Brachypelmas and Kids

[Chris Alexander]

Can someone please give me a bit of advice?

Firstly, hello to everyone. I joined RFUK the other day and think it's excellent.

I do have a question I wanted to ask though, and that is this:

I have a four year old daughter (five in October) who has pretty much been around spiders nearly all her life as I've been keeping them for three years. I do not think a four/five year old is old enough to handle a tarantula yet... but I'm not sure. She has just started feeding locusts to my terrapin with a bit of supervision and seems calm with the locusts. The other day I had my B. boehmei out and she went to touch it and quickly got told by an over-protective father not to and that I'd have a chat with Mum about when is the right time for her to be able to handle them. Me and her Mum live seperately and she's a little squeamish with spids etc. She thinks around ten is probably okay, and yeah in my mind my daughter being aged ten would probably be okay with them. I just wondered if anybody has any views about that kinda thing they can help me with. I kinda want to generally get a picture in my mind of what's appropriate if that makes sense, so if anybody does have any opinions then could they tell me? The spiders are all new worlders... L. parahybana, B. albopilosum and B. boehmei. I'm reluctant with parahybana because of the potential size and the urticatory properties of their hairs which seem to be worse. But yeah, if anyone could give me some tips then I'd be much appreciative!!!

[selina20]

Out of all of them i would recommend the B.albop. I dont agree with handling but i love to educate children about them. Couldnt u put the spider on your bed and get her to put her hand in front of it when it walks. Then she can pull away if she needs and the spider wont be hurt.

[Chris Alexander]

Yeah that's a good idea. The albo is generally the most chilled out.

[spider_mad]

Yeah I think that's a good idea, it's probably best that she is educated and has to learn about the spiders and the responsibilities, having a first tarantula as a pet is different from a hamster (something my partner is dreading with our first child).
Best for young child would say the albop as they are pretty docil, very rarely flick hair and are fairly laid back walkers. Also, would recommend a Euthalus truculentus or an Aphonopelma bicoloratum as found these very calm disposition and not hair kicking. The bohemei from my experience has to be the most flicky brachy.

[selina20]

They are bomb proof

[Chris Alexander]

Yeah the boehmei def flicks a lot, the albo is chilled. Luckily where i don't live with her i don't have to worry about hamsters! Thank god!
I think I will look into Aphonopelma bicoloratum, because they also have beautiful colours, and if they have a calm demeanour then that's a good starting point.

[selina20]

Originally Posted by Chris Alexander

Yeah the boehmei def flicks a lot, the albo is chilled. Luckily where i don't live with her i don't have to worry about hamsters! Thank god!
I think I will look into Aphonopelma bicoloratum, because they also have beautiful colours, and if they have a calm demeanour then that's a good starting point.

I find that u cannot beat an albop for being docile i will only ever let people handle my albops. Aphonopelmas still flick loads.

[Chris Alexander]

Originally Posted by selina20

I find that u cannot beat an albop for being docile i will only ever let people handle my albops. Aphonopelmas still flick loads.

Ok, I've never had any Aphonopelmas so I really wouldn't know, but I'll have a scout about later. There's a great place near where I live that specialises in Reptiles and Inverts and they had some Aphonopelmas up there, but I don't think they were bicoloratums. Albopilosums have always been my favourite, generally because they are so chilled out. So of the spiders I have at the moment, albopilosum would be a good bet. I think I'll try that thing where it walks across my bed, that seems safe. I don't want her to have any negative experiences early on because that could be damaging.

[selina20]

Iv always found smaller species to be more skittish too for some reason. My oh is albop mad and we currently have a mated female. Albops will always be the 1 i recommend for a 1st T.

[Chris Alexander]

Yeah that's the way I see it too, I think they are better than Roses or Red-Knees.