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What's a begginer T?

  • Thread starter Chomp
  • Start date

Chomp

Oops
Hi, I am very interested in getting a juvie Tarantula. I only need these requirements:
Good for a begginer
Not too pricey
Not TOO big
Thank you ahead of time for any help.
Chomp
 
Avicularia versicolor fits tour criteria pretty well.
 
Kool looking too!
I forgot to add that I don't know how to take care of 'em. can you tell me that too? And I'm always open to other suggestions too.
 
Kool looking too!
I forgot to add that I don't know how to take care of 'em. can you tell me that too? And I'm always open to other suggestions too.

I don't have time to go into all the details of keeping a tarantula right now, but if you go to this site and do a search on the species you can find a ton of info.

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/
 
Hmm. Whenever I looked it up on there, nothing came up. If anyone can tell me, please do.
 
Hmm. Whenever I looked it up on there, nothing came up. If anyone can tell me, please do.

Alright then, you should still get a good idea of the basics of T care there, but I can tell you the specific needs of this species....

First of all, it is a tree dwelling T, which means that it needs a cage that is taller than it is wide.A setup similar to what you would use for most treefrogs would be perfect.

Second of all, it should be pretty humid in there (at least 60% humidity) and temps should be between 70-80F.

Third, it should have a water dish on the bottom of the cage (The T will come down to drink) and a substrate of moist peat. Set up some branches for the T to climb on and your setup is complete.
 
For info try http://www.petbugs.com/caresheets/tarantulas.html . This should give you some reasonably good, though basic, information. You could also google "tarantula care sheets" for more info. As to your first tarantula... I'd just go with any of the old standbys, like Avicularia avicularia or Grammostola rosea for instance. I especially like the red color phase of G. rosea. If you want amazing color then try Avicularia versicolor, or Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens. However, adult A. versicolor or C. cyaneopubescens are fairly expensive, so you should probably start with slings. Much cheaper. These are just a few suggestions, there are a ton of other great spiders to choose from. If I were you I'd poke around the internet looking at pictures, reading care sheets, and checking price lists, then decide for myself. The hunt is half the fun!
 
The Avicularia versicolor sounds perfect to me. I'll look into it a bit more. Thanks guys!

---------- Post added at 07:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:29 PM ----------

Oh, and will eco-earth work as the soil?
 
First join a Tarantula forum such as arachnoboards or tarantulas.us, ask some questions and read read read.

I would also second the suggestion to get a Chilean Rose or a Pink Toe (Avicularia) species as a first T. I have these as my first Ts and they're both very calm, interested in exploring and don't kick hairs or threaten to bite compared to some of the more "interesting" Ts. These two are usually available in a sub-adult or adult size at most pet centers who carry a variety of creatures. They are usually about $15 -$30 whereas other rarer species go much higher in price for much smaller Ts.

In general Tarantulas are really quite easy, put water in the water dish every day and release some prey in the enclosure every week. Pick out the food bolus (wads of leftovers wound up in silk) with a pair of tongs and you're pretty much covered as far as maintenance requirements goes, they sometimes make poo splatters on the glass so you have to wipe that off. Avicularia are poo drippers since they spend their time on the glass or on twigs high up in the vivarium. Some Ts actually shoot their poo as a defense - so make sure you do your research lest you unwittingly get a poo flinger! LOL

Water the plants if you've planted any in the enclosure of a tropical forest species. Make sure you know where your T comes from, so you're not watering a Chilean Rose enclosure for instance, they hate moist soil since they come from the Atacama Desert (driest place on earth) but Avicularias would do well in a fully planted forest terrarium with pothos and other low light plants that can survive and grow in ambient room light. Avics rarely/if ever sit on the ground so it doesn't make much difference what you use for the Avicularias substrate, just something that holds moisture and releases humidity. Eco earth is good because it doesn't grow molds or fungi as well as peat does. Make sure you have lots of various sized twigs/branches it can relax on as they are above the ground 99.9% of the time. Mine only leave sthe branches to get a drink or snag a cricket and then goes right back up. The Chilean rose sits on her fave rock 99% of the time and only climbs if she come in contact with wet soil.

All Ts need drinking water available 24/7 so get a little water dish for the T and don't put any crap in the water like cotton or anything. Most pet center Stores always do this and even LLLReptile dealer says to put cotton in the water dish. Don't. Ts won't drown if given an appropriately sized water dish (no bigger than their leg span) and they can't suck water out of a napkin. They put their face into the water and drink like you or I would if we didn't use our hands. They usually drink every day even if you don't see them do it, they drink. All cotton does is breed germs and create a vector to wind up with a sick T. I use a small size reptile water dish with "levels" sculpted into it so if a feeder insect gets into the water dish it can crawl out and not drown and foul the water. Clean the water dish every week cos nobody likes drinking out of a dirty glass.
 
