to T or not to T?

[BlackLava]

Ever since i got the balls to hold one at the expo, i was been wondering about Ts. What are they like as pets? anyone have some good info on them, what are their temperaments like and how handleable are they?

[KyleZ]

Lol, I don't know a whole lot about Tarantulas, but that's one bandwagon I'm gonna stay off of Y'all have fun.

I'm not really afraid of them, but once when I was a kid, one of my mom's friends had a bunch of them (tons of herps too), and he let me hold one. It promptly ran from my hand up my arm to my face, and imitated the "Alien" face-hugger routine, and didn't want to let go. And it was itchy. And creepy. No thanks

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[BlackLava]

LMAO!! thats hilarious poor kyle, i think that would freak me out too did it bite your face or it just hung on?

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[KyleZ]

No biting. I held VERY still while the guy pried the thing off my face. I just didn't like it... very twitchy and jumpy-moving. I love snakes and lizards, and none of them ever creep me out at all, but bugs...eh I don't know. Lol to me, spiders are just kinda like giant mites I'll let them just hang out and do their thing in the food chain without me.

	Mites Mites, close relatives of fleas and ticks

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[EmilyK]

I've got a young G. aureostriatum. It's probably 3.5" across including its legs. it's caaaaalm. I don't hold it (I don't feel a need to mess it more than I absolutely have to), but I can stick my hand in the cage to change its water and move stuff around and it doesn't do anything except walk out of my way. It's really low-maintenence. It's nice having something around that'll eat the last few crickets my geckos aren't hungry enough for. I've had other species, too, but this one is my favorite so far.
What are you thinking about getting?

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[kyriri]

I LOVE T's... I have several, actually. B. albopilosum, B. vagans, A. geniculata, and T. blondi, just to name a feeeeeew.

If you've never had a T before, there's several things to consider before you get one. What are you looking for in particular- what matters most? Size, looks, manageability, do you want to handle it or would you just want to look at it? Do you want an arboreal or burrowing, etc?

T's can be itchy because of its hairs. I like my B. albopilosum because they're not supposed to really kick up any "itchy" (urticating) hair at all, and is really handleable. They get a good size too- about 5-6 inches. Too bad my baby is a male.

But yeah, answer those and you'll be closer to finding the perfect T for you... or you might turn out like me... "gotta catch 'em all!"

heehee.

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	Arboreal Arboreal is a word meaning "related to or resembling trees". Its meaning comes from the Latin arbor, meaning tree.<br> In biology, an arboreal animal is one which inhabits or spends large amounts of time in trees or bushes.

[Icicle]

You can keep them.
I might look at them someday in the far distant future

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[Reptscue]

Ts are like potato chips...... you know how the saying goes...
Here is my list of Ts.
0.2 A. versicolor
1.1.1 A. avic
0.0.1 A. minatrix
0.0.1 A. braunshauseni
0.1 A. metallica
0.0.2 A. chacoana
0.1 A. chalcodes (?)
1.1 A. seemani
0.2 A. anax
2.2.1 A. hentzi
0.1 A. waconum
1.1.1 Aphonopelma sp. "Flagstaff Orange"
2.1 Aphonopelma sp. “New River Rust Rump”
0.0.1 A.bicoloratum
0.0.1 A. geniculata
2.1 B. albopilosum
0.1.2 B. emilia
2.0 B. smithi
0.0.1 B. boehmei
0.1 Cyriopagopus sp. "Blue"
0.1.4 C. crawshayi
0.2.3 C. fasciatum
0.0.1 C. cyaneopubescens
0.2 Euathlus sp. Chilean Flame
0.1 Euathlus truculentus
1.3 G. pulchra
2.6.1 G. rosea
1.2.1 G. aureostriata
1.0 G. actaeon
0.0.1 N. chromatus
0.0.1 N.vulpinus
0.0.1 P. cambridgei
0.2.2 P. scrofa
0.1 P. chordatus
0.0.1 P. pederseni
As for starter Ts... I would recommend G. rosea, G. aureostriata(pulchripes), G. pulchra, and B. albopilosum. All of them can kick hairs at times, but normally do not tend to bite.
But then again.... here is one of my big G. rosea, Terra.

