King baboon or Salmon pink...Which species grows bigger?

[Ryan Simons]

I have to chose 1 of the two and i would like a biggie. I think i like the king baboon better but i am after a BIG spider!

Goliath is out of the question tho, too expensive and i hear of there complications.

So, out of the Salmon pink and the King Baboon, which one generally grows the largest and which one is the 'Better Pet' ?

Thanks for the advice


Btw, here is the Salmon pink i am looking at. Its female & 5.5". I dont know much about these so does it look authentic? In all the clips of them on youtube they seem to look a lot darker. I assume that its a Juvi at 5.5"

[Aaron Annal]

Hi Ryan
I have 4 salmon pinks here and they are always out and on show 3 i think are females but not mature and 1 mature male they always seem to eat so a gd show spider imo i dont have a king baboon but would love to have 1.My brother has a juvenile and you dont see it alot always seems to be hidden away in the burrow.
Which 1 gets biggest? not sure but have seen adult female king baboons and are a very impressive T to have
Aaron

[Peter Lacey]

King Baboon - C. crawshayi is one of the slowest growing of tarantula. They are big burrowers and hide away most of the time. The best you're likely to see of these is a few legs hanging out the burrow unless you create their burrow down the size of your enclosure. You need a deep tank for these tbh.

Salmon Pink - L. parahybana is reputed to be the 3rd largest tarantula after T. blondi and T. apophysis. Great show species and big eaters. These win hands down over the Kings in my opinion and are easy to come by, hardy show tarantula that will reach over 10" legspan, reaching maturity within a few years.

[Aaron Annal]

Looks authentic to me the lighting can change how dark they look when in pics imo anyway look in my collection will see all of mine to compare

http://thebts.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=5678

[James Box]

i love them both, so hard to recommend one over the other.
pluses of L. parahybana include as said above the fact it'll sit on show most of the time.
some individuals are less skittish than others, but some are very defensive. mine just wants to escape if i bother it
a definite minus is that they have rather nasty urticating hairs, the worst kind i believe...same type as T. blondi if i'm not mistaken. this can be quite a big concern, if you're sensitive to these hairs, as i am. they seem to fly off the spider with little provocation, even when they are not kicked off.
however, i've seen an 11 inch specimen, absolutely gorgeous. it was partially fed on a rather meaty diet though, i'm told! i.e. from a butcher! heart and the like, if i'm remembering correctly.
most are not prone to reach those sizes, i don't think...but 9" is still large!

C. crawshayi is in my opinion a wonderful species to own.
i keep mine in tall Custom Aquaria type enclosures...i'll have to double check dimensions and edit this post tonight to give you an idea.
what my two big girls (and the third that died late last year RIP) have done is created a chamber at the bottom which goes right to the glass. Thus, these spiders feel secure and safe in their holes, but i can still see them.
they are easy to look after, fairly dependable feeders (although being slow growing makes them not as gluttonous as L. parahybana for example, at least in my small experience.
they are very docile when left to their own devices, as you'd expect, but if you do interfere in some way, you're rewarded with a fantastic threat display involving audible stridulation and striking. lots of fun! not that i routinely bother them for this reaction.
sometimes they emerge from their burrows and lay some silk up top, which is quite nice to see as well.
they require patience, especially for growth, as Peter said above, but also for them to create their chamber.

personally...if i were you, i'd just get both! for such large spiders, they really don't require a huge amount of room, and they're both lovely and have plenty of personality.

sorry to answer your original question lol...i think L. parahybana typically grows bigger. also for the Africans, i believe the largest are actually Hysterocrates sp "Cameroon" (or is it still gigas?)....

[Kurt Baird]

L.para's are "better pets" in my opinion.

As mentioned above, they are a show tarantula as they don't often hide. They grown quick, and tend not to have as big an attitude as King Baboon, although in my experience they are handy with their hairs.

King Baboons hide away 99.9% of the time in my experience so if you want something you can admire then this isn't an ideal pet.

