# Do you like tarantulas?



## dino

Who on this forum like tarantulas? I find them interesting inverts to keep.


----------



## Andrew

Ive got a couple chaco goldenknee slings. The little guys are awesome.  

Thanks,

Andrew


----------



## worldofmantis

Dont like them half as much as mantids and ive never kept them before but they seem cool.


----------



## PseudoDave

I do... Ironic considering I don't like house spiders... :?

Ah well, yeah i've kept Tarantulas for a few years now.

Dave


----------



## garbonzo13

All bugs interrest me. I guess I never grew up. At least that's what my wife says :shock: .


----------



## Peloquin

Yeah, Love 'em. I used to have thousands but had to get rid of them when we moved into a pub. Now we are back home I have started again but wont be doing it as big. So far I have about 15 tarantulas, 19 scorpions and about 25 mantids. I also have 2 sinensis ootheca, 1 centralis ottheca, 1 gongy ootheca and 1 P. aeruginosa ootheca on the way and a male H. grandid to go with my newly moulted female.


----------



## Jesse

last I counted I had 16 species and ~70 individuals. I've been keeping them almost 6 years now. Way easier to keep than mantids...and live much much much longer!


----------



## Andrew

> Way easier to keep then mantids


Ill second that. Lol  

Thanks,

Andrew


----------



## worldofmantis

cmon mantids aenrt that hard to keep i think they are really easy


----------



## dino

By the way, Jesse do you have any Orange Baboon Spiders left for sale? I am interested in one. 8)


----------



## Andrew

> cmon mantids aenrt that hard to keep i think they are really easy


It depends on how many you are keeping. If you are breeding more than 4 species then the upkeep can become time consuming.


----------



## garbonzo13

I used to have a pair of emperor scorpions that I bred. Had 17 little ones but 2 days later and a dozen crickets the female ate the little ones. It agrivated me so bad I gave up on scorpions.


----------



## dino

It happens becuase the baby scorpions must have fell off the mothers back....she mistakes them for food.


----------



## garbonzo13

Even if there were plenty of cricket huh? You big on scorps to Dino?


----------



## dino

Nah I read :lol: ( I keep tarantulas though ).....but it happens I have seen it on Animal Planet.


----------



## Andrew

Most of the time when that happens in captivity its because the mom doesnt feel safe. If she feels stressed, she will most likely eat her brood. Im guessing that it was all the crickets running around the tank that made her feel unsafe or stressed.

Thanks,

Andrew


----------



## Ian

sorry, whilst reading that for a minute there andrew I thought you were refering to your mum, lol.


----------



## Andrew

Lol :lol:


----------



## Jesse

> cmon mantids aenrt that hard to keep i think they are really easy


Never said they were hard did I? I can go on vacation for 3 weeks and not worry about my T's, but my mantids....that's another story. I don't have to continuously breed my T's to be able to keep the species I want for more than a year. I still like both, but I like T's a little more.


----------



## worldofmantis

makes scince i do have thjat problem but i dont rase tarantulas so i dont know anything about them.


----------



## Orin

Compared to Ts, mantids are extremely difficult to keep. Nobody with any experience with both could disagree.

Of course mantids are a million times cooler and don't inject you with venom.


----------



## worldofmantis

lol agreed


----------



## dino

> Compared to Ts, mantids are extremely difficult to keep. Nobody with any experience with both could disagree.Of course mantids are a million times cooler and don't inject you with venom.


Not all tarantulas enject venom in you..although all tarantulas in the world have venom..NOO tarantulas are way harder to keep buy the book "The tarantula keepers guide" ( 289 pages) read the book and see how hard they are to keep....but then again that is just my opinion.


----------



## Jesse

> Not all tarantulas enject venom in you..although all tarantulas in the world have venom..NOO tarantulas are way harder to keep buy the book "The tarantula keepers guide" ( 289 pages) read the book and see how hard they are to keep....but then again that is just my opinion.


Where's the "emoticon" with the head banging against the wall when you need it!

Trust me Dino everyone here that is into Tarantulas have read shultz's book, and we still think they are way easier than mantids. What do you think is so hard about keeping tarantulas vs. mantids?

They may not be able to "enject" venom, but each T of the appropriate size is able to INJECT venom if they feel threatened!


----------



## Rick

> Not all tarantulas enject venom in you..although all tarantulas in the world have venom..NOO tarantulas are way harder to keep buy the book "The tarantula keepers guide" ( 289 pages) read the book and see how hard they are to keep....but then again that is just my opinion.
> 
> 
> 
> Where's the "emoticon" with the head banging against the wall when you need it!
> 
> Trust me Dino everyone here that is into Tarantulas have read shultz's book, and we still think they are way easier than mantids. What do you think is so hard about keeping tarantulas vs. mantids?
> 
> They may not be able to "enject" venom, but each T of the appropriate size is able to INJECT venom if they feel threatened!
Click to expand...

 :lol:


----------



## Leah

I like being able to see the mantids all the time. I have a H. lividum I've had about a year that I have seen about 4 times.


----------



## PseudoDave

Easier to keep and feed, just as nerve racking to breed, what more do we invert-adrenalin-junkies need?


