What did/does YOUR "ladder system" look like?

[WolvesInSpaceMarines]

Hello all. It's that annoying question-asker again. I have a new discussion I want to start. I see on some other threads and have heard in podcasts, YouTube videos, etc. about people using a "ladder system" to progress from docile and easy-to-keep tarantulas to more advanced tarantulas, and I want to know how people incorporated that, or if they did something different. To be clear, this time, I am NOT looking for recommendations or anything. I merely want to see what other people did or are doing to go from "pet rocks" to "arboreal/fossorial death machines", as it were (and yes, I know that a lot of OWs are pretty tame, it's their venom and speed you have to watch). It could also maybe be good for others not sure how to progress from what they have to what they want. Also, if there are other threads that seem to cover this, please feel free to post them! I couldn't find any when I searched through, but I could have been using the wrong terms. I saw that there was a thread about doing some sort of "pyramid system", but I'm not sure if it got anywhere. So, AB what was/is your ladder system? And for those who didn't/are not planning on using a ladder system, what are you doing instead?

I'll start: I currently just have some easy Brachypelmas/Tliltocatls, a Grammostola pulchripes and two dwarf species. From here, I'm planning on B. boehmei, then T. vagans, then A. geniculata to ultimately get me to T. stirmi. There will probably be others between the A. genic and the stirmi, such as N. chromatus, M. robustum and C. cyaneopubescens. I am also considering a P. cancerides, but I'm not sold on them yet.

 

[OpPowerpuff]

Hello all. It's that annoying question-asker again. I have a new discussion I want to start. I see on some other threads and have heard in podcasts, YouTube videos, etc. about people using a "ladder system" to progress from docile and easy-to-keep tarantulas to more advanced tarantulas, and I want to know how people incorporated that, or if they did something different. To be clear, this time, I am NOT looking for recommendations or anything. I merely want to see what other people did or are doing to go from "pet rocks" to "arboreal/fossorial death machines", as it were (and yes, I know that a lot of OWs are pretty tame, it's their venom and speed you have to watch). It could also maybe be good for others not sure how to progress from what they have to what they want. Also, if there are other threads that seem to cover this, please feel free to post them! I couldn't find any when I searched through, but I could have been using the wrong terms. I saw that there was a thread about doing some sort of "pyramid system", but I'm not sure if it got anywhere. So, AB what was/is your ladder system? And for those who didn't/are not planning on using a ladder system, what are you doing instead?

I'll start: I currently just have some easy Brachypelmas/Tliltocatls, a Grammostola pulchripes and two dwarf species. From here, I'm planning on B. boehmei, then T. vagans, then A. geniculata to ultimately get me to T. stirmi. There will probably be others between the A. genic and the stirmi, such as N. chromatus, M. robustum and C. cyaneopubescens. I am also considering a P. cancerides, but I'm not sold on them yet.

My t's in order :-
Stromatopelma calceatum
Poecilotheria rufilata
Poecilotheria
Poecilotheria
Citharischius crawshayi

I didnt climb the ladder.... I think I jumped out of the plane

 

[Vanisher]

I dont remember exactly. This was 20 years ago, but if i remember correctly it was:

1. G porteri and A seemanni (both the same day)
2. T albopilosum
3. B vagans
4. A geniculata
5. N colloratovillosus
6. L parahybana
7. P regalis
8. P murinus
9. C darlingi (or C bechuanicus as it was called back then)
10. X immanis

I think it was somthing like that? After this i bought hundreds of both NW and OW

 

[Jesse607]

20 years ago there weren't any forums to tell me OW vs NW factoids. The local pet shop guy just told me this or that may have "attitude". He steered me away from P. cambridgei...but my first "order" consisted of a P. murinus sling, a P. muticus sling, and a subadult T. albopilosus. Fortunately I had a lot of experience keeping other invertebrates as "pets", so I was prepared "skill" wise. Worth noting, as a child I had a pet Huntsman (H. venatoria) that came in a shipment of plants at my dad's work...it taught me how fast and unpredictable spiders can be.

 

[viper69]

NW>OW

 

[The Grym Reaper]

This is everything I got up until my first OW, I'd have gone longer without getting one if I'd not been sent one as a surprise freebie after just 4 months of keeping Ts.

