New to tarantulas

[Jenny C]

Firtly just wanted to say hi im new to the forum.

Secondly i am new to taratulas, i have had my chilean rose for about 3 months and we are getting on very well!

I would love to get some more, so far i like the pinktoe, the mexican red knee, the green bottle blue, the brazilian black and the curly hair. Would love some advice on any other species i could consider.

I have done some research into all the above and as far as i can tell i could provide a suitable habitat for all of them.

Im am not fussed about handling i know the green bottle blue especially is easy to anger, i dont really feel comfortable handling them due to their fragility and also im sure they would get no pleasure from me picking them up.

My other question is directed to towards buying direct from a breeder or from a specialist shop, i brought my chile from a specialist shop who seem very knowledgable (all the staff own reptiles and tarantulas) however, i breed pedigree cavies (guinea pigs) and would NEVER encourage anyone to buy from a pet shop as the people who supply them are profit driven "box breeders" and do not care for the animals properly, just wondered if this is the same with spiders or if the come from reputable tarantula enthusiasts.

Jenny

[ben moller]

Hi,

Firstly those are all Tarantulas that i moved onto from my initial G rosea (chile rose), and are fantastic Tarantulas! G pulchra (Brazilian black) are beuatiful well behaved T's, and the C cyaneopubescens (GBB) is probably my favourite Tarantula though of course a little skittish. Avicularia (pink toe's) are speedy little things though are a must for any collection! The B albopilosum (curly hair) and any other Brachypelma are just great, I love New world Tarantulas. I would also reccomend an A seemani (Costa Rican zebra), they are 'skittish' like the GBB and are very pretty especially the darker colour form. You may also like to consider the A geniculata (Giant white knee) these are not only larger than most T's but are also fantastically coloured, mine is only a small 'sling' so isnt very aggressive towards me yet! I also own a small juvenile T blondi (goliath birdeater) and although on the aggressive side i love this Tarantula. Hope thats all food for thought?

On the subject of buying T's from a pet shop, I dont reccomend this. From what ive seen in several pet shops they may have come from a breeder, but once in the shop they are rarely cared for properly. I always buy mine from a recommended breeder/supplier/fellow T keeper, either via the internet or in person.

[Ray Hale]

Hi ben and welcome to the BTS Forum. I hope we can be of some help to you .
Feel free to ask any questions here and I am sure everyone will be more than willing to help.

Good point about pet shops but dont be too quick to dimiss them. Many of the people who work in pet shops do keep the animals them selves.

Talk to the assistants, decide if they seem knowledgable and then decide if you want to buy or not. Be aware of anyone selling guaranteed sexed tarantulas. I know many who have been disppointed when the "female " matures male. Ask them how they know, who sexed it and above all get a written reciept to say that it is female.

Hope this helps

Ray Hale

[Jenny C]

Where/How would i find a breeder local to me?

Is there a tarantula breeder directory on the web?

Jenny

[sarah Smith]

Mmmmm Green bottle blues are not agresive just skittish all breeders and sluplies will ship to you so I would reconmend these two places to look at first of all.

The spidersahop.co.uk
theinvertshop.co.uk

you can also use the bulliton board for sale thing on this site to find peoiple selling various stock.

[Layla McInnes]

https://www.thespidershop.co.uk

[manganr]

I would heartily reccommend a B Smithi. Beautiful and good natured. Mine kicks hair occasionally but otherwise is a great pet. Pokies are VERY fast and skittish but generally quite pleasant to keep too.
Old worlds like my TCF Mombassa Starburst is meant to be agressive but I only ever see it if I get up in the middle of the night! Definitely not one for show.
As regards to Aphonopelma Seemanni. Mine is Fast, Skittish and EXTREMELY agressive. Just be aware.

[sarah Smith]

thanks for the save layla was typing this while tierd out so did not spot my typo.

[ben moller]

I would recommend:

https://www.virginiacheeseman.co.uk

She is very helpful.

Ben.

[Stewart Macgregor]

www.thespidershop.co.uk is an excellent place to buy from, and I would also urge you to look at the BTS bulletin board on this site. I've got many a bargain from there, because many people advertising on there are hobbyists looking to shift stuff they've bred or any surplus animals so the prices are a lot lower. I've bought a spider from a bulletin board ad for £30 before and then seen the same species for sale in a pet shop for £65, so it's definitely worth checking out!

Stewart