Your First Tarantula?

[MrT]

Originally posted by atavuss
My first t was a WC b. smithi that I got way back in the early 80's. I paid 9.99 for it at a pet store (this was before CITES and WC smithis could be legally sold). after the smithi I ended up with a g. rosea and it snowballed from there.
Ed

Ed'
Is your B. smithi still alive?

 

[atavuss]

Originally posted by MrT
Ed'
Is your B. smithi still alive?

Ernie, No it is not. I don't remember how long I had it. I do not even remember if it was a male or female. I kept it in a ten gallon terrarium with sand and real cactus, I did have a small water dish for it though (I have a picture somewhere).
Ed

 

[Mike G.]

Just got my first T's last Thursday from e-spiderworld:
2.5" T. blondi
4" L. parahybna
6" G. aureostriata

Got the T. blondi and L. parahybana because of size and the G. aureostriata because it is docile. Spoke with John Hoke for about 45 minutes before I purchased the T's. Real nice guy (very honest and very knowledgable). I'd recommend him to anyone looking for a T.
The L. parahybana baricaded itself in its cave the day I got it and I haven't seen it since. It was bald when it arrived, but the abdomen wasn't dark (it was human flesh colored). Don't know if its molting?? Not sure if I should throw a cricket in there or just wait till it comes out??
The blondi just hangs out by its cave and the aureostriata is usually out in the open.
I held the aureostriata for the first time today.
Not sure T will be next. Maybe a P. murinus.

Pretty cool

 

[skadiwolf]

no, from what i've read, the abdomen will go from that fleshy color to almost blackish because of the hairs growing beneath it. so, unless that coloring has changed, it shouldn't be in molt.

perhaps it's just scared. if it was completely bald it's been doing some serious hair-flicking.

 

[Sean]

first t i ever had was an...

A.Avic of course i was 11 knew nothing about T's so i just looked around and saw one at the very corner of its cage and i told my mom look it climbs i want that one...im glad i picked that instead of a agressive T, anywayz my next T was a (docile)king baboon, the one after that was a h.minax then i got a rosy, i got another rosy then i got a L.parahybana and most recent is my B.smithi but out of all them my favorite T has to be my L.Parahybana active and very cool...now im thinking of a new cool T to buy

 

[The_Phantom]

Originally posted by jwb121377
Spider_savior are you still getting your P. regalis? I haven't herd you speak of it lately and wondered what was up?

GAH! I was going to get it, but then I ended up having an unexpected expence. The dealer sold her while I was waiting to come up w/the rest of the money. (20 $!) So now Im waiting for him to let me know when he gets some more in. He said he should be getting more by the summer. I hope so! I want one !!

Edit: I even bought a cage and had it all set up and everything!

 

[Manimal]

One day a few months ago, I went to a Butterfly farm in Stratford on Avon. They had a couple of T's and true spiders there. The guy who was there, got out a Chile Rose, and let us handle it. He is an excellent T ambassador. From then on I was hooked. Got myself a Chile Rose from one of the reptile shops near to me. Then a Curly hair. After that an Avic. Versicolor and an Avic. Metallica. The Metallica was eaten by ants unfortunately, but all the others are doing what T's do

 

[Fingolfin]

My first tarantula....

when I was 17, I found out that my best friend Lisa's brother, Andrew, owned a tarantula ! I was somewhat afraid of spiders, but I really wanted to hold this tarantula. So he let me !! I couldnt believe how light he was. There was this "giant" spider, standing on my hand, and I couldnt even feel him !!

So Andrew ended up getting married....his wife wasnt so tolerant and insisted he get rid of it. Bad news for him, GREAT news for me. He gave it to me !!!!

So his name was "Soul Eater" but I changed it to "Harrison".

I had him for 9 months. He would walk all over me, and would walk around in my room (supervised!). Then one day, I saw him starting to curl and he died. I was devestated. He was soooooo incredibly docile. He would let me pick him up when ever, and would let me rub his belly when he stood....he was a AWSOME pet. I still miss him. I replaced him w/a female Rose hair, who I still have.

and 2 a.avics and a b.smithi.

Sorry to bring up the past, but...;P so he only lasted 9 months Marg? I've got 3 now, PM me if you see this....

 

[BBlack]

My 1st was a G Pulchra. I was looking for a docile T and preferred the terrestrials for their weight. The sleek look I had sleek black velvet look I'd seen in the photos I had seen had sold me on the pulchra.

By searching on google I found the site of another enthusiast who lives quite close to me. He helped me find a very nice lady who had a few pulchras for sale. I've since met him when we shared a Male L Parahybana on loan. I still have my sweet pulchra (rather embarrassingly named Pookie) whom I adore, however as is so often the case in this hobby, she is not alone. She currently has 20+ lodgers in her room. I'm certain that I'm going to need a bigger flat soon enough.

 

[Arachnokid 93]

My first tarantula was a sub adult B. smithi female then i was looking for a new tarantula and so i got a pink toe then a zebra knee then a rose hair.

