Which of these petco Ts should I rescue?

[LirvA]

Think I'm finally gonna get my first T (... or Ts ) pretty soon and was looking at these two at the local petco. They've got a Chilean rose listed as Grammostola cola and a pink toe marked as Avicularia sp.

I got some pictures. I asked today and they didn't know the sex of either.


So I've been there 3 times within the past couple weeks. Here's the G. cala


Enclosure. Not sure if the plant is real or not. Also not sure what the substrate is cause I'm a newb. There was a little water in the dish.

T. Bout the best pic I could get.

Temp and humidity.

What do you guys think of the condition? Also can anyone tell what sex it is? I know it's not the right kind of pic to try to sex but maybe you veterans can tell by the legs and abdomen size or something?

Also, can you tell if this is indeed a G. cala or is it just a G. rosea?

First two times I came in, the T was in the hide but facing the other direction.


Now the pink toe.

Enclosure. Again not sure of the substrate. Water dish is bone dry. (T in top left back corner). All three times I've been there it's been in the same spot.

T. (with humidity gauge). Does it look like an A. avicularia?

Temp gauge.

Just wondering what you guys thought. I asked if they'd give a discount for buying both and he said they weren't supposed to but probably could do like 10% off each. They're listed at like 20 for the rose and 18 for the pink toe. It looks kinda miserable imo, no webbing at all and no water in the dish. Ugly looking fake plant. Humidity needs to be higher too doesn't it?

 

[LV-426]

Think I'm finally gonna get my first T (... or Ts ) pretty soon and was looking at these two at the local petco. They've got a Chilean rose listed as Grammostola cola and a pink toe marked as Avicularia sp.

I got some pictures. I asked today and they didn't know the sex of either.


So I've been there 3 times within the past couple weeks. Here's the G. cala


Enclosure. Not sure if the plant is real or not. Also not sure what the substrate is cause I'm a newb. There was a little water in the dish.

T. Bout the best pic I could get.

Temp and humidity.

What do you guys think of the condition? Also can anyone tell what sex it is? I know it's not the right kind of pic to try to sex but maybe you veterans can tell by the legs and abdomen size or something?

Also, can you tell if this is indeed a G. cala or is it just a G. rosea?

First two times I came in, the T was in the hide but facing the other direction.


Now the pink toe.

Enclosure. Again not sure of the substrate. Water dish is bone dry. (T in top left back corner). All three times I've been there it's been in the same spot.

T. (with humidity gauge). Does it look like an A. avicularia?

Temp gauge.

Just wondering what you guys thought. I asked if they'd give a discount for buying both and he said they weren't supposed to but probably could do like 10% off each. They're listed at like 20 for the rose and 18 for the pink toe. It looks kinda miserable imo, no webbing at all and no water in the dish. Ugly looking fake plant. Humidity needs to be higher too doesn't it?

Tough call, you can buy them and they will put another two in their place. Its a vicious circle, cant rescue them all sad to say.

 

[Chris_Skeleton]

That's coconut fiber substrate they are using.

Anyway, nobody will be able to sex from those pics, but BEFORE you buy it, you better make sure they don't have tibial hooks. And honestly, NO petco will ever be able to know the sex. They can tell you if it's male or female but they have no idea what they are talking about.

I thought G. cala and rosea were the same? Maybe near the same. Idk but if it's in petco it's most likely rosea if there's even a difference.

That avic looks kind of like a metallica, to me at least, in that pic. Might be, might not, or I might just be seeing things.

To me it looks like they have both of them setup correctly, except they need more humidity in the avics enclosure. Other than that, looks good for a petco. Whatever you get, just make sure it's not MM. Good luck on your first purchase.

 

[LirvA]

I've actually never bought or handled a T before ... except I think I picked one up when I was a kid ... how would I go about checking for tibial hooks? Ask them if I can pinch grab them or????