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	Female Female

	1.1 One Male and One Female

[BlackLava]

Thanks for the info and wow thats alot of Ts i would like something that is pretty and has a nice temperament, but i prob wont be handling it but once a week at the most. i would like to be able to observe it though, so i dont think i would enjoy one that hides all the time. the one i was holding at the show was a Brachpelma bohemei, but she wasnt for sale, just her babies, otherwise i prob would have come home with her LOL. from what i have read about them they can be a bit nervous and might kick out hairs at you, but they will sit out in the open for you to look at....i also like the pink-toed Ts and the cobalt blues, but i think i read that the cobalts can have pretty nasty temperaments

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[Reptscue]

Yes cobalts are a little touchy, and can be a very pretty pet hole. My bohemei is a little skittish, but she is only 2 1/2 inches, so she is still allowed.
As for the handling... I don't do it much. Only when necessary. I am pretty sensitive to most of their hairs. They also really get stressed out, and can get easily hurt if they fall only a couple inches.
I'd wait on the pinktoe unless you really research a little more, their humidity and ventilation needs can be tricky to figure out.

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[Adrya]

I just adopted my first tarantula, a 15 year old female G. rosea from a entomology research assistant lady last Tuesday. She keeps several T's in her office. I work in the ento department at my college.

Georgette is my T's name, it's the name she's always had. She's absolutely wonderful and very calm most of the time. She's soooo awesome.


And holy crap, Reptscue, you have 73 T's?!?!

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[Reptscue]

Way to go Adrya!!!!
And after posting that I noticed I left 7 out.

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[BlackLava]

wow, what do you do with so many Ts?

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[Reptscue]

I breed and keep them as pets. Every once in a while I sell a few.

As for a beginner T... I would go for the G. aureostrata. Pretty and docile.

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[Adrya]

Here's my girl




She's not too fond of the eco earth substrate, even after I let it dry out... so I will have to get the repti-bark substrate that she was previously on before. Otherwise she's just gonna sit on top of her half-log hide all the time. lol

The "balding" is a sign she'll be molting sometime soon.

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[Adrya]

Originally Posted by Reptscue

Way to go Adrya!!!!
And after posting that I noticed I left 7 out.

Thanks


So you actually have 80 T's... WOW.

I would love to see all of your setups!

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[Reptscue]

Actually... I'm down to 80 Ts. I was up to 125 at one point. As for setups, they're pretty plain. Maybe one day I'll get some good pictures of that.

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[_Sam_]

BL, they make pretty awesome pets. sooo low maintenance and super fun!

Reptscue... that's amazing! If you ever have any G. pulchripes slings for sale (or know anyone that has some)... I'm looking for one

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[BlackLava]

wow thats alot of Ts what do you keep them all in? the G. aureostrata look pretty, what is the common name for it?

another Q, are they all prone to climbing too far and up and falling/hurting themselves, or is it just some of them? how big of a cage/bin would you need for a baby? There sure are alot of choices i dont even know where to start

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[kjhowland]

BL, Ts are super low maintenance. I have 3 Ts, one mature female G. Rosea (Chilean Rose Hair), 2 1.5" Orange Baboons (OBTs). The G. Rosea is handleable, but not the OBTs, although some people do. They do have much stronger venom.
You have two types of Ts, Arboreal(tree dwelling) and Terrestrial(burrowers). Rule of thumb with Terrestrials is to provide plenty of substrate (5-6 inches) and no more ceiling height than 2.5 times the length of their bodies. This prevents injuries if they climb and fall.

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	Arboreal Arboreal is a word meaning "related to or resembling trees". Its meaning comes from the Latin arbor, meaning tree.<br> In biology, an arboreal animal is one which inhabits or spends large amounts of time in trees or bushes.