garden center

[kevin read]

Hi all, having bought myself a smithi spidling about the size of my thumb nail being my first spider i can,t wait for it to grow and be stunning like i,ve seen in the photos, so i,ve decided i,m going to buy a sub adult/adult spider. a garden center near me sells spiders and has a almost adult smithi for £65 . is this a good price and should i buy from a garden center.
can you recommend other types that are colourful , nice to look at and easy to get on with for a first juv / adult spid ? this will stop me being paranoid about my spidling not growing quick and checking it every day,it,s driving my wife crazy as she now see,s herself as a spider widow! cheers kev

[Steve McIntyre]

Hi Kevin. The price doesn't seem too bad for a large smithi but you'd be better off with a large spiderling or juvenile then you'll get more satisfaction from watching it grow over 2 or 3 years. Some to recommend would be Brachypelma vagans (Mexican red Rump) which, in my opinion, is relatively docile, eats like crazy and has some nice colour to it and Acanthoscurria geniculata (Brazilian White Knee), again, same temperament, good colour and eater. You'll find plenty of bargains at the BTS Show next month, or if you can't make that, there's ads on the Classifieds column here...why not put a wanted ad in. PM me also, as I may have some species to suit you.

[Mark Lynes]

Way too expensive for a smithi.

Get yourself down to the BTS show in May, you should be able to pick one up for around £35 - £40.

Mark

[Nicola Dolby]

Hi Kevin,
Firstly welcome the the BTS. you're always going to find people here who can advise and help (with plenty of spid widowers and widows in tow!). The short answer is, if you want to buy the spider, then go for it! There is no price on the joy keeping these animals can bring and yes you might get one cheaper elsewhere, but look at it this way. You buy the spid, find one on line for £20 cheaper and it matures as a male and dies 6 months later. However during that time you have 6 months to a year of fun with him, breed him with a female owned by someone here and when he sadly passes you have 250+ baby B. smithis with hungry little mouths to feed and your spiderling now grows into a beautiful young replacement in the meantime! In other words life it could be a good or bad "purchase" but you can't really loose. If you can afford it, I'd buy.

As for other species, try Grammostolas and other Brachypelmas, though your best bet is to look through the gallery on here and ask again when you've decided on something you like.
All the best.

[Mark Pajak]

I bought my Smithi for £65 from a garden centre, and 10 years later shes still a beauty

[Kate Arbon]

Unless they can guarantee the sex (and I doubt a garden centre can) I would bet money on that smithi being male. Not that it's a bad thing, but just bear it in mind, in case you want a chance of it being female. Especially as it's nearly adult, it might not have long left.

Personally I'd say wait for the BTS show if you're going, you'll get a better deal and more chance of finding a female. But if you want the smithi from the garden centre then go for it. My first T was a smithi who turned out male and he's great.

Other species that would be good... any Grammastola, I'd say at least 2" or you're going to have two very small spiders for a long time! Or Lasiadora parahybana, they grow fast and get really big. Same with Accanthoscurria geniculata and they are more colourful. I have a sling of L. para and A. genic and the genic is great, has molted twice since the beginning of Jan and is now about 2.5cm and has already got its stripey legs. Is getting braver now too!

Also have to recommend Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens because I always do! They are kind of hard to come by in this country but if you get the chance to get one they are great spiders. I am hoping to pick one or two more up at the BTS show myself, they are one of my favourite species.

[Kirk McNulty]

Hi Kevin, I know what you mean mate I have 2cm B Smithi and I've been waiting for about four and a half months for it to moult ! I'm sure he just likes being that size. I know colourfull t's are great but the not so colourfull can be very rewarding too. I have 5cm L Klugi - not too hard to get hold of and he's always stomping around and never stops eating and grows really fast. I also have a sub adult Aphonopelma Bicoloratum it is stunning to look at but rearly moves or eats and It's a long wait between moults, It just depends what yo want.

[Mark Lynes]

Hi Kevin. The price doesn't seem too bad for a large smithi ...

So, let me see. I currently have 14 ad/sub-ad smithi. £65 each = £910

If someone wants to give me that for the lot I may just have to take it. Then I can take the dosh to the BTS show/September Hamm, buy the same number much cheaper and have plenty of change for more. Yes!

Mark

[Colin D Wilson]

Over the years i have seen adult smithi going for between 30 and 150 odd pounds (dependent on the area, secluded London pet stores being somewhat over priced in general)
If the spiders in good health the £65 is not too bad (although i would rather pay that for a guaranteed female i must admit)
As seems to be the general sensus though, and quite rightly so!!...The BTS expo will more than likely have some at a far more reasonable price.....if one can wait that is

[matthew spooner]

bts show last year i got sexed female almost adult b.smithi for 25 pounds.

[Peter Lacey]

My recommendation would be to go to the store, tell them you think its a male and offer them £45, you may find you reach a compromise but you'll get a great T for slightly under the going shop-rate. Its obviously possible to get Ts from the classified too but I often find the price isn't that much different than shop price (remember the shop pays overheads, tax and wages) plus you have to pay postage on top!

[kevin read]

thx guys for all your help. kev