I'm wading a little deeper into the T pool.

The T dealer I have ordered from exclusively at this point has a great deal on B. smithi slings going right now, so I decided to snatch up a couple while I had the chance. While I was at it I figured I'd take advantage of a 5 for $25 deal and maybe, just maybe grab the C. marshalli I've been ogling for the past couple months. I was somewhat reluctant for fear of not being prepared for baboon tarantula temperaments and speed yet, but I figured what the heck. As it turned out they were out of C. marshalli, but I ended up going with something a bit more interesting that I hadn't heard of before it was suggested to me as an alternative.

So I've got 8 T's expected to arrive either tomorrow or Wednesday. The list consists of:

2 1/4" Brachypelma smithi
2 1/2" Psalmopoeus cambridgei
2 1/2" Hysterocrates cf. gigas
1 1/4" Lasiodora parahybana
1 1/4" Sphaerobothria hoffmanni

The collection continues to grow here in Southern Ontario. LOL...

LythSalicaria said:

The T dealer I have ordered from exclusively at this point has a great deal on B. smithi slings going right now, so I decided to snatch up a couple while I had the chance. While I was at it I figured I'd take advantage of a 5 for $25 deal and maybe, just maybe grab the C. marshalli I've been ogling for the past couple months. I was somewhat reluctant for fear of not being prepared for baboon tarantula temperaments and speed yet, but I figured what the heck. As it turned out they were out of C. marshalli, but I ended up going with something a bit more interesting that I hadn't heard of before it was suggested to me as an alternative.

So I've got 8 T's expected to arrive either tomorrow or Wednesday. The list consists of:

2 1/4" Brachypelma smithi
2 1/2" Psalmopoeus cambridgei
2 1/2" Hysterocrates cf. gigas
1 1/4" Lasiodora parahybana
1 1/4" Sphaerobothria hoffmanni

The collection continues to grow here in Southern Ontario. LOL...

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You might get some negative replies for getting an OW species (H.gigas) with almost no experience with faster, more venomous Ts but at least you didn't get an overly defensive species. Anyways have fun with your pet hole!

Enjoy getting a big enclosure later on for the P. cambridgei. 7" plus in ~1.5-2 years isn't exaggerated

EDIT: My bad! I overread that it said "Wishlist" on your profile. So what T's do you have thus far?

EDIT 2: NVM - I'm tired! Found it!


You picked some quite testy ones there. Even the P. cam will be a challenge if not the main one besides the H. gigas of those you picked.

The S. hoffmanni isn't overly defensive / hard to deal with from what I read about them. Apparently even rehousing can be done quite easily with a catchcup and a pair of tongs.
The H. cf. "gigas" is going to be a challenge...but once housed you'll have the additional thing that it's a burrower. Makes future rehousings certainly more interesting - especially with a defensive one like that.

That said I do hope you know what you're doing and don't find yourself in over your head. The speed potential of the P. cambridgei / H. gigas is frankly my greatest worry in that regard. Prepare well, make sure you won't be disturbed and house them in a room with open enough space so you can recapture them if they bolt. Else, you might lose a sling before it's housed even.

On the up-side, you chose slings so you can grow with them. Use common sense and ask and listen to advice if need be.

Good luck!

You have some nice species. The cambridgei is the quickest and you'll need to keep on your toes when you open it's cage. They settle down with age and are pretty calm as adults if they're not touched. Hysterocrates are feisty but not prone to making fast dashes like P murinus. My Hysterocrates adult females will sometimes stand and stridulate when I'm working in their cages (no fingers, use tongs or forceps!). Great species. Keep their substrate moist.

Good luck.

Arachnomaniac19 said:

You might get some negative replies for getting an OW species (H.gigas) with almost no experience with faster, more venomous Ts but at least you didn't get an overly defensive species. Anyways have fun with your pet hole!

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I figured I might, but I'm reasonably confident that I can handle them - each individual T does tend to have its own personality, and I've been "lucky" enough to end up with a few allegedly great beginner Ts that have proven to be defensive, territorial little bastards. My G. rosea tries to run up my tongs and bite me when I remove boluses or try to get the dirt balls out of her water dish. My 1" LD sling makes a frantic dash for freedom every time I open its enclosure and threatens me when I try to get it to stop. At this point I've gotten used to the attitude my guys are displaying - it doesn't bother me really, I actually kind of enjoy the interaction crazy as that sounds. Each time I have to wrangle that LD sling my catch-cup technique improves LOL! Each time Ginger runs up my tongs, I get another opportunity to learn how to get her to stop without either one of us getting hurt. I should also state that I'm totally willing to take a bite if it's a choice between that and a hurt T...or a hurt cat or dog for that matter. I've got furry pets as well as the T's, so believe me when I say that I am beyond anal about making sure escapes -do not- happen where I can't regain control of the situation quickly.