5cm T. albopilosus (Honduras)
10cm A. geniculata
2.5cm G. pulchripes
2cm C. cyaneopubescens
1cm N. chromatus
2cm C. versicolor
7cm B. hamorii
5cm C. versicolor
2cm P. irminia
5cm B. emilia
1cm C. huahini (surprise freebie with the B. emilia)

 

[Ungoliant]

So, AB what was/is your ladder system?

I've moved up and down rungs, but these are the species I've kept (in order from earlest to most recent acquisitions):

1. Avicularia avicularia
2. Grammostola pulchra
3. Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens
4. Dolichothele diamantinensis
5. Acanthoscurria geniculata
6. Psalmopoeus cambridgei
7. Ceratogyrus marshalli
8. Neoholothele incei
9. Davus pentaloris
10. Bumba cabocla
11. Psalmopoeus irminia
12. Phormictopus sp. "south Hispaniola"
13. Augacephalus ezendami
14. Brachypelma emilia
15. Ephebopus murinus
16. Idiothele mira
17. Monocentropus balfouri
18. Caribena versicolor
19. Omothymus schioedtei
20. Poecilotheria regalis
21. Pterinopelma sazimai
22. Grammostola iheringi
23. Grammostola actaeon

It's definitely possible to condense this list substantially. (There's also nothing wrong with not having any interest in keeping species on the more advanced rungs.)

A good ladder for arboreals might be Avicularia -> Psalmopoeus -> Poecilotheria

For terrestrials, once you get past the typical starter species (Aphonopelma, Brachypelma, Grammostola, Homoeomma chilensis, Thrixopelma cyaneolum, Tliltocatl), Phormictopus and Ephebopus murinus are good bridge species. Augacephalus ezendami, Ceratogyrus, Monocentropus balfouri, and Pterinochilus lugardi are commonly recommended as first OW species.

 

[spideyspinneret78]

1) Lasiodora klugi
2) Avicularia avicularia
3) Aphonopelma seemani
4) Pterinochilus murinus
5) Nhandu coloratovillosus
6) Psalmopeous cambridgei
7) Theraphosa stirmi
8) Poecilotheria regalis

I somewhat followed the "ladder system", with a few variations along the way I guess. At first I realized that I definitely wasn't ready for something like T. stirmi or P. regalis, and waited a little over a year before getting these species. This is even though I have previous experience with venomous animals. I think that for someone who didn't have previous experience, they may want to wait slightly longer. I think it was a good idea for me to get some rehousing experience under my belt first. My P. cambridgei especially has taught me a lot. I think that they're a great species for those thinking about gaining experience to eventually get more advanced tarantulas.

 

[imre3]

Had an T.albo for 5 years, matured as a male and died.
After that, a B. hamorii for 6 years, who matured as a male too. I didn't want it to die alone, so I gave it to a breeder for free. After that I bought an albiceps as I wanted to avoid fast spiders. Some weeks later I met the breeder I gave the male to at a reptile show, and he gave me a P.cambridgei and irminia as a gift for the male hamorii.
This all started the addiction. I suddenly realized that I can keep more spiders at the same time.
My collection grew to 30+ spoods in months after that, which is still the number I am at usually

 

[WolvesInSpaceMarines]

My P. cambridgei especially has taught me a lot. I think that they're a great species for those thinking about gaining experience to eventually get more advanced tarantulas.

Yeah that definitely seems to be the consensus. The Psalmopoeus genus in general seems to be the main transition genus for people. I've considered putting P. pulcher on my list of ones to get, but I'm not sold on them yet. I also don't have any interest in arboreals, so I think they may be an alternate. And yeah, I think your venomous animal experience is definitely a plus. The worst I've had is a Colombian red tail boa and that was a long time ago.

Had an T.albo for 5 years, matured as a male and died.
After that, a B. hamorii for 6 years, who matured as a male too. I didn't want it to die alone, so I gave it to a breeder for free. After that I bought an albiceps as I wanted to avoid fast spiders. Some weeks later I met the breeder I gave the male to at a reptile show, and he gave me a P.cambridgei and irminia as a gift for the male hamorii.
This all started the addiction. I suddenly realized that I can keep more spiders at the same time.
My collection grew to 30+ spoods in months after that, which is still the number I am at usually

It was awesome of him to give you those two Psalmos. Yeah I started with one, decided I wanted 7 more and that's where I'm going to stay until I move out. I have a "firm, yet flexible" max of 10 T's and a "no, absolutely no more" max of 20. I don't think I could truly enjoy the hobby if I go past that. It would become a chore, then I'd get burnt out. I also have a dog, so OWs are absolutely out of the question for a long time, possibly forever, and there are plenty of NWs that I want that will keep me interested and under my maximum. I am really intrigued by the dwarfs, so I'll be adding some of those as mine mature and I know whether I've got any males.

