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tarantulas and scorpions,

who all is working with them? we should be moving into the new house next week, since im going to have a good sized chunk of space to myself im thinking i might sneak a couple tanks of these critters in. the wife won notice an extra tank or two with all my plant and frog tanks i dont think. good starter species? figuring an emporer or giant asian forest scorpion, a desert scorp? and a spider to start with preferably a showy species. doesnt need to be handleable just want it to be out so i can see it.
 
i used to have a tarantula(Chilean Rose Hair) she was so docil and she was very pretty after she shed! iridescent! that would be my pick for a beginners. also try a Pink Toed. with scorpions i have no experience. but i do know that you should only get ones that have big pinchers and skinny tail. i have been told Emperors are good.
alex
 
yeah i have 3 tarantulas and just lost my last scorpion. we have kept emporers as well as texas browns. they are both really neat to watch and keep. as for spiders most will say a rose hair is great for beginners b/c they are docile and put up with alot as far as temp variables and such. i started with a mexican red knee who is real b****. i also have a pink toe who is very pretty. i would recomend starting with a ground species first, my pink toe is arboreal and took alot of time to set things up just right but once i got her i had to do it. the red knee is very colorful but has ultricating hairs that she loves to flick on me every time i go near her, the rose hair is alot calmer and allows me to handle her without worrying about an itchy rash. pm me with more questions if you would like.
 
The emperor scorpion is big and impressive, but kinda boring. The desert hairy (Hadrurus) is much more interesting. Gotta love the rose hair tarantula, mine lived for 6 years, lovely creature.
 
Avicularia are a great genus to start with as they are quite docile and always above ground. Then with the scorpions I suggest either an emp or a desert scorpion. It's a little harder to find CB desert scorps though.

Whatever you do its best not to get one of the aggressive tropical species of either animal. Start with an easy docile one and see how that works out for you.

Peter
 
why does every one insist on docil? i need to introduce you ppl to my spotted python
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actually i will probably be getting A. versicolor and C. cyaneopubescens and maybe A. geniculata as far as spiders havent decided on scorps yet. figure ill sneak the T's in first
 
Now I see the reason for the PM.

I'm no expert on spiders nor scorpians. But I like spiders. I've kept a tarantula and black widows before. Let's not talk about the black widows, that ended in a nightmare.
Anyway, If I were you I think I'd start off with Atrax robustus for the spider. They are just so cute.

I've never had a scorpion, but I think I'd start off with a Androctonus australis.

Let us know how it turns out.
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your funny Ozzy, actually i have no real issues with keeping either though i dont think Atrax robustus is availible to the general hobbiest in the states
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the pm was cause im looking for Centruroides and i think your in the area and i know you dont mind flipping boards for critters i mean Bug told me bout your last lady friend
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Well I know there are scorpians in the mountains, but I'm not sure we have any here. I have never seen any. By ladyfriend I guess you're talking about my black widow. I miss her, she was cool, right up till the end.
 
  • #10
A. geniculata's a great one. I can't wait till my little guy grows up.

If you're comfortable with aggressive species and you're not gonna be stupid about it, thats fine. The problem is too many people are. The things can litteratly scramble up your arm and bite your neck your neck in less than a second if they so choose. The first aggressive t I had was a c. brachycephalus. I didn't have time to pot it up when it first arrived in the mail, but I opened up the container to get a look at it. Well I guess I didn't close it properly because the next morning when I wake up there's no tarantula in the container. I hadn't even told my mom about it yet and it was on the loose. I couldn't enjoy anything that day. So when my sister comes across it that night in the bathroom she first thought it was fake. Until it started running. I'm glad she had the good sense not to scream.

Well if you like ordinary spiders, a good one to start with is Phoneutria fera. Your wife will love you.

Peter
 
  • #11
What happened with your black widow?
 
  • #12
To make a long story short, she had thousands of babies, they escaped, and I had thousands of baby black widows spinning tiny webs and flying around my bedroom. There was black widows everywhere, even in my hair. I caught all of them, I hope, and releashed them outside.
 
  • #13
Can't they kill you if they bite you?
 
  • #14
Yeah, that's why it was a nightmare, duh.
 
  • #15
Seriously they are not fatal to healthy adults. They are extremly painful bites though, they will make you wish you were dead.
 
  • #16
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]There was black widows everywhere, even in my hair. I caught all of them, I hope, and releashed them outside.
were not was 0zzy
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i used to have a black widow. she was so cool! i fed her super worms and she grew huge! then she laid an eggsack so i had to either burn the eggs or let her go...so i burned them. then about 2 days later she laid 2 more sacks and she was dead on the bottom of her container
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. I would say a brown recluse hurts way more than a widow. i have had painful experiences with both of them
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. the recluse bit my leg in my bed and it swelled up and the bite site turned black. i had to have surgery! the widow bit me on my big toe and it swelled up and hurt....but never was a s bad as the recluse...
alex
 
  • #17
Brown recluse bite= no to lil pain, some days after the bite the area starts to die, may lead to serious infection surgery may be required. in VERY bad cases the venom causes skin/muscle tissue to die in areas far away from the bite site, areas of the upper back seem most common. the bite its self well yah probably never new it actually happened.

Black widow=generally excuciating pain especially if it was a full bite or multiple bites(which is actually common), as Ozzy said, shouldnt kill a healthy adult as long as they arent allergic to the venom but for a good 12 hours or so you will wish it had killed you. pain is usually immediate, there is generally no doubt as to when you were bit
 
  • #18
Here's an interesting article on brown recluse spiders

To make a long story short most brown recluse cases actually aren't brown recluse cases. At least here in CA they aren't.

Peter
 
  • #19
yep thats pretty much what i knew, doesnt go into what a recluse bite does but thats not really WHAT the article was about. i get bit by spiders a few times a year, funny thing is none are while im flipping boards or such. all have been cause i rolled over on one in my sleep in my bed. generally its grass spiders or one that looks kinda like a widow but smaller and either solid black or a really shiny almost metalic brown. generally no pain but itches like hell in a day or two. i fear our ticks more than our widows
 
  • #20
Go with new-world tarantulas; avoid old-world tarantulas until you're more experienced. I had a Chilean Rose Hair, and I recommend them as starter species too.
 
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