# chilean rose or mexican red knee for beginner?



## markaveli (Feb 19, 2011)

i currently have a boa and a royal python but have been recently looking at the chilean rose or mexican red knee tarantula. my son is only 6 but he is driving me nuts nagging for 1. i would be the main carer but my son would like to get involved too. he prefers the red knee. what would you suggest? the care seems fairly basic compared to snakes. any advice would be great. thanks.:2thumb:


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## bbear690 (Jun 9, 2009)

We are getting my son a Chilean Rose on Friday  he is 5, been looking up and the chilean Rose and red knee seem quite similar in care and both seem like good started spiders  

We might get a red knee sling later on just so he can watch it grow


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## sarahsaz (Jun 1, 2011)

To be honest, they are both pretty easy to care for as long as you do your research first.

I have a seven year old daughter, and she likes to help me feed and water all my spiders, she actually has a chile in her bedroom right beside her bed.

Smithi's look more appealing but a chile is probably easier to keep.


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## markaveli (Feb 19, 2011)

thanks for the quick reply. it took a year to convince my wife to agree to the snakes. we will prob get a red knee. would like a adult female. they a lot more expensive than the chilean rose. the rep shops are selling for £70. does this seem a fair price for adult female?


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## jungalist86 (Jul 3, 2011)

hey they are both really easy to care for,keep at room temp,water and feed lol ,chilli rose (G.rosea) are ok first spider it was mine but they can be fussy eaters not that its any harm to them as they can go years without eating but your child mite lose interest abit quicker with a t that just sits there and doesnt eat for months at a time,they also can be a bit unpredictably and touchy at times,they are easy but not as docile and sweet as alot of care sheets say,the red knee (B.smithy) i think would be your better choice just remember they may kick hairs if scared and may cause a lil itching but nothing to worry about,good luck and hope your kid loves it


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## jungalist86 (Jul 3, 2011)

p.s a pet shop is always going to be more exspensive i think mine is selling adults for 50 but if you do buy an adult for 70 make sure its female and not a mature male lol

edit sorry i see you put female


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## markaveli (Feb 19, 2011)

jungalist86 said:


> hey they are both really easy to care for,keep at room temp,water and feed lol ,chilli rose (G.rosea) are ok first spider it was mine but they can be fussy eaters not that its any harm to them as they can go years without eating but your child mite lose interest abit quicker with a t that just sits there and doesnt eat for months at a time,they also can be a bit unpredictably and touchy at times,they are easy but not as docile and sweet as alot of care sheets say,the red knee (B.smithy) i think would be your better choice just remember they may kick hairs if scared and may cause a lil itching but nothing to worry about,good luck and hope your kid loves it


 
thanks for the advice. my room is quite a cold temp especially in winter. would it be ok to put the faunarium on top of a viv to raise the temp until weather changes?


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## sarahsaz (Jun 1, 2011)

Red knees are alot more expensive than chiles £70 from a shop seems a little high but not that far off, you are better off looking in the classified section on here.

There are some bargains to be had!

Maybe consider getting a spiderling, my little one loves seeing the moults and how much it grows with each shed. Also if they see them grow up from been tiny they wont be as wary.


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## Bexzini (Oct 21, 2010)

What makes you want to go for these tarantulas? There are a lot of tarantulas that are deemed suitable for beginners! £70 is about average for an adult, they are quite expensive as adults as they take so long to reach full size!


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## markaveli (Feb 19, 2011)

Bexzini said:


> What makes you want to go for these tarantulas? There are a lot of tarantulas that are deemed suitable for beginners! £70 is about average for an adult, they are quite expensive as adults as they take so long to reach full size!


i have always liked the red knee so that is why im thinking of getting one. i know there are many but each to their own i suppose. i know they take ages to grow thats why i want an adult female. i think they are £70 in reptile cymru, where i bought my female boa constrictor.


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## kris74 (May 10, 2011)

G.pulcheripes (chacao golden knee) are just as easy to look after as red knee and rosea. Far prettier as well and less likely to stay dormant like the Chile rose might. Less skittish than a red knee. Good feeders and really nice display spiders as adults. Try looking online before you buy from a shop. With The Spider Shop and places like Bugz UK you have a better idea of how old the spider might be and get a better service when asking questions as they're dedicated to inverts whereas a shop may not have this info. There are tons of decent starters out there and no reason to limit yourself to the 2 most thrown out there species. Also beware most adult chiles are probably wild caught


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## freemoyoyo (Apr 4, 2010)

There arn't much prettier than a nice smithi in my opinion and they have a good tempremant, especially if you want to handle it.
But, my favourite overall are the a. Geniculatas, i got a sub adult female for my first t and i loved her to bits, just wosh she was still alive


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## G18241 (Feb 28, 2009)

Only thing with a Rosea, is that it could go literaaly a year without eating, which might start getting you worried.

Though a smithi is a bit more expensive, they are gooooooorgeous to look at


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## martin3 (May 24, 2011)

As you'v said each to there own, but just remember that a B,smithi, will be more likely to flick hairs, so watch your young one around it.


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## marko85 (Sep 8, 2011)

The Spider Shop have juveniles in stock mate, a lot better than paying £70 when he could quite easily get bored of it. My daughter's B.Smithi sling has been here for about 6 months and still hasn't moulted lol,they do take ages. 

<i>Brachypelma smithi</i><br>Mexican Red Knee (7 cm) Suppliers of Arachnids and other quality Invertebrates


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

martin3 said:


> As you'v said each to there own, but just remember that a B,smithi, will be more likely to flick hairs, so watch your young one around it.


on the other hand, chiles can be very unpredictable, the same individual letting you handle it one day, but trying to bite you the next. smithi's usually have the same temperament all the time, ie you get a nice one or a nasty one, & they stay like it.


