[becky89]

Hiya,
I'm totally new to inverts, and im thinking of getting a tarantula, maybe a Brazilian Black or Mexican Redknee.
Can anyone give me any advice, point me to books/care sheets please
Also I'm not sure about what age tarantula would be best to get?
Thanks

 

[atum]

Click here...

There's endless possibilities for your first spider. I started with 4 G. pulchripes (chaco golden knee) slings about 8 months ago and have quickly built up a nice little collection of T's.

Most people say to stay away from old world T's (africa, asia, india) for your first choice. Anything from the genus Grammostola and Brachypelma are good choices. Avicularia are a little bit faster and arboreal, but these are also a good choice. There is another genus that's trying to escape my head onto the keyboard but Im blank at the moment.

Basically, as long as you do enough research and treat the spider with respect, theres not too much that isn't suitable as a first spider.

Hope this helps a little bit. : victory:

 

[DannyB]

I would echo the above, make sure you know what to expect and have read plenty about there care and characteristics and you should be fine with most things, my second tarantula was a P. regalis, the first being a sling a few weeks before that, but i had read all the books i could get hold of and spent hours online looking at forums for gems of information.

The two you mentioned are good choices, bit more expensive them most, but beautiful spiders, especially the brazilian black, they are stunning things, but hard to get at a good size

The tarantula keepers guide is a good book. good luck

 

[Chaika]

I agree with the previous posters

'The Tarantula Keeper's Guide' by Stanley and Marguerite Schultz is often considered to be a great source of information I have one myself. As for what is a good starter tarantula most people would agree on Brachypelma and Grammastola sp. So a B. smithi (the Mexican Redknee), B. albopilosum (Curlyhair), G. pulchra (the Brazilian black) and the G. rosea (Chile rose) would be considered good for the beginner since they are relatively slow moving and (generally) rather docile tarantulas. You could get an adult Chile rose for a very reasonable price online and from most good reptile petshops but I think that the B. smithi and the G. pulchra are a bit more pricey and may set you back a good £40-50 pounds for a largeish specimen.

If you're not too afraid of spiders I think the Avicularia are a great starter arboreal too. A Pinktoe tarantula (Avicularia avicularia) adult can be bought for about £20 online. and although they're a bit on the fast side they are extremely unlikely to bite and are a bit more active and therefore more on the exciting side

You can find lots of good care sheets for all these spiders on the web or ask around here if you want to know more about a specific species : victory:

 

[atum]

I think I saw a Brazilian Black on the classifieds the other day.

EDIT: Couldn't find it. But did find this to give you a rough idea of prices on the forums... http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/invert-classifieds/456783-sub-adult-chile-rose-ts.html

And to add to my previous post, if you do end up going for something from Grammostola or Brachypelma, go for a juvie or a sub adult. They are both a very slow growing genus. My G. pulchripes slings were 1cm when I got them 8 months ago. The biggest one is maybe just touching 2cm now. One of them still hasn't even moulted in my care and eaten the whole of maybe 4 times since I've had it.

 

[becky89]

Cool thanks Im kind of excited lol, really wanting one of these. Prob start with one and end up with about 30 lol

 

[atum]

Cool thanks Im kind of excited lol, really wanting one of these. Prob start with one and end up with about 30 lol

I was only ever gonna have the one...

Numbers 8 and 9 are coming on Tuesday. :whistling2:

 

[becky89]

I was only ever gonna have the one...

Numbers 8 and 9 are coming on Tuesday. :whistling2:

Lol nice. I rarely venture into the inverts section, but some of the tarantulas Ive seen are amazing.

 

[atum]

Lol nice. I rarely venture into the inverts section, but some of the tarantulas Ive seen are amazing.

I've never been afraid of spiders, but was never much of a Tarantula fan. When I first joined here I never left the Lizard section. Then my girlfriend got a few Thailand Stick Insects, I rescued a poorly looked after Indian Stick Insect, ventured into the invert section a couple of times and BAM!!... I was hooked.

