Tarantulas ??? Knowledgeable Arachnoid fans in here.

  • Thread starter Thread starter 4T5
  • Start date Start date

4T5

4T5

4T5

Man of Honour
Joined
30 Aug 2004
Posts
27,738
Location
Middle of England
I need some Facts about Tarantulas & keeping them as Pets.

What sort makes the best pet in this country ?

How much should I pay ?

What Temps are critical, Highs & Lows ?

Do they Hang alone or is it best to get a few ? Ideally I would like 3, Would that be a problem ?

If the room is warm enough can they just Cruise about or do you Have to have them in a Tank/Prison ?

Appreciate the help & of course I do plan on having a browse & reading & will visit a couple of decent pet shops but there's Nowt like real user experience is there.
Appreciate your time & any help/advice offered. :cool:
 
I cant remember who it was but there was someone who posted an image in the "your desk right now" or something similar thread, which showed him having about 25 tarantulas, lizards etc...

but to try and answer a few questions...

I need some Facts about Tarantulas & keeping them as Pets.

What sort makes the best pet in this country ?
i was going to get a tarantula a while ago, either a Mexican redknee tarantula or a Pinktoe Tarantula

What Temps are critical, Highs & Lows ?
low to mid 20's

Do they Hang alone or is it best to get a few ? Ideally I would like 3, Would that be a problem ?
they must be kept a lone, more than one in a vivarium and they will fight to the death...

If the room is warm enough can they just Cruise about or do you Have to have them in a Tank/Prison ?
it is ok to handle them for certain periods of time
Click to expand...



the best thing to do is to google tarantula care sheet or be more specific by adding a specific bread into the search, e.g. mexican red knee tarantula care sheet.
a general care sheet: http://www.amentsoc.org/insects/caresheets/tarantula.html
with suggested species at the bottom:

Suggested species
For your first tarantula you don't want an aggressive, difficult to keep or very expensive specimen. The following are ideal species:
Chilean Rose (Grammostola spatulatus / G. cala)
Entre Rios (Grammostola inheringii)
Curly Haired (Brachypelma albopilosa)
Red Rump (Brachypelma vagans)
White Collared (Pterinopelma saltator)
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
malc30 said:
I need some Facts about Tarantulas & keeping them as Pets.

What sort makes the best pet in this country ?

How much should I pay ?
price varies on what you want an adult chile rose will set you back about £30+ in a pet shop but should be cheaper online

What Temps are critical, Highs & Lows ?
temps, if your comfy in a T shirt then the T will be ok is a general rule for the beginner T's (chile rose, red knee etc) though a heatmat is a good idea


Do they Hang alone or is it best to get a few ? Ideally I would like 3, Would that be a problem ?
all the Beginner T's certainly are not communal and will eat each other so more than 1 = separate tanks for them

If the room is warm enough can they just Cruise about or do you Have to have them in a Tank/Prison ?

You can handle them but it is not recommended

Appreciate the help & of course I do plan on having a browse & reading & will visit a couple of decent pet shops but there's Nowt like real user experience is there.
Appreciate your time & any help/advice offered. :cool:
Click to expand...

bah took too long writing so basically as flare says but to add (me bold)

Most ppl will say get a chile rose aka pet rock properly known as the Grammostola rosea as a first T but they do have a rep as being boring hence being known as the pet rock, the mexican red knee (Brachypelma smithi) is also a good beginner T though quite expensive and can be a hair kicker (google urticating hairs)

however I'd recommend a Lasiodora parahybana or acantoscurria geniculata as they grow big, though can be a bit mean :D

have a gander at these forums and you will find all you need is answered somewhere

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/index.php

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/spiders-inverts/ <- check the classifieds here before you buy as there are often good deals to be had
 
If you can pick up, I have a chili rose sub adult + setup you can have..
Oh, and a Brazilian salmon pink (Lasiodora parahybana) spiderling
Edit : I'd be willing to post the chili rose in a few weeks (posting spiders is pretty common)
it shed yesterday + not really safe to post for a couple of weeks
 
Cheers all, It seems I have some serious reading to do, I won't rush in to anything as I am quite responsible when it comes to my pets.

One other question I have is what is a Good sized tank, I don't mean the kind of tank that will do but a Proper nice sized one that would be big enough for a Happy T.
 
Malc I have been keeping tarantulas for 15 years mate :-)

malc30 said:
What sort makes the best pet in this country ?
Click to expand...
Species choice is so wide these days but I would stick to South American species which are usually more agreeable in temperament and often out on display. I'll get more specific later

How much should I pay ?
Click to expand...
You can get a baby from £5-£10 but it takes a fair while to grow. If you want to start off with a decent size sub-adult or adult female budget £20 or so for a more "drab" species up to £60 for something nicer looking

What Temps are critical, Highs & Lows ?
Click to expand...
Room temperature is fine for the majority of North and South American species unless you are trying to breed them.

Do they Hang alone or is it best to get a few ? Ideally I would like 3, Would that be a problem ?
Click to expand...
Loners. They will fight to the death (there are a few exceptions) so keep them in seperate tank.

If the room is warm enough can they just Cruise about or do you Have to have them in a Tank/Prison ?
Click to expand...
They need a tank unless you get an arboreal (tree dweller) and keep it in a Bromelid plant or something but the chances of it going walkies or getting squashed are high!
With regards to tank size never go silly - in the wild spiders are lazy opportunists with a slow metabolism. They get by by doing as little as possible. For an adult spider anything over 18" x 18" is generally overkill

Any more q's just fire away mate I can put you in touch with all the right people in the trade :-)

EDIT

My mate Lee runs the Spidershop linked to above, he is indeed very reputable and as far as UK online sellers goes, is probably the best person to deal with.
 
Lopéz said:
My mate Lee runs the Spidershop linked to above, he is indeed very reputable and as far as UK online sellers goes, is probably the best person to deal with.
Click to expand...

Agree with everything Lopéz just said, and definitely speak to the Spidershop, they're excellent.

I must be bloody mad, but I keep over 200 tarantulas now (mostly African species), and I would also heartily recommend a South American species to start off with :)
 
malc30 said:
I need some Facts about Tarantulas & keeping them as Pets.

What sort makes the best pet in this country ?

How much should I pay ?

What Temps are critical, Highs & Lows ?

Do they Hang alone or is it best to get a few ? Ideally I would like 3, Would that be a problem ?

If the room is warm enough can they just Cruise about or do you Have to have them in a Tank/Prison ?

Appreciate the help & of course I do plan on having a browse & reading & will visit a couple of decent pet shops but there's Nowt like real user experience is there.
Appreciate your time & any help/advice offered. :cool:
Click to expand...

Don't get too close to them as they can fire hairs into your face/eyes!
 
That's the reason I don't keep many New World species, I'm quite sensitive to the hairs - they make my fingers itch like crazy.

That article makes me laugh though - "Pet tarantulas pose risk to owners' eyes, say doctors"

In tomorrow's news we learn that a dog is capable of biting your hand and that hand feeding a parrot may result in you getting pecked.
 
For the experts who have been keeping Tarantulas for a while now I have a question about the feeding.

I am not too keen on crickets and locust etc.. (odd as I am thinking seriously about getting my first Tarantula) what I wanted to know is that are they as happy with worms?

I am thinking about a Chilean Rose due to reading that it's good for beginners...

Cheers
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom