Opinion: C. fimbriatus or C. natanicharum?

[Samuska]

Asking anyone who has/had both- aside from the very obvious physical differences of these two, which of them did you prefer? Does one species tend to be "out and about" or more active than the other? Any particular temperament variation? Feeding response? Factors in housing/keeping?


I've never had a Chilobrachys, though several fossorial and terrestrial OW species, and I have the option to get either one soon but can't decide!

 

[TLSizzle]

Asking the difficult questions lol.
I just acquired a C fimbriatus, and she's stunning! So far tho she's been hidden. I believe it's due to her being in heavy premolt.
Shes spicy, as Chilobrachys are... but I'm very happy to have her.

I have no experience with electric blues, tho I saw one up close today for the first time and let me tell you, no picture will do that blue justice.. I now need one lol. And she was sitting right out on top and didn't move an inch when the owner lifted the lid for me to see her better.

So I really don't think you can go wrong with either. Just if you like brilliant blue arms or a more natural color, with a stunning pattern.

 

[SpooderMooder23]

I have a Chilobrachys sp kaeng krachan, natanicharum and a fimbriatus.
The kaeng krachan and natanicharum are both fully fossorial, I barely see the.the fimbriatus is a large sling and is often seen on its water bowl, but it's very skittish and disappears quickly.
Both are extremely good eaters, only refusing during heavy premoult. Mine have been quite quick growers too.

Both are stunning, I love the natanicharums blue, it's definitely one of the best looking tarantulas imo.

Just get both

 

[Samuska]

I have a Chilobrachys sp kaeng krachan, natanicharum and a fimbriatus.
The kaeng krachan and natanicharum are both fully fossorial, I barely see the.the fimbriatus is a large sling and is often seen on its water bowl, but it's very skittish and disappears quickly.
Both are extremely good eaters, only refusing during heavy premoult. Mine have been quite quick growers too.

Both are stunning, I love the natanicharums blue, it's definitely one of the best looking tarantulas imo.

Just get both

I mean I KNOW getting both is the obvious answer here I don’t have the space for 2 new Ts this size rn so I’m trying to make up my mind in case it’s eons before I get the other! It’s too hard haha

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

I mean I KNOW getting both is the obvious answer here I don’t have the space for 2 new Ts this size rn so I’m trying to make up my mind in case it’s eons before I get the other! It’s too hard haha

My only Chilobrachys had a stuck molt , I can’t recal if I kept it to dry or just bad luck . If you think it could be ages til you can get another I’d get both . I’m personally running out of Ts .

 

[Samuska]

My only Chilobrachys had a stuck molt , I can’t recal if I kept it to dry or just bad luck . If you think it could be ages til you can get another I’d get both . I’m personally running out of Ts .

I currently have 40… which is why I’m trying to behave myself in getting just one since it’s all the room I can spare! Both are available pretty regularly where I am so I’m not worried about not being able to find either again later on when some of my males age out and make room for new ones

 

[lindale450]

Both are stunning and rarely seen lol
natanicharum is one of my favourite to show people, that blue always surprises.
fimbriatus is a better looking spider overall imo, a natural beauty, just doesn’t have the wow factor when showing people.

 

[Wenzer]

I only have experience with my female C. fimbriatus, rarely see her but she makes up for that with her 'artful' webbing creations the last 2 images from my post here are from her enclosure not too long ago

...
And noticed my C. fimbriatus girl doing some spring cleaning recently, unfortunately there's only a tiny window that I can't get any pictures through, but here's her marvelous mini-labyrinth. Gotta say, I love what she did with the place

View attachment 468136
View attachment 468137

Edit, yeah her water dish is empty... Again lol. Refilled it already, I'm not sure why some of the caps I use evaporate so quickly. I wipe off any bits of webbing possible but some of them just keep running dry in less than a day gonna have to get some better bowls

 

[TLSizzle]

Is it frowned upon to not give these 2 sp a lot of substrate in hopes that they web up top instead of burrow away?

