# Psalmopoeus or Poecilotheria species for new keeper?



## Lottieee (Nov 6, 2012)

Hello - Firstly sorry for asking a newb question but I'd rather ask more experienced keepers than jump straight in and regret it or end up being too scared of them to deal with.
I currently keep _Avicularia_, _Brachypelma, __Euathlus, __Cyriocosmus, __Grammostola _and_ Ephebopus_ species. I haven't really been keeping tarantulas that long only around a year or so but I've always loved _P. irminia_, _P. cambridgei_, _P. formosa_ and _P. metallica_ but the only thing stopping me from keeping them is I'm a little nervous about their reputations of being quick and defensive, so I was wondering if anyone might be able to recommend the least defensive species out of the four? or another species to get me use to the speed and defensiveness?


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## MrFerretman6 (Sep 1, 2011)

It really depends on how you feel about your own abilities to care for these faster species. Poecilotheria have a reputation for good reason, their venom is indeed quite potent. However they have more of a tendency to run away and hide from whatever threat they have perceived. Psalmopoeus tend to put up a little bit more of a fight and stand their ground a little more. The venom potency is not that of a pokie but you would still not want to get bitten. Obviously there are exceptions in pretty much any species of tarantula and some of them just have bad days. 

The general idea would be to go for a Psalmopoeus before a Pokie. P. camb' in my opinion are one of the best looking spiders out there, especially after a moult. They are also fairly cheap and quite common. 

That being said, Poecilotheria is my favourite genus...

Whichever you do decide to go for I would recommend trying to go and see an adult first, feed it if possible. Some people will tell you to go for a spiderling first but IMHO if you cant handle the adults you shouldn't have the spiderlings.


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## gambitgareth (Sep 18, 2011)

psalmos seem to me on average more calm than pokies - but this is not always the case, for instance poecilotheria striata and subfusca have a good reputation for being calm. - your ephebopus is likely to be faster and more skittish than both psalmo and pokie put together - so your probably experienced enough to keep either : victory:


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## garlicpickle (Jan 16, 2009)

Put some thought into your setup and you can minimise the risk of escapes or bites 

99 times out of 100 a pokie will go into its hide at any disturbance rather than launching itself to attack you. If you use a cork tube for a hide, tank maintenance and rehousing becomes simple - just plug the tube with kitchen roll and move it across to the new tank.

Don't ever be tempted to put your hand in there, even "just" to grab that cricket or top up the water. Get some long tongs off ebay for a few quid and use those. Check the spider is in its hide and not lurking under the lid of the tank before you open it.

Simple safety precautions are all that is needed. My first pokie was an AF P. formosa and she wasn't too bad although she was a bit like a vampire and freaked out if any light went on her. P. metallica are similar, they are usually really scared of light. So provide a nice dark hide and do your tank maintenance in the daytime when chances are it will stay put.


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## Lottieee (Nov 6, 2012)

MrFerretman6 said:


> It really depends on how you feel about your own abilities to care for these faster species. Poecilotheria have a reputation for good reason, their venom is indeed quite potent. However they have more of a tendency to run away and hide from whatever threat they have perceived. Psalmopoeus tend to put up a little bit more of a fight and stand their ground a little more. The venom potency is not that of a pokie but you would still not want to get bitten. Obviously there are exceptions in pretty much any species of tarantula and some of them just have bad days.
> 
> The general idea would be to go for a Psalmopoeus before a Pokie. P. camb' in my opinion are one of the best looking spiders out there, especially after a moult. They are also fairly cheap and quite common.
> 
> ...


I'm fairly positive I could deal with a sling but like you said I'm unsure about dealing with a juvie or adult, thats why I haven't brought one just yet. I don't know anyone else who keeps tarantulas near me, let alone the species I'm interested in so I'm not sure how I'd get actual experience with adults.



garlicpickle said:


> Put some thought into your setup and you can minimise the risk of escapes or bites
> 
> 99 times out of 100 a pokie will go into its hide at any disturbance rather than launching itself to attack you. If you use a cork tube for a hide, tank maintenance and rehousing becomes simple - just plug the tube with kitchen roll and move it across to the new tank.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the advice its made me feel a bit less nervous about things, the main things making me nervous about potentially keeping one is rehoming and removing molts and/or food items when they are juvies/adults. I've read some peoples experiences where their tarantula has ran up the tongs and thats a situation when I'd freak out :blush:


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## garlicpickle (Jan 16, 2009)

I don't remove moults unless the spider chucks them out of the hide to a place which is convenient for me to reach them :lol2:. Eventually they will crumble away anyway.

I also have woodlice living in most of the pokie and psalmo tanks, they take care of any food leftovers and mould, all I really have to do is top up water.


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## Tarantulaguy01 (Mar 31, 2012)

I'd go for a pokie as I just find them a delight to work with :whistling2:


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## garlicpickle (Jan 16, 2009)

Tarantulaguy01 said:


> I'd go for a pokie as I just find them a delight to work with :whistling2:


I love pokies but I have a special soft spot for my P. cambridgei, she's so bloody evil it's funny.


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## Lottieee (Nov 6, 2012)

garlicpickle said:


> I don't remove moults unless the spider chucks them out of the hide to a place which is convenient for me to reach them :lol2:. Eventually they will crumble away anyway.
> 
> I also have woodlice living in most of the pokie and psalmo tanks, they take care of any food leftovers and mould, all I really have to do is top up water.



