So, you want to keep a pet tarantula?

Lopéz · 3 May 2003 at 16:02

Originally posted by si_sleaf[/i]
One of my friends at work introduced me to a guy who breeds Ts. He has offered me an Indian Ornamental spiderling for £2. I know it is an advanced keepers and am not sure what to say. Should I take it? I'd love to have a "collection" rather than just my Pinochet. Do you think I'd be ok if I kept it strictly "look don't touch" and if I'm super-careful? I've been looking at some of the pics on the net of this spider and it looks fantastic. But I think perhaps it's a case of learning to walk before trying to run as it were. What do you more experienced guys think?

Indian Ornamentals are indeed stunning tarantulas. I'm hoping to pick one up at the BTS show this month

If I put my sensible head on, I'd honestly say you'd be asking for trouble getting one now. I know it's a real downer when people come along and say "ooh you need to take it slowly blah blah blah" but I think with regard to Poecilotheria (Ornamentals) it's good advice. These are rapid spiders that are aggressive when disturbed. If bitten the consequences will be very uncomfortable at the very least - Pokie venom is thought to be a little more potent than South American tarantulas (same goes for any Asian /African tarantula)
Do yourself a favour and wait a while - that's my honest advice anyway.

Originally posted by Repo
Two quesions:

The pet shop guy told me to feed him on fishing bait maggots or crickets; are the maggots ok as I've not really seen them mentioned here?

I bought some potting compost from B&Q for his/her new jar (it's small coffee jar sized) - says 91% peat on the bag - that's ok too I suppose?

By maggots I expect the guy meant mealworms, which are fine as a food source (though smaller spiderlings might not eat them)
Overall crickets work best and have a better overall nutritional content.

The soil should be fine, sterelise it by microwaving first (let it cool down before dumping the spider onto steaming hot peat!)

Lostkat · 3 May 2003 at 16:21

si_sleaf I would strongly advise you AGAINST getting a P. regalis until you have a fair bit of experience. They are known to be quite skittish and fast plus they have extremely potent venom which will have you in bed for days. I would even be warey of getting one myself. Like you said, it's best you learn to walk before you can run. Plenty of other opportunies will come along in the future, and P. regalis aren't rare in the T trade.

Originally posted by Repo
w00t!!!

Just had him.her/it trundling on my hand & arm. Sorta plods along for a bit then has a little run & jump, sticks the pedipalps in the air for a sec & then goes back to the plodding bit then the run & jump & so on & so on.

Doesn't seem stressed out by the new home; the car journey or being handled at all

NOOOO NOT A B. VAGANS!!!!11111 :eek:

Mine's an absolute psychotic BEAST! I couldn't handle him if I tried, he'd have my arm off!! Don't worry though, most B. vagans are meant to be very docile and ok to hold... with the exception of Sanchez

. He flicks hairs at me, tags my tweezers when I'm feeding him and shows me threat poses ALL the damn time. He's an utter freak.

This is when I tried to feed him this morning. Cheeky little begger gave me a full threat pose before going into his burrow and kicking hairs at me.

Anyway, don't worry about your T walking all funny and lifting his legs really high, all of my babies have walked like that. The only thing I would be concerned about is the running and jumping. You might be startling him. It's amazing how sensitive even tiny T's are to vibration. Make sure you don't move around with him on your arm too much (creates air flow which my alarm him) and don't breathe on him. It sounds odd but both me and leon either breathe out of the side of our mouth or turn our heads slightly when handling our T's. Breathing on them can really make them jump, especially some of the more jumpy species like the avics.

Clark Nova · 3 May 2003 at 16:51

Lopez, do you want this indian ornamental? My new T breeder friend has GIVEN it to me now. I have it at home in a small tank so if you have any spiderlings you want to trade for it (anything other than a Chile rose as I already have one). Otherwise I will let him have it back. It sounds like good advice so if you want it it's yours. Although I'd love to keep it I don't feel ready for one.

SaBBz · 3 May 2003 at 17:23

I'm definately thinking of getting a couple more tarantulas now. The flame knee juvenile for £25 and also another sling, but im not sure which

Anyone got any ideas? I think I'm hooked

Lopéz · 3 May 2003 at 17:23

LOL!

If you want I'll nip down to see my local breeder - he has some lovely chunky Curly hair tarantulas available and we could do a swap if you like (Special Delivery is about £4, they need wrapping up well)

They are docile, handleable and feed well - about this size:

They live about 15 years and grow much bigger and chunkier than the Chile rose

EDIT

I must say, that's a very mature attitude to take - we need more T keepers like you

Clark Nova · 3 May 2003 at 17:32

Ok Lopez, I will email you. This is quite exciting, it's like having foreign exchange tarantulas. Mine can stay with your family and yours can come and stay at mine.

