# Venezuelan Sun Tiger- Psalmopoeus irminia



## grazzzz (Feb 2, 2009)

Is this spider ok for a newbie?
I keep Emerald tree boas,green tree pythons and Dart Frogs all relativly difficult reptiles to keep.
Do you think this will be ok as a first spider or are they to quick and too aggressive.
Thanks


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## martin r (Jan 10, 2009)

this was my first spider so i would say yes!


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## andy07966 (Mar 10, 2009)

Far too quick and aggressive in my opinion, but if you research them and go and see a few, i'm sure there are people on this forum who would show you theirs, and you feel ready for a very fast, defensive spider you should be fine. I would start with a more docile species first to get some experience with the way spiders react with things and the way they move. 

As far as care of the spider goes, i don't think they are particularly hard to keep and if you read a few care sheets you would be fine. :2thumb:


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## andy2086 (Dec 26, 2008)

These can be fast and, as I found out with my adult male, can jump quite a distance compared to their body size! Not really a spider to be handled in my experience but great to keep and observe


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## Poxicator (Nov 14, 2007)

If you spend time getting your set-up correct and pleasing to look at there's no need to restrict yourself to any tarantula. You just need to be conscious of the fact these "teleport", have a strong venomous bite and are aggressive. 
They'll happily live arboreally but may also live terrestrially. Temps of 70-85 are fine, coir substrate, raise humidity with a large water bowl (plant pot saucer), some sphagnum moss and bingo.
Most aggressive species are kept in enclosures where feeding is a matter of opening the lid and dropping food in fairly quickly. As long as you don't intend getting it out or leaving the lid on you'll be fine. I suggest a good tube (cork or bamboo) and some plastic/silk plants. 
Getting a sling will help but as tarantula are very low maintenance your experience with those snakes should easily enable you to look after an P. irminia.


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## grazzzz (Feb 2, 2009)

So would a 30 x 30 x 45 exo be big enough as an arboreal tank with a heatmat behind the false background?
I am use to keeping humidity high in exos as i already keep my aboreal snakes which need high humidity and again with dart frogs use to having hides using bark tubes.
Thanks In advance
Grazzzz


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## garlicpickle (Jan 16, 2009)

That would be more than enough space, you'd be OK with something smaller unless you happen to have a spare Exo hanging round already  If you're used to keeping frogs and tree boas in Exos then you'll be OK with the idea of blocking some of the top mesh off to keep humidity up.
The only thing I'd say about those fake rock backgrounds is that they are polystyrene which is an excellent insulator, so if you have the mat behind that, not much heat will get through. You could maybe put the mat on the side, or dispense with the rock background altogether and use something like that decorative aquarium background that just sticks on, if you want a nice setup.


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