Have a new pokie!

[Ryan Simons]

Have got myself a Poecilotheria Regalis, its about 3" legspan at the moment and cost me £20! i think thats a rather good deal! -im hoping its female, so ill call it a 'her' until i know otherwise

I would like to know tho, how much / often shall i feed her? She is greedy as hell and would most probably gobble up the whole cricket tub if i threw them all in there! Fascinating too watching her catch her prey and how differently she does it compared to my b.smithi! She was a little thin when i 1st got her, so i fed her 2 a day for a week and she has come back to a nice size. Obv tho i dont want to over feed her..

As for humidity , i know these like it quite high, but if i am getting a lot of condensation , would this be excessive? Unfortunately she is still in the plastic tub that i purchased her in at mo as i am yet to get a permanent tank.

heres a couple of pics, will get a few more when i get a chance..

[chris carter]

Hi Ryan

You certainly got a bargain because that is not a Regalis looks like Poecilotheria subfusca almost certainly a female and a desirable very sought after Tarantula. I feed my Poecilotheria Regalis 3 or 4 lobster roaches or crckets every 10 days or so this seems to be plenty. Condensation is a sign of100% humidity, put her in a plastic sweet jar and put plenty of holes in the lid they need high humidity with good ventilation.

Chris

[matthew spooner]

stunning T and what a bargain, as chris said this is not a p.regalis, not big on pokies so wouldnt like to say what it is although i trust chris when it comes to identification, he has been in the hobby alot longer than me, also as chris said get her in an upright enclosure, she is an arboreal tarantula, being in a terrestrial enclosure will cause her uneccesary stress

[Ryan Simons]

Are you 100% sure about this bud? not saying i dont believe you, its just after googling Poecilotheria subfusca, the colours look different? they seem darker, more metallic and with a hit of brown? perhaps its because the ones i have been looking at are adult? How can you tell between the subfusca and the Regalis?

heres a Subfusca from google...

[Mark Harrison]

That photo looks more like P.formosa with the purple highlights?

[Ryan Simons]

Yes, i see chris mention how many species he owns (at least i think it was him..?) over 150 wasn't it?

Tbh, i have just realised that no matter what Poecilotheria i type into google images, it brings up the same pictures, so its obviously a bad resource for comparisons. However, i did stumble across this link which seemed quite good! Still cant say im 100% convinced its a Subfusca tho ???

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/spiders-inverts/234784-newbie-guide-poecilotheria.html

[chris carter]

That photo looks more like P.formosa with the purple highlights?

Hi Mark
Yep on closer inspection you are right its formosa, still its not regalis and Ryan has got himself a bargain.

Chris

[chris carter]

[QUOTE=Ryan Simons;44408]Yes, i see chris mention how many species he owns (at least i think it was him..?) over 150 wasn't it?

Couldn't have been me i havent owned as few as that for years.

[chris carter]

[/QUOTE]
How can you tell between the subfusca and the Regalis?


[/QUOTE]

Hi Ryan

If you make it to the meeting on Wednesday we sell Poecilotheria posters very cheap, (the one i should have checked before i called your formosa a subfusca)

Attached are some pics of my regalis to show you the difference from your formosa. i cant seem to get big pics like yours mate.

Chris

[chris carter]

stunning T and what a bargain, as chris said this is not a p.regalis, not big on pokies so wouldnt like to say what it is although i trust chris when it comes to identification, he has been in the hobby alot longer than me,

Ah such misguided loyalty, brings a tear to my eye.

[Dan Kennard]

I'm sorry, but there is an *awful* lot of misinformation on this thread. There is no way that spider is a formosa.

The leg markings and carapace suggest either a striata or a regalis. And the dark broad folio on the abdomen suggests an immature male.

Feed him once or twice a week, as overfeeding will reduce life span and possibly fertility. In regards to humdity, they neither require, nor like high humidity levels. Bone dry to slightly damp substrate, and an open water dish will be perfectly fine.

[Robert Martin]

Hi Ryan,

Look on the underside of the abdomen. P regalis has a very distinct light band across the underside of the abdomen and it is the only Poecilitheria that has this. If there isn't one, then you can rule out regalis. I keep a very handsome adult female and tho' identification by photo is difficult, i'd be willing to bet anything that that is not a regalis....

Spider boffs.....correct me if i'm wrong with this.

Rob

[Robert Martin]

Hi again Ryan,

all the Poecilotheria sp may not be in this link but you may be able to narrow down yours. http://www.froschlurche.de/Poecilotheria-ventral.jpg hope this helps.

Rob

[Dan Kennard]

Ruling out this spider as a regalis as it doesn't compare well to people's adult females is not good practice. As aforementioned, I personally believe this could be a young male - P. regalis are a sexually dimorphic species.

[matthew spooner]

i agree that spider identification is difficult using photographs and i agree that comparing to one you own is not guaranteed either and i know i said i am not big on pokies but the regalis is one i have owned quite a few of over the year, both male and female and i would bet everything i own on that not being regalis, it doesnt look anything like it