Stuck at a crossroads.

Ashton · Sep 23, 2014

So I recently started to fancy Poecilotheria regalis but can't afford the nice female at my lps so I looked to the internet. I was looking at Ken's stuff and saw one in the size I want for the price I would want but saw the grab bag of tarantulas. Which one should I get?

awiec · Sep 23, 2014

Why not just buy some slings? Pokies grow pretty dang fast and you can sex them very early on so you can sell off the males if you want. As for the grab bag I don't think ken would throw an ow into one, so just get the spider you want. My juvie is a total pet hole if you were local I'd give you her cage and all.

cold blood · Sep 23, 2014

Or search the classifieds here for better deals and often better shipping prices.

Poec54 · Sep 23, 2014

Ashton said:
So I recently started to fancy Poecilotheria regalis but can't afford the nice female at my lps so I looked to the internet. I was looking at Ken's stuff and saw one in the size I want for the price I would want but saw the grab bag of tarantulas. Which one should I get?

What's your experience with T's? I'm asking because your questions seem to be things an experienced people would already know. Poecs really are an advanced species.

Ashton · Sep 23, 2014

I would say not too experienced but I do take care of some pokies at the lps I was talking about. currently I have two P. metallicas and temperament wise I had a really fast and mean Pampho. I'm far from stupid when it comes to this and my reaction and ability to deal with them is just fine. I'm very comfortable with them

Poec54 · Sep 23, 2014

Ashton said:
I would say not too experienced but I do take care of some pokies at the lps I was talking about. currently I have two P. metallicas and temperament wise I had a really fast and mean Pampho. I'm far from stupid when it comes to this and my reaction and ability to deal with them is just fine. I'm very comfortable with them

No one's calling you stupid. Experienced spider people don't get grab bags. I'd had half a dozen species of Pamphos, and they aren't nearly as fast as most arboreals. Nothing wrong with being relatively new to this. We were all there once. I really wish you'd hold off on Poecs for a little while. There's so many other great species to choose from.

Ashton · Sep 23, 2014

I would but I feel very comfortable and as it is I have dealt with them at a store and one is very flighty and the other is a very unhappy camper and its not a problem. In the end I'm going to look like one of the many people that come through here and try to get something they aren't ready for but the difference is I am far from new to fast and defensive old worlds because I had taken care of a friend's collection while he was away.

freedumbdclxvi · Sep 23, 2014

You have two P metallicas? What size and for how long? Are these the ones you reference at the LPS, cause you're wording sounds like you take care of Poecis at work *and* own Poecis at home.

---------- Post added 09-23-2014 at 09:22 PM ----------

Ashton said:
I would say not too experienced but I do take care of some pokies at the lps I was talking about. currently I have two P. metallicas and temperament wise I had a really fast and mean Pampho.

This quote here.

Poec54 · Sep 23, 2014

Ashton said:
In the end I'm going to look like one of the many people that come through here and try to get something they aren't ready for but the difference is I am far from new to fast and defensive old worlds because I had taken care of a friend's collection while he was away.

That's what I'm trying to help you avoid. Honest. Those situations often don't end well. Do you really want to be one of those guys? Taking care of a friends collection is light experience, and doesn't qualify you at an advanced level. Granted, it's better than nothing, but there's SO many things you haven't seen/done yet, and probably are not ready for. Do you live alone? Do you have cats and dogs?

BobGrill · Sep 23, 2014

I agree with what is being said by Poec, but we haven't really been given enough information as of yet. I'm confused as to whether the two metallicas you're caring for are ones you own and keep at home or you care for at work. In the case of the former, I'd say you MAY do fine with a regalis. Metallicas are probably the calmest of the pokies, where as regalis seems to have a wider range of behaviors. I have on that is defensive (although not as defensive as most of my psalmos), another that is super skittish but not defensive, and one that is relatively calm. They're still a good pokie to start off with though, as they're not as flighty/defensive as ornatas or rufliatas.

Ashton · Sep 23, 2014

One P. Met is a sling and the other is 4 inches. I don't work there but I volunteer and of the two they haven one is a P. vitatta and the other P. regalis both being mature females.

I do not live alone and have two dogs but my room is a dog free zone. And taking care of the collection was more like owning 57 tarantulas for 8 months.

awiec · Sep 23, 2014

Poec54 said:
That's what I'm trying to help you avoid. Honest. Those situations often don't end well. Do you really want to be one of those guys? Taking care of a friends collection is light experience, and doesn't qualify you at an advanced level. Granted, it's better than nothing, but there's SO many things you haven't seen/done yet, and probably are not ready for. Do you live alone? Do you have cats and dogs?

One of those wonderful "experiences" that one will have with a pokie is when they decide to run in a cyclone pattern up the cage and you have to A) Close the lid before said spider gets out or B) Get the heck out of the way and hope you can find it with a catch cup. I wasn't sure of Ashton's experience but taking care of a friend's tarantulas is not necessarily good experience as opposed to owning your own. I helped cared for an Atrax species at a shelter that cared for confiscated animals; I still don't feel comfortable with getting some of the more defensive Ts even though the Atrax I cared for could have killed me.

freedumbdclxvi · Sep 23, 2014

Ashton said:
One P. Met is a sling and the other is 4 inches. I don't work there but I volunteer and of the two they haven one is a P. vitatta and the other P. regalis both being mature females.

