Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey - I'm new to the Tarantula hobby and have a 1.5" Brachypelma albopilosum. On Monday I'm also getting a Aphonopelma chalcodes. I have lots of animal keeping experience and work with several avid tarantula keepers, so my question isn't for me.

I have a friend who also wants to break into the hobby but is a little less confident about keeping a T. He has 3 options for his first one: Rose Hair (classic), Curly Hair or Desert Blonde. I know that the Rose Hair is the classic beginner tarantula but really, would the Curly Hair or Desert Blonde be significantly more difficult for him to keep?

What are your recommendations?

Thanks -
Martha

No, the other two would not be any more difficult to keep than a G. rosea, and in fact may be easier. G. rosea are usually suggested to beginners due to their availability. But they do have some idiosyncrasies that can drive new owners crazy. The other two are more baseline. All three have essentially the same care requirements. But if the availability is there I'd opt for one of the other two over the G. rosea and I'd pick the A. chalcodes, because it is my personal favorite.
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KJ Vezino
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Missouri Tarantula Enthusiasts Group

I appreciate your response! What type of idiosyncrasies do the rose hairs exhibit? I'm getting 2 captive bred A. chalcodes slings on Monday and am SO excited!

>>I appreciate your response! What type of idiosyncrasies do the rose hairs exhibit? I'm getting 2 captive bred A. chalcodes slings on Monday and am SO excited!

You're getting slings, hope you have patience! They grow very, very slowly. I had one that grew particularly slow and was 1/2" stil at 2 yrs old. But my others are just over 1" at 2 yrs old. It has been estimated that the females can live 30-40 yrs. I have a male and female right now (both about 1-1.5" that I'm hoping I can breed (in about 5-10 years when they mature, lol).

OK, let's see, idiosyncrasies of the G. rosea. Basically 99% of all questions that nebies come out and post about their G. rosea, saying "Help, my tarantula is acting strange", end up being normal behavior. This includes things like not eating (for extended periods of time), not moving from a single spot in their cage (for weeks), spazzing out, rearing up ("I thought all roseies were docile", webbing themselves up in their hide, not using thier hide, burrowing/not burrowing, etc.

My first spider was a G. rosea and it didn't eat a single thing for 9 months. That can really frustrate a new owner when folks tell you that they feed theirs one cricket a week and that is normal.
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KJ Vezino
My Gallery
Missouri Tarantula Enthusiasts Group

Wow - I knew they grew slowly but no one spelled it out for me quite the way you just did! I guess, on the plus side, I won't need to upgrade their housing for awhile

Thanks for the info about G. rosea. I'll pass it along to my friend. If he decides to go with that species, he'll at least go into it with his eyes wide open.

Martha

No problem, here's one of my juveniles (female) so you can see what to expect in a couple years.

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KJ Vezino
My Gallery
Missouri Tarantula Enthusiasts Group

Aw - She's beautiful!!!

>>Aw - She's beautiful!!!

Thanks. She's just going to get better looking as she ages and gets her adult colors in. This is the first species that struck me as a "must own", when I first got into the hobby.
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KJ Vezino
My Gallery
Missouri Tarantula Enthusiasts Group

That's funny -- as I told you, I'm new at this and A. chalcodes is the first "must have" that really jumped out at me as well! That's why I leaped at the opportunity to get a couple of captive bred slings locally, when I saw the ad on Craigslist.