 

[Sadistic Haplo]

I was cruising through local classified ad's and seen this gorgeous spider. It was all black with pink toes and a pink pattern on a black abdomen.. and instantly I had to have this spider. I did my research and found it to be an Avicularia of sorts. So I called the guy up and had him bring it over, and paid him $35 I think..So I bought that avic in November, I bought my H.lividum in the same month maybe a week later, the next month I bought my P.irminia, then my G.pulchripes, then a P.regalis and so on. before November I never in my life though I would own a T as I had a pretty big fear of spiders..now the funny thing is, I can handle my T's (Though I prefer not to, unless they choose to do otherwise) but i'm still a little girl when it comes to the tiny spiders.

 

[miho_cro]

After doing a lot of research and watching all of rob's videos on youtube, B. Smithi and G. Rosea sounded kind of... boring...
So my first T was a P. Regalis sling 6 months ago, and second was P. Ornata... and many to come...

 

[ZergFront]

Mine would be other (more aggressive I guess?). I got 5 P.irminia as my first(s) because I knew I really wanted this species and wouldn't turn back. I later got P.cambridgei and three P.reduncus and still want more of this amazing genus. :drool:

 

[Scoolman]

My first was four Grammostola pulchra all at 1". Got them in Dec 2009, molted twice, and they are now 2.5" and nearing another molt. Then in February I got three more at 1/2" and they have molted twice and are now 1". I won two A metallicas and two GBB in a forum contest. And now, I am getting three 5" G pulchra in a week; two females and a male. I hope to be breeding them soon.

 

[Slappys_g1rl06]

My first tarantula was a G. pulchripes 1" sling. I really wanted a pet to take care of that was cheap and hard to kill off (I'm kind of forgetful... ) so a friend of mine recommended a tarantula... which she just so happened to sell from her job at the KSU insect zoo!

So, that next day I stopped in and got him, back in December of 2008. I got him based on the size he would get and the ease of care.

The second was technically a GBB 3/4" sling. I got it based on looks. And the 3rd (bought with the GBB) was a 1" B. albo for my fiance who is still uncomfortable around her but I think he got her because he thought she was going to be a docile t... hahaha, she's kind of not docile at all! :? Really?!?

4th and 5th were a 3" singablue and a 1/2" A. met. Both bought based on looks.

 

[photobuggirl]

My first two Ts were given as gifts, but I didn't really want them. I probably had 20 other insects in my house at the time; bugs that either myself or friends of mine would find, but I would take pictures of them and let them go. With the tarantulas, I couldn't just release them outside of my house, so I was concerned about the commitment these pets would require.

Well, you can take really good care of tarantulas without the same amount of commitment level as dogs and cats and once you have one, taking care of a couple others really isn't that much more extra effort (it was running to the pet store that would require the most energy, but now that I have roach colonies....). The first Ts I purchased on my own were a couple types of pokies, an H. mac, and a P. irminia.

 

[Josey]

My first T was a sub-adult A. chalcodes (desert blonde/texas blonde) "Rio".
My daughters first was a GBB sling "Kama"
My son's first one (oh ok, he's only 20 months old, it's mine really) is a juvie L. parahybana (salmon pink) "Nachos"

Oh and we have an X immanis coming tomorrow or thursday!!!!!!! ("Cuervo")

x

 

[AbraCadaver]

My first one was an A.Versicolor. I then got some more, 1 A.Sp. Amazonas Purple, 1 A.Sp. ? , one A.Huriana and 1 A. Bicegoi. The bicegoi passed, sadly. Then I got a G.Pulchra and then a P.Ornata.

One C.Darlingi, H.Lividum, GBB and P.Irminia on the way as we speak

 

[clam1991]

I had been interested in Tarantulas for osme time having been growing up playing with bugs since i was a kid, was at the pet store one day lookinng around and tried to buy a big dark tarantula but they looked inside the cage and surprise it was gone, so i settled witht the pink toe and i miss him very much used to have a pretty big collection (some number over 20), now i have a very modest collection of 3 since i have a hectic work schedule (this month i had one dday off so far and too many doubles lol)

but it pretty much started on impulse but my pinktoe molted mature a little after i got him but ill be damned if he didnt stick around aother full year before passing on.

 

[MissVenom]

I used visit the local pet store quite often and the reptile room also houses inverts (usually just Rosies) but I had been becoming ever interest in entomology especially the anatomy of spiders. I thought "wouldn't it be fun to have a big hairy spider for the shock value" esp. because my boyfriend is quite arachnophobic and my mother and brother believe that all bugs spawn from Hell itself. Well after doing a LOT of research on the behavior, different types, anatomy it was more than just for shock value - I really wanted to study these incredible creatures.

My best friend, her husband, my boyfriend and I all hauled 4 hours to a reptile expo a few weeks later and even though I had my heart set on a B. Smithi, the expo only had a few G. Rosea and A. Avicularia so $9 and a kritter keeper later I'm headed home with "Lydia" (yes, from Beetlejuice) my little pink toe! My boyfriend is no longer arachnophobia (she actually behaves better for HIM!) and for our 1 year anniversary I picked out an adorable immature B. Smithi *cross fingers for a girl* I intend on slowly expanding my collection over time - the b/f is still adjusting from fear of spiders to"OMG I will be living with literally hundreds of these for the rest of my life"

Baby steps. lol ^,^