Acanthoscurria Geniculata Questions

[Tomas Whitehouse]

Hello everyone,

First of all let me introduce myself, My name is Tomas, I'm originally from the West Midlands but now I live in Helsinki, Finland. I'm a long time listener first time caller, I have been interested in keeping tarantula's for a very long time but always had the fears of other room mates, flat mates, preventing it.
Now things are different!
I'm quite aware that my choice of spider doesnt really fall under the category of recommended firsts but after many weeks spent searching for fairly priced specimens from breeders with good reputation I opted to buy the tarantula which has always enchanted me and for a very fair price. Originally I wanted to buy from Virginia Cheeseman, I've been looking at her website for the past two years on and off but sadly her 'send spiders to europe' plan hasnt really worked out.

I have a 4-5cm (approx 2inch) A geniculata on the way and I have a few questions.
The breeder I am buying from is currently keeping the genic in an enclosure the size of a medium margerine tub. I have done alot of reading the past week and there are many conflicting views on enclosure size. Would a 12/12/12 inch tank be over kill? I had debated wether to leave the spider in the margerine tub but the material is not transparent, making the spider a tad difficult to monitor, so a change of tank, even if bigger is not better, is inevitable.
My second question would be regarding heat mats, if the best enclosure for a juvenile this size is roughly the size of margerine tub then does one just place the enclosure over a small section of the smallest mat available? leaving plenty of room for colder spots in the substrate should burrowing be desired?

Further more, I have no desire to handle tarantula's, I have read far too many bad things about handling tarantula's, my number one factor is the well being of my spider, I do not want to put it in the position where it can be injured in any way.

Any help or guidance on this particular T would be very gratefully received. Any thoughts, experienced view and storys about genics too.
Thankyou very much for reading.
Best regards
Tomas Whitehouse

https://www.tntflies.com

[Mark Pennell]

Hello everyone,

First of all let me introduce myself, My name is Tomas, I'm originally from the West Midlands but now I live in Helsinki, Finland. I'm a long time listener first time caller, I have been interested in keeping tarantula's for a very long time but always had the fears of other room mates, flat mates, preventing it.

Welcome Tomas..

Now things are different!
I'm quite aware that my choice of spider doesnt really fall under the category of recommended firsts but after many weeks spent searching for fairly priced specimens from breeders with good reputation I opted to buy the tarantula which has always enchanted me and for a very fair price.

Nothing wrong with your choice I happen to feel its good choice, so many people opt for wild caught Chile rose's which at best are boring and they lose interest in this fantastic hobby of ours.

Your choice is fast growing and when full grown simply stunning!
Originally I wanted to buy from Virginia Cheeseman, I've been looking at her website for the past two years on and off but sadly her 'send spiders to europe' plan hasnt really worked out.

I have a 4-5cm (approx 2inch) A geniculata on the way and I have a few questions.
The breeder I am buying from is currently keeping the genic in an enclosure the size of a medium margerine tub. I have done alot of reading the past week and there are many conflicting views on enclosure size. Would a 12/12/12 inch tank be over kill?

12x12x12 well be fine - your 2 inch geniculata will fill this up in no time and be happy in there at 2 inch span.... its not over kill.

I had debated wether to leave the spider in the margerine tub but the material is not transparent, making the spider a tad difficult to monitor, so a change of tank, even if bigger is not better, is inevitable.

It will be fine in there for a while, but I would re house this asap.

My second question would be regarding heat mats, if the best enclosure for a juvenile this size is roughly the size of margerine tub then does one just place the enclosure over a small section of the smallest mat available? leaving plenty of room for colder spots in the substrate should burrowing be desired?

Just re house in the tank you mention, place the mat on the back wall, then back that up with polystyrene sheet to reflect heat in the tank this will give a good gradiant of heat. Use a thermosat if pos.

Further more, I have no desire to handle tarantula's, I have read far too many bad things about handling tarantula's, my number one factor is the well being of my spider, I do not want to put it in the position where it can be injured in any way.

Excellent...

Any help or guidance on this particular T would be very gratefully received. Any thoughts, experienced view and storys about genics too.
Thankyou very much for reading.

Well Thomas you've come to the right place, I wish you the best with your new tarantula.

