omni
Arachnobaron
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2007
- Messages
- 382
I've kept only a small handful of my collection until they passed from old age but was thinking recently about general lifespans of different sp, how it relates to the morphological differences from keeping 92 long-term from 17 species. One thing I've studied as T's are an ongoing research for me, is that body type can be an indicator of general longevity, though you can extend that to be longer than avg. accepted years with light feeding and conditions as it ages.
generalities that my own personal experience backs up for growth and lifespan of 92 T's:
fuzzy or wildly haired sp. do not live as long. They come from mostly very humid and hot climates, having long erect setae to disperse heat thru surface area. These sp. tend to be very active, most arboreal and many are quite colorful.
A. Avic about 8 yrs max. T. albo 11-14 yrs
Dwarf and smaller sp. have the shortest spans of all T's. They are very active, mature in fewer molts, tho relatively they are not at all fast to reach maturity. I've kept E. scrofa in 2 locale varieties for only 8 & 10 yrs. 1 MM scrofa was mature @ 4 yrs, hooked out and passed in 4 weeks. Cyriocosmus F's may live to be only 6 +/- > E. scrofa 8-10yrs
smooth haired terrestrials are just about THE longest lived T's, incl Acanthoscurria, Aphonopelma, Grammastola, and couple others. T's with setae that lie flat, oven very dense, use their hair as shield against elements like dirt and rain, protection from abrasion and conserve their humidity, live in variable climates that often go cool and dry and actually don't like high humidity. Desert sp have very tight, short setae, are almost always fossorial or opportunistic burrowers. They tend to eat and get fat to store up for periods when no prey is available. Activity is low, they may go off eating for months or more. you can expect these usually calmer, slow moving T's to live more than 15 - 18 years. They grow the slowest of all sp., maturing past 5 or 6 years depending on feeding. Selenocosmia might fit this, but maybe better they fit larger faster growing types than NW terrestrials.
near bald T's or extremely short setae tend to only be in caves, they are fossorial mostly and are strict ambush predators, very fast and are medium size or smaller, slow to get size, but actually are mature relatively sooner than most terrestrials. Prey is not plentiful so they must be fast for defense, have more potent venom and since they dont have the layer of long setae, need more protection. Not as long lived
Large, fast growing sp. are eating machines, and widely variable how active they are and how long lived. I've kept Phormictopus cancerides and watched a couple F's get to 6"+ in 2.5-3yrs, 1 girl reached 7" by age 5 and is now 11 living with my buddy. They are leggy, have both tight and loose setae, can be colorful, very active opportunity hunters. They don't have bright coloration, but a cast or sheen to them overall within the genus, not very different from Pamphobeteus which are bigger and faster growing, and more brightly colored esp for males. I've no experience with long-term Pampho keeping, but suspect both genus' do not live more than 10-12 yrs based on activity, coloration and growth rate.
This not definitive; exceptions esp. within genus are common. These are only sp. that I've kept long term, and not enough individuals to be entirely accurate statistically. Generally I've observed these over 5 or 6 years with each specimen and I get used to how to mature faster or keep a favorite sp. longer. I'm only trying to build a general idea what makes T types live longer than some others.
One example, my 1st T, E. campestratus or Pink Zebra Beauty fits generally in smooth-haired types, terrestrial from variable warm but arid conditions around Ecuador in low to mid elevation. They are tough, slow and possibly get a super long lifespan from behavioral traits. Truly a pet rock, they may not move for days or weeks, expend little energy in advanced age if fed regularly but lightly. old adults do not chase prey. At least my old girl would wait until a cricket passed her face then scoop it up. I got her as 3" WC juvie and she was with me until 2017, 19 years. She molted 5x in that time. Est. lifespan was 23-26 yrs. G. rosea, porteri, and concepcione can commonly reach 20-25 yrs, but it is rare to hear a report beyond 25 years. I don't doubt you could measure a human lifespan with only 2 Rose Hair tarantulas (G. porteri) !!