Tarantulas and spiders in general truly are amazing.

 

[DannyB]

I found one i wanted, then another, and another, and so on and on and now i have 20,with another 8 arriving soon, plus i had another 3 that sadly died recently

Just be aware that it seems to be harder to have one then to have a dozen, i only got my first in sept lol

 

[becky89]

Aw lol. It's good tho, just hope I don't get to a point where I have so many that I cant look after them. At least they dont take up as much room as snakes...

 

[atum]

Aw lol. It's good tho, just hope I don't get to a point where I have so many that I cant look after them. At least they dont take up as much room as snakes...

Spiders are very easy to have, say, 10 of and it won't be any harder to look after them all than looking after one. They're very low maintenance and very easy to feed. Daily maintenance on mine takes all of a couple of minutes. Somedays they don't even need any maintenance at all.

The only thing you have to start worrying about is space. But they don't even take much of that either. They only thing that's gonna take a fair old amount of space in my collection is my T. apophysis (pink footed goliath). She's gonna have a leg span the size of a dinner plate when she's finished growing!

 

[becky89]

Spiders are very easy to have, say, 10 of and it won't be any harder to look after them all than looking after one. They're very low maintenance and very easy to feed. Daily maintenance on mine takes all of a couple of minutes. Somedays they don't even need any maintenance at all.

The only thing you have to start worrying about is space. But they don't even take much of that either. They only thing that's gonna take a fair old amount of space in my collection is my T. apophysis (pink footed goliath). She's gonna have a leg span the size of a dinner plate when she's finished growing!

Yeh true, I did read something, and it said something about some tarantulas only needing a full clean like once a year? Not sure how true that is though.
Hah.. that's one big girl you're gonna have! Just let her roam your bedroom lol

 

[atum]

Yeh true, I did read something, and it said something about some tarantulas only needing a full clean like once a year? Not sure how true that is though.
Hah.. that's one big girl you're gonna have! Just let her roam your bedroom lol

They are really quite clean. Plus most T's will move their furnishings and substrates around till they have it as they want it (which is usually not how you want it). As long as you remove any prey leftovers, poo etc. they will be very happy left to their own devices. You can also add custodians (tropical woodlice, springtails) that help keep the place tidy by eating any mould, poo etc etc.

My cambridgei cleans out her burrow every now and then, leaving bits of left overs, moults etc out in the open. Makes it nice and easy for me. :2thumb:

Roam my bedroom? Not with the fangs she's gonna have!! :gasp::gasp::gasp:

 

[becky89]

They are really quite clean. Plus most T's will move their furnishings and substrates around till they have it as they want it (which is usually not how you want it). As long as you remove any prey leftovers, poo etc. they will be very happy left to their own devices. You can also add custodians (tropical woodlice, springtails) that help keep the place tidy by eating any mould, poo etc etc.

My cambridgei cleans out her burrow every now and then, leaving bits of left overs, moults etc out in the open. Makes it nice and easy for me. :2thumb:

Roam my bedroom? Not with the fangs she's gonna have!! :gasp::gasp::gasp:

:lol2:
Im really looking forward to keeping these now. Wonder if the shops are still open :whistling2:

 

[atum]

:lol2:
Im really looking forward to keeping these now. Wonder if the shops are still open :whistling2:

Well keep us updated with what you decide to go with. :2thumb:

 

[becky89]

Well keep us updated with what you decide to go with. :2thumb:

Will do

 

[steph09]

i have a brazillian black and a red knee, couldnt choose which one to get because they are both great how about you just get both lol mine are both slings but getting pretty big now, id go with the red knee cos they are awesome at re-arranging their tank around and eat like gannits! lol

 

[becky89]

i have a brazillian black and a red knee, couldnt choose which one to get because they are both great how about you just get both lol mine are both slings but getting pretty big now, id go with the red knee cos they are awesome at re-arranging their tank around and eat like gannits! lol

Ooh nice Hehe I love it when pets move things around to suit them. I think I probably will end up with both tbh!