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what is a big begginer tarantula? what are the tarantula's care requirements? what kind of substrate does it need? can any desert speicies be housed on peat? i know attitude wise a king baboon is for expirienced only but maitnice wise it is simple.
can a king baboon be housed in a ten gal?

Good beginner species with a large legspan include:
Grammosotola aureostriata (Chaco goldenknee)
Grammostola pulchra (Brazilian Black)
Brachypelma smithi (Mexican redknee)
also just about any other Brachypelma species.

Care for desert dwellers (like those above). Up to 10 gallon tank for adults. Juvenile will need something much smaller. A good substrate like Peat moss, potting soil, or that coconut stuff form the pet store. A waterdish, with clean water (changed daily). A place to hide that is sized large enough for the T to crawl into. Room temp and humidty are usually fine and no misting is needed, although I occasionally overflow the waterdish, and let it dry completely.

I know nothing about Citharishius crawshayi (King baboon) care, except that it is a burrowing species, so if you have one, you likely wont see if very often.

KJ
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KJ Vezino
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how big does the chaco golden knee get? and can you give me some more detaailed care specificly about them. what is their over all temperment? and how long do they live? if you can the last piece of info would be greatly appritiated. for me pets with long life spans are the best.

G. aureostraia can get up to 8" legspan. There's nothing more to say about their care. The last post says it all, they are that easy! Unless you have some specific questions.

Overall they are pretty calm and easy going, occasionally they go through grumpy spells, but it is temporary and they do not show any aggressive tendencies.

Lifespan? Females are longer than males. Males maybe 5-7 years. Females, easily 10-20 years or more. But that is pretty much standard across all species of tarantulas.
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KJ Vezino
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but would you recomend handling them

>>but would you recomend handling them

Absolutely!
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KJ Vezino
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rather than feeding on crickets alone can i feed it mealworms only?

>>rather than feeding on crickets alone can i feed it mealworms only?

You can feed it crickets and mealworms. Roaches are also a good diet, especially when it gets bigger. It'll be easier to feed 1 roach, rather than several crickets.

But it is not necessary to feed anything other than crickets. That is the staple food in captivity.
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KJ Vezino
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how much and how often should i feed it? also if i go somewhere like a vacation or something like that during the summer can i leave all the lights off for a week without harm or anything else bad happening? what if any supplaments might a T need? why would you recomend handling them? that may sounnd like i'm afraid to but i'm not i just want to know why you would recomend it. do tarantulas have individual personalities? how deep should the substrate be? i am looking at a type of scorpion aswell what might be the pros over having a scorpion? i have hardly found any cons for a tarantula exept the VERY slim chance of a bite or having irritating hairs filked at me.

First of all, with all of these questions you have, you really need to go and get a good book. "The Tarantula Keeper's Guide" by Stanley Schultz will answer about 90% of your questions. It is the tarantula keepers Bible and a must have for any keeper. I think amazon.com has it for less than $15.
Now I'll try to tackle your questions the best I can.

>>how much and how often should i feed it?
All depend on how big it is. Juveniles can be fed 1 small cricket every few days, large adults will need 1 roach or several large crickets once a week. Feeding schedules is just something you have to play with. After a while you get to know your spider and know when they want/don't want more food.

>>also if i go somewhere like a vacation or something like that during the summer can i leave all the lights off for a week without harm or anything else bad happening?
Tarantulas are nocturnal in nature and stay hidden during the day and come out to feed at night. You'll see more activity form them at bedtime than you will during the day, usually. Therefore they don't need a light on their cage at all. As for house lights, yes they can be off, doesn't matter to them.

>>what if any supplaments might a T need?
None, live food and water is all they need.

>>why would you recomend handling them? that may sounnd like i'm afraid to but i'm not i just want to know why you would recomend it.
I enjoy handling my spiders, some keepers recommend against it, for the safety of the spider. They can be injured from falls of a just few inches, and great care must be taken if you do choose to handle them. I recommend the G. aureostriata, because it is a docile T that is not very skittish and would be easier to handle than some other Ts. There are several great Ts for handling that would be a better choice, but you are interested in something larger at the moment.

>>do tarantulas have individual personalities?
Absolutely, within the same species, some Ts will hide all the time, some will stay out in the open, some will lay lots of web, some hardly none at all, some will keep a tidy cage, and some will constantly dig and rearrange their enclosure. Each one is unique.

>>how deep should the substrate be?
Depends on what you keep it in. Ideally is should be deep enough so that the T can reach the top and bottom of the enclosure at the same time if its legs were completely outstretched. This prevents injury if they happen to climb up the tank or hang from the ceiling and then fall.

>>i am looking at a type of scorpion aswell what might be the pros over having a scorpion? i have hardly found any cons for a tarantula exept the VERY slim chance of a bite or having irritating hairs filked at me.
I don't own a scorpion, but if you stick with something like an Emperor scorpion (Pandinus imperator) to start, then it's really no different form having a T. They can pinch and sting, and their venom isn't very strong. Some other species have stronger venom and yes, some can kill you, so you just have to be educated on the species that you buy.

Ready for the next round of questions….
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KJ Vezino
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a freind of our family who has kept creatures like the tarantula i have been looking at says these are more aggressive spiders. cdan you explain why he might say this? and this guy knows what he is doimg he's kept fat tails and other stuff like baboon spiders.

will during the winter be the only time i need a heat source? and i'm getting confused with enclosure size what begginer tarantula can be housed in a ten gal? i'm mainly a reptile fan and such a small tank for a large spider gets confusing. what size tank should a rose hair be housed in?

OK, every individual spider has its own temperament. Even among docile species, you'll come across some that are just plain grumpy and don't like being held. G. aureostriata is overall a docile species, every one that I have see has been, one went through a grumpy spell, but after that was fine. Maybe your friend had one that was grumpy all the time, who knows? If it concerns you then try a different species.

OK as for housing. A 10 gallon is fine for most adult tarantulas. Only a couple like T. blondi T. apophysis, and L. parahybana should go into anything bigger, but an adult G. auroestriata could go bigger than 10, but its not necessary. Now, a 10 gallon is a bit overkill for any spider that is under 5". This includes adult G. rosea who are normally around 5". Not that there's any harm in keeping them in a 10 (That is what mine is in), but it is just a bit overkill. They really don't need that much space. In the wild, tarantulas rarely move more than a foot from their burrows. They have little reason to, they just sit and wait for prey to come to them. If you buy a juvenile T, it will need to be in something smaller until it gets bigger.

You may not even need a heater in the winter, just depends on what you keep your house at. As long as the daytime temp stays above 65, and the nighttime temp doesn't go below 55, then you'll be fine. Most people don't let their houses get that cold anyway.

Hope that helps answer your questions.
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KJ Vezino
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can i use a coconut cut in half with a hole cut in the front for an entrence? we have four of them and can we use them for tarantulas? i do have a book about tarantulas. it's called "tarantulas and other arachnids" by Samuel D. Marshall is it a relible book? the publisher is also Barron's, it's from 2001. it says other arachnids but it's tarantulas until the last section.

I use coconut shells for some of mine, they work great. If you bought themn at a pet store you may need to cut the hole a little wider though.

"Tarantulas and other arachnids" is a great book, it's my second choice behind "The Tarantula Keeper's Guide".
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KJ Vezino
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