# So you've decided you want a tarantula.



## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

This article is intended as a guide only and not to be taken as Gospel. Hopefully here you will learn the basics of choosing your first tarantula.

*Before You Begin* 

Before you begin, it is important to collate as much information about tarantulas and their needs, so just have a look around the Internet and / or search Google for basic information. Don't start looking at different species yet, this will be covered later. Wikipedia has a decent page on tarantulas which can be found HERE. If you would like to read something away from your computer then there are various books available such as "The Tarantula Keeper's Guide" and "Tarantulas and Other Arachnids" along with many others.

*Choosing Your First Tarantula*

So, now you (hopefully) understand the basics of tarantulas, it is time to choose your first tarantula. I would personally advise on getting a juvi - adult tarantula and preferably female where possible ( females live longer than males ). I wouldn't suggest the beginner get a sling ( spiderling - baby tarantula ) as they are sometimes difficult to house and larger tarantulas are generally more hardy. If you choose to go for a sling, then that is entirely your choice, but I would try to avoid the _Avicularia sp_ as they seem prone to dying with no apparent reason ( known as Sudden Avic Death Syndrome - S.A.D.S )

Some good species for beginners are as follows;



Grammostola species - These include, Grammostola rosea ( Chilean Rose ), Grammostola pulchripes ( Chaco Golden Knee ), Grammostola pulchra ( Brazillian Black )
Brachypelma species - These include, Brachypelma albopilosum ( Curlyhair ), Brachypelma emilia ( Mexican Red Leg ), Brachypelma smithi ( Mexican Red Knee ), Brachypelma vagans ( Mexican Red Rump )
Aphonopelma species - These include, Aphonopelma chalcodes ( Desert Blonde ), Aphonopelma hentzi ( Oklahoma Brown ), Aphonopelma seemani ( Costa Rican Zebra )

*A Last Little Note*

Well hopefully that has given you some food for thought. If something there takes you fancy, then before you even think about purchasing one, then please, please do as much research as possible on your chosen species. To many people seem to but a tarantula and then look for care, this is NOT the way to do it.

If enough research is done, and the correct set-up is created, then I personally believe that any tarantula can be one for beginners, but please bear in mind that all tarantulas are different, there are slower ones, faster ones, arboreal ones, terrestrial ones, burrowing ones and ones with more potent venom.

For more information on your chosen species, you can post a thread on these forums and / or just simply search Google.

Happy Tarantula Keeping.


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

Just thought I'd bump this up for anyone wanting to get into the hobby.


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## Biggys (Jun 6, 2010)

i thought it was a good read : victory:

MODs make it a sticky please


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## Dan99 (Aug 5, 2009)

Yeah this is good. I think it should be sticky


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## Hedgewitch (Feb 12, 2008)

I thought we already had a sticky on this subject, or at least something very much like it.


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

Hedgewitch said:


> I thought we already had a sticky on this subject, or at least something very much like it.


What we already have is the following;

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/spiders-inverts/43641-how-choose-your-first-spider.html


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## selina20 (May 28, 2008)

Nice thread. Simple and to the point . We need more stuff like this.


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

selina20 said:


> Nice thread. Simple and to the point . We need more stuff like this.


Thanks Selina. So simple to do as well. All it takes is a little research / knowledge, and someone to simple summarize it all :2thumb:


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## selina20 (May 28, 2008)

snowgoose said:


> Thanks Selina. So simple to do as well. All it takes is a little research / knowledge, and someone to simple summarize it all :2thumb:


Indeed it does but sadly people dont see it that way. Just wish more people would research and perhaps use the search button on the forums a tad more. Glad to see someone take the time to make useful threads rather than the usual garbage on here


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

I personally agree with what you say. But I also think that it was a mistake to put all the stickies in one thread. New users only have to miss that one thread instead of scrolling down through roughly 7. If they were all seperate again I think it would be better.