Regards
Mark

[Colin D Wilson]

Firstly, welcome Tomas,
nice choice for your first spider, I agree with Mark with his answers to your questions on husbandry, from personal experience they make quite a spectacular display spider when they get to a reasonable size.

Two areas i would like to put forward my input are.....
1: I prefer to have spiders in their own little room and heat the whole area to an acceptable average, rather than use heat mats. This is easier for me as i keep and breed, primarily, one particular Genus, Grammostola...this leads me to my second point (in which i have to dissagree with you Mark, sorry)...

2: In my opinion, "Chilli Rose" are a good introduction spider to the hobby and, after gaining valuable experience with this "easy to keep" species, lead an individual to progress further and obtain more, rather than become bored with it and give up the hobby. I've read a lot of posts where "advanced keepers" have a very large, extreemly varied collection yet still have a soft spot for their "first" G. rosea.

Just my own thoughts.

[James Box]

welcome! that's a nice spider!

i like my two G. rosea's...one was boring, but a change of tank and lighting seems to have coaxed it out of its hide. the other was never boring.

that being said, my first two T's were male C. darlingi's...hardly a beginner's spider, but they did ok and so did i...

[Mark Pennell]

Firstly, welcome Tomas,


2: In my opinion, "Chilli Rose" are a good introduction spider to the hobby and, after gaining valuable experience with this "easy to keep" species, lead an individual to progress further and obtain more, rather than become bored with it and give up the hobby. I've read a lot of posts where "advanced keepers" have a very large, extreemly varied collection yet still have a soft spot for their "first" G. rosea.

Just my own thoughts.

Colin
Nothing wrong with them I have a few myself, they can be a pet rock sometimes...
But all tarantulas to me are interesting…

However the point I was trying to get across and I don’t think I explained this very well

Is that almost adult G, rosea are wild caught, and I feel that so much emphasis put on these as a great beginners tarantula is putting a huge strain on the wild populations’.

I always advise on captive bred smithi's as thee definitive starter spider. Thus hopefully quelling the need to purchase chillian rose's..

Yes I agree that 50% of new keepers will go on to get more exciting species however the others will lose interest. The number one rescued T is a Chili rose. I have had loads passed to me for re-homing, so you can see why I kind of doubt them as a first spider.. But each to there own.

Hope this explains my negativity to this species.

Cheers
Mark

[Colin D Wilson]

Hi Mark,

Actually, i didn't get my point across fully either...I meant either spiderling or juvenile Chilli (as we were takling about a "juvi" geniculata)
meaning raising the spider and thus getting the husbandry skills on an easy species.
I agree with your wild caught opinion which is why i've edged toward breeding the genus myself. every little helps eh.

Hopfully formosa and rosea RCF on the cards, unless these female's "moult out" (i think is the phrase?) like four others these last two months (dammit!!)

B. smithi?..oh yes..a good first choice !!

[Neil Martin]

An interesting thread for me, as I am about to hand my first spider, a male CB B.Smithi, to another member tomorrow for a breeding attempt and I am considering replacing it with either an A.Geniculata or even an L.Parahybana if I can find one locally.

From what I can glean, either of the above can be kept pretty much in the same conditions as the B.Smithi, which has done pretty well over the last 15 months and I plan to use the same set up (once thoroughly cleaned out of course?).

I am looking for something that isn't too shy, will grow quickly and will grow to a decent size but won't necessarily take my hand off every time I top up the water bowl! Hopefully, either of these 2 will fit those requirements?

Reading this thread, it seems I may be on the right track.

Oh and I don't intend to handle it either - I handled the Smithi when I first got it, mostly out of novelty factor but have left it alone for 12 months and I think it appreciates it?

[Tomas Whitehouse]

A. Geniculata

An interesting thread for me, as I am about to hand my first spider, a male CB B.Smithi, to another member tomorrow for a breeding attempt and I am considering replacing it with either an A.Geniculata or even an L.Parahybana if I can find one locally.

From what I can glean, either of the above can be kept pretty much in the same conditions as the B.Smithi, which has done pretty well over the last 15 months and I plan to use the same set up (once thoroughly cleaned out of course?).

I am looking for something that isn't too shy, will grow quickly and will grow to a decent size but won't necessarily take my hand off every time I top up the water bowl! Hopefully, either of these 2 will fit those requirements?

