Which is the smallest pokie?

[Pennywise]

I have been considering getting a pokie a bit down the road. Seems the
problem with them is they all get so large. Which is the smallest Pokie
being that space is a requirement for me?

 

[David Richards]

Get what you want and don't worry about the room

I think a 9 inch t can be housed in the same size enclosure as a 6-7 inch t and not be any less comfortable. So i would say get which ever one you like the best , just my opinion, but if a T is getting all the food it wants, it is a happy T. dave

 

[zoidx_chung]

as i know, ornata is the biggest pokies...
get a regalis, it is a good pokie to start with

 

[Jmadson13]

P. striata and P. formosa, both top out at about 6''

 

[Lorgakor]

Isn't P. metallica around there as well? I could be wrong, but I thought I read that they were on the smaller side.

 

[Michael Jacobi]

As already mentioned, adult size should not be a consideration; all adult Poecilotheria require a similarly sized cage. A 10-gallon aquarium on end (i.e., oriented vertically) is the general size I recommend.

To answer your question though, most Poecilotheria species are in the 6-7" diagonal legspan range. The two exceptions are the larger P. ornata and P. rufilata. According to Rick West, he has seen some very large P. miranda in nature, so there may be a large population of that species and, according to Andrew Smith, there was a northern population of P. subfusca that probably no longer exists due to habitat loss that also was larger than the typical "Poec". In my experience, based on my own huge collection of adult Poecilotheria, P. formosa and P. metallica would be the smallest, but the difference is negligible. They max out at 6" instead of 7"; hardly a significant factor. It should also be remembered that P. metallica has only been in the hobby for a short time so we are basing its size on young adults.

Finally, I agree with the person who stated that P. regalis is the best species to start with for a number of reasons that have been elaborated on in several other threads. Use the search function to find those.

Cheers, Michael