It was because of that that I started feeding slings in the bathroom - I just toss 'em all in a shoebox, grab up all the feeders I need, bring a catch up just in case and I do the feeding in the bathtub. Now on the rare occasion an escape happens, it's not a headache to catch them again. I understand this isn't really going to work once they grow up, but at that point I'm going to be better set up. Which reminds me, seeing as this is a "Guess what I got?! " thread - while we were at Walmart the other day I got a great set of shelves for T enclosures along with a buttload of plastic shoeboxes and 2 liter plastic jars for future specimens.

I did do some frantic research about the Ts I'm getting with this order. I understand that I'll need big enclosures for them - recently I rehoused my G. rosea and my A. avic into enclosures more appropriate for their size. As a result I've got a 5 gal. aquarium I can set upright and a 7.5 gal. standing terrarium that should be pretty good for them. All I need to complete the 5 gal. setup is a terrarium cover with a door in it.

I totally understand where the concern would come from, but I've been doing as much reading as I can find on all these species, and as I said, I'm confident that I can handle them. If I end up posting here down the line crying for someone to take these mad beasts away from me, please cut and paste this and make me eat lots and lots of crow. Seriously - I wouldn't want to be the cause of any unneeded bad publicity for the species concerned or the hobby in general. Thanks for the replies everyone.

Good spiders. H gigas make a decent first OW. They tend to be a bit more forgiving, less flighty and they get a decent size.

H. Gigas are very cool T's. I have a 1.25" (or so) sling and its made quite a maze of tunnels and seems to be far more organized in knowing its own tunnels than any of my 3 P. Muticus' (King Baboon) do. The construction abilities of the Baboons are absolutely astounding. The H. Gigas may not have a flashy appearance, but its behavior more than makes up for it and has me considering getting another one.

freedumbdclxvi said:

Good spiders. H gigas make a decent first OW. They tend to be a bit more forgiving, less flighty and they get a decent size.

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The only problem with them is the humidity. Keep it VERY moist. Some people even do semi-aquatic set ups for this species as it does swim down and catch fish. I have a 5" unsexed specimen and I am considering getting another! It's a favourite of mine now. Good luck, Bryce.

LythSalicaria said:

The T dealer I have ordered from exclusively at this point has a great deal on B. smithi slings going right now, so I decided to snatch up a couple while I had the chance. While I was at it I figured I'd take advantage of a 5 for $25 deal and maybe, just maybe grab the C. marshalli I've been ogling for the past couple months. I was somewhat reluctant for fear of not being prepared for baboon tarantula temperaments and speed yet, but I figured what the heck. As it turned out they were out of C. marshalli, but I ended up going with something a bit more interesting that I hadn't heard of before it was suggested to me as an alternative.

So I've got 8 T's expected to arrive either tomorrow or Wednesday. The list consists of:

2 1/4" Brachypelma smithi
2 1/2" Psalmopoeus cambridgei
2 1/2" Hysterocrates cf. gigas
1 1/4" Lasiodora parahybana
1 1/4" Sphaerobothria hoffmanni

The collection continues to grow here in Southern Ontario. LOL...

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Good for you, Lyth.

I hope you have better luck with your 1/4" LP than I did, still not sure how the little gaffer passed.

I picked up a 2.5" JF smithi at the Expo last weekend, and found a 3" (suspected) JF smithi at a friend's store for $100 (which was a real steal)

AND...... I have a 1/4" Euathlus sp. red arriving sometime today.

The Northeastern Ontario collection should be at 22 by the end of the day. LOL

Adventures in sling unpacking...

Well, they came in this morning and I just got finished unpacking about an hour ago. Funny story; you know how some of you were leery of me getting P. cam and H. gigas slings? Believe it or not, those four gave me the -least- problems of everyone I transferred today. Of all the slings that could have given me grief, it was the B. smithis. I decided to do them first, thinking that they'd be the easiest to deal with. WELL!!! Smithi number 1 was incredibly skittish and managed to scramble out of its paper towel, off the desk and on to the carpet. For a few seconds I thought I was going to throw up, certain that I'd lost my sling forever, but I reined in the panic, got a flashlight and managed to find the 1/4" escape artist snuggled up against a box of computer parts after about 2 minutes of scanning the floor. It was easily captured and is now safe in its new home. The second Smithi was just about as skittish as the first one and absolutely refused to leave the paper towel it was wrapped in.

