So, you want to keep a pet tarantula?

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My spider prefers the softer brown crickets, but sometimes black ones is all we can get.
These arefine, except for the fact that they chew out of their plastic containers :mad:

I came homeonce to find scores of the things under my radiator eating the carpet underlay. They met a swift death, some by T and the rest by flyspray.
 
Right, well after finding a few fascinating links from the British Tarantula Society webpage, I have decided that I want to raise a spiderling. Bringing my tarantula up from a tiny dot just appeals to me and I think that with a lot of care, I am perfectly capable of doing it.

Spiderling Care - for anyone who is interested.

Now my only problem is which one to get. I've narrowed it down to 3 now;

Mexican True Red Leg - Brachypelma emilia
Bemilia



Mexican Fireleg - Brachypelma boehmei
Bboehmei



Mexican Flame Knee - Brachypelma auratum
Bauratum



I really like all three, but I can't really house 3 tarantulas :( What do you lot think? Which one?? :confused:
 
Originally posted by Lostkat
Right, well after finding a few fascinating links from the British Tarantula Society webpage, I have decided that I want to raise a spiderling. Bringing my tarantula up from a tiny dot just appeals to me and I think that with a lot of care, I am perfectly capable of doing it.

Spiderling Care - for anyone who is interested.

Now my only problem is which one to get. I've narrowed it down to 3 now;

Mexican True Red Leg - Brachypelma emilia
Bemilia



Mexican Fireleg - Brachypelma boehmei
Bboehmei



Mexican Flame Knee - Brachypelma auratum
Bauratum



I really like all three, but I can't really house 3 tarantulas :( What do you lot think? Which one?? :confused:
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id go for the 1st one...I like the color contrast (its colors dont faint into each other like number 2)...
 
Originally posted by Lostkat
Right, well after finding a few fascinating links from the British Tarantula Society webpage, I have decided that I want to raise a spiderling. Bringing my tarantula up from a tiny dot just appeals to me and I think that with a lot of care, I am perfectly capable of doing it.

Spiderling Care - for anyone who is interested.

Now my only problem is which one to get. I've narrowed it down to 3 now;

Mexican True Red Leg - Brachypelma emilia
Bemilia



Mexican Fireleg - Brachypelma boehmei
Bboehmei



Mexican Flame Knee - Brachypelma auratum
Bauratum



I really like all three, but I can't really house 3 tarantulas :( What do you lot think? Which one??
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Hmmmm, they all look great, but i think i'd prefer either the 1st or 2nd one. What about characteristics? do they have different temperaments or pretty much the same?

I'd buy the least common cos i'm like that :p
 
Originally posted by Master Skooter
Hmmmm, they all look great, but i think i'd prefer either the 1st or 2nd one. What about characteristics? do they have different temperaments or pretty much the same?

I'd buy the least common cos i'm like that :p
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They're all more or less the same and all pretty common. However, according to a couple of sources, B. emilia tends to be a bit more of a temper on her. Not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing really. I am actually getting quite attached to that one now :D
 
Originally posted by Lostkat
They're all more or less the same and all pretty common. However, according to a couple of sources, B. emilia tends to be a bit more of a temper on her. Not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing really. I am actually getting quite attached to that one now :D
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I have to agree the first one is the one I would get if I was going to get one

I don't think cute is the right word but it is the most striking one (no pun intended!!!)
 
All Brachypelma are considered to be docile in nature, I would be tempted by the emilia, purely because of the colours, however the boehmei is considered to be the "Prince of all the red legs". They all all quite bulky looking spiders. I had the Brachypelma Smithi - Mexican Red Knee, she had a bit of a temper and kicked a lot of hair. She was my first spider and I had her for about 8 years, I dont know how old she was when I got her though. It tough choosing your first spider, I think thats why I ended up with 24 different species at one stage. I only have four now. Damn Lopéz and this thread, he's making me want to buy more again.:)
 
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I just have a few more questions for anyone willing to answer them;

1) I would like to shove a light in the tank, if I ever got one, would I leave it on 24/7, or turn it off at night? Also, what about a different coloured light, other than white?

