Good evening to everybody.

I am a new member on this forum. I am staying in Gauteng.

I recently saw a tarantula at a petshop and was wondering how are they as pets. Is it easy to keep them and what is the best tarantula to start with. I talked to somebody and he wants to sell his Theraphosa blondi. Is it a must to have tarantula? He told me about that there is 3 different type of Theraphosas and the Blondi might be something else but still a Theraphosa.

What other tarantulas is goood to start with?

wow wouldnt recommend starting with itm but it is a very sought after tarantula, how much did he want to sell it for? personally I would recommend getting a B. albopilosum (curly hair) or a G. rosea ( chilean rose) or G. pulchripes ( chaco golden knee ) or any of the brachypelma species

Welcome mate. Hope you enjoy the forums, people here are great.

A tarantula as a pet is awesome, end of story. You will get one and by 2 months you'll be able to open your own pet shop

Firstly, I would highly recommend you avoid the T. Blondi for now. It's a great tarantula if you know how to handle, care for it ect.

Choosing a Spider:

There are many species available is the pet trade, which vary in how difficult they are to care for. In general the best "beginner" tarantulas are the ground dwellers or burrowers, as they tend to be a little slower moving. The following are among the best tarantulas for first time owners:

Chilean Rose (Grammostola rosea)
Costa Rican Zebra (Aphonoplema seemani)
Mexican Redknee (Brachypelma smithi)
Mexican Redleg (Brachypelma emilia)
Desert/Mexican Blonde (Aphonopelma chalcodes)
Curly Hair Tarantula (Brachypelma albopilosum)

The pinktoe (Avicularia avicularia) is often cited as a good first arboreal tarantula, but not a good first tarantula. In general, arboreal species are more challenging to care for, and the pinktoe is quite fast and agile, making handling more difficult.

As a pet, a female is usually the better choice simply because females tend to be much longer lived than males. A female Chilean rose may be expected to live up to 20+ years, whereas the male of any species will not likely survive more than a couple of years at best. Many dealers will guarantee the sex. In any case males will spend most of their time trying to get out to find a mate, much to their distress.


Hope that helps

Also, go to: www.youtube.com/user/tarantulaguy1976?blend=1&ob=5
and watch some of his vids first, great vids and very informative. Check his one about his Zilla! that's his T.Blondi

Hello and welcome!

I'm also quite new to Tarantulas and find that they are not too hard to keep happy, but they are very fragile.
I got a p.irminia as one of my first spiders and once accidentally dropped the lid of the tank on it as I tried to stop it from escaping. Some of them are very fast and you have to be carefull, but it's definitely the coolest animal on earth!

I think most Brachypelmas will be a good choice. have fun!