Anyway to keep on topic, Come on all you newbies. You know you want a tarantula and this guide tells you what you need to know


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## selina20 (May 28, 2008)

snowgoose said:


> I personally agree with what you say. But I also think that it was a mistake to put all the stickies in one thread. New users only have to miss that one thread instead of scrolling down through roughly 7. If they were all seperate again I think it would be better.
> 
> Anyway to keep on topic, Come on all you newbies. You know you want a tarantula and this guide tells you what you need to know


Lmao. Get them buying 

I think they should be put back on the main page of the invert section to make it easier.


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Any chance you could give more info on the starter species? Just a few points like arboreal/terrestrial, dry/humid etc


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

Morgan Freeman said:


> Any chance you could give more info on the starter species? Just a few points like arboreal/terrestrial, dry/humid etc


That's what caresheets are for  This is a guide on picking your first T, not housing it.

Anyway you shouldn't be here. Your home is the phib area :whip::Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

snowgoose said:


> That's what caresheets are for  This is a guide on picking your first T, not housing it.
> 
> Anyway you shouldn't be here. Your home is the phib area :whip::Na_Na_Na_Na:


But then I'd have to look for caresheets I might not have to otherwise!

I wander, sometimes


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## mrblue2008 (Jan 27, 2009)

thank you this does help :notworthy:


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## GRB (Jan 24, 2008)

snowgoose said:


> I personally agree with what you say. But I also think that it was a mistake to put all the stickies in one thread. New users only have to miss that one thread instead of scrolling down through roughly 7. If they were all seperate again I think it would be better.
> 
> Anyway to keep on topic, Come on all you newbies. You know you want a tarantula and this guide tells you what you need to know





selina20 said:


> Lmao. Get them buying
> 
> I think they should be put back on the main page of the invert section to make it easier.


:roll: And yet previously people complained the board was too cluttered. Can't please everyone.


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## selina20 (May 28, 2008)

GRB said:


> :roll: And yet previously people complained the board was too cluttered. Can't please everyone.


You know what im like


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## GRB (Jan 24, 2008)

selina20 said:


> You know what im like


Sadly. :Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## selina20 (May 28, 2008)

GRB said:


> Sadly. :Na_Na_Na_Na:


Pfft :whistling2:


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## Hedgewitch (Feb 12, 2008)

snowgoose said:


> What we already have is the following;
> 
> http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/spiders-inverts/43641-how-choose-your-first-spider.html


So we do, sorry. Looks like a good thread, short and sweet eh?



snowgoose said:


> I personally agree with what you say. But I also think that it was a mistake to put all the stickies in one thread. New users only have to miss that one thread instead of scrolling down through roughly 7. If they were all seperate again I think it would be better.
> 
> Anyway to keep on topic, Come on all you newbies. You know you want a tarantula and this guide tells you what you need to know


I sometimes think it was a mistake to essentially hide all the stickies, but at the same time no one ever read them when they were at the top of the board anyway. It just meant that people put their stupid questions 3cm below the answer.

I think that if your post count is below a certain number "Post new thread" should take you to the stickies page... :whistling2:


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

Hedgewitch said:


> So we do, sorry. Looks like a good thread, short and sweet eh?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hmm an idea there me thinks you have 

Maybe not stickies as such but a FAQ page with all the links and info in would work.


Hmmmm :lol2:


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## Hedgewitch (Feb 12, 2008)

snowgoose said:


> Hmm an idea there me thinks you have
> 
> Maybe not stickies as such but a FAQ page with all the links and info in would work.
> 
> ...


I once started making a flow chart for this section which would answer common questions, starting with "Is your rosea not eating" and working through the other common questions from there... I gave up about a third of the way in as it was just too difficult.


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

Hedgewitch said:


> I once started making a flow chart for this section which would answer common questions, starting with "Is your rosea not eating" and working through the other common questions from there... I gave up about a third of the way in as it was just too difficult.


