beginner T?

I'm wanting to get some Mexican Red Knee slings, according to d seller, it's abt 1.5cm in length rite now..
Is this a good sp. for me to start with? How many should i get?
I would appreciate any advise on this matter

Meh iam like you can keep what you want, as long as you know what your dealing with
but a Mexican Red knee sounds good for a beginner, i assume its some B.smithi or something

yup.. it's Brachypelma smithi.. i've done reading several care sheet n i feel ready for 'em, but how many is too many?

How many do you feel like you can handle?

These guys are easy, but REALLY slow growing. Care is minimal; I throw a roach in with my tiny one every week or so and that's about it.

For an idea of growth, I've had mine over a year and a half and it's just now gained the "red knee" look and has a legspan of about 1/2 an inch.

Only thing I would say is maybe get a sub adult as they take a long time to get big enough to really admire, and also it can be upsetting to see them die for vry little reasons ( slings have a much tougher time with molts for some reason )

I've had my B smithi for about a year now and it's only got a legspan of a quarter. For a beginner I'd recommend an adult Brachypelma or Grammostola. If you think you can handle something that needs a bit higher humidity you can go for an Avicularia (They're pretty and not usually defensive).

If you want to buy a baby and watch it double in size every molt you can go for Lasiodora parahybana (Salmon pink birdeater). Mine has molted at least 4 times in a year and is gigantic. She's usually pretty tame and while I haven't tried to handle her I think she'd let me.

Pinktoes (Avicularia) are probably my favorite starter. My A avicularia is cute, friendly, and shoots poop. Could you ask for a better pet? My A versicolor is still very small but has an overall color of bright blue. They are also very fiesty eaters. It's awesome to watch a tarantula dive from the top of a tank to eat an unsuspecting cricket.

As for how many tarantulas you can handle: I have about 40-50 tarantulas and scorpions right now. Between all of them it only takes me an hour each week to feed, clean, and water. It basically depends on how much money you want to spend and whether or not you think you'll get bored of them later. Keep in mind, some female tarantulas will live between 20 and 40 years.

i thought of getting at least 5, just to keep d hopes high of getting a female
i've got a 10' x 8' empty wall which i intend to drill in some shelves, so housing shouldnt be a prob even if i had a lot..

Andrew273 wrote:

Pinktoes (Avicularia) are probably my favorite starter. My A avicularia is cute, friendly, and shoots poop. Could you ask for a better pet? My A versicolor is still very small but has an overall color of bright blue. They are also very fiesty eaters. It's awesome to watch a tarantula dive from the top of a tank to eat an unsuspecting cricket.

i've read some articles that avics r great starters too, unfortunately, b. smithi is d only sp. available rite now..

Andrew273 wrote:

As for how many tarantulas you can handle: I have about 40-50 tarantulas and scorpions right now. Between all of them it only takes me an hour each week to feed, clean, and water. It basically depends on how much money you want to spend and whether or not you think you'll get bored of them later. Keep in mind, some female tarantulas will live between 20 and 40 years.

i figured it'll be time consuming, but it's gonna be worthwile..
btw, the price for 1cm slings is RM20 which is abt 4 euros <-- is this price ok?

It only took me about 2 weeks before I had 5 tarantulas. It's as addictive as scorpions but very few T's are communal so that means more tanks. I like my communal scorps.

If I'm doing my conversions right that's about 1/3" of an inch and ~$5 US. If that's true then yeah, that's actually a pretty good price. I forgot where you lived when I posted that whole thing. B smithi is a very cool species. They just take a very long time to grow. Sucks that you don't have access to all the species in the pet trade.

i live in malaysia, Kuala lumpur to be exact. only yesterday i came contact with an exotic pet dealer.. it's a good start for a good beginning..

A child genius lives in Kuala lumpur you should contact him and see if he can use his brain to help you lol

I like avics, that was our stiggs 2nd tarantula. fast little fella though had us chasing him around the front room when he decided to leg it out.

But they are a pretty active tarantula so from a viewing point of view they will have your eyes glued to the tank for hours at a time
And when they are close to shedding they build this fantastic pipe down one corner of the tank. close it off, shed then tear it all down again. brilliant piece of engineering and destruction from a tarantula.

we also have a g.rosea and several brachypelma species. yes they take aaaages to grow but turn into a nice size tarantula with a good temperament and amazing colours

Another beginner I would recommend is the Chromatapelma Cyaneopubescens, or the Green Bottle Blue. as a sling it has orange/pink stripes which eventually fade to flame orange rump, green legs and blue carapace, all metallic in colour
Such a dependable tarantula too. they eat really well without fail, and when they dont eat they are about to shed. They also create this fantastic hammock on which to shed on, then tear it all down afterwards. and these things web and eat for fun i swear. They are terrestrial as with the brachypelma and grammastola.

If you look back in the tarantula part of this forum you should find my little GBB, they look soo sweet when they are small. however thay can be a touch more expensive, but from knowing other people who have them, they dont seem to have problems shedding as juvi's (unless of course you dry them out.) To me they are like the h.spinifers of the scorpion world, they eat , they shed, job done

i cun imagine d both of u chasing down dat small bugger, it wud be like chasing down a $100 bill with a string attached n someone's pulling it away as a prank.. haha..

well, i saw ur GBB thread n it's amazing knowing it sheds into more vibrant colors.
i'll keep these 3 sp. in mind.. they're just gorgeous..

Thanks!

My experience with GBBs is that they are pet holes.

Just a heads-up.

scorpling~ wrote:

i cun imagine d both of u chasing down dat small bugger, it wud be like chasing down a $100 bill with a string attached n someone's pulling it away as a prank.. haha..

If you have heard of him, think of watching the speeded up benny hill sketches.. you will have an idea of what we looked like!

scorpling~ wrote:

I'm wanting to get some Mexican Red Knee slings, according to d seller, it's abt 1.5cm in length rite now..
Is this a good sp. for me to start with? How many should i get?
I would appreciate any advise on this matter

from whom you are getting mate?
im getting two also..

benny hill sketch is hilarious!!

i dun know his name, but i think he's from selayang.. will ask for his name d next time i meet him.. lol!
he also got some red iguana's going very2 cheap!

My adult female GBB is awesome! She's always sitting in the front of the tank and has webbed over everything. No way would I call her a pet hole. And she even drums randomly when I feed her. Red iguanas are cool too. The color is so wild.

still havent received any news from d seller on d b. smithi.

finally.. got to see d b smithi slings, all 17 of them n also 3 G. rosea (1.5-2cm)
goin to get them tomorow(not all of it btw ) tonite i'll prepare their housing.. so excited! cant wait! yeay!!

good.would like to hear from u soon.
u know what i want..

b smithi (1cm) n g rosea (1.5cm) has arrived!! got them 3 days ago..
they seem to be eating well, fed them with mealworms(chopped the head off)
them g rosea r fast! it attacked d worm within 2 sec after i dropped d worm in.. it's good to see them eating
1 quick question:when do i start to give them water? they're so tiny, i'm afraid if i leave a bottlecap with water, they will drown

do not leave a bottle cap. the substrate they are on should be moist.