togo starburst

[Oli Dodds]

hi guys, this is my first post on the BTS forums wooooooooo lol.
Anyway that aside, i have been in the hobby a relativly short time (just under a year) and have a few T's, snakes, scorpions, couple different roach species and firebellys.
I have been very interested in the togo starbursts and have been doing research on them for a few months now. Anyhow, i went to the pet shop the other day to get my membership and decided to ask the guy if he ever stocks togo slings or subs. He went into this big talk with me about them telling me everything i already knew then asked me what experiance i have with aggressive exotics. Now, i told him the most aggressive things i keep are a dodoma baboon and an arizona hairy scorpion. He went on to tell me he thinks im an idiot for wanting a togo and that i dont have sufficient experiance to own one and that he wont sell me one due to my over-ambition.His fellow employee politely chimed in and said why not try my hand with a pink toe to get myself used to aboreals. Just so happens i already have 3 pinktoes and so have plently of experiance on these aboreals.
What do you guys think on this matter, do you think i am ready for a togo? And if so, any help in where to get one would be much appreciated, nowhere online seems to stock them, are they out of season?
Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks guys!!

[Elaine Ross]

I dont see that you getting an H. maculata should be a problem. I know they are fast and can be very defensive but if you use common sense when dealing with it it wont be any worse than your P. lugardi.

Really, only you will know whether you are ready or not. You seem to have done your research so will know what to expect. Just treat the H. mac with respect and you should be fine.

Elaine

[Mark Pajak]

All I have to say is that the shop deserves a little bt of credit for taking responsibility for what they supply, but on the otherhand it is getting to be a very competetive market out there and so if they dont want the business there will be someone else who will happily supply them - try the internet and go for a spiderling so that you can develop your experience as it grows.

[Phil Rea]

If you want any H. maculata spiderlings, I'm sure I can sort some for you, seeing as I had a recent eggsac which are now around second moult spiderlings.

If you get a spiderling, then you can get used to it as it grows up. I haven't found any of mine stupidly defensive to be honest with you. When they're adults, they are pretty fast though.

Send me a PM if you're interested

[Sonny Howdle]

Everyone is right, I am 9 and i have togo's, I have lots of nasty type spids. You know if your ready for one, they are fine, no more nasty than pokes. phil is a great guy and I have spids from him. if he hasent got any I have 2 juves here I can sell. you do know that you will hardley ever see it though lol.
sonny

[Nicola Dolby]

Hi Oli,
I wouldn't worry too much about the hype around tarantulas. Yes, H. maculata are fast (very fast) and as for aggression thats to be taken with a pinch of salt. If a spider is happy and unstartled then you'll be okay. I keep quite a few "for experienced keepers only" tarantulas and they're all as soft as anything (except one, but that spider just has a problem with communicating!). The only danger you'll have is complacency, its tripped me up and probably a lot of other people if they're honest. In short, if you want one and know what it needs to live well, get one!

[Oli Dodds]

Thanks for all your help guys its been much appreciated. Sonny my man, thanks for the offer but i think Phil will be sorting me out if all goes well!!

[Trevor Parsons]

Ohh and they can jump too. Yeah there's absolutely no one in this world that can handle a true H. mac (damm pet stores)

Check the video clips of this forum. The newest topic there is my H. mac mating whereby you can see just how fast a male can be

[Ray Gabriel]

Personally

How can you get experiance with a faster agressice spider without keeping a faster agressive spider?

I believe you can only get experiance with any animal buy having one. Untill they bring out the "Keeper" simulation DVD or something like that.

I am not saying beginners should be sold Chilobrachys etc as thier first spider, but rearing H. maculata from spiderling would be a very good way to get experiance.

Ray

[Sonny Howdle]

i agree with mr gabriel, he knows best and if i can look after one then anybody can.

[James Box]

fully agree with what everyone's saying here. my first t's were Ceratogyrus darlingi's. never had a problem with them, even with one getting loose for a couple days (my fault, underestimated how thin a gap they could squeeze through!) found him safe and sound and returned him to his enclosure with no stress.

i'll happily take an H. maculata next time i find some slings for sale. i got three P. murinus slings at Kempton (they are shy as anything) and three C. crawshayi slings later. they're also shy at the moment!

as you already know from keeping these things, respect and care is key for keeping any t, or any animal at all for that matter. if that's exercised, why not keep anything your heart desires, so long as it's not harmful to the animal to be kept? (like, say, a whale or giant squid lol!)
go for it! H. maculata's are beautiful!

[Phil Rea]

H. maculata's are beautiful!

They sure are

[James Box]

great pic

[mary walters]

I can't wait for my 2 to get like that Phil, she is loverly