I'm actually grateful these two decided to give me problems though - if it hadn't happened I wouldn't have re-evaluated my unpacking technique and I might have had real problems with those speedy little P. cam slings. See, I've watched lots of unpacking videos, I've read tips on unpacking slings, but the material I've been exposed to didn't really cover what to do when the containers your new Ts are being transported in are the same size or bigger than the enclosures the Ts will be housed in. Today I figured out how to do it quickly, safely and effectively with virtually no chance of escape. I'll post the method I used here just in case anyone else could use the information: You gently unfold the paper towel until you can see the sling, press the opening of the travel container against the opening of the enclosure with the ends of the paper towel overlapping the edge of the enclosure, then you can create a seal with one hand around the paper towel, remove the travel container and gently coax the sling out of the paper towel tube and into its new home with your free hand. Even if it gets freaked out, it has nowhere to bolt but where you want it to go. The most challenging part of the whole process is getting a lid on the enclosure, but that's really just a matter of being patient while the sling unsticks itself from the paper towel.

Along with the slings I have listed in the original post, I also got a free B. albopilosum with my order. I found this a little funny as I had mentioned to a friend last night that I wanted to find myself a Curly hair. My dealer must be a mind reader!

First off...there's nothing mystical about "Baboon" species of T's. No more than there is anything special about "Birdeaters". It's just a lump categorization relative to where the tarantulas originate. In Africa, tarantulas are often call baboon spiders. In South America, birdeating spiders. Each species has it's own set of general characteristics that is independent of origin. I love Hysterocrates gigas! As mentioned earlier, they are a very forgiving species and tend to be fairly docile and approachable as long as they are familiar with your presence. I have not found them to be flighty, but rather stand their ground if you get too close. Though, in most circumstances, they just tend to sit there when out of the burrow.

Congratulations on receiving the order this morning! I sure hope you eventually update us with pictures.

And, congrats on the little Curly...that is too awesome.

DrJ said:

Congratulations on receiving the order this morning! I sure hope you eventually update us with pictures.

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I was hoping to take pics of the unpacking process, but my camera has gone MIA again. I will definitely be posting pics of these guys ASAP though. I'm loving the H. gigas slings - the little dudes have only been in their new homes since around noon and they've already dug themselves some impressive burrows. I can't wait to see their feeding response.

Haha! I bet they have! They are burrowing machines! I knew a guy who had a broken 125 and just gave it to his H. gigas...and it used it! We found burrows all through it. It was amazing.

Keep us updated at feeding time. It's always exciting their first feed in a new home.

LythSalicaria said:

I was hoping to take pics of the unpacking process, but my camera has gone MIA again. I will definitely be posting pics of these guys ASAP though. I'm loving the H. gigas slings - the little dudes have only been in their new homes since around noon and they've already dug themselves some impressive burrows. I can't wait to see their feeding response.

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Of all of my burrowers, I've found the H. Gigas and Ephebopus species (Cyanognathus and Murinus) adapt extremely quickly to a new environment. P. Muticus does alright too. H. Lividum, at least in my experience, took the longest to construct a burrow and make its place home.

Good to hear the spiderlings got housed. Please keep in mind though: Reading about something will never beat first-hand experience. Don't let calm behavior of a generally very fast species have your guard come down. They can and will use their traits when they encounter a situation that demands it. Good luck on raising them.

Well, I fed the new guys for the first time last night and WOW those little P. cams did not disappoint. Little troopers gleefully pounced on crickets the same size as themselves - and watching those fuzzy little black and beige legs flail was so cute! I think these guys might be my new favorites.

LythSalicaria said:

Well, I fed the new guys for the first time last night and WOW those little P. cams did not disappoint. Little troopers gleefully pounced on crickets the same size as themselves - and watching those fuzzy little black and beige legs flail was so cute! I think these guys might be my new favorites.

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Hopefully you won't miss Calanthe the chromatus TOO much, when we trade today for Victory the regalis. I promise to send pics, Mom.

Ghost Dragon said:

Hopefully you won't miss Calanthe the chromatus TOO much, when we trade today for Victory the regalis. I promise to send pics, Mom.

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Great, I was hoping you'd keep me updated with pics. Just don't tell me when you send her off to Kindergarden for the first time - I'll cry like a baby. LOL

LythSalicaria said:

Great, I was hoping you'd keep me updated with pics. Just don't tell me when you send her off to Kindergarden for the first time - I'll cry like a baby. LOL

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As long as you keep me updated as well on Victory. I suspect it's a female, hopefully with the next molt you'll be able to tell.

Calanthe will be treated just like all the rest of my T's: Loved & cherished until the end of her days.

Arachnomaniac19 said:

You might get some negative replies for getting an OW species (H.gigas) with almost no experience with faster, more venomous Ts but at least you didn't get an overly defensive species. Anyways have fun with your pet hole!

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I beg to differ If you never get an OW its going to be hard know if you can handle one. I got a C.marshalli on my second T order (only had a B.vagans) so I could get introduced to OWs and it worked great, as long as you acknowledge there speed and venom and have confidence (not cocky, theres a fine line...) you can probably handle it. Good luck and keep us updated! make sure to prove to us that they delivered them with photographic evidence