So, you already own a 4" Poec? For how long? If you've grown that one from a sling, then I don't see any reason not to get a juvie regalis. If you just bought the P met recently, I'd wait just a bit longer (a molt or two), get some more experience then get the regalis. They're a hobby staple that aren't going anywhere.

---------- Post added 09-23-2014 at 10:36 PM ----------

awiec said:
I helped cared for an Atrax species at a shelter that cared for confiscated animals; I still don't feel comfortable with getting some of the more defensive Ts even though the Atrax I cared for could have killed me.

Really? Not that I take any of them lightly, but after owning Phoneutria, there isn't a tarantula that intimidates me. And i'd give up every spider I own to have an Atrax.

Ashton · Sep 23, 2014

I have owned it for about a month and a half

freedumbdclxvi · Sep 23, 2014

Ashton said:
I have owned it for about a month and a half

Personally, I would wait and get some experience with it and then get your regalis.

Monkeyock · Sep 24, 2014

Everyone commenting here to wait feels like they have your best interest and that of your potential Poecilotheria at heart. Ultimately you have to acknowledge that there are risks involved for both you and the spider if you are not skilled or experienced enough, and that failure on your part could result in a very bad week for you and/or death for your spider. Anyone familiar with the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's beginner biker coursework understands this concept, risk awareness and acceptance. In the same way that many would tell you not to get/ride a motorcycle, many here would tell you to wait until you are 100% confident before getting a larger P.regalis. The folks here though are more like seasoned riders telling you not to buy a hayabusa until you have plenty of experience on the honda 250, which is good advice based on experience. They have plenty of experience, and are worth listening to, but at least it sounds like you have some as opposed to zero experience unlike many who are asking similar questions.

awiec · Sep 24, 2014

freedumbdclxvi said:
So, you already own a 4" Poec? For how long? If you've grown that one from a sling, then I don't see any reason not to get a juvie regalis. If you just bought the P met recently, I'd wait just a bit longer (a molt or two), get some more experience then get the regalis. They're a hobby staple that aren't going anywhere.

---------- Post added 09-23-2014 at 10:36 PM ----------

Really? Not that I take any of them lightly, but after owning Phoneutria, there isn't a tarantula that intimidates me. And i'd give up every spider I own to have an Atrax.

Well the Atrax wasn't that bad as it was mostly shy but I still don't feel confident enough to own something like an H.mac or S.cal. Now Phoneutria is something I'd want to own at some point but I don't have the proper training as of yet to properly own one.

Ashton · Sep 26, 2014

First off, sorry for being an ignorant fool.

So I now have a list of what I want. Seeing as how everyone seems to be completely more knowledgeable I need/would like some input. I have $100 to work with and prefer to use 2-3 day shipping. Tell me the ones you would choose with my experience. I was thinking about maybe one arboreal and one terrestrial.

P. cambridgei
p. irminia
P. subfusca
A. purpurea
T. violaceous

M. balfouri
B. smithi
B. auratum
G. pulchra
H. lividum

Akai · Sep 26, 2014

the cambridgei and irminia are good Ts to prepare you for Pokies because they have the speed but minus the venom strength. excellent feeding response too. you can't go wrong with either one but i give the nod to cambridgei because they get bigger then irminias but i also think irminias are better looking. as far as terrestials, you can't go wrong with the smithi, auratum and pulchra. their main selling point is their hardiness, all 3 are beautiful display tarantulas and if you're lucky enough to get a female you can expect 20+ year life span. haplopelmas arent good beginner tarantulas because its a fossorial genus so its going to be in its burrow 99% of the time so you'd be paying for a pet hole and they are highly defensive and have nasty venom. a lot of people buy lividums because they get sucked into how beautiful they are not realizing they will hardly ever see it and thats only if you get a female. there is no guarantee you are going to get a female if you only buy one sling. M. balforis burrow too but you will see them way more then any Haplopelma. they are african OWs so they are highly defensive and have a bite first mentality. i cant recommend these for a beginner. i hope this helps.

timisimaginary · Sep 26, 2014

these questions always bring up a "chicken or the egg" type of quandary to me. i hear the people saying you need more experience for the faster, more venomous species.... but how do you get that experience, until you actually own that kind of tarantula. there are some "stepping stone" species, such as the psalmos, but even then you will still get the comments that a psalmo is not a pokie, it's not the same thing etc. or the suggestion that you should get a sling and raise it up, so you've had the time to get some experience with the species before it is full grown, but then others will say that owning a full adult 7" pokie is much different than dealing with a sling. so you don't REALLY get experience with owning an adult pokie, until you actually own an adult pokie. there has to be a first time for everything. ultimately it really has to come down to the individual, and what they are comfortable with, and what they feel prepared for. raising slings and progressing from slower to faster species and all that is valuable, but at one point or another you have to decide when you yourself are comfortable making the leap to a particular species. no one else can really tell you exactly when is the right time for you individually.

Stuck at a crossroads.

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