Which T to get next?

riderr

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 15, 2016
Messages
7
Hey guys,

I currently own 0.1 L. parahybana, 0.1 B. smithi and 0.1 Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens.
I figured it's time to get an arboreal and lucky as I am, my local guy has some slings to offer:

A. diversipes
P. irminia
P. pulcher
H. maculata

Optically I'm drawn towards the diversipes and irminia. What are your opinions on this? Maybe you own one or more of those and can say what makes them a great species to own.

Thanks in advance

Lukas
 

Redneck

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Messages
1,393
In this exact order is how I would choose.

P. irminia
P. pulcher
H. maculata
A. diversipes

Based on your current collection and not knowing your experience, I would mark the H. maculata off the list.

So that leaves the Psalmos. and the Avicularia. I would personally choose a Psalmo. over an Avic. any day. They are feistier and that makes them more interesting to me. Plus, you can't beat the looks of the irminia. That orange and black together is stunning.
 

riderr

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 15, 2016
Messages
7
Thanks!
I'm not so experienced but very passionate about this new hobby.
I totally agree on the irminia. Since he only wants 2,50€ or so I might get one anyways.
I understand Avics are not as hard to raise as some people claim they are?
Just watched this:
 

Moonohol

Two Legged Freak
Joined
Aug 8, 2016
Messages
115
Avics are cake to take care of. Dry substrate, decently large water dish, plenty of cross-ventilation and you'll pretty much be solid. I don't have experience with A. diversipes (yet... getting a sling tomorrow!), but from what I've read they're like any other Avic but slightly more nervous/skittish. IMO an Avic makes for a great first arboreal, especially if you aren't yet comfortable with the idea of a speed demon like P. irminia.

@viper69 can tell you eeeeeverything you need to know about Avic care.
 

Chris LXXIX

ArachnoGod
Joined
Dec 25, 2014
Messages
5,845
I will buy H.maculata and P.pulcher. P.irminia are great as well. If you are comfortable dealing with fast as light speedy Theraphosidae, and a bit of skittish/high strung temperament, why not.
 

riderr

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 15, 2016
Messages
7
@Moonohol Thanks. That pretty much confirms what the guy in the video says. Hope you'll enjoy your diversipes! What size is it and how much do you pay? If you don't mind me asking of course..

@Chris LXXIX I think that should be cool since I'm respectful towards my T's and handle them almost never. Used to have a MM parahybana who gave me a thread posture every time I opened the enclosure. Never got bitten. I'm drawn towards irminia like I said. Love the coloration
 

Chris LXXIX

ArachnoGod
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Dec 25, 2014
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I think that should be cool since I'm respectful towards my T's and handle them almost never. Used to have a MM parahybana who gave me a thread posture every time I opened the enclosure. Never got bitten. I'm drawn towards irminia like I said. Love the coloration
I completely disagree with handling, no matter if that's an habit or only "almost never"... but do as you want, of course :-s

P.irminia are great, a bit reclusive and IMO 0.1 "little" for my size standards (unlike 0.1 P.cambridgei) but those colors are stunning. Great choice.
 

riderr

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 15, 2016
Messages
7
Wow, didn't know about them being reclusive. Now that's something to consider. Saw someone tape cardboard to the enclosure where the hide was. He lifted it up from time to time to check on the T. Shouldn't stress it out too much, right?

I know what you mean about handling. Sometimes I just can't resist :D
 

Chris LXXIX

ArachnoGod
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Dec 25, 2014
Messages
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Wow, didn't know about them being reclusive. Now that's something to consider. Saw someone tape cardboard to the enclosure where the hide was. He lifted it up from time to time to check on the T. Shouldn't stress it out too much, right?

I know what you mean about handling. Sometimes I just can't resist :D
Temperament and (to a more rare extent) "enclosure home-decor life behavior" could differ from specimen to specimen as you know, but yes. IMO P.irmina are a bit reclusive (and moderate high strung for that matter, if compared to other genus Psalmopoeus ones).
Overall they are great and a must have at least in a "T's life".

H.maculata are a sort of "vampires", they hate light :)
 

Moonohol

Two Legged Freak
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Aug 8, 2016
Messages
115
@Moonohol Thanks. That pretty much confirms what the guy in the video says. Hope you'll enjoy your diversipes! What size is it and how much do you pay? If you don't mind me asking of course..
The sling is about 3/4" legspan and I paid around $34 for it. That's the other nice thing about all of these sweet arboreals is that they won't break the bank.
 

mistertim

Arachnobaron
Joined
Sep 4, 2015
Messages
548
H. mac might be jumping in the deep end a bit. I would go with P. pulcher. I love my P. irminia but they are very very shy and reclusive.
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
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Dec 8, 2006
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@riderr I don't know your skill level w/Ts. I tell MOST people to get an Avic of some type, usually A. metallica.

Having a T that is NIMBLE on all 3 axis is quite a bit different than owning a terrestrial, esp if the species is fast like Psalmos, and has strong venom. I don't recommend any OW species except Ceratogyrus as a first time OW species.

I own pulcher and irminia. Irminia is by far more reclusive and PHOTOSENSITIVE than pulcher. If you are fine w/owning a T that you will rarely see, irminia are "easy" to own. I don't own irminia too regularly because I don't like owning that many Ts that remain in their burrow, esp when they are strikingly beautiful. That's why I own so many Avics. I see them ALL the time.

