Newbie requiring some clarification on my setup.

[Colin D Wilson]

Peter
I like your tarantula wall more and more everytime i see the picture !!!


Robert
Let's have piccie of Eugene (in the pics section) so we can all have a guess at the specie.

Don't forget the BTS has a no handling policy so discussion for this should be kept to a minumum...Thanks.

Colin

[Andrew Ferguson]

Do you intend on handling?

As little as possible. I can be a bit clumsy some times (I've dropped loads of very nice plates, much to my wifes annoyance!) so I don't think handling too often is advised. Plus from all the reaserach I've read, handling seems to be a no no. But then, you never know!

[James Box]

yeh it's always best to leave the T alone as much as possible. even without our clumsiness, they can be prone to jumping.

[Robert Farmer]

As little as possible. I can be a bit clumsy some times (I've dropped loads of very nice plates, much to my wifes annoyance!) so I don't think handling too often is advised. Plus from all the reaserach I've read, handling seems to be a no no. But then, you never know!

Shame plates don't have tarsal claws eh lol???

And to Colin,

I'm thinking it might be Lasiodorides polycuspulatus, either way it has huge chelicerae and enjoys teething the air vents at the top of the enclosure.

Def terrestrial and new world, not a heavy webber in the slightest.

Verging on pet rock!

I'll try and get a pic up tonight, feeding night tonight, always fun!

Re no handling policy, I'll try and keep it to a minimum.

[Peter Lacey]

Generally you will only find medium sized adults for sale as 99.9% of all grammastols rosea's for sale are wild caught.
Grammastola's in general are one of the slooooooowest growing tarantula species available and may take years to become a 'big hairy spider'

Now you're making me think! I was told my 4th instar was CB, and I'd much prefer to believe it was. I'll ask about that again next time I'm in Cold Blooded.

Perhaps you could shed some light. Why, if the G. rosea is so popular, are there so few people offering CB specimens? Is this purely down to the slow growth, the difficulty in breeding or the lack of interest in doing so and perhaps little financial gain?

[Peter Lacey]

here's some G. rosea spiderlings that are almost certainly CB:

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/invert-classifieds/81804-chili-rose-spiderlings-sale-only.html

[James Box]

Now you're making me think! I was told my 4th instar was CB, and I'd much prefer to believe it was. I'll ask about that again next time I'm in Cold Blooded.

Perhaps you could shed some light. Why, if the G. rosea is so popular, are there so few people offering CB specimens? Is this purely down to the slow growth, the difficulty in breeding or the lack of interest in doing so and perhaps little financial gain?

Peter, you bought your G rosea's at Cold Blooded? that's the shop in Barking, right? what a coincidence! so did i!! a mate of mine drove me up there cause it was the only place i knew of at the time doing exotics. i can't recall if mine were said to be captive bred, but i think it's likely.

not a bad shop, really. love the massive snapping turtle in the front area!

[Peter Lacey]

Hi James
The shop is in Rainham and owned by Paul, a great bloke, full of enthusiasm and eager to inform. He told me if I read Stan Schultz's book I'd end up looking like him (Paul) only without the hair! worrying!!! He refuses to handle any of the spiders, seems to continually trade and is always up for a bargain.
It's got to be the same shop as that Snapper is a give-away, its opposite the Phoenix pub for anyone that's interested and the wife tells me he's recently had another influx of spiders. Last time I was there he had a Camel Spider (Solifugae) spiderling, behold the monster!
There's a shop walking distance from me, Jungle Phase, but I much prefer a quick drive to Cold Blooded. Unfortunately neither has a website.
If you decide to visit again I should be able to come down too.

[James Box]

i don't know the area too well, just went by what my friend said, which might've been the nearest tube station?
anyways, yeh that's the place!
we have solifugids at our local shop, but at £40 a pop, and considering they don't tend to live long, i've not yet got another to replace the one i had.
if i manage to get up there again sometime, i'll send you a PM always good to meet other BTS people

[Peter Roach]

Peter, you bought your G rosea's at Cold Blooded? that's the shop in Barking, !

Coldblooded is in Rainham.

Paul is a very good friend of mine, when I'm there I usually get behind the counter and serve and get the job everyone loves ...... feeding the spiders or re-potting any new spiders that come in. I think it was last year when he got 100+ spiders in a shipment from the wholesaler and i spent all afternoon repotting them ....I itched for days after

Peter
I like your tarantula wall more and more everytime i see the picture !!!

Ok, I'll take the hint .... no more pictures of the tarantula wall ....... except when I add more !!!!

Now you're making me think! I was told my 4th instar was CB, and I'd much prefer to believe it was. I'll ask about that again next time I'm in Cold Blooded.

Perhaps you could shed some light. Why, if the G. rosea is so popular, are there so few people offering CB specimens? Is this purely down to the slow growth, the difficulty in breeding or the lack of interest in doing so and perhaps little financial gain?

If you bought a juv chile from Paul it is going to CB as I know when and who he got it from.

Breeding chile's ?
From a retailers point of view why bother with CB slings and juv's that will take years to get to a saleable size (except when whole collections are bought and they come in with a job lot) when you can get an WC adult for less money than a packet of cigarettes and can be sold immediately ?

