Pokies

[Ghost_Keeper]

Has anyone kept tarantulas in the poecilotheria genus? Looking to get P. Regalis but want to know what its like, as I mainly keep arboreals and want an old world T.

 

[Ranitomeya]

I keep Poecilotheria metallica, and they've done well with the same conditions I keep my Avicularia, just a little bit more dry.

I keep them well-ventilated and provide them with a source of water. If you insist on keeping them very humid with moist substrate, you'll want even more ventilation to avoid condensation. They do come from an environment where it gets dry part of the year and then extremely wet due to monsoons, so it would be good to try to mimic that to keep them well-cycled.

 

[Ghost_Keeper]

Okay! thank you very much. I'm going to the January repticon to get a P. Metallica and a P. Regalis, and I have a regalis tank premade for a 1 inch sling, and Avics are what I mainly keep (so pretty) so this will help me out a lot!

 

[Ranitomeya]

Yes, I thoroughly enjoy my Avicularia. They're pretty, docile, and fairly undemanding. Poecilotheria are similarly pleasing, but they get so much bigger, are so much faster, and come with a considerably more dangerous bite.
I have no problems handling my Avicularia, but the Poecilotheria are something I only handle if they're freshly molted. Otherwise, they're too fast and make me nervous.

 

[Ghost_Keeper]

Yeah, I love handling my T's, so I'm training myself with my first tarantula, a very skittish and aggressive A. Avic who would bite rather than let me touch her, so I'm training myself with her not to handle these spiders. On the opposite side of the spectrum, I have a G Pulchripes who will let me handle her all the time.