Good 'display' tarantula?

Hi all,

I'm thinking of getting a tarantula but before I go all crazy I thought I should get advice from people who know!

I would like something I could potentially keep in a 5 gallon (16"x8"x12" so rather tall) tank that I can keep at around 22-32 deg C high/low humidity.
Don't mind if it's aggressive as I'm not looking to handle. Has to be pretty though so nice structural colours such as green/blue etc. would be much appreciated. Would like something that I can get at least occasional glimpses of , say when feeding, so not something REALLY secretive but not a rock either

Really love the Cobalt Blue but heard that they tend to dig in and that's the last you ever see of them...

Any ideas?

Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens - green bottle blue...

you'll probably never see your Lividum if you get it, it will dissapear into a hole in the ground.


I would suggest;

any Avicularia SP
Chromatopelma cyanopubescens
poecilotheria
Psalmopoeus
cyclosternum
cyricocosmus (very small for a T)
they are all beautiful species.

scorpion111 wrote:

I would suggest . . .

Poecilotheria

Seconded! Very ornate patterns, very often out in the open, arboreal (so a tall tank is good).

right.. since your in Uk, and your looking to buy a T, if you don't already know about it I suggest you use www.thespidershop.co.uk, run by lee arden, I got all My t's off him and just ordered another 2 last week.

Mr. Mordax wrote:

scorpion111 wrote:

I would suggest . . .

Poecilotheria

Seconded! Very ornate patterns, very often out in the open, arboreal (so a tall tank is good).

Beautiful T! Should be for £50

Brazilopelma colloratvillosum. I've been looking everywhere for one if you can find one GET IT

diabollicallycursed wrote:

Brazilopelma colloratvillosum. I've been looking everywhere for one if you can find one GET IT

I don't think you could fit that in a 5 gallon.

Poecilotheria and Avicularia seem to be really hard to get hold of... I haven't been able to find a UK shop that has any of these species in stock (in contrast with the American shops that seem to have everything ).
The Venezuelan Sun Tiger (Psalmopoeus irminia) sounds like something that I would love to have, the females seem to have nice colours and I think that I can just about keep one in the tank that I have available. I also found someone that has some for sale although they only have youngsters of ~2cm. Anyone know how long these take to get to adulthood?
There's also a care sheet that suggests a side opening tank (which unfortunately isn't what I have) but hopefully that wouldn't be a show-stopper

Chaika wrote:

Poecilotheria and Avicularia seem to be really hard to get hold of... I haven't been able to find a UK shop that has any of these species in stock

Here's a couple

http://www.bugzuk.com/arachnids.htm

http://www.martingoss.co.uk/

Thanks

I also found a site that has the GBB for sale. Is £39 reasonable for this species? I am assuming that it's an adult. It seems a bit easier to care for and not quite as venomous as the Venezuelan Sun Tiger.

Chaika wrote:

I also found a site that has the GBB for sale..

What is that site?

Coast-to-Coast Exotics
It's a specialist shop in Durham. They don't mail any of their animals though so I would have to come down and get the tarantula myself if I want to buy from there. The range seems quite impressive though.

Nope, I was wrong, they do mail out invertebrates That GBB is mine!!

Chaika wrote:

Nope, I was wrong, they do mail out invertebrates That GBB is mine!!

IME
the gbb is not that great of a display T they hide most of the time in their web poky's have quite the temper and bit i would recomend an avic or lassordia parahybana the lp is out almost all the time great display T and grow fast and large good eaters and often handleable if you dont mind the hairs the avic will hide alot as well but real gentile T's and my personal fav.

Quote :

Poecilotheria and Avicularia seem to be really hard to get hold of... I haven't been able to find a UK shop that has any of these species in stock (in contrast with the American shops that seem to have everything Rolling Eyes)

Chaika.. did you check the link I posted?


www.thespidershop.co.uk

they have avicularia, pokies, and euathlus sp.. one of my favorites.

deffinetly one of (if not the) best places in britain to buy your Ts.

Chaika wrote:

Poecilotheria and Avicularia seem to be really hard to get hold of...

You have to know where to look my friend we know a few pokie and avic breeders... get onto the BTS you will find them there.
Most pokies, avics etc. are privately sold before they go anywhere near pet shops, usually because your average pet shop has no idea how to look after them

scorpion111 wrote:

Chaika.. did you check the link I posted?
www.thespidershop.co.uk

I did, thanks! They do have a large selection of species. Don't trust myself with the spiderlings though as I don't feel I have enough experience to bring them up, so I would like something med/large straight away (less room for messing up )
I like the Euathlus sp that they have there (as A/SA) very pretty blue, nice! They seem to need lower temperatures than my tank usually produces (I have a gradient of ~25 to 32 deg C) so possibly I may need to replace the heat mat with a smaller one. Our house only heats up to 20 deg max so I don't think I can manage without extra heat altogether.

LadyRiotControl wrote:

You have to know where to look my friend Smile we know a few pokie and avic breeders... get onto the BTS you will find them there.
Most pokies, avics etc. are privately sold before they go anywhere near pet shops, usually because your average pet shop has no idea how to look after them.

Maybe you could recommend someone? I'm pretty open to which species I get since I would prefer to have something that would do well under the conditions I can provide (i.e. 12" tall tank, top opening, 25-32C, any humidity etc.). I'll have a look at the BTS site, thanks.

Anyway, I'm bringing a glass tank (standard 10gal) from my parents' place on the 17th and want to keep 2 H. laoticus in there. So my 5 gal tank won't be available until then. Gives me lots of time to think about what I want to keep in it!

^I have to agree with that; I've heard a few people say GBBs are good "display" species, but my only experience has been pet holes. Same with P. irminia. Our adult female is out and about a lot, but through her youth she was almost always hidden away in her silk.

scorpion111 wrote:

diabollicallycursed wrote:

Brazilopelma colloratvillosum. I've been looking everywhere for one if you can find one GET IT

I don't think you could fit that in a 5 gallon.

Didn't think of that lol They are soooooo nice though.

Avic Amazonica are very nice Lee has some slings in atm, P. Murinus are nice, colourful and active, L . Difficilus umm there are so many..........

Earthwire wrote:

P. Murinus are nice

I NEVER thought I would hear anyone say that.

These guys aren't display species, IME. Very much a burrower that likes to hide.

I'm gonna say Avicularia versicolor. They don't burrow they make cool webs and they are docile just a bit nervous i find

I think I've decided on P. irminia. Mainly because I think it's the most beautiful spider I've seen (eye of the beholder I guess ). For some reason, I like the fact that it spins tube webs but doesn't burrow. It's also from Venezuela which is where my husband is originally from. Don't know whether that will make a great difference to him (!) but I loved Venezuela so a bit of nostalgia for me

Not too expensive at £8, although I'll have to look after spiderlings so we'll see how that goes Thanks for all the advice everyone!

Was thinking about the GBB but they were just too expensive and the Avicularia were always described as 'fragile' and 'very sensitive to humidity and ventilation' so it put me off them a bit.

looking after s'lings is as hard as you would think really, I was pretty worried when I got my first sling, but it turned out to be fairly easy. if P.irminia is anything like cambridgei it will grow really fast and eat everything lol.