Converted my dad

So i posted pics of my new A versicolor sling on my fb last night and i see my dad today and hes asking me about them and then he tells me he wants one. He was completly against me getting Ts now he wants one lol.
Are there any large species that are ok for someone who has never kept a T i live with my parents so i would be helping him take care of it. Showed him a video of an adult L parahybana and he really liked it

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G. pulchripes are slow growers but get pretty big and are easy to take care of I love my little sling.

Thats awesome! My parents like my hobby but not to the point where they would want one themselves. I suggest an A.avic but thats just me.

Hmm... All of the good beginner ones I can think of are slow growers. Aphonopelma Hentzi is a great beginner species but grows slowly. Lasiodora parahybana is a large, fast growing tarantula, but it could be somewhat of a handful to work with.

Maybe a G. Pulchripes would be perfect, if he is willing to wait a while for it to grow up!

He could always purchase a juvi or adult G. pulchripes, but it depends on how much he wants to spend.

Think ill throw that out there to him maybe ill get him a G pulchripes and get me a L parahybana for me. I never had any intrest in the bigger species all mine will only get 5-6". I watched a video of an adult and it sparked my intrest

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---------- Post added 04-24-2014 at 03:49 PM ----------

How slow growing are we talking about though how long to mature for males and females

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I agree with Buggidy about the G. pulchripes, that's also my first T. I absolutely love that you were able to convert an arachnophobe (or at least someone who doesn't like Ts) and your own father, no less! My parents don't particularly like spiders, but they tolerate them because they understand that I adore invertebrates. Unfortunately, they draw the line at anything that can cause me harm. That means any Latrodectus I might find will have to be hidden (I'm sure the spiders wouldn't mind that!).

---------- Post added 04-24-2014 at 03:55 PM ----------

bigt0006 said:

Think ill throw that out there to him maybe ill get him a G pulchripes and get me a L parahybana for me. I never had any intrest in the bigger species all mine will only get 5-6". I watched a video of an adult and it sparked my intrest

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---------- Post added 04-24-2014 at 03:49 PM ----------

How slow growing are we talking about though how long to mature for males and females

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Click to expand...

I have read and heard that they can take two years to reach adult size, but don't quote me on that. Mine is still quite small.

It's hard to say. Some people suggest that the females grow a LOT slower than males. It's said that males mature in about 2 years or so if you feed them a lot, but females will take much longer. I can't help much because mine is still a sling. I had it for about 3 months before it molted. It went from 1" to about 1.5"-1.75". They don't molt often but when they do they get a lot bigger. You will definitely notice a difference. On the plus side, they are known to be the fastest growing of the Grammostola genus.

Growth rate depends on numerous factors. Heat, feeding schedule, gender, etc.... Maybe this will help out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB-0O9SXcrE

He does mention in the video that they are fast growers, which I find to be untrue.. But like I said, there are many factors that affect growth rate. But check out the difference in each of the molts! There is a HUGE difference. Pretty amazing spiders!

Well to give some perspective I got a .75 inch sling G.pulchripes sling in October, it has molted once in my care and is now 1 inch, I suspect it will be molting soon though. I keep it around 72 degrees and feed it twice a week, which I imagine someone who is casual in the hobby would keep it similarly. I would suggest getting a juvie instead, they don't go as much as G.pulchra and are pretty common at reptile shows. You could also go for a juvie E. sp Red (Probably the best starter T), I see them at decent prices at shows as well.

There's always Acanthoscurria geniculata - although personally I wouldn't suggest that to a "newbie" really. Their temperament is best described as defensive and "hungry" - my female usually bites anything entering her enclosure just because it -could- be food . However, with the according respect a great tarantula to own. Grows pretty quick, gets a decent size ~8" aren't seldom and eats like a horse (don't overfeed!).

So you see just how hungry they can be:
[video=youtube;HXbjAwnsvVs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXbjAwnsvVs[/video]

bigt0006 said:

How slow growing are we talking about though how long to mature for males and females?

Click to expand...

I got a G. pulchripes sling in July 2012 at 2/3" or so and HE is now close to 4". I keep around 72 F and feed weekly.