Also, I think King Baboons aren't the easiest T's to breed and a lot of adults seem to be WC that I have noticed, whereas Salmon's are in abundance now, so if you have anything against WC specimens then you're more likely to find a CB Salmon.

[paul fleming]

When I bought Pete's king baboon,the only time I saw it was once when I put it in the tank and again,a few months later when I had to dig it out to be sold
Saw it a bit more actually but you get what I am saying......they don't come out much.
L.parahybana are one of my favs.....get very big,great eaters and always out on show.

[James Box]

well, like i said...there are ways to ensure you see them AND have a happy crawshayi. and that way you have a docile T that doesn't kick hairs. that it's docile only because you're not tempted to poke it, and it's safe in it's burrow hardly matters...it's a visible, calm, big, beautiful tarantula...right there on display.
the dimensions of my Custom Aquaria tanks are as follows:

8" x 8" x 16"...or if you prefer metric: 20cm x 20cm x 40cm

i don't know about breeding in those dimensions, but i aim to have a go one day. it's true that most are wildcaught, but then so was everything, once upon a time.

i really think there's no contest: BOTH spiders are equally great, for very different reasons. neither requires all that much space:
so i suggest getting both!

one slight drawback with crawshayi is that the price is quite alot higher than for parahybana, but it's worth it IMO.

[Dee Pluck]

hiya Ryan

I'd say go for the Parahybana. They are a gorgeous T and grow to a fantastic size,
mine girl is a big beauty. They Dont hide away and are great feeders.

my crawshayi is still only a few inches big and i never see her.
basically just a tank full of subby with a few holes in it.
However i do find that she is very aggressive where as my
para is very docile.

good luck with your choice

King Baboon - C. crawshayi is one of the slowest growing of tarantula..

i am SO glad to hear that, thought mine had some kinda growth problem.!

[wayne balcombe]

While i agree with the general opinion that L.parahybana are better dispaly pets i have to say that C.crawshayi are still one of my favourite species, probably because a large adult female of this species was one of the first baboon spiders i saw when introduced to the hobby about 14 years ago.

They are a large, long-lived and very good looking addition to any collection, though they do spend most of the time burried, when they make an appearance its always a plesent surprise.

I agree with james, its not possible to say which is "better" as they each have there own positive attributes so get both, neither are partucularly expensive with adult females of both species attainable for les than £40 each.

Whichever you decide to get, i'm sure you will be happy with your new addition.

[Mark Harrison]

At the moment i have just the C. Crawshayi and like many people have said, it rarely leaves its burrow until its pitch black...but seeing a fully grown adult is a sight for sore eyes as it is with L. Parahybana. I agree that both would be a great idea, but if your interested in Baboon spiders you should look at C.Darlingi or The OBT's...as my own little beasties are normally on show for most of the day

[Simon Holland]

hi, does anyone know where i can find a female L.Para? looking for one is the size region of 3 to 4 inches? any help would be very helpful! kind regards, Simon Holland.

[Ryan Simons]

Thanks for all the replies everyone. Well i think i would rather the Salmon pink going by what you all say about the baboon hiding away. I have a OBT and i don't ever see her any more

What sort of size enclosure would i need with a salmon pink? i imagine they have a similar setup/climate to a G.rosea -just a bigger tank?

Is there any way of telling in the pic i posted, if its a male or female? as i know some species have distinctive features depending on sex.

[Aaron Annal]

Hi Ryan as i said i have 4 L.parahybana here and they all came from the bts show a few yrs ago cant think wen will update if i can find out
They are all from same eggsac i believe and 1 has matured into a male i have added pics with a 6" ruler in shot (at great risk to my fingers and the ruler took a few swipes lol)to give a rough idea of size of the male and the female all were taken a tonite under energy saver lighting so not the best but hope will give you an idea on the differences on male and female
Update they were brought as slings from BTS show 2005
First the male



Then 1 of the other 3 which i am now presuming are female tryed to occupy her by feedin a cricket but still went for the ruler



Hope that helps
Aaron