So, you want to keep a pet tarantula?
- Thread starter Lopéz
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Haplopelma lividum, along with Haplopelma sp."Vietnam" is the worst choice of Haplopelma for a beginner. They are extremely unpredictable, fast moving and very defensive.
They also struggle to adapt and thrive in captivity unless given a tall tank with deep substrate (MINIMUM 8 inches for an adult)
Their nocturnal burrowing nature means they are seldom seen (once a week at 3am if you're lucky) and in all honesty it's tricky to even get them to come out for pictures - similarly my Haplopelma minax has not been seen in over a month.
A better choice for the beginner wanting a Haplopelma schmidti because they are slower moving and less nervous - though still more than capable of "flipping out" and delivering a hefty bite. Don't buy a wild caught adult though unless you are experienced as they often fail to adapt to captivity properly.
They also struggle to adapt and thrive in captivity unless given a tall tank with deep substrate (MINIMUM 8 inches for an adult)
Their nocturnal burrowing nature means they are seldom seen (once a week at 3am if you're lucky) and in all honesty it's tricky to even get them to come out for pictures - similarly my Haplopelma minax has not been seen in over a month.
A better choice for the beginner wanting a Haplopelma schmidti because they are slower moving and less nervous - though still more than capable of "flipping out" and delivering a hefty bite. Don't buy a wild caught adult though unless you are experienced as they often fail to adapt to captivity properly.
Nice one
If he's insistent, tell him to take £10 or £15 and buy a small juvenile from somebody like Vinmann. It will give him a chance to get used to it's actions as it grows up.
Everyone looking forward to the show? I just spent £50 on glass through one phonecall to Matt at Custom Aquaria, and it could have easily been treble that! The only problem with keeping all burrowers is that they need special deep tanks to live in which costs a bomb once they get to the 6-8 inch mark!
Azrael, yes Custom Aquaria will have plenty of tanks to choose from but GO TO THEIR STAND FIRST! If you leave it until the afternoon, they will be totally cleaned out. That's why I preordered my 15x8x5 tanks yesterday
Random, glad you enjoyed the thread. Whilst G.rosea is probably one of the best starter spiders, you might find it a bit boring after a very short time. Avicularia avicularia (Pinktoes) are no harder to look after, plus they are good looking and make interesting tube webs up in trees. What size is the A.avic? If it's a subadult or adult then £25 isn't bad for pet shop prices. Just bear in mind it MAY be a sub-adult male (short lifespan but you will get to send it on a breeding loan and possibly get 50% of any resulting egg sac) and it may also be Wild Caught (higher risk of parasitic infection.
If it's a spiderling, forget it, that's overpriced - tank or not. £12 for a heat mat is about the going rate, it's sometimes worth getting a bigger one as they generate more heat.
I actually had 7 Avicularia arrive today - 3xA.bicegoi and 4xA.purpurea (1 for me, 3 for Kate)
Avicularia are one of the few New World genus' I actually like
More likely a Haplopelma sp."Vietnam"
http://www.vsupermarket.co.uk/~lopez/spidersite/hlongipedum.htm
Yep, a sub-adult female (6") and about 15 spiderlings.
They grow much larger and stockier than sp."Vietnam", and are nowhere near as nervous and flighty - minax will stand their ground a lot longer.
As for your Hetmac's behaviour azrael, sounds about right to me. Most arboreals don't do much (Poecilotheria are a bit more active)
Will I be at the show? Does the bear **** in the woods?
THE SHOW IS ON SUNDAY!!!!
If you miss this, you are missing the BIGGEST T-fest in the country. Two large halls absolutely packed with traders from all over the world! If any of you see me and Kate there, come up and say hi. We don't bite
If you miss this, you are missing the BIGGEST T-fest in the country. Two large halls absolutely packed with traders from all over the world! If any of you see me and Kate there, come up and say hi. We don't bite
Well......the BTS show is done and dusted for another year (thank Christ, couldn't take that stress and excitement every week!)
Glad to see a fantastic turnout - far far busier than last year, the sahow just seems to be going from strength to strength, as does the hobby as a whole. I tell you one thing, I was very glad to be able to enter as a trader and get in to view all the exciting stuff before the show opened to the public - all my best purchases were made before the show "opened".
Star of the show had to be the exceedingly helpful and polite Alvin Seah who was selling the bright blue Cyriopagopus species never seen before at the show. The slings were pricey but large, and I couldn't resist just one
Needless to say, one of the adult females he brought with him walked away with "Best In Show" at the award ceremony.
It was good to meet some new people and some familiar faces once again, including both azrael (alright la!) and hsp70 - hope you both enjoyed the show as much as I did, and didn't spend too much cash. To anyone I didn't see who was there (Stoney, didn't see you about?) sorry but I was running about like a blue arsed fly for most of the day
I'll get some pictures of a few of my new additions resized and put up later, after a few beers......
Glad to see a fantastic turnout - far far busier than last year, the sahow just seems to be going from strength to strength, as does the hobby as a whole. I tell you one thing, I was very glad to be able to enter as a trader and get in to view all the exciting stuff before the show opened to the public - all my best purchases were made before the show "opened".
Star of the show had to be the exceedingly helpful and polite Alvin Seah who was selling the bright blue Cyriopagopus species never seen before at the show. The slings were pricey but large, and I couldn't resist just one
Needless to say, one of the adult females he brought with him walked away with "Best In Show" at the award ceremony.It was good to meet some new people and some familiar faces once again, including both azrael (alright la!) and hsp70 - hope you both enjoyed the show as much as I did, and didn't spend too much cash. To anyone I didn't see who was there (Stoney, didn't see you about?) sorry but I was running about like a blue arsed fly for most of the day
I'll get some pictures of a few of my new additions resized and put up later, after a few beers......
From those shots I'd say it certainly "looks" like sp."Vietnam" but you can't be certain until it moults. When it does, try and retrieve the skin whole and I'll give you the address of someone who should be able to confirm the identity. For now I'm.....75% sure.
The Dutch guy is called Eddy, great bloke. The other really tall dutch guy who looks like a viking (he came over to look at your "regalis" male
" is called Thomas, does regular trips to Africa looking for spiders and so on.Glad you enjoyed the show
PS forgot to mention - the marks on the carapace are just where the setae (hairs) have rubbed off from digging. It happens on the patella (knees) too in asian spiders and is nothing to worry about. You want to see the state of some wild caught ones!
Check out this Haplopelma sp."longipedum" - faded and all battered looking, after a moult it should go almost black believe it or not.
Shoulda bought one with vents!
Keep an eye on moisture levels, if it constantly has water all over the glass it's too humid, make a wooden lid with mesh. Bear in mind they are prone to drying out VERY fast with a total mesh lid though
Originally posted by St0n3y
Yeah he's got bulbs and hooks, my other B.vagans moulted the other day also - guess what I've got another male
Might be worth asking Ray G if he has any females to sell at a reasonable price - I know he sold a couple of big ones off at the show.
Then you can try breeding 'em yourself.
They are Nymph1 Poecilotheria regalis. They will shed soon and gain abdominal patterning but still have limited movement capabilities. A few weeks later they moult again and become fully functional, feeding spiderlings.Originally posted by Slime101
^^^^^^^ OMFG what the hell are they
They look like tiks i pick off the dog from time to time....which then get SQUISHED!
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