I've heard of folks doing that and I'm not sure if it's good or bad. I understand wanting to see your spider, but if it makes them feel exposed to not be able to burrow, that's wrong. If they're fine with living in the heavy webbing instead tho, that's fine as well.

 

[Wenzer]

Is it frowned upon to not give these 2 sp a lot of substrate in hopes that they web up top instead of burrow away?

I've heard of folks doing that and I'm not sure if it's good or bad. I understand wanting to see your spider, but if it makes them feel exposed to not be able to burrow, that's wrong. If they're fine with living in the heavy webbing instead tho, that's fine as well.

My girl is just under 3 inches DLS with about 5.5 inches of substrate, so far she hasn't shown signs of distress that I can tell, but she is starting to get too big for this enclosure (total enclosure size is 9x5.5x8 inches). I won't speak for others but personally I rather give fossorials deep substrate even if that means I don't see them often/ever, I'm more fascinated by their natural behaviors (though cool web castles and pretty colors are always a plus! Haha)

I'll try and find an image of this enclosure when I first rehoused her into it, when she was only ~1 inch still... She did some crazy webbing then too, just not nearly as thick as it is now

Edit: from September last year, I believe I rehoused her a month or two before this

So I think, at least for some individuals maybe, they tend to do some pretty neat webbing when they're comfortable too! I only have this single spider for experience though so it may not be a species typical thing

 

[Samuska]

I only have experience with my female C. fimbriatus, rarely see her but she makes up for that with her 'artful' webbing creations the last 2 images from my post here are from her enclosure not too long ago

aw that’s great!! This is why I love having baboons honestly- the webbing is beautiful. I’d rather have a pet web than a pet hole

 

[I am Raf]

I really like the Chilobrachys spp. and I'm trying to "catch them all" at the moment - got a natanicharum, 3x fimbriatus, dyscolus and a huahini.

Currently waiting to pick up a couple of Guangxeinsis, Kaeng krachan and Sai Yok slings. Haven't really seen any other spp in the hobby recently.

The huahini is definitely the most observable one I have at the moment, being out and about most of the time. The natanicharum looks stunning but I pretty much only see it during feeding. The dyscolus will sometimes sit at the mouth of it's burrow, but again it's quite rare to see it. The fimbriatus are brilliant webbers and I see them strolling around their web castles all the time, plus they do look quite nice, though probably not as nice as the natanicharum (matter of opinion of course)

If you can't get both, it's a choice between a really amazing looking tarantula, that you'll see once a month, or a good looking tarantula that you'll see every now and then. While I love the colouration of the electric blue, if I could only have one it would be the fimbriatus - I'm a sucker for heavy webbing tarantulas

 

[Samuska]

I really like the Chilobrachys spp. and I'm trying to "catch them all" at the moment - got a natanicharum, 3x fimbriatus, dyscolus and a huahini.

Currently waiting to pick up a couple of Guangxeinsis, Kaeng krachan and Sai Yok slings. Haven't really seen any other spp in the hobby recently.

The huahini is definitely the most observable one I have at the moment, being out and about most of the time. The natanicharum looks stunning but I pretty much only see it during feeding. The dyscolus will sometimes sit at the mouth of it's burrow, but again it's quite rare to see it. The fimbriatus are brilliant webbers and I see them strolling around their web castles all the time, plus they do look quite nice, though probably not as nice as the natanicharum (matter of opinion of course)

If you can't get both, it's a choice between a really amazing looking tarantula, that you'll see once a month, or a good looking tarantula that you'll see every now and then. While I love the colouration of the electric blue, if I could only have one it would be the fimbriatus - I'm a sucker for heavy webbing tarantulas

I just really like the look of both just as much as the other, will have one of each at least at some point haha!
I honestly did t consider the huahini because I thought it looked so much like a few other Ts I have. All of the species in the genus are pretty remarkable though and vary so much. I love big webbers too so I guess I won’t be disappointed with any in the end even if I don’t see the T itself very often