I got 2 RCF from Paul a short while ago and he asked me if I wanted a RCF MM (for free) that came in with the shipment.
My reply isnt suitable for a family forum but it was along the lines of "go away you silly man" "what am i going to do with the hundred squillion microscopic dots that take 5 or 6 years to grow into proper sized spiders and then can only sell for 50p at the maximum after many many years of feeding them and giving them lots of TLC ?"

[James Box]

well there's nothing wrong with WC in moderation, but unfortunately G roseas are being caught with nothing even resembling that! they are actually going to be in trouble soon if they aren't already. they are being taken in huge numbers from their habitat and sold at ridiculously cheap prices.
we do actually need people to selflesly breed them, even though there isn't much return.
anyways, who cares about return...i'm in this for conservation and interest...if i happen to breed something that is lucrative to sell, fair enough, but i'll also try to breed cheaper species to bring the market interest in WC ones down.

[Peter Roach]

.
we do actually need people to selflesly breed them, even though there isn't much return.
.

I have seen adult chile's at shows for as little as £8.
Picture a typical show where everyone is out for a bargain.

On one stall Mr Smith has 1cm CB chile's for £2 each or 3 for £5, Mr Smith has spent months and months feeding these slings which are extremely small when newly hatched and has spent quite a lot of money buying micro crickets to feed them, in fact has spent more money feeding them than they are worth as well as buying hundreds of vials to house them.

Next door is Mr Jones who has WC adult chile's for £8 -10. He bought them wholesale for £4-5 each and has only had to feed them a few crickets in the few weeks he has had them while waiting for the show.

Nine times out of ten Mr Joe Average will buy the WC adults as he hasnt got to 'waste' time, space and money raising the very slow growing sling to adulthood and he has a 50/50 chance of the chile being gravid anyway.

Mr Smith leaves the show with most of his CB slings and is out of pocket by a reasonable amount, while Mr Jones has sold most of his WC adults and made a nice amount of money ... enough that he is already planning to order some for next years show .....£££££

i'll also try to breed cheaper species to bring the market interest in WC ones down.

I think you are flogging a dead horse here mate.
A lot of people when they enter the reptile/invert keeping world have the same sort of ideas but very few follow it through more than a year or two at the most.
Personly, I have been keeping reptiles and inverts (mainly reptiles) for about 38 years and if breeding certain species could/would stop the strip mining collectioning i would do it but there are priorities like morgages, family and work to name just a few that take precedence.
To make a difference i think that you would have to breed, hatch and raise a few hundred thousand chile's every year for 5-10 years until they are at least large juveniles and then give away them all to retail reptile/petshops worldwide so that they can sell them instead of the WC's ...... then maybe the trade in WC chile's would stop.

In the end it all boils down to money.

[Louise~Nichols]

well there's nothing wrong with WC in moderation, but unfortunately G roseas are being caught with nothing even resembling that! they are actually going to be in trouble soon if they aren't already. they are being taken in huge numbers from their habitat and sold at ridiculously cheap prices.
we do actually need people to selflesly breed them, even though there isn't much return.
anyways, who cares about return...i'm in this for conservation and interest...if i happen to breed something that is lucrative to sell, fair enough, but i'll also try to breed cheaper species to bring the market interest in WC ones down.

Ra-ra-ra...go James! Mine decided to selflessly produce babies without my prior consent...LOL, and I have to say they are quite the most cute little critters going...the second clutch have started moulting into slings today...HOOORAH!

On the subject of *hair-kicking* and asthma...I have one Chili that does kick even if you approach her tank, then follows this up with a full on strike at the side...she's more aggressive than my H.Lividum, but the others are tolerant of my day to day clean/watering/etc routine.
I love both girls equally for their different natures, but every T within every different species is unique...just because you don't want a kicker doesn't mean you won't get one! Early days and settling in may provoke this behaviour.
The best thing you can do, is wipe the area around your T's cage on a daily basis (use a damp tissue) and this lowers any particles drifting about...or put a square of net curtain over the tank to minimise dispersal of fluff.
Other than Old World specimens...my non-kickers and the most sweet natured of all has to be my Grammostola Aureostriata...they're great! I've never been kicked at by these guys...and I've got 9!!

Happy spidey selecting!

[James Box]

not trying to be critical, Peter, and obviously you make some good points...i'd just say every little bit of captive breeding helps, even if there's no way we can stop the trade in WC roseas completely.
the problem is that the numbers being collected are not sustainable, and we really ought to be trying to prevent the very possible extinction of a species through over collectiing any way we can.
anyways,

as for urticating hairs, i think the only way to get a tarantula that is a guaranteed non-kicker is to get an Old World species...

[Peter Lacey]

Interesting arguments. Personally I like the ethos James is putting across but fully understand the points from the experienced Peter.
It's reassuring to know the rosea I purchased from Cold Blooded is likely to be CB and that suggests someone is doing the work (as well as my previous link for CB rosea). For my own part, and I admit I've not even been into the hobby 6 months yet (although I used the same arguments for keeping tropical fish for over 25 years) I'll seek the CB specimens and if that costs more it at least preserves my conscience. It also awards the breeder.

Perhaps there's an avenue for promoting more CB (over WC) specimens within the variety of forums available on the net.

Peter, I'll keep an eye out for you especially if I see someone peering over Pauls spiders next time I'm there. I may take a visit tomorrow to see if he has any A. versicolor.