SaBBz · 3 May 2003 at 17:40

From looking at my tarantula book the brazilian white knee would be good if I didnt handle it, any thoughts lopez? I might get that and the Flame knee

Lopéz · 3 May 2003 at 17:49

Originally posted by SaBBz
From looking at my tarantula book the brazilian white knee would be good if I didnt handle it, any thoughts lopez? I might get that and the Flame knee

Kate had a White Knee as her second tarantula - healthy eating, fast growing, but can be a bit tetchy. As always, test the water before grabbing hold of it

They can get up to around 10" as well

Another bonus is they are easy to breed and produce over 1000 babies per clutch, so they are very cheap to buy as spiderlings (considering they are such a handsome species)

I'd say you should be fine with one if you read up plenty about them.

Repo · 3 May 2003 at 17:56

KKEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRAAPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

el spido has escaped...

Anyone know how to dismantle a HP5550c printer? :confused:

Lopéz · 3 May 2003 at 18:01

How do you people keep losing tarantulas? :confused:

Keep the damn lids on!

Good luck finding him - if you saw where he went it shouldn't take too long to unearth the little swine.

Nexus · 3 May 2003 at 18:10

Guess if he inside the printer. Unplug it, and stick it near a radiator and he might come out.

SaBBz · 3 May 2003 at 18:49

Originally posted by Lopéz
Kate had a White Knee as her second tarantula - healthy eating, fast growing, but can be a bit tetchy. As always, test the water before grabbing hold of it

They can get up to around 10" as well
Another bonus is they are easy to breed and produce over 1000 babies per clutch, so they are very cheap to buy as spiderlings (considering they are such a handsome species)

I'd say you should be fine with one if you read up plenty about them.

Looks like I might have to get one. Any ideas on where one can be got for cheap? I saw them on the website you referred me to a while ago with the flame knees on but the white knees are about £20 for a sling, is this reasonable?

Thanks a lot again mate.

Lostkat · 3 May 2003 at 19:01

No, £20 is not reasonable for a whiteknee spiderling. I got mine for £8 plus p&p and she was quite large AND sexed. They are extremely popular spiders and easy to breed. You should not be paying any more than £8 for them. Shop around.

Whiteknee is a good choice. They can be a bit tempromental, but you always test the water before you pick them up. Some of them can be a bit mean and will kick hairs etc. They grow damn fast and will end up HUGE. They're all guaranteed to be utterly stunning too

I love my Rio, she's gorgeous.

Currently waiting for her to moult. She's been sat in the same position for days now and her abdomen is jet black

/me drums fingers and gets impatient

SaBBz · 3 May 2003 at 19:21

Thanks for the info Lostkat

If anyone knows where I can get a reasonably priced whiteknee spiderling I'd be very grateful if you could mail me

Lostkat · 3 May 2003 at 19:39

Consider yourself mailed. TWICE (second one is just on it's way)

Nexus · 3 May 2003 at 21:20

When do Tarantulas start to create silk? Can they do it right away? Or does it have to develop as they mature? I haven't seen any evidence at all yet that my sling can create any.

Lopéz · 3 May 2003 at 21:24

Originally posted by Nexus
When do Tarantulas start to create silk? Can they do it right away? Or does it have to develop as they mature? I haven't seen any evidence at all yet that my sling can create any.

They can create silk from birth, from two tiny spinnerets at the base of the abdomen.

Many tarantulas do not web at all.

Pepper - Chile Rose: Lays a thin, almost invisible "carpet" over the substrate

Miguel - Curly Hair: Lays a similar, but much thicker "carpet"

Idi - Mombasa Starburst: Only webs the inside of his burrow

Maz - Indian Violet: Amazing amount of tube webbing - fills the entire tank overnight

Mugabe - Usambara Baboon: Strong, thick silk lined tree web

Guarico - Suntiger: Complex tube web covered in dirt

Pele - Pinktoe: Large tree web in the shape of a sort of hammock

Sometimes the silk is so fine you can hardly see it

Repo · 3 May 2003 at 23:59

w00t!!!

Just saw him/her/it trundling across the computer table... one jar at the ready... one recaptured - seven hours later! T

WHOO HOOOOOO

Nexus · 4 May 2003 at 00:17

Nice one! Bet your pretty relieved now.

hsp70 · 4 May 2003 at 00:29

this thread just get's bigger and bigger

with regards to the high-leg walking thing. it's a nervous walk. t's walk like that in order to get a better view of their surrounds when they feel nervous. normally they don't have very good perripheral vision as their knee's of their legs block out pretty much most of their view