what kind?

[Glenn Jobling]

Can Anyone Tell What Is Better To Get A Spiderling,Juvenile,Or Adult.????
Oh BTW I Want To Get A Chilean Rose Tarantula Plus I have Seen Some Cheap Prices For Some Spiderlings Only £2.60p Adults For Only £14.95 What Do You Guys Thing Of That Should I stay Away Or????

This Is The Website I Saw Them On

http://www.thespidershop.co.uk/insect/index.php

Oh And What Does Sub Mean????

[Peter Lacey]

TheSpiderShop gets great reviews from everyone, thoroughly recommended.

Chili Rose (G. rosea) are hardy and easy to keep and very common as a beginner species. Keep it dry, add a little moisture to the substrate once a week, provide a hide, feed it twice a week with an insect the size of its abdomen and you're sorted.
Personally I'd recommend staying away from anything smaller than 2cm. There's no reason to suggest it won't survive but the younger they are the more perilous and although the cost of the tarantula isn't high the cost of the postage will naturally be included. Also, this species is very slow growing so its quite nice to get something that's a bit bigger than your average garden spider.
sub refers to sub-adult = pre-adult

[Phil Rea]

Hi Glen. I'd also suggest an adult or sub adult to begin with. As Peter said, they will be hardier and easier to keep. Venture into spiderlings when you are confident with a bigger one. The spidershop comes highly recommended from me too.

Also, I've moved your two threads from the 'General News' forum into the 'BTS Discussion' forum. Can I suggest that in future you post general threads here please

[Anita Pile]

Hi Glen,
Was reading your question with interest, as I have just bought an adult G. rosea (RCF) from the Spidershop. She arrived a few days ago and has settled in very well, no probs with eating etc. Being a RCF (red colour form) she has the most gorgeous red tinge to her, she reminds me of sunset!
Can recommend the Spidershop 110%, Lee is friendly and will happily answer any questions (on my part, even the newbie ones!) over the phone!
Good luck, Anita

[Anita Pile]

Hehe, thought I'd better add that even though I'm calling her a 'she', she may well be a male, wouldn't want you to think that you automatically get sent female ones! You can generally assume (or ask and check if unsure) that unless stated male or female you are getting an unsexed spider.

[James Box]

spiderlings are great to see grow, but i agree with the others, best to start with something bigger. for one thing you don't have to weight years for it to look like anything other than a plain little spider (cute though!), for another, as Peter and Phil said, spiderlings are alot more delicate. with this species, they are hardier than alot, but even still, could be gutting to buy one and have it die.
getting an older one will help you learn a bit more til you feel more confident to get a more delicate young spider and watch it grow up!
there's lots of help to be had here, though, in any case.
also as Anita says, you can't always guarantee female, especially from the young ages...but even older ones sexed as female can surprise us! but males can be sent for breeding, so not all bad news.
good luck with your first spider, i have to congratulate you on your choice, they are in my opinion one of the nicest spiders, and they won't be cheap forever...

[Rich.Harrington]

Although cited as the ultimate beginner spider, I'm starting to think of a better alternative to G.rosea.

Folk may think im mad but.... Pterinochilus murinus.

After thinking about it for a moment you realise how many great factors this species has.

1.Fast growing and always eating. (how many threads have you seen from a beginner in a panic because their rosea has gone "grammy" and on a fast.

2.Active during both day and night, thus preventing someone refering to their spider as a "pet rock"

3.Very hardy, i've yet to do any damage to any of my murinus, and some of them have taken some carefree moving around, even as slings they can take alot of punishment.

4.Defensive, this may be a point of contention, however I feel it makes things safer. Just as a knife is safe when sharp as a spider is easy to deal with when highly defensive, you always know where you stand and don't get into careless situations thinking your spider is now "tame"

5.Handling, obviously a big no go with these. However regardless on folks opinions to handle or not, a beginner should not be delving into such activities before learning a great deal regarding body languages and such of any spider. As with all animals 90% of bites are the fault of the handler not reading the signs.

Finally there is the fact that this species can be bought CB at low prices, so to me make a better choice than either G.rosea or B.smithi.

[Craig Mackay]

Although cited as the ultimate beginner spider, I'm starting to think of a better alternative to G.rosea.

Folk may think im mad but.... Pterinochilus murinus.

After thinking about it for a moment you realise how many great factors this species has.

1.Fast growing and always eating. (how many threads have you seen from a beginner in a panic because their rosea has gone "grammy" and on a fast.