Please add your experiences with species and thoughts so we can get an idea how long our fav. sp will live. I don't keep many species or even that many now. There's not many resources you can just look up and dealers often have no idea beyond guesses, and certainly don't advertise everything they know in price lists. Most people buy because of looks, some by known temperament. But what about people that want to choose fast growing or long lived? a lot of it is try and see. 6 or 8 yrs later, they wonder why it passed if they made mistkes or ??
generalities that my own personal experience backs up for growth and lifespan of 92 T's:
fuzzy or wildly haired sp. do not live as long. They come from mostly very humid and hot climates, having long erect setae to disperse heat thru surface area. These sp. tend to be very active, most arboreal and many are quite colorful.
A. Avic about 8 yrs max. T. albo 11-14 yrs
Dwarf and smaller sp. have the shortest spans of all T's. They are very active, mature in fewer molts, tho relatively they are not at all fast to reach maturity. I've kept E. scrofa in 2 locale varieties for only 8 & 10 yrs. 1 MM scrofa was mature @ 4 yrs, hooked out and passed in 4 weeks. Cyriocosmus F's may live to be only 6 +/- > E. scrofa 8-10yrs
smooth haired terrestrials are just about THE longest lived T's, incl Acanthoscurria, Aphonopelma, Grammastola, and couple others. T's with setae that lie flat, oven very dense, use their hair as shield against elements like dirt and rain, protection from abrasion and conserve their humidity, live in variable climates that often go cool and dry and actually don't like high humidity. Desert sp have very tight, short setae, are almost always fossorial or opportunistic burrowers. They tend to eat and get fat to store up for periods when no prey is available. Activity is low, they may go off eating for months or more. you can expect these usually calmer, slow moving T's to live more than 15 - 18 years. They grow the slowest of all sp., maturing past 5 or 6 years depending on feeding. Selenocosmia might fit this, but maybe better they fit larger faster growing types than NW terrestrials.
near bald T's or extremely short setae tend to only be in caves, they are fossorial mostly and are strict ambush predators, very fast and are medium size or smaller, slow to get size, but actually are mature relatively sooner than most terrestrials. Prey is not plentiful so they must be fast for defense, have more potent venom and since they dont have the layer of long setae, need more protection. Not as long lived
Large, fast growing sp. are eating machines, and widely variable how active they are and how long lived. I've kept Phormictopus cancerides and watched a couple F's get to 6"+ in 2.5-3yrs, 1 girl reached 7" by age 5 and is now 11 living with my buddy. They are leggy, have both tight and loose setae, can be colorful, very active opportunity hunters. They don't have bright coloration, but a cast or sheen to them overall within the genus, not very different from Pamphobeteus which are bigger and faster growing, and more brightly colored esp for males. I've no experience with long-term Pampho keeping, but suspect both genus' do not live more than 10-12 yrs based on activity, coloration and growth rate.
This not definitive; exceptions esp. within genus are common. These are only sp. that I've kept long term, and not enough individuals to be entirely accurate statistically. Generally I've observed these over 5 or 6 years with each specimen and I get used to how to mature faster or keep a favorite sp. longer. I'm only trying to build a general idea what makes T types live longer than some others.
One example, my 1st T, E. campestratus or Pink Zebra Beauty fits generally in smooth-haired types, terrestrial from variable warm but arid conditions around Ecuador in low to mid elevation. They are tough, slow and possibly get a super long lifespan from behavioral traits. Truly a pet rock, they may not move for days or weeks, expend little energy in advanced age if fed regularly but lightly. old adults do not chase prey. At least my old girl would wait until a cricket passed her face then scoop it up. I got her as 3" WC juvie and she was with me until 2017, 19 years. She molted 5x in that time. Est. lifespan was 23-26 yrs. G. rosea, porteri, and concepcione can commonly reach 20-25 yrs, but it is rare to hear a report beyond 25 years. I don't doubt you could measure a human lifespan with only 2 Rose Hair tarantulas (G. porteri) !!
Please add your experiences with species and thoughts so we can get an idea how long our fav. sp will live. I don't keep many species or even that many now. There's not many resources you can just look up and dealers often have no idea beyond guesses, and certainly don't advertise everything they know in price lists. Most people buy because of looks, some by known temperament. But what about people that want to choose fast growing or long lived? a lot of it is try and see. 6 or 8 yrs later, they wonder why it passed if they made mistkes or ??
