First Tarantula?

[u/FiewLoo]

Hello!

First pardon my English its not my native language.

I have been admiring spiders since I could walk, see spider, pick up spider. Sadly Im livin in Sweden where there barely are any exciting spiders to find so gotta get me one home. Im 19 years old, I love taking care of pets.

I have read the basic stuff about owning a Tarantula will of course read even more inbetween classes. I do need some tips of picking my first one.

Requirements:

• Needs to be a good handling one. I'm aware that you should maybe not handle tarantulas too much but I love these creatures and need to hold them sometimes. I have held one when I was younger.

• Cant hurt cats. I do own a cat, I have no itention in letting my comming Tarantula and the cat to be even close to eachother, the terrarium will not be in a place where the cat can approach and disturb the T. But if the thing would happend, the Ts bite shall not be able to damage my cat.

• Beginner friendly, I have never handled these creatures before so I need an somewhat easy one.

The price dont matter really, neither do the space of the terrarium needed for it.

Hope I can get some help over here thank you! :)

Sincerely Fredrik

[u/chandalowe]

You really can't go wrong with a Chilean Rose Tarantula (Grammostola rosea). They are inexpensive, easy to come by, easy to take care of, and generally amenable to handling, all of which make them very popular pets - particular as a starter tarantula. Of course, as with any tarantula, there is the possibility of individual personality differences. I'm sure there are some Rosies who are more skittish, defensive, or aggressive than others, plus even the most docile and agreeable tarantula can have a day when she's just in a mood and doesn't want to be held. If you intend to handle your tarantula, you need to learn to identify and respect her physical cues. If a spider does not wish to be handled, she will let you know by doing things like raising her front legs and showing her fangs, turning her back on you and raising her back legs over her abdomen (to flick hairs), actually flicking hairs, or running away and hiding.

G. rosea does not have a particularly potent venom. While I'm sure your cat would not appreciate being bitten, it would be unlikely to kill her. The physical punctures would probably cause more discomfort than the venom. As a New World tarantula, Rosies do have urticating hairs that they can flick as a defensive measure. Again, respecting your spider's cues can prevent getting "haired." (I've handled my Rosie plenty of times and have never had an issue with it - but on the rare occasion that she tells me to "back off" I leave her alone.) Urticating hairs can cause pain/itching and if you get them in your eyes can lead to more serious problems, so you should never put the spider up near your face even if you do handle her. Also, if stress her out and she flicks her hairs, she'll end up with a bald spot on her abdomen which will remain until her next molt.

If your cat and your tarantula ever get together, I would be more worried about the tarantula than the cat. While a Rosie is unlikely to hurt the cat, the cat could easily kill the spider.

[u/FiewLoo → u/chandalowe]

Thank you for one extremly helpfull comment about this spider! Yes the Chilean Rose Tarantula is the only individual specie I have done some research about them and feel they somehow less appealing when Im watching videos of them compared to others, cant tell why but its something that makes me want another specie.

Thanks again for your answer!

[u/chandalowe → u/FiewLoo]

Yeah, they aren't as pretty or showy as some of the other species. I currently have 9 tarantulas (both old-world and new-world species) and my Rosie is by far the easiest to handle consistently, even if she isn't as big or attractively marked/colored as some of the others. There are some that I don't even try to handle (like my Poecilotheria vittata). My Curly Hair (B. albopilosum) used to be really agreeable when she was younger (I've raised her from a s'ling) but as she's gotten older, she's been a lot less cooperative. There are still days when she'll let me take her out - but not very often. (I should add that I don't handle my T's on a regular basis, but I do take them out for classroom demonstrations several times a year.)

I've also had good luck handling Aphonopelma species (the local, wild-caught ones). In fact, I've found them out and about while hiking and just picked them up. (Unless, of course, they go into a defensive posture, in which case I take a few pictures and leave them alone.)

The next one on my shopping list is a Chaco Golden Knee, (Grammostola pulchripes). The only reason I did not recommend this one is because I have not personally kept them before, but from what I've seen, they are also an incredibly docile species that takes handling well. That's actually the reason that I want to add one to my collection, because I want another big beauty that I can take out and show the kids.

[u/FiewLoo → u/chandalowe]

Showing your tarantulas to your class? Damn thats amazing.

Sadlly Im living in Sweden so cant get any fancy spiders from the wild, best we got is raft spiders lol.

Thanks for another specie I will do some research from, just by googling the Chaco Golden Knee made it feel like a tarantula for me.

[u/chandalowe → u/FiewLoo]

Yeah, I teach summer school classes about bugs and spiders for elementary and middle school students, and I also bring my pets in for occasional classroom presentations during the rest of the year. It really is a lot of fun! I've even allowed some of the students to hold the Rosie, the Curly Hair, and a wild-caught dwarf Aphonopelma.

When you select your tarantula, you'll want to look for two things: a New World species (yes, they do have urticating hairs - but at least their venom isn't terribly potent) and a terrestrial species. The arboreal species tend to be a lot faster and more skittish while the terrestrial species are slower and more docile. Another thing you'll want to take into account is visibility. Some species are heavy burrowers or heavy webbers and spend most of their time hiding while others are out in the open all the time. My P. vittata (an Old World, arboreal species - pretty much the opposite of what you want!) is beautiful but very skittish and spends most of the time hiding in her little web tunnel. If I want to see her, I usually have to sneak up on her at night. My Pink Toe (Aviculara versicolor - a New World arboreal species) also spends most of her time in her web. She's a gorgeous creature - when I get to see her. She is also not at all amenable to handling, though I have seen other people handle this species. I think it just depends on the individual temperament.

[u/FiewLoo → u/chandalowe]

Aviculara versicolor

Oh my lord, never seen that one before and it looks truely amazing by what I can see on google, I will just have to do some research on that specie aswell thanks again!

yes I will stay away from the old world species!