care guides??

[lee smith]

where is the best place to find acurate care guides a species infomation??

i have been looking all over the internet and read a few books and they all seem to contradict each others info.

the main reason is that ive just bought a Usamburu Orange Baboon (pterinochilus murinus) and cant find any proper info for it, when searching by latin name i keep getting various other types other than the one mine is labled as.

thanks in advance

lee smith

[Adam Smith]

I too used to feel the same many years back when I got into the hobby. I would read one book and read another book which would say something different whether it be about the temperament of the t, humidity, the set up. Its confusing but these days there is much more relibale sources than when i started there wasnt half the websites and virtual pets shops if you will as there is now. I have many books and i have to say the best bet is the tarantula keepers handbook by by Stanley A. Schultz, Marguerite J. Schultz although in some respects its outdated with regards to some of the names and indeed the species now available has gone up there will be species discovered and available in the hobby that was unknown then. As far as feeding, breeding, set up and caring this is the best book in my own opinion. Any R Baxter book is worth looking into. Also best trying your own judgement if your spider seems comfortable and is eating ok and moulting with no probs then you on the right track.

[lee smith]

does the BTS have a collection of care guides on the site??

if there isnt it would be a nice addition as the BTS is the topmost tarantula society in the uk and they would probably be alot better than some that can be found elsewhere on the internet as the BTS seems to have a HUGE wealth of knowledge.

[Ray Hale]

Care sheets

We used to produce a number of care sheets for specific species but as the range of tarantulas became wider it became more difficult to produce individual sheets as many species require similar set ups.We are looking into doing new ones. I am working on producing sheets that you will be able to download when you join. Of course we are always availble to offer advice to everyone not only members. If you have specific concerns regarding your tarantulas set ups then feel free to e-mail us directly. Or better still post it here and we can get a discussion going. There are a number of sites that offer sheets on various species but I agree we should be more involved. Watch this space.

Ray

[lee smith]

cool thanks for the advice.

the species im most trying to find info for is my Usambara orange baboon (pterinochilus murinus) as the info ive been finding is quite varied.

here is what ive found out sofar, (please correct me if its wrong)

space: 12"x12"x12" or 10"x10"x10"

subtrate: peat/vermiculite mix, must be at least 4" deep as they are burrowers (some sites say that they are arboreal)

temp: 70-80F

humidity: 65-70% , some sites say that it should be low humidity and some say it must not fall below 60%


i hope that everyone can help me clarify the needs for this spider as i want it to be as happy and healthy as possible.

thanks in advance

lee smith

[sarah Smith]

Sounds bout right to me some indivduals of this species will happerly make arboral homes so I would guess thats why some list them as arboral. I would set them up in the same way as most african species and just make sure if they want to be arboral they can be. Only thing I would add is to keep them on the very dry side for their substrate and provide a water dish but dont expect them to use it much. My own experiance with these is they are oppertunistic and will happerly live in arboral, burrower or even terrestrial with a hide provded set ups.

[lee smith]

thanks for the advise, i will add what you have said to my notes so i wont forget

thanks again

lee smith

[Adam Smith]

yeah what was said about the P murinus RCF sounds fine and is how i go by it. It is not criucial that the temp and humidity is by the book all the time. All spiders can adapt to change of a couple % either end of the scale. They have been around millions of years and survived the worst weathers that many species died from so historically they are quite robust