Reading this thread, it seems I may be on the right track.

Oh and I don't intend to handle it either - I handled the Smithi when I first got it, mostly out of novelty factor but have left it alone for 12 months and I think it appreciates it?

Hi Neil,

From what I've read online and the advice I've been kindly given so far, I have gathered that A genic's are quite protective over thier water dishes, you may experience some grumpy protests when removing it for cleaning etc. As I haven't got mine yet due to a short holiday coming up on Monday and waiting for the equipment to be delivered I can't really speak from experience. I based my decision on the fact that I don't have the impulse to have it in my hands at all so disturbance will be kept to an absolute minimum. I have seen one in the flesh last week and it's a beautiful and enchanting specimen. I'll post some shots when it arrives and as soon as it is settled. At the moment I'm a bit confused as to which heat mat to buy, here in Finland the options are:

Exo Terra Heat Wave Dessert heat mat, x small 4 W, 10x12, cm
or
Exo-Terra Rainforest mat, Size small (20x20 cm)
Watts 4

the enclosure will be a 30cm cubed (12inch) terririum.
Any help would be gratefully recieved.

Best Regards

Tomas

[Colin D Wilson]

Neil,
either of the two species will make a brilliant display spider. one point on the L parahybana mine, and others i've heard of on here, seem to have slightly different personallities after each moult, shy and retiring after one - brazen and confident after another etc etc. makes for interesting rearing though.
and yes you're on the right track in my opinion.

Tomas, can't give you advice on the heat mat as i don't use them but regarding the water bowl scenario, A. geniculata seem to favour a more humid environment and i've heard of these spiders clinging onto the water dish when you try and take them out for cleaning etc. I use an amount of spagnum moss as well to retain moisture in the tank, although when this dries the spider doesn't like to walk on it.

regards

Colin

[Neil Martin]

Carried out the hand over of our male Smithi today and was given a really nice A.Geniculata, about a year old and the size of my wrist watch in return.

Having housed him in a sandwich box, we have watched him chase (and catch) two small crickets around the tub for half an hour - shy and retiring they aren't, so we are really looking forward to watching this little one develop.

I also had the opportunity to buy an L.Parahybana, not sure how old but around 4" across. Now this is a different kettle of fish to the Smithi!!

Just getting it (not sure of sex yet as the pet store hadn't had a moult from it) into it's new home was a challenge, as it first went into a threat posture, then attacked the chopstick, then attacked my hand which fortunatley was the other side of the cricket tub!!

It only has one pedipalp but seems unperturbed by that all the same - does anyone know if pedipalps can grow back as I understand legs can?

Again, this spider is voracious compared to the Smithi and has polished off two crickets already, the first being had from at least a 9" run up as I was putting the lid back on the tank - I really need to keep my eyes open with this one, it is really quick.

All in all very pleased and looking forward to the challenge of rearing these two newcomers, which are only our 2/3rd spiders.

[Kain Prestwood]

Yup pedipalps and spinnerets grow back after a couple of molts. My B boehmei lost a pedipalp a few molts ago, it's now back and looking no different to it's other one.

My L parahybana is a eating machine, but atm he's in premoult.

Kain

[Helen Roberts]

My daughters L. parahybana also eats like there is no tomorrow. She has been known to pounce on 3 locusts at once and eat them. Like yours Kain she is in premoult too.

[J M Clegg]

Yeah - the A.Genics are brilliant spiders. I am big fan of mine, it never fails to impress, it eats for fun (great for guests to watch) and looks even better after every moult. Superb choice of spider.

[Neil Martin]

The A.Genic I got yesterday looks great, even now as a 1" or so tiddler, fully marked up and a proper active predator - those micro crickets don't stand a chance, even in it's 8" x 4" sandwich box.

The L.Parahybana is a different kettle of fish though, not the greatest looker, especially at the moment with one pedipalp missing, but what a great spider to have if you want to see some action. It went into it's hide for all of 30 seconds at first viewing but now it doesn't even flinch when you take the lid off. Food items are literally run at - full tilt no sooner have they hit the vermiculite!

There is no way I am sticking my hand in there - I shall be purchasing some 12" tongs the weekend or even off the net now if I can find some.