  • #10
Look likes you already got a few good suggestions & info.

A few other things you might want to consider when deciding is
If you just want something to look at or if you want something you can handle
You take the chance of getting bit when you handle ANY animal, but some Ts are just down right nasty
&
T bites hurt like hell

If you get one that burrows chances are you'll never see it
&
There's also a lot of them that will totally web the hell out of the enclosure making them hard to see

Here's a few other ones you might want to look in to
A. Seemani / Zebra Leg
B. Albopilosum / Curlyhair / A good 1st T if you don't want anything to exotic
B. Smithi / Mexican Redknee / Classic

L. Parahybana / Brazilian Salmon Pink Birdeater
Is another cool one / Slings are cheap / They grow pretty fast & they don't tend to hide much & they don't bury themselves or web up the tank
But they do flick hairs

Good Luck
 
  • #11
I would quit sending noobs to arachnoboards. That's like sending someone looking for their first VFT/CP to the proboards. Except archno people are a lot more stuck up than the CP guys are. Go to http://www.tarantulas.us/forums/index.php to get your questions answered. That's a nice friendly setting there..
I'd have to agree with Exo, A. versicolor is a good beginners T. As is G.rosea.. That is the most common first T for people. Swords is dead on with the Avic avics. Nice and cheap for adult Ts.
However, I advise against Dethcheez's suggestions of A. Seemani, B. Albopilosum, B. Smithi, and L. Parahybana. Those are more for your 4th or 5th T's. The brachys are hair flickers.. and that's no fun until you know what your doing. The parahybana is extremely aggressive and flicky. NOT, a beginner T by any means. Cheap yes.. but not an ideal first T.
I've got tons of pics and info on my website. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

pS.. Eco-Earth is what I use for all of my inverts! That's perfect..
 
  • #12
Avicularia versicolor fits tour criteria pretty well.

I agree, only had mine 3 weeks but "Alex" is so cute :D

and easy to take care of.

IMG_3948.jpg
 
  • #13
He's hungry.. That's the,"I'm waiting for FOOD!" pose.
 
  • #14
I would quit sending noobs to arachnoboards. That's like sending someone looking for their first VFT/CP to the proboards. Except archno people are a lot more stuck up than the CP guys are. Go to http://www.tarantulas.us/forums/index.php to get your questions answered. That's a nice friendly setting there..
I'd have to agree with Exo, A. versicolor is a good beginners T. As is G.rosea.. That is the most common first T for people. Swords is dead on with the Avic avics. Nice and cheap for adult Ts.
However, I advise against Dethcheez's suggestions of A. Seemani, B. Albopilosum, B. Smithi, and L. Parahybana. Those are more for your 4th or 5th T's. The brachys are hair flickers.. and that's no fun until you know what your doing. The parahybana is extremely aggressive and flicky. NOT, a beginner T by any means. Cheap yes.. but not an ideal first T.
I've got tons of pics and info on my website. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

pS.. Eco-Earth is what I use for all of my inverts! That's perfect..

Odd...none of my brachys kick hair at me....ever.....hmm. ???
 
  • #15
must be nice.. EVERY single one of mine did. lol My boehmei would flick every time I took the lid off the tank to feed her.
 
  • #16
must be nice.. EVERY single one of mine did. lol My boehmei would flick every time I took the lid off the tank to feed her.

That sucks, the only T I have that ever kicks hair is my A.genic, and she only does that if her "Stand up and strike at him" attack fails. :-))

Maybe it's because I allow them to burrow? If they ever decide that they've had enough of my shinanagins they just go in their burrows.
 
  • #17
Maybe it's because I allow them to burrow? If they ever decide that they've had enough of my shinanagins they just go in their burrows.

Are you insinuating that I don't allow my T's to burrow? :scratch: All of my T's have amazing setups, right next to being in the wild.
 
  • #18
Are you insinuating that I don't allow my T's to burrow? :scratch: All of my T's have amazing setups, right next to being in the wild.

Really? I just figured that you probably didn't since many people do not allow them to burrow, and I always figured that that might be why eveyone seems to say that brachys kick so much hair.
 
  • #19
I try to recreate their habitats the best I can. I don't see a lot of my tarantulas for months at a time. I could care less about seeing them. Making them happy is what I care most about.
 
  • #20
I try to recreate their habitats the best I can. I don't see a lot of my tarantulas for months at a time. I could care less about seeing them. Making them happy is what I care most about.

Same here, but suprisingly most of mine are out of their burrows every evening, so I seem to be getting the best of both worlds.
 
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