2.Active during both day and night, thus preventing someone refering to their spider as a "pet rock"

3.Very hardy, i've yet to do any damage to any of my murinus, and some of them have taken some carefree moving around, even as slings they can take alot of punishment.

4.Defensive, this may be a point of contention, however I feel it makes things safer. Just as a knife is safe when sharp as a spider is easy to deal with when highly defensive, you always know where you stand and don't get into careless situations thinking your spider is now "tame"

5.Handling, obviously a big no go with these. However regardless on folks opinions to handle or not, a beginner should not be delving into such activities before learning a great deal regarding body languages and such of any spider. As with all animals 90% of bites are the fault of the handler not reading the signs.

Finally there is the fact that this species can be bought CB at low prices, so to me make a better choice than either G.rosea or B.smithi.

Hmm, I dunno about that. You don't have to look very hard to find loads of bite reports from this species and it doesn't sound like much fun. I would be reluctant to say they're easy to deal with when highly defensive too. They can be so unpredictable and easily catch out experienced keepers and beginners alike. You have to remember that a lot of beginners may not have had much experience with T's and the way they move and so it's better to start with something slower moving and less unpredictable and work your way up. I've heard stories of people buying more aggressive species as their first T's though and they've managed fine but it's not for everyone. What have you got against Chilean rose's anyway?

[Peter Lacey]

I certainly wouldn't recommend P. murinus as a beginner tarantula, forgetting the venom, speed and aggression (even in slings) they tend to hide away in burrows or bark and web the enclosures up.
There are far more alternatives to consider from Grammostola, Brachypelma and Aphonopelma genus eg.
B. albopilosum - Honduran Curly Hair
B. boehmei - Mexican Fire Leg
B. vagans - Mexican Red Rump
G. auriostriata - Chaco Gold Stripe
G. pulchra - Brazilian Black
A. seemani - Costa Rican Zebra
A. bicolouratum - Mexican blood leg

And you might consider
A. geniculata - Brazilian White Knee
N. chromatus - Brazilian Red and White Knee
C. fasciatum - Costa Rican Tiger Rump
L. parahybana - Salmon Pink Birdeater

It would be my recommendation to start off with New World specimens until you are accustomed to how to look after them. However, as a number of people have shown, its quite possible to jump into the deep end.

[Glenn Jobling]

Well I Am Getting A Chilean Rose Tarantula Sometime Next year When I Have Done More Research First.Cause I Like To Read Up On Things Before I Jump In To It.

[Craig Mackay]

Well I Am Getting A Chilean Rose Tarantula Sometime Next year When I Have Done More Research First.Cause I Like To Read Up On Things Before I Jump In To It.

Excellent. It makes a big difference doing the reading. I did the same. I'd always been fascinated with spiders since I was a kid and I did a lot of reading for about 3 years but I kept telling myself that it was a bad idea. Then one day I was in a pet shop just having a wee look and thought "why not?". Never looked back since.

[Mrs Linda Street]

Welcome to the forum Glenn, there is also a lot to be said for the B. Smithi (mexican red knee) it's been a popular T for many years and well worth considering as one of your starters. They are long lived (females especially, some manage 20years +) and are bright and colourful and grow to a good size.

[Glenn Jobling]

Its Funny You Should Say That Cause I Was Just Reading Up On Them Too I Like The Look Of Them.Ohhh Ill Have To Make My Mind Up On What I Want Now.LOL

[Stuart Common]

Its Funny You Should Say That Cause I Was Just Reading Up On Them Too I Like The Look Of Them.Ohhh Ill Have To Make My Mind Up On What I Want Now.LOL

hehe as I think alot of people have found, myself included, theres no buying just one, if you like the first one, guarenteed within a month you will have both of them!

good luck with which every one you choose though, they are both great spiders, the rosea is very underrated and looks amazing after amolt, and the redknee, well its the "classic" tarantula, but is more likely to flick hairs when annoyed.

[Anita Pile]

I'll second that! We decided to get one, a G, aureostriata (wanted safe beginner spider, but also wanted it to be something a little more unusual), within two weeks we had a G. rosea spiderling (in hindsight would have put my money into an sub adult or an adult, but wouldn't be without it now-just heading towards it's first moult with me!) and a SA B. boehmei, who is literally stunning and I'd recommend highly. And I've already mentioned my latest G. rosea, so within the space of three weeks we've gone from none to four, and have a wish list of still quite 'easy' T's (A. chalcodes, E. campestratus to name just two). Needless to say a very addictive hobby!! It's great that you're doing so much research, have fun and good luck!