Hi, I'm back. Been away due to being busy but happy to be looking at pictures of people's pretty spiders again. All mine are doing well!

With a little more time now and having been successful with all mine so far and a reptile expo coming up, I'm entertaining the idea of getting more. Looking for suggestions of possible species. I'm gonna do more research while I'm at it, but if anyone has suggestions, I'm open to hearing them.

So far I have 7. they are:
Aphonopelma chalcodes
Brachypelma albopilosum (I have 2)
Grammostola pulchripes
Grammostola rosea
Avicularia Avicularia
Brachypelma emilia

I'm thinking of not getting more Brachypelma since I'm kind of afraid of building an allergic reaction to their hairs, though I haven't had any issues with them so far. The Aphonopelma is the sweetest, and I adore it, I would happily care for another. They're all great in their own ways. I feel like I've so far become really comfortable with caring for all of these, and the rosea by far has the most personality, I immediately named her "Spunky" because she is! ha ha! I would be open to trying a species a little more advanced, but I don't want anyone likely to be too challenging at this point.

Thanks!

Oh, and 2 I already know I want are Grammostola pulchra and Avicularia versicolor

Sounds like you've got a nice collection started. I think G. pulchra and A. versicolor would be great spiders to get next. You might also want to add a Euathlus to that list, they're hardy little spiders that are very interesting to watch. My female Euathlus sp. "red" is always doing something, and she's very docile. She'll walk right onto your hand when you open the enclosure. Thus far she hasn't flicked any u-hairs, neither have my pulchra nor versi, so if urticating hairs are a concern those species would be good choices.

Thanks for the input! I just did a little research on the Euathlus sp. red, and that seems like a really nice one! I keep that one under consideration. Thanks!

In doing a little more research I came up with a couple other possibilities: Acanthoscurria geniculate and Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens
what do people have to say about these two?

The C. cyaneopubescens is a good webber, which is cool in its own way, and they are attractive as babies and adults.

If I may make a suggestion... In our hobby, it is pretty common to become a "stamp collector", and end up with one species from a couple dozen genera across several families. And while that makes for wonderful displays and diversity, it does not always lend itself to focused breeding projects. Thus, if you're going to get into breeding, then maybe you could step back from the dealer lists and really look at what group really gets you fired up. Celeste, who posts here, for example focused on the genus Nhandu. Once she did this, she was able to find out who had what stock and what species and build a great collection. And honestly, if I have a Nhandu species question, I'd probably PM her first!

The reason I'm saying this is that I had a few conversations this week at the conference regarding better hobby efforts in breeding. Focusing on a smaller group would help this.

In any case, I'd suggest looking at what you want out of your hobby, then either keep a lot of great pets of great diversity or focus on smaller groups of species.

Christian

Thanks, Christian for the tip. I have no interest in breeding any time soon. I think I want a variety out of this. I find it interesting seeing what all the little creatures are up to. I get your point and I hadn't thought of that, specializing in one genus. But I think for now I just want ones that look different and see how they behave differently. I like their different personalities. And I've got the two siblings too, which that's interesting for a compare/contrast within a species. But for now I think I'm going for diversity.

Any of the Psalmopoeus species are beautiful and interesting. They are also hardy, fairly fast growing, and you will be able to see them. They are a little fast, but in my experience they aren't overly defensive.

Most of what I keep are Brachypelma, and in six years, I still don't have much reaction to the urticating hair. But I also don't really handle my T's. B.auratum and B.boehmi are by far the worst kickers in my experience.

In the beginning of being a hobbyist, I had a variety of spiders in my collection. As I got further into it, I realized I was a Brachy girl at heart and now I'm like Celeste with the Nhandu genus and keep mostly Brachy.

I guess the way I'D do it would be whittle down your interests by whether or not you want to be able to handle it, and what you're comfortable with at your experience level. Also how much effort you want to put into care - if it needs to be kept a bit damp, depending on where you live, you might have to be more vigilant. Others just need a full water dish and you're golden.

We're always here to answer your questions!

I agree with this, and will add that in my opinion P. cambridgei is the best arboreal species to start with as well. They are a little more hardy than the Avicularia, and grow to larger sizes.

I also agree that P. cambridgei is a nice species.

The P. cambridgei seems interesting but from what I'm finding out on it has a reputation for teleporting! My comfort level is not quite there for someone likely to be on my ceiling when I go to give it water. or is it not quite like that (I'm gathering it makes a quick run for it, I'm good about ensuring the lids are secure at all times)? so far I'm really comfortable with the ones I've got, I'm familiar with everyone's personality and what to expect when I open up their home to give them food and water.

I don't care if I can handle them or not, I don't anyway for the most part. I just enjoy watching them. So maybe, as I'm figuring out what do I want out of this, I guess I want ones that are interesting to watch. Pretty ones and good webbers would be cool, though I like my G. rosea's quirky personality. My B. emelia's a little nervous and does some mini teleportation of her own but is such a sweetheart, I really like her, no aggression. My curly hairs crack me up as all they do is eat and bulldoze. So really, anyone active is cool, and I'm okay with nervousness but I don't have anyone aggressive and don't want to go there just yet.

I'm appreciating everyone's suggestions! I'll probably come back to this as I get more in the future too, so feel free to keep the suggestions coming.