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

marko85 said:


> The Spider Shop have juveniles in stock mate, a lot better than paying £70 when he could quite easily get bored of it. My daughter's B.Smithi sling has been here for about 6 months and still hasn't moulted lol,they do take ages.
> 
> <i>Brachypelma smithi</i><br>Mexican Red Knee (7 cm) Suppliers of Arachnids and other quality Invertebrates


chiles grow even slower.


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## marko85 (Sep 8, 2011)

wilkinss77 said:


> chiles grow even slower.


?????
The link was for juvenile B.Smithi, I didn't say one had a faster growth rate than another.


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## jb1962 (Sep 21, 2009)

I have B.smithi and G.porteri and G.rosea rcf,
The redknee is a hair kicker ,
the rcf is moody,
porteri is a sweet heart.. 
costs , £60 with set up, rfc was free , porteri £15 from SEAS sexed also from a german seller.

I'd also look for E sp blue as they are really cool also and the E sp reds are lovely, 

;-)


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## bbear690 (Jun 9, 2009)

Just got our Chilean Rose today  she is a little darling xx


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## markaveli (Feb 19, 2011)

thank you all for your advice. i decided on a sub adult female mexican red knee or chaco golden knee. these both seem to be like gold dust though. no online store has any, bugz uk etc. looked at a red knee today, no bald spots which is a good sign? wanted £85. that seems a little high to me. if any seemed nasty, i wouldnt let my boy near it of course. it would be handled very rarely and i have read much that some do not handle theirs at all. thanks to forums like this though its great to get good advice making sure it is properly cared for and that is much appreciated.


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## martin3 (May 24, 2011)

marko85 said:


> ?????
> The link was for juvenile B.Smithi, I didn't say one had a faster growth rate than another.


You said...


marko85 My daughter's B.Smithi sling has been here for about 6 months and still hasn't moulted lol said:


> chiles grow even slower.


Seems fair enough to me.


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## Galiea (Jan 18, 2012)

Hey, I currently own a Mexican Red Knee and I would personally recommend going for one. 

I got my little un when she was just a juvi and I have watched her grow and brighten in colour : victory:

In general, people say that Mexican Red Knee's are more skittish than Chile Rose, but in my opinion they are well worth it.


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## jungalist86 (Jul 3, 2011)

that link some1 put up for spidershop is a 7cm b.smithi for 27 quid cant go wrong mate


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## AilsaM (May 18, 2011)

jungalist86 said:


> that link some1 put up for spidershop is a 7cm b.smithi for 27 quid cant go wrong mate


Spider shop is where am buying my T though not that species.


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## markaveli (Feb 19, 2011)

just to update you all. i bought a sub adult female mexican red knee yesterday. im using lucky reptile humus brick for substrate. i dried it as much as i could but humidity is 90 at the moment. she just staying on the piece of cork bark that i put in for her. the soil is damp, not wet. is this ok?


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## freemoyoyo (Apr 4, 2010)

Should be fine so long as there's plenty of ventilation to dry it out :2thumb:


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## markaveli (Feb 19, 2011)

freemoyoyo said:


> Should be fine so long as there's plenty of ventilation to dry it out :2thumb:


cheers mate. i put 2 crickets in today and will remove them if she dont eat them by the morning. is she likely to eat after being put into a new set up or does she need time to settle?


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## freemoyoyo (Apr 4, 2010)

Depends if he's hungry or not ! Take them out and try again when the substrates dry, maybe in a weeks time. Don't worry, she won't starve :lol2:


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## kris74 (May 10, 2011)

freemoyoyo said:


> Depends if he's hungry or not ! Take them out and try again when the substrates dry, maybe in a weeks time. Don't worry, she won't starve :lol2:


This is true. She will he fine without food for a while. Let her settle and let the sub dry out. She probe wont be too thrilled at 90 humidity being a desert spider. If you spread it out on paper and put it under the radiator it should dry out pretty quickly. Alternatively I'm finding regular organic compost dries out nice and quick.


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## markaveli (Feb 19, 2011)

i dont know whether to take her out and dry substrate a bit more or leave it dry on its own. i dont want to keep disturbing her.


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## freemoyoyo (Apr 4, 2010)

Just leave her in there, she'll be fine. What have you got her in ? Is there a heat mat on the side of her enclosure ? As this will dry it out pretty quickly.


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## markaveli (Feb 19, 2011)

freemoyoyo said:


> Just leave her in there, she'll be fine. What have you got her in ? Is there a heat mat on the side of her enclosure ? As this will dry it out pretty quickly.


shes in an 18 lire rub until my faunarium delivered in a few days. i put her on warm end on top of my boa viv so the heat coming through should dry it out.


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## freemoyoyo (Apr 4, 2010)

Right, well i i don't know what the lid's like, but for it to dry out in a hurry, then i would probably cut some big circular holes in it then put some plastic vents in, or hot glue some mesh over them. Will only take 5 mins to do it. : victory:


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## markaveli (Feb 19, 2011)

freemoyoyo said:


> Right, well i i don't know what the lid's like, but for it to dry out in a hurry, then i would probably cut some big circular holes in it then put some plastic vents in, or hot glue some mesh over them. Will only take 5 mins to do it. : victory:


theres plenty of holes in the side of rub and on the lid. it used to be where i kept a baby boa until she was big enough for a viv.


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