The only benefit of owning a Psalmo is they don't have urticating setae, but this is countered by the fact that they have a stronger venom than Avics.
 

riderr

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 15, 2016
Messages
7
@viper69 Thanks for your reply. I'm going to pick up the diversipes tomorrow. I'm not very experienced but since I have an enclosure left, the room is heated anyways, the irminia looks absolutely jaw-dropping beautiful, I don't plan on handling it and he only wants 3 bucks I figured I'll just get one as well. Even if I only see it once a year that should be worth it.
I'm so excited :D Only own 3 T's so far but it's quite addictive.

Thanks to everyone for the advice and opinions. You guys are awesome! Glad to have found this community. I'll post some pictures tomorrow

Best
Lukas
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
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Dec 8, 2006
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@viper69 Thanks for your reply. I'm going to pick up the diversipes tomorrow. I'm not very experienced but since I have an enclosure left, the room is heated anyways, the irminia looks absolutely jaw-dropping beautiful, I don't plan on handling it and he only wants 3 bucks I figured I'll just get one as well. Even if I only see it once a year that should be worth it.
I'm so excited :D Only own 3 T's so far but it's quite addictive.

Thanks to everyone for the advice and opinions. You guys are awesome! Glad to have found this community. I'll post some pictures tomorrow

Best
Lukas
No problem. Remember that diversipes loses its brilliant/bright sling colors as it gets older. They are also pretty fast more often than not, unlike many other Avics, even A. versicolor.
 

Red Eunice

Arachnodemon
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Mar 2, 2014
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666
Since you have terrestrial species, I'm suggesting another you may like. Phrixotrichus scrofa, similar coloration of B. vagans minus the attitude, might reach 4" DLS. Very docile, good eaters, not known to threat posture or kick hairs and quite hardy. Mine took about 2 1/2 years to get adult sized and didn't burrow at sling stage. She's a big girl at 3 1/2", during maintenance will nonchalantly climb out if I'm not watching closely. She was a tad over 1/4" and if I remember correctly, cost $25, so pretty reasonably priced. IMO
 

riderr

Arachnopeon
Joined
Apr 15, 2016
Messages
7
@Red Eunice Sounds like an awesome T to own with lots of personality. I've looked it up, they're quite beautiful. I'll ask my guy if he can get his hands on one. I try to only buy from him since he's got this reptile rescue station going on and I wanna support that. Thanks for the recommendation!
 

Robyn8

Arachnoknight
Joined
Feb 24, 2016
Messages
194
No problem. Remember that diversipes loses its brilliant/bright sling colors as it gets older. They are also pretty fast more often than not, unlike many other Avics, even A. versicolor.
My diversipes seems a tad more defensive too than A. avic or A. versicolor
 

Jeff23

Arachnolord
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Jul 27, 2016
Messages
620
I am loving my P. Pulcher's. All four of mine are always visible. And they are webbing up like crazy. A. diversipes and P. irminia are both beautiful T's. I don't own or know much about H. maculata


EDIT* My Pulchers are only slings, but never give a defensive posture and cooperate for feeding. I own multiple Avic's. They are always a good choice. My P. Irminia is too new for me to have opinions.
 
Last edited:

cold blood

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Jan 19, 2014
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@Moonohol Thanks. That pretty much confirms what the guy in the video says. Hope you'll enjoy your diversipes! What size is it and how much do you pay? If you don't mind me asking of course..

@Chris LXXIX I think that should be cool since I'm respectful towards my T's and handle them almost never. Used to have a MM parahybana who gave me a thread posture every time I opened the enclosure. Never got bitten. I'm drawn towards irminia like I said. Love the coloration
Don't take the words of people making vids unless directed there by an experienced keeper, there are very few vids that aren't terrible. Videos in general are a terrible place to learn from as a new keeper, because there is absolutely no way to know if the info is any good if you are new. Not saying the one you saw was necessarily bad, just be wary of the info or any info offered in a situation where you can't discuss things with the person.


Wow, didn't know about them being reclusive. Now that's something to consider. Saw someone tape cardboard to the enclosure where the hide was. He lifted it up from time to time to check on the T. Shouldn't stress it out too much, right?

I know what you mean about handling. Sometimes I just can't resist :D
Yeah, like one of the most reclusive ts you could get, and the larger and more impressive the get, the less you see them. I've seen my AF P. irminia 6 times in the last 15 months. In top of being crazy reclusive, they're also by far the most defensive species in their genus.

H. mac is even more reclusive and light sensitive. These 2, irminia and maculata are two of the more reclusive species you could look at...your just missing O. violaceopes....lol

Resist handling...treat them like fish in an aquarium, for observation....if you like handling and can't resist, dogs are a great option.:happy: Nothing positive comes from handling, only dangers.

My diversipes seems a tad more defensive too than A. avic or A. versicolor
Like viper mentioned, aside from laeta, diversipes is one of the most defensive Avics there is....unreal looking as slings, still beautiful as adults, but not comparable to how they look when small.

Are these the only species options? The 2 I'd recommend would be A. versicolor or P. cambridgei (they're by far the least reclusive Psalmo).

For beginners, I thing overly reclusive species are poor choices...you've got only a handful, seeing them is important, both for your comfort/confidence and because its hard to learn from a species you never see.

I wish I was the breeder in your area, I'd give ya a few P. cams to raise. Even if your guy doesn't have them though, they're a pretty easy t to find, never expensive, either.
 
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