is this common?

I just bought a grammstola pulchra (brazilian black velvet) and im starting to question if she is actually a haplopelma minax. Is the difference between the two easily distinguised?

the reason why i question this is because my spider has about 4 inches of substrate and one day she started burrowing under her coconut half shell...actually she made a hole the size of the shell and closed off the entrance.

now when shes handled shes very good , doesnt bite or kick her hairs.. shes a little jumpy when i first touch her but after a second shes fine.
im not sure how old she is but shes about 4.5 inches or a little under like 4 but the store owner said she is matured...
this meant nothign to me until i just remeber that the grammastola pulchra is supposed to be slighty larger then the rosea ... and my grammastola rosea is about 4.5 to 5 inches

now my question is are the differences between the two very bold?
this spider can move fast when startled but normally she just walks around whens shes on me... and is a little active when shes in her tank... but overall she very docile unlike the other spider which is said to be very aggresive and nervous...

i dont know.. much about the haplopelmaMinax so any help would be nice...

thanks a bunch

sektone said:

I just bought a grammstola pulchra (brazilian black velvet) and im starting to question if she is actually a haplopelma minax. Is the difference between the two easily distinguised?

Click to expand...

Check the abdomen for a patch of urticating hairs, Haplopelma do not have that.

/Lelle

sektone said:

I just bought a grammstola pulchra (brazilian black velvet) and im starting to question if she is actually a haplopelma minax. Is the difference between the two easily distinguised?

the reason why i question this is because my spider has about 4 inches of substrate and one day she started burrowing under her coconut half shell...actually she made a hole the size of the shell and closed off the entrance.

hanks a bunch

Click to expand...

This behavior is actually quite typical of G. pulchra IME. All of mine have burrowed when given vivaria that permitted it, and some of their burrows are surprisingly deep and ambitious in scope. Your spider's temperament as you describe it is typical of Grammastola, too, and NOT typical of most Haplopelma! But as Lelle says, the presenece of urticating hairs will clinch it.

Incidentally, I'd take with a grain of salt the store owner's assertion that your spider is mature. It's difficult, if not impossible, to determine maturity in female tarantulas unless you actually mate them (and succeed in getting an eggsac). Moreover, the generality of pet store owners are woefully ignorant on the subject of tarantulas (though happily there are some exceptions to this rule).

I'd say the chances are you are the lucky owner of a perfectly normal G. pulchra

Joy

LOL. I asked the same thing when I got my sub-adult female. Mine's about 3.5" now, and temperament is similar to your description. Just don't put your finger near her inside the cage... once outside they're all sweet.

At 4.5"-5", they could very well be sexually mature. But expect yours to grow up to 5.5"-6"!

i own both G. pulchra and H. minax

G. pulchra are very sweet and docile. if u have a H. minax aka thailang black, u will not be able to hold them...TRUST ME!!! they are very vicious , mean, and very agressive!!! needless to say, not docile at all. my adult female is about 5'' long, they are black, with some stripes on their knees, their carapceis larger than their abdomen.

h. minax, I have a similar species, thai tiger. Vicious! Lightening fast and they get big, be careful around them.