Also not sure what those look like

 

[DrJ]

Chris, I see where you see the Avic could beca metallica. But, I seriously doubt the store would fork out the extra dough for one. But, again, you never know. An LPS around here had an adult female Stromatopelma calceatum for $20 two years ago. The lady working there at the time even offered to get it out and show me how friendly it was. Hmmm...

Anyway, looks to me this store actually takes good care of their Ts. So "rescuing" wouldn't be the proper term (likely). Good substrate, good tank size, etc. If you want one, I like Avics for a NW species.

 

[LirvA]

I was just a bit concerned about the avic cause it doesn't really have any webbing. Most of the pictures I see of avics have TONS of webbing but this specimen has none. Why wouldn't it web?

 

[NikiP]

They can be funny about webbing. Sometimes they web up stuff within days, sometimes they take weeks, sometime they web a lot, sometimes they web a little

Personally i'd get the Avic over the rosea.

 

[LirvA]

Another question!






How much is a mature female A. Metallica worth?

 

[DrJ]

I don't know. I paid $40 for mine...4" female.

Should probably add: most decent petstores clean out the webbing so the spider is viewable. If you can't see it, will you buy it? But, it could be that it just hasn't felt like it. I have one right now that's done NO webbing in about two months.

 

[Offkillter]

Don't buy from petco ! Big box stores don't care about the animals only your wallet. If your getting your first T go through one of the many reputable dealers available to you ,most are more than willing to take the time to help new customers decide which T is right for you. If I were you I'd save some money and buy a sling it really is a kick to watch it grow,also most slings you'd buy from dealers are more than likely captive bred. I'm willing to bet most if not all T's at petco are wild caught and this must be discouraged in order to keep wild populations stable. You can do your part, put your foot down,say no to wild caught,save yourself some money and support honest tarantula dealers.

 

[Earthworm Soul]

Don't buy either of them. By giving them money, you're just encouraging them to get more in. Buy a T from a hobbyist on here instead.

 

[AmbushArachnids]

I will have to agree you should buy from an online dealer instead simply because its probably WC. The Avicularia does look like an A. metallica from the white fuzzy setae on the legs, but we cant be certain from a photo.

I have read here on the boards that petco has been selling A. metallica, so i wouldnt rule it out. They seem to be doing a good job housing those Ts as much as i hate to admit it. Most likely a hobbiest working there.

I did get a kick out of the upside down hygrometer..
Thats enough to make me lose all confidence in the employees..

G. rosea is G. cala
Reference:
http://research.amnh.org/iz/spiders/catalog/THERAPHOSIDAE.html

 

[KoriTamashii]

Gonna have to agree. Don't buy from the store; buy from a reputable dealer here on the boards.

 

[LirvA]

I would greatly prefer to buy from someone online but I'm pretty strapped for cash and can't really afford to shell out 40 bucks (or more?) + 30 dollars shipping for a mature female.

In the financial situation I'm in, looking at 20 dollars or less compared to 70 dollars or more and I'm gonna have to go for 20 dollars or less imo.

 

[AmbushArachnids]

You may want to figure out the gender before purchasing it. It could be a male.

 

[LirvA]

I definitely won't buy either if they have tibial hooks imo.

 

[AmbushArachnids]

If you can get a good ventral photo we may be able to help you sex it.

 

[NikiP]

Have you looked in the classified for someone seling in or around your state? Then you could do priority mail, usually runs around $10.

And be open to a juvie. You can find youngsters that have been sexed.

 

[AmbushArachnids]

It really is best to buy CB specimens. For every one you "save" from a local pet shop there is one more being imported. Just my take on it.

 

[LirvA]

Yeah there's actually someone on a local forum selling an unsexed 3 inch C. fasciatum for 15 bucks, might check that out actually.

C. fasciatum is actually one of my favorite species and I want to get one eventually but not sure if I should get one as my first T.

As far as the shipping, I probably wouldn't want to risk a dead arrival by shipping cheap.