 

[CommanderBacon]

I didn't follow any hard and fast rules, but I did get a Psalmopoeus irminia at the beginning of last year to try to acclimate myself to eventually owning an OW. I got my first OW in August (C darlingi) and have since gotten a few more other OW. I only recently got an Indian sp; all others have been African. Their behavior has been fun.

My P irminia has been like owning a cork tube that had legs sticking out of it twice so I really don't feel like it really had any relation to keeping the fossorial OW that I got.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

The Psalmopoeus genus in general seems to be the main transition genus for people. I've considered putting P. pulcher on my list of ones to get, but I'm not sold on them yet. I also don't have any interest in arboreals, so I think they may be an alternate.

If arboreals aren't your thing then get something from Ephebopus, they're from the Psalmopoeinae subfamily but they're fossorial and are great if you're looking to get into stuff like the "earth tigers" down the line.

 

[Konstantin Konstantinov]

Hi all
Still pretty green being back in the hobby since October 2019
1.AF (unconfirmed) Lasiodora Parahybana
2.AF Aphonopelma chalcodes
3.AF Nhandu Chromatus
4.AF Tliltocatl Albopilosus
5.SAF Acanthoscurria Geniculata
6.Phormictopus Auratus sling
7. Phamtobeteus sp Costa large sling
8.Brachypelma Hamorii juvenile female
9.Gbb juvenile female
...
Thinking about expanding my collection in favour of Phormictopus sp
and then maybe go towards arboreals.Not sure if I will go OW as have house full of other animals and no T dedicated room and the risks for them crossing paths is too great
Regards Konstantin

 

[ConstantSorrow]

Mine is more theoretical and less specific.

1. NW slings
2. NW juvenile
3. OW
4. Arboreal
5. P. metallica

 

[WolvesInSpaceMarines]

My P irminia has been like owning a cork tube that had legs sticking out of it twice so I really don't feel like it really had any relation to keeping the fossorial OW that I got.

Ah yes. The unsung heroes of the hobby: Pet tubes. XD

 

[The Grym Reaper]

My P irminia has been like owning a cork tube that had legs sticking out of it twice so I really don't feel like it really had any relation to keeping the fossorial OW that I got.

I don't use cork tubes (aka "never see your tarantula again tubes") for this reason.

 

[hunterc]

Kinda all over the place..in order
G. Porteri
P. Regalis
P. Muticus
A. Seemani
P. Murinus
A. Metallica ( think its M6 now? )
H. Maculata
L. Parahybana
C. Versicolor
P. Irminia

 

[Sterls]

1) B hamorii [Aug '15]
2) A hentzi [Oct '17]
3) C cyaneopubescens [Jan '18]
4) A avicularia [May '18]
5) A seemani (Adult) [Dec '18]
6) P irminia [June '18]
7/8/9) G pulchra/quirogai [Dec '19]
7/8/9) A geniculata [Dec '19]
7/8/9) E cyanognathus [Dec '19]
10) M balfouri [Feb '19]

Sort of tried to follow a ladder system but when I ran into an irminia at a local expo I caved.

 

[Asgiliath]

I didn't follow any hard and fast rules, but I did get a Psalmopoeus irminia at the beginning of last year to try to acclimate myself to eventually owning an OW. I got my first OW in August (C darlingi) and have since gotten a few more other OW. I only recently got an Indian sp; all others have been African. Their behavior has been fun.

My P irminia has been like owning a cork tube that had legs sticking out of it twice so I really don't feel like it really had any relation to keeping the fossorial OW that I got.

I've seen P. irminia called a "stepping stone" to OW's but mine honestly makes some of my OW's look like kittens!

 

[WolleWolf]

My ladder system is

"before you buy a T (or pet), especially beginners, obtain knowledge, and not only the basics, then there is no ladder system necessary"