Do you still have any draft of it?

Also potential to have a notice before making a post ( like the user agreement when you first sign up ). Could have all the info with links to the corresponding sticky, something like;

Before you make a new post, please ensure it has not already been answered.

If you post is about getting into the hobby and what species is best to start with, you can check here,

Housing here,

feeding etc

Scorps etc etc

If none of the above have answered your question then please click the proceed button to continue to make a new thread.

_________________________PROCEED_______________________________-

Maybe my brain is working to hard


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## Hedgewitch (Feb 12, 2008)

snowgoose said:


> Do you still have any draft of it?
> 
> Also potential to have a notice before making a post ( like the user agreement when you first sign up ). Could have all the info with links to the corresponding sticky, something like;
> 
> ...


I probably have a draft somewhere, but my computer exploded (ok, maybe it wasn't that dramatic but it's definitely shafted).

Problem is that
a) People would skip through it and make the post anyway.
b) It'd be difficult to implement.


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

Hedgewitch said:


> I probably have a draft somewhere, but my computer exploded (ok, maybe it wasn't that dramatic but it's definitely shafted).
> 
> Problem is that
> a) People would skip through it and make the post anyway.
> b) It'd be difficult to implement.


Shame about the comp. Would have loved to try and carry it on.

The problems are not problems 

a) the proceed button would be timed something like 5 secs until you are able to click it.

b) shouldn't be to difficult to implement it into the forum. I'm sure theres an add on / plug in for Vbulletin which would allow this.

The only real problem I can see is that if it was set for new members with no posts, then all they would need to do is create one post elsewhere on the forum and the whole system would be useless. I guess you could somehow make it so that if there are no posts in the section then it would show.


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## GRB (Jan 24, 2008)

People can't be bothered to even add sensible tags, so what makes you think people are going to want to make read a flow chart or be forced to direct to the FAQ when they post? 

We also have users here who register and they are not "noobs". Do they need the same treatment too? Very irritable it would be I imagine. And wherever you have a minimum post count, you get those that spam post simply to up it and gain access to those sections. 

I don't see the issue; if you are bored with new keepers asking the same questions covered in the FAQ then just don't read the thread. Someone else will answer it; they usually do. 

Anyway, there's always more than answer to something, and forcing people to read the stickies is only one method. Stickies usually only have one opinion presented, and I for one do not agree with everything I read on them. Having an open discussion is what the forum is about. The material in the stickies is not "gospel", and it's good to have multiple veiw points on an issue.


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## Hedgewitch (Feb 12, 2008)

GRB said:


> People can't be bothered to even add sensible tags, so what makes you think people are going to want to make read a flow chart or be forced to direct to the FAQ when they post?
> 
> We also have users here who register and they are not "noobs". Do they need the same treatment too? Very irritable it would be I imagine. And wherever you have a minimum post count, you get those that spam post simply to up it and gain access to those sections.
> 
> ...


Way to ruin our fun with facts and being reasonable 

I do understand that it would be unreasonable and a daft thing to implement, it was just one of those idle wishes. Surely at times even you (O great mod of the Invert Section) want to beat some users to death with the search function? 

It's like the "can't we just take the warning labels off of everything..." joke, I really don't want to kill everyone who doesn't think things through properly.

Anyway, topic was back thataway.


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## Stelios (Aug 28, 2009)

Most people are just lazy and want to be spoonfed!


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## GRB (Jan 24, 2008)

Hedgewitch said:


> Way to ruin our fun with facts and being reasonable
> 
> I do understand that it would be unreasonable and a daft thing to implement, it was just one of those idle wishes. Surely at times even you (O great mod of the Invert Section) want to beat some users to death with the search function?
> 
> ...


Yes, some users more than others at times. :Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## Micky9682 (Dec 1, 2010)

good read for a newby, thanks bud


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## heather carpenter (Sep 22, 2010)

thanks this has helped me alot


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