Looking for a begginer T

[Larry Shone]

My daughter is really hooked on spiders! Amazing, shes so like me as a kid, has them crawling all over her, and yesterday she watched intently a documentary on Animal Planet on Australian Tarantuals-she was glued to the TV!
So, we decided to get one for her, tho of course I'll have the oh so tedious job of looking after it (She's just 2!)

Now I know that a red kneed is ususally the begginers species, but I saw a guy selling small tanks on Ebay and he has White Kneed Tarantula spiderlings, about 1cm in size for about a tenner(not sold thru Ebay as thats illegal) Ive never heard of White kneed before, is this a geniuine species?

Are these worth going for or should I visit my local specialist?
'Coast to Coast Exotics' up the road has Red kneed for about 20 quid.
Also is it better to get a sling or an adult?
I will be keeping it in the shed which gets plenty warm enough in summer but whats the best method of winter heating(I have a thermostat that I used when I had a lizard some years ago)

Any help gratefully received
Larry(and Katie, aged 2!)

[Neil Martin]

Australian Tarantula Programme

I have just watched this programme, recorded from Sky (Animal Planet) yesterday and in the main found it very interesting and well filmed, especially the parts concerning Dr. Raven and his research in Australia and another Aussie that runs a "venom factory" over there for medical research purposes.

However, I found the scenes from Cambodia quite shocking. There is a village/town about 90 km from Phnom Penh knicknamed "Spidertown", to which people flock to buy deep fried Tarantula's, they apparently being a real delicassy over there.

Now, I admit to feeling particularly quesy watching the close up's of Cambodians scoffing these spiders, picking away as you may do (not me personally - can't stand the stuff!) in a KFC, but that isn't what I found shocking. After all, we all have different cultural backgrounds and what is "normal" to one group may seem offensive or repugnant to another, that is just social conditioning after all.

What affected me was the way that the spiders are dealt with and the huge quantities involved.

The wild caught Tarantulas are "de-fanged" at capture and in the scene on the film, a batch of 4,000 or so, apparent fully grown (and many still alive) spiders were being scooped up in double handfuls and dumped into plastic bags.

I would hope that the majority die from the trauma of having their fangs ripped out but I am sure that many make it to the shallow oil frying pans alive?

If these were "ickle kittens" or Harp seals, I'm sure you would have the worlds rich and famous, helicoptering their entourages over there to get it stopped, but as they are only spiders I suppose no one cares?

Anyway, thankfully Tarantulas aren't only indigenous to South East Asia, as if they were they would certainly be going the way of the Dodo.

Sorry if this is a bit "off topic" BTW

[Mike Conabeer]

Hi Larry, personally I would go with the White Knee, yes it is a genuine species, scientific name Acanthoscurria geniculata. They are quite an easy species to keep & seem very hardy to me, plus they grow quickly! They are quite aggressive feeders so I would not recommend handling them as they see everything as food! Because of their adult size 7" ish they do make a striking display spider too.

With regard to heating, the best thing you could do is to use the thermostat that you already have and connect it to a heat mat positioned on the back of your viv this will provide the necessary heat but being on the back will still give the spider somewhere to escape if it gets too warm.

Hope this helps,

Mike.

[Larry Shone]

Re: Australian Tarantula Programme

If these were "ickle kittens" or Harp seals, I'm sure you would have the worlds rich and famous, helicoptering their entourages over there to get it stopped, but as they are only spiders I suppose no one cares?

:

Thats been one of my lifes philosophies! Basically all creatures should be treated with the same respect whether they are warm and furry or cold and scaly- it makes no difference, they all have a right to live unmolested.

And yes, I was amazed at the sheer numbers of T's in that programme!

[Larry Shone]

Hi Larry, personally I would go with the White Knee, yes it is a genuine species, scientific name Acanthoscurria geniculata. They are quite an easy species to keep & seem very hardy to me, plus they grow quickly! They are quite aggressive feeders so I would not recommend handling them as they see everything as food! Because of their adult size 7" ish they do make a striking display spider too.

With regard to heating, the best thing you could do is to use the thermostat that you already have and connect it to a heat mat positioned on the back of your viv this will provide the necessary heat but being on the back will still give the spider somewhere to escape if it gets too warm.

Hope this helps,

Mike.

Yes Mike this does help, thank you !
7 inch, thats a nice size spider!

Now I hear that Chile Rose are also a good species, yet i thought they were aggressive buggers, definitely not for the squeamish!

[Neil Richardson]

Chile rose's are harmless things, would be the ideal start species, but slow growing, so you might not want a sling.

As far as A.geniculata goes, have a picture of my female monster

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/neil.richardson40/spiders/species/A_Geniculata.jpg

[Larry Shone]

Neil, thats a beauty, want one now!

Now whats best to buy, a sling or an adult?

Also, what is an aggressive species?

[sarah Smith]

for a first spider I would go for a juvinile and would reconmend a chile rose genicas are great but can be a bit tempermental temper wise.

[Stephen Bryceland]

hi, another great starter spider would be a chaco golden knee(very docile) which can get up to 6-8 inch. i have one which is a juvinile,and is very beautiful, i have pictures posted of her/him,but a juvinile would prob be your best bet. this is also a newer species....good luck