Is there somewhere online like a list of beginner/intermediate... tarantulas, along with a quick bit about them as far as temperament, etc.? I know when I was first looking into them I was finding a lot of sites that listed beginner ones and kind of rated them and gave a quick blurb. Didn't know if anyone knows of a good source like that? I kind of feel now like I'm looking up random ones and seeing about each individually, which makes me feel like I could be missing out on some good ones.

P cambridgei or P irminia are not likely to bolt when you go to feed them or water them. You might have a little run around getting them into their new home, but on average, I would say they are less likely to teleport than an avic for sure. I have 3 irminia and 4 cambridgei and all are easily manageable.

Why would you pick P. cambridgei over P. irminia? Just curious. I haven't noticed a significant difference between the temperment or hardiness of the two.

The longer I have been in the hobby the less I believe that there really is such a thing as beginner tarantula or advanced tarantula. My reasoning is that a really docile sweet little teddy bear tarantula that lets you roll it over and rub its tummy, or a pet rock really isn't going to prepare you for a 8 legged demon that wants to eat your face when you try to feed it (I am specifically thinking about my daughter's OBT here). In my mind I catergorize tarantulas into two categories, ones that I will handle and ones that I would prefer not to handle. With the exception of the psychotic OBT, OBTs, psalmies, and pokies have been some of the easiest and most well behaved tarantulas that I have.

P. cambridgei, as we found out from observations in the field, often lives on rock faces. They dive downward usually. In my hands, where I do not have humidities to match yours Dawn, P. cambridgei is a couple of notches more hardy.

As for bolting, I've chased both species equally, but I have never lost one, they're just not that fast. Also, before they're a few inches, I have no worries about being bitten. Once they get large, they're often quite docile. Check out the female in these images:

viewtopic.php?f=30&t=17456

Okay, you all are selling me on the P. cambridgei. And I'm scratching Acanthoscurria geniculate off my list for now, though I think they look nice. I feel like I can't do enough research.

I started with all the Nhandu's and then picked up other Brazilian species. (I like Acanthoscurria a lot, too) I'm kind of excitable and prone to oo and aahhh over the next newest thing, and knew I needed some kind of limitation to keep me from getting 'in over my head' - for me, that meant paying attention to what kind of habitat requirements they have more than what temperament they have. I dont have a lot of control over humidity in my house- and the room I keep them in definitely experiences summer and winter, even with modern climate control. I was cautiously interested in arboreals; I found that Avics didnt do anything for me but the Psalmopeous won me over.

For me, part of what makes this interesting is the naturalist observation that these two critters have similar coloring/lifestyle/habits but are different species, or even different genus, so I do like picking a genus and then finding every species I can within it then branching out to a genus from roughly the same locale.

My sons set out one conference to see how many raffle wins they could acquire- fun at the time but you know we ended up with more spiders than any one wanted to feed or look at.


I like getting them tiny and watching them grow and change. at the last conference I somehow ended up with 9 A. crinifrum, (there was an awful lot of these in the raffle) and though I had been content not to have little tiny babies anymore, I find I am enjoying watching this tiny group and seeing the differences in the 'personalities' of individuals of the same species as they grow and make their own tiny burrows in little deli cups.

Do your research. Read a lot. I recommend buying not more than 3 spiders simultaneously, so you get a chance to properly appreciate each one. Stamp collecting is fine, but these are living critters that should be fed and cared for properly.

also keep in mind the size to which they will grow and the space you have to keep them. (and the cost of containers and stuff you want to provide in their habitats). I like big spiders so, though there are many others I would like to have- my collection isn't growing, at least, not by much. My spiders are growing bigger and I like making interesting habitats for them to live in and me to observe them in.

Thanks, Celeste, that all sounds like really good advice.

I've had tarantulas for many years in the past, and have to disagree. There are definitely some that are capable of things that a beginner isn't expecting, or prepared to deal with. The aggression, speed, and hotter venom can easily ruin someone's day. Many of the old world species fall into the 'advanced' category and should not be sold in pet stores to the unwary. Big difference between a Brachypelma and a Stromatopelma, which may take a little time to fully appreciate. Even if you don't handle your spiders (which I don't, at all), some can occasionally shoot out of a cage and up a shirtsleeve or pant leg (happened to me more than once, which made for some rather frantic disrobings). You do not want an old world tarantula trapped on skin that has never seen the sun. I've had plenty that have tried to shred pencils. Most people have enough sense not to try to hold these, but they still have to open the cage periodically. If it shoots out, it helps if you can do more than scream and run away.

I'd argue that there are 3 catagories: beginning, intermediate, and advanced. I'd put most of the quick/nervous new world tropicals into the intermediate category, as they're a step above the Brachypelma/Aphonopelma temperment: not a good idea to handle (for your sake and theirs) but not likely to unleash their full fury on you. Bites occur occasionally if handled, and fast, unexpected dashes are likely.

If it's very fast and/or has hotter venom, then it should be for experienced collectors who have worked their way up. They've dealt with emegencies and know what to do. They can get a spider back in its cage without being bitten and without injury to the spider. These just aren't ideal pets for the average family, even if there is no intention to handle them. They may be fine most of the time, but out of the blue they can get spooked and race up a wall, which is not something grandma will be happy about. The more people who are steered to species appropriate for their skill level, the less we have to worry about regulation and bans.

Rick Blauman
(yes, he's back)