I've been told molts should be removed because they cause mites that can kill the tarantula? :blush:

I think when the weather starts warming up I might look at getting a juvenile of either a _P. irminia_, _P. cambridgei_, _P. formosa_ or _P. metallica_. Which would you recommend?


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## rsmw3 (Feb 5, 2012)

i have 4 _P. irminia's mine start at 3cm and go to around 8cm great T's but *VERY FAST* when i was rehoming my bigest 1 the other week i got her into her new home she went to the bottom so i went to pick lid up and before i new it she ran up my arm and across my chest :gasp: so next time i will have my wife ready with the lid. i new they were fast but not that fast_


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## boxofsorrows (Nov 7, 2011)

Since the latest moult my P cambridgei stands its ground out in the open a lot more now rather than bolting for cover, it also seems a lot keener to wave the pointy bits around.

My P irminia and and big P regalis take cover, currently all my little 2" or so pokies (ornata, rufilata, striata & miranda) currently head for cover, though the striata is more keen to go a bit nuts first for a few moments.


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## garlicpickle (Jan 16, 2009)

if you're just gonna get one, has to be cambridgei - how can you resist this little face lol


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## Veyron (Mar 29, 2011)

garlicpickle said:


> if you're just gonna get one, has to be cambridgei - how can you resist this little face lol
> 
> image


What about the elegance of a Pokie ? They just ooze prim and proper, neat and slender :no1:

That being said, I prefer new world terrestrials :lol2: So OP, go and get a Pamphobeteus : victory:


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## PeterUK (Jun 21, 2008)

Veyron said:


> What about the elegance of a Pokie ? They just ooze prim and proper, neat and slender :no1:


ELEGANCE ? When I was feeding the multitude tonight I had an AF Pokie regalis run up my arm and stop on my shoulder. 
There was absolutely NOTHING elegant about it, it was a bloody bum clenching moment. 
As for it oozing prim and proper, the only thing oozing was my . . . er . lets not go into that at the moment :blush:
Lets just say that it was an exciting few minutes :lol2:


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## Veyron (Mar 29, 2011)

Wow :gasp: 

I don't know about exciting, but I bet it was the longest few minutes of your life !!


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## Michael Olsinia (Apr 13, 2010)

My first spiders were P. irminia and P. ornata slings, and both are still with now, adult females. TBH, just rely on common sense and what you've learned generally with the other sp. you keep. And if you keep Ephebopus without problems, I can't see any reason why couldn't keep Poecilotheria or Psalmopoeus just as successfully.


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## smof (Nov 28, 2012)

Interesting thread for me as I just got a P. ornata and P. cambridgei sling. I have a juvie P. regalis but he's never been that 'exciting' yet. Every time I hear about someone getting a shock from one of these species it always seems to be an adult female.

I have only really had terrestrial spiders before but feeling like I want to get into arboreals now. And pokies and the cambridgei are just so beautiful. Trying to work out if I want to get a H. mac soon too...




PeterUK said:


> ELEGANCE ? When I was feeding the multitude tonight I had an AF Pokie regalis run up my arm and stop on my shoulder.
> There was absolutely NOTHING elegant about it, it was a bloody bum clenching moment.
> As for it oozing prim and proper, the only thing oozing was my . . . er . lets not go into that at the moment :blush:
> Lets just say that it was an exciting few minutes :lol2:


How did you get it off?


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## exoticsadmirer (Oct 22, 2009)

I must say i was looking into getting a pokie after my psalmo passed on as i think they're gorgeous spiders but i decided to raise a nicer T for a while before getting my self a pokie as still a little scared of the fast movement!


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## AilsaM (May 18, 2011)

I don't keep pokies yet but I would like to so my vote goes with P cambridgei, I got mine as a grown on sling at about 5cm in size and all it did was hide, now she's got a legspan of about 3 and a half inches and very rarely will she hide, she likes to sit on top of the bit of cork bark she has, she'll duck down in her silk tunnel when the lid is taken off but she doesn't go right the way down, she always looks like she's ready to jump out and eat me.


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## Lottieee (Nov 6, 2012)

Now I'm just waiting for my enclosures to arrive from the US and I think I'm going to go for a grown on/sub-adult _P. irminia_ first and if I'm ok around him/her when its reached adulthood, then I might go for a _P. formosa_ sling and just see how I get on from there.

Thank you for all your help


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## Poxicator (Nov 14, 2007)

Are you from the US?
As, I'm sure someone would show you their arboreal tarantula if you were near someone in the UK.

Psalmo's are great, but I'd personally go for any of the other Psalmopeous rather than the P. irminia as that seems to be the most flighty.


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## Lottieee (Nov 6, 2012)

Poxicator said:


> Are you from the US?
> As, I'm sure someone would show you their arboreal tarantula if you were near someone in the UK.
> 
> Psalmo's are great, but I'd personally go for any of the other Psalmopeous rather than the P. irminia as that seems to be the most flighty.


Nope, I'm from the UK 

I am torn between _P. irminia_ and _P. cambridgei_ but I'm also considering _P. pulcher_ at the moment, hopefully I'll have a better idea of what species to go for nearer the time.


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## selina20 (May 28, 2008)

Lottieee said:


> Nope, I'm from the UK
> 
> I am torn between _P. irminia_ and _P. cambridgei_ but I'm also considering _P. pulcher_ at the moment, hopefully I'll have a better idea of what species to go for nearer the time.


I would go for a P.pulcher. I find them less in your face compared to the others lol. Also look up P.reduncus which are a nice species too


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## Veyron (Mar 29, 2011)

Will you consider anything that doesn't begin with "P" ?

:lol2:


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