the sling and will be experienced enough to care for it when it'll be an adult.

Only you know if you’re ready.

This genus is a good transitional species for OW.

The person above in the thread who said it isn’t, doesn’t know what they are taking about.

Almost all serious and knowledgeable keepers recommend this genus as transitional- to suggest otherwise is irresponsible, and quite frankly shows how little the person knows.

I'm a long time lurker and love it when u and testdasi clash together. I'm on your side and don't like to go full reckless mode.

thanks to all of you for your great replies, makes me even more confident!

 

[viper69]

that's a good one! you're absolutely right. It never hurts to ask long time keepers tho . I'm pretty sure I'm able to handle the sling and will be experienced enough to care for it when it'll be an adult.




I'm a long time lurker and love it when u and testdasi clash together. I'm on your side and don't like to go full reckless mode.

thanks to all of you for your great replies, makes me even more confident!

Testy offers some good information at times.

There are however quite a few things that s/he believes that aren’t based in science, facts etc. There’s no accounting for his/her behavior

Hence why I know s/he’s not a serious keeper of these wonderful animals.

I don’t purposely clash with anyone here, nor do I see such things as points of amusement.

 

[Tarantula155]

I completely disagree with anyone suggesting the P. irminia as a "transition" species.
My first impression with an adult female P. irminia was screaming "holy <edit> black devil" (or something to that effect) - and note that I have had extensive experience with Pokies prior to that encounter.
My Pokies seriously are all sweet hearts if compared to that P. irminia.

If you want a Psalmopoeus, I would suggest a P. cambridgei / pulcher instead.
They probably are the transition species before you get a P. irminia, which hates everything, even fake plants.

Having said all that and you still want a P. irminia (which I don't recommend but can understand - the thing is beautiful!), please at the minimum watch as many Youtube videos about P. irminia as you can.
You have to be comfortable with their speed and attitude.

Once you have had the P. irminia and get over the honeymoon period (or shall I say shattymoon period), you probably think about your initial reaction in retrospect and laugh at it as severe over-reaction.

LOL SAME!
Phormictopus cancerides and P. irminia were my absolute WORST! Not even the nastiest OBT came close bahaha

My old Irminia was strange a sweetheart when she was young, and then one day trying to rehouse her when she was quite large maybe 4-5 inches... she didn't have any of it. She likes to bite first then ask questions later.... slaps everything

 

[EpicEpic]

P. irminia is fast fast fast. They are not "dangerous" like an OW, but like all spiders they can be if cornered. P. irminia would rather run and hide than stand and fight but most beginners are not ready for their speed and there's no tolerance for mistakes like leaving the enclosure open for a second.

P. irminia will hide a lot. They make dirt curtain hides behind leaning trees/cork bark and use that as their home base. They slowly venture out and shoot back in on first disturbance.

You can also consider Psalmopoeus pulcher and Pseudoclamoris burgessi - similar to P. irminia but they tend to not hide as much, in my experience, but are also more flighty than fighty.

Avics are much slower (cautious) in nature and more along the lines of a "beginner" arboreal pet rock but have rather stringent ventilation requirements - no stuffy or moist enclosures. Avic need good cross ventilation and access to clean water (dish or in webbing) not damp substrate.

That's a very nice looking viv, and can suit an adult psalmo, but I would suggest you start with a 3/4"-1" sling and raise it up so you can get used to its needs and speed.
BTW, that spathiphyllum is going to fill that enclosure (if it's real) they like to grow in really dense

OJ, what would you consider the slowest Psalmo? Or at least least likely to dash? Obviously different from specimen to specimen but none-the-less.

Just curious if there is one from the Genus!

 

[TechComMike]

I'd go with the adult P. irminia or a cambridgei because you've got a nice set-up sorted and are aware they could be more defensive and speedy. As long as you're prepared with suitable equipment (catch cups, tongs, chopped off soda bottles for rehousing catchment, long thin paintbrushes etc), these T's don't represent a 'giant leap', if you're looking for that I saw someone selling a Brazilian Wandering spider on another T forum; with one of those or maybe a Sydney Funnel web, then you're pushing the boat out a bit. My first arboreal after just a couple of months keeping T's was a large female Pokie fasciata but the only trouble she ever gave me was managing to disappear inside a piece of enclosure furnishing that I just hadn't figured was possible. As somebody already noted, with a suitably roomy terrarium and things to hide behind, most T's take the back door option rather than coming out the front door with fists raised.