----------



## garbonzo13

I think PseudoDave want to be a freelance rapper :wink: Was all that ryming on purpose? LOL


----------



## worldofmantis

> Easier to keep and feed, just as nerve racking to breed, what more do we invert-adrenalin-junkies need?


wow you are good dave woot woot


----------



## PseudoDave

Why thank you all I try my best  8)


----------



## Arachnids

Arachnids &amp; scorpions are awesome.


----------



## Jwonni

dont mind looking at tarantulas when i go to a zoo or such, but i have a fear of all spiders even little house ones so no chance of me having one in my house


----------



## infinity

I love them... kinda prefer the ones that don't mind being handled but then again there's nothing better than something that'll leap out the enclosure and bit whoever's looking in!

I currently have about 10 of them... 4 h.gigas and 6-7 l.parabana


----------



## Ian

I have to say, I would love some...but, the parents wont let me get any :roll:

Cheers,

Ian


----------



## Samzo

Ian, do what I do. Buy and don't tell..


----------



## Ian

yeah...I did it with a cham, so I dont see why not with a T  

Cheers,

Ian


----------



## Samzo

you can buy 1 of me.. if you want. i got 4 dont need 4.. lol


----------



## Chris Dickie

mantids are much easier to keep than T's

we're "officialy" not allowed snakes or T's in the house but it happens quite frequently, lol


----------



## Samzo

> Arachnids &amp; scorpions are awesome.


I was aware that arachnids were scorpions


----------



## Peloquin

Tarantulas are the best. No way are they harder to keep tham mantids.

The mortality rate in mantids is astounding compared to spiders. I work on 85% min survival in spiders. More like 85% mortality in mantids.

At one point I had around 5000 spiders, quite time consuming but dead easy.

The Africans are the best. Something nasty and fast- great. No humidity problems and no nasty hairs every time you spray them with water.

Just started building my spider collection up again ( I had to get rid of everything a few years ago).

So far I have 15 spiders, 12 scorpions and around 50 mantids.


----------



## Jesse

> mantids are much easier to keep than T's


Why or how? Just curious as to the reason behind your opinion....not trying to start a fight or anything.


----------



## PseudoDave

Tarantulas are just all-round more hardy in general. I've kept tarantulas on and off for as long as i've kept mantids and I find that tarantulas are just built for surviving. It's quite hard to explain as a 'definate reason', but like I say, they just seem to tolerate captivity at least a little better than our beloved mantids.

Dave


----------



## Arachnids

> Arachnids &amp; scorpions are awesome.
> 
> 
> 
> I was aware that arachnids were scorpions
Click to expand...

Arachnids arent' just scorps they are T's,mites,ticks ect.


----------



## PseudoDave

I think he was just pointing out that scorpions are arachnids, in view of the 'arachnids AND scorpions statement previously...

Although just to add a little spice to it all, there is research at the moment which may reclassify scorpions out of the arachnid group.. Groovy


----------



## Chris Dickie

> mantids are much easier to keep than T's
> 
> 
> 
> Why or how? Just curious as to the reason behind your opinion....not trying to start a fight or anything.
Click to expand...

No problem, its understandable that people would want to know how

Im told so by my brother, lol, who has bred 1000's of both and been one of the first/only people to breed certain mantis species - think 1 of the first in uk for some T species

generally speaking T's need:

less water/misting

less food

less time

of course no doubt there are exceptions but generally speaking this is why mantids are much easier than T's

T's can go without food for up to a year! Mantids could probablly last only a few weeks/months. This is an example of their "hardiness" in the wild, hope nobody does this in captivity, but I hope it helps back up what I say


----------



## Obie

I love tarantulas. Especially arborials like Avics and Pokies. Don't have any Ts at the moment though.


----------



## Jesse

> mantids are much easier to keep than T's
> 
> 
> 
> Why or how? Just curious as to the reason behind your opinion....not trying to start a fight or anything.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> No problem, its understandable that people would want to know how
> 
> Im told so by my brother, lol, who has bred 1000's of both and been one of the first/only people to breed certain mantis species - think 1 of the first in uk for some T species
> 
> generally speaking T's need:
> 
> less water/misting
> 
> less food
> 
> less time
> 
> of course no doubt there are exceptions but generally speaking this is why mantids are much easier than T's
> 
> T's can go without food for up to a year! Mantids could probablly last only a few weeks/months. This is an example of their "hardiness" in the wild, hope nobody does this in captivity, but I hope it helps back up what I say
Click to expand...

I think you wrote it down wrong, I think you meant to say T's are easier than mantids judging from what you wrote.....or am I just reading it wrong?


----------



## Reeves

Generally I'm not huge on tarantulas. They're okay I suppose, the really aggressive species are a little more interesting.

I did, however, just buy a T. blondi. 8)

Kind of a boring animal, completely un-responsive. It just sits in the same place for hours. This specimen also seems to be somewhat docile, but I love her just the same.

I like alot of invertebrates, my collection includes my T. blondi, a small colony of Mombo assassins, phasmids, widow spiders, and of course plenty of mantids. Mantids will always be my favorites.


----------



## Reeves

Centipedes seem somewhat interesting, but since they're hardly ever bred in captivity I can do without them. I refuse to buy animals that are not captive-bred.


----------



## zorak

i like manids more, but tarantulas are cool.


----------