2) I'm a traveller, I go on holiday about 3 times a year, mostly for 2 weeks at a time, what would I do about the lil' fella whilst I'm away? (mates are petrified by spiders unfortunatly).
 
Originally posted by Kendo
Whats the millimetres measurement? How large (small :)) they are as spiderlings?
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Yes, the measurements refer to their size as spiderlings.

You usually see them for sale at about 10mm across and upwards.

Tarantulas may well produce upwards of 3 egg sacs in some cases, each holding over a 100 babies.
What most breeders do is keep the spiderlings together. As they are generally cannibalistic, they will feed off each other and the strongest will survive. Seperately feeding and housing over 100 spiderlings is just not practical.

When they have 20 or 30 babies left they can be separated and put in their own tanks (a film canister or polystyrene cup does the job nicely) and sold to pet shops or the public.


Originally posted by sik
I just have a few more questions for anyone willing to answer them

1) I would like to shove a light in the tank, if I ever got one, would I leave it on 24/7, or turn it off at night? Also, what about a different coloured light, other than white?

2) I'm a traveller, I go on holiday about 3 times a year, mostly for 2 weeks at a time, what would I do about the lil' fella whilst I'm away? (mates are petrified by spiders unfortunatly).
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I've never found a satisfactory answer to the light question.
They don't need light as such, like many lizards do. Strong sunlight is actually bad for tarantulas.
You could use a blue or red light to watch your spider at night (most animals seem to be unable to detect red or blue light)

As for the travelling, it's usually not a problem.
Make sure the water dish is full and drop in 5 or 6 crickets - these animals can go quite long periods without food.
If you have a tropical species it might be wise to give the tank a thorough misting and soak some of the substrate to maintain humidity.
 
You've got a really nice setup with that twin tank there Lopez :)

What else are you going to put in it? Anything for the Tarantulas to spin webs onto? Plants or branches? Or do they like to stay on the ground?

Sorry about all the questions, its really fascinating stuff. Thanks for the replies so far. :)
 
Originally posted by Kendo
You've got a really nice setup with that twin tank there Lopez :)

What else are you going to put in it? Anything for the Tarantulas to spin webs onto? Plants or branches? Or do they like to stay on the ground?

Sorry about all the questions, its really fascinating stuff. Thanks for the replies so far. :)
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Questions are good.
I'd rather people were interested instead of just being afraid or ignorant.

As for decorations - both tanks will have a shallow water dish in the corner, topped up daily.
For decorations you need to be careful - many parasitesd live in old bark etc, so any driftwood you collect should be soaked in salt water for 24 hours and then microwaved to kill them off (I microwaved all that peat this morning!)
The spiders I've bought will web up pretty much anything, and tend to rearrange and dig the substrate how they want it. So for now they can stay bare - I may add some bark later for shelter :)

Some species are tree-dwelling (arboreal) these need tall tanks with branches in them to build their messy webs.
Ground dwelling spiders don't often make much web, and burrowers tend to dig and web, depending on species.

Baboons are awkward sods and seem to be semi-arboreal, so there's no telling what they'll do once settled.
 
Originally posted by sik
I just have a few more questions for anyone willing to answer them;

1) I would like to shove a light in the tank, if I ever got one, would I leave it on 24/7, or turn it off at night? Also, what about a different coloured light, other than white?

2) I'm a traveller, I go on holiday about 3 times a year, mostly for 2 weeks at a time, what would I do about the lil' fella whilst I'm away? (mates are petrified by spiders unfortunatly).
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That got a little lost on page 5, someone migfht miss it (and me without the needed answers!).

:p
 
Originally posted by Kendo
Look up a couple of posts (well 6 to be precise) ;)
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That was not there! There's a database monster running around that likes to reply to stupid questions posing as Mr. Lopéz.
 
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