smithi or auratum?

[krystophe lamont]

well my leetzi are settling in nicely (awesome,awesome spiders, highly recomended!) and its now time for a few more Ts...

i am getting a GBB later this week and perhaps a iridopelma (hirsutum i think) or two...

now im thinking i really should get a brachy, i mean no collection is complete without one right? they are the quintisential tarantula after all.

so here is the question B. smithi or B. auratum? i have kept smithi before but never auratum and i think the auratum is a much prettier spider...

any advice or opinions?

[craig mcinnes]

Well if you have never kept auratum before and you think it is prettier then that would be the obvious choice. I've kept the odd Brachy or two and haven't found much difference in the temperament between smithis and auratums so if you have kept a smithi before then you are not in for any surprises with an auratum.

[krystophe lamont]

hmmm yeah i see that it seems obvious from my post that the choice is made, and i realize that for the most part a brachy is a brachy. but... i was just curious to see if auratum has any special demands or considerations over smithi. im just loving that flame red!

[Mark Lynes]

I have kept, and continue to keep, many Brachys. B auratum has to be kept in a much more humid/damp environment than B smithi in my experience. B smithi is virtually bomb proof, B auratum not so; you need to be much more careful with the latter

Mark