I spilled water on myself, honest.

[Cruciform]

I was at the pet store yesterday picking up some food for the critters and I went back into the corner where they keep the animals and started browsing the "critter keeper" enclosure, basically a number of small critter keepers stacked in a larger display window.

There was a new medium sized cage under the one which housed the 'rough green snake', so I thought I'd take a peek and see what was there.

I almost wet my pants.

The hugest freakin' spider I've ever seen in person was just sitting there, quietly menacing me with it's evil presence.

Okay, so it wasn't evil. Or menacing. He wasn't really doing anything. But I've never seen a Goliath Plate Spider (as the label said) in person before. I'm not sure if the title was right, or a mix up of goliath bird eater and the plate spider (are they one in the same?), but I have to say it was one impressive creature.

As someone who has always been very very creeped out by spiders, I found it strange that I really wanted to take it home with me. Not the best impulse buy to make, so it's still at the store.

I'd have to sneak it past the girlfriend anyway :)

But for curiousities sake, what kind of temperament would they have. Can you hold them? Or are they specifically for show only?

I imagine even if not dangerous it would hurt like hell to catch a bite from one.

[marisa]

I have a large species of tarantula (Brazilian salmon birdeater Lasiodora parahybana) and he is very docile usually and if we choose to I am sure handling would go fine. I thought a bigger spider would mean more caution, harder to clean cage etc, but in reality it makes things easier and it's not much different than keeping the normal 4-5 inch tarantulas, at least not in my experience.

I am very scared of spiders including tarantulas but keeping them is a totally different thing. Handling is near ziltch, and cleaning + care is so simple they are awesome to keep. In my mind, the bigger the better. I feel like the bigger ones have no possible way to escape while those tiny babies or small species might sneak out a crack! LOL. that's my dilusional feelings about it anyway. lol :)

Marisa

[reptile boi]

Hey Cruciform,

A goliath can be handleable if it was handled and tamed down when it was young, but if its a large WC then it will most likely be very agressive and rub off extremely irritating hairs from its abdomen. Oh and btw, u will get a bad rash if u touched the spider without gloves from the hair and goliaths are known to give u the worst rash out of any other tarantula species in the world.




Thanks,
Ben

[LPacker79]

T. blondi tends to be a big bluffer, but with 1" fangs I wouldn't test her temper. They are big on kicking hairs though, and Theraphosa is known to posess the worse urticating setae out there.

Also.......you can not tame a tarantula. They're wild and primitive and don't have the brain function to "get used to" handling.

[Pixie]

I have a Goliath bird eater myself and it's by far one of my favorites in my collection.

Some have been able to handle them on some occasions but few actually do attempt it! They are on the more aggressive side but as LPacker79 mentionned, most just "bluff", i.e. Rush or "pounce" and slap with their front legs. How often they actually bite? It's not something that is well documented and most don't bother trying to find out, myself included!

It's one thing to risk a bite when handling a tarantula, a wee bit different when the T is huge and has 1" fangs! What if it doesn't let go right away? Eek, I'm cringing at the thought!!!

But in general, they are quite easy to keep especially when they are 2 1/2" or bigger (they are more fragile as spiderlings). One thing that is fun about this species is it's voracious appetite, their stomachs are bottomless!

Pixie

P.S. It is impossible to "tame" a tarantula, either that individual is more tolerant or not, regardless or being CB or WC. I've seen many WC nice and "tame" and many CB turn out "psycho". One can't count on raising a young one to be sure it turns out tame. The best one can stretch it with this idea is getting a relatively docile T more accustomed to outings, less stressfull. Even then, it's still a stretch.

[reptile boi]

yea, well, it was 2am when i wrote that and couldnt think of any other word lol, thanks for correcting me though.





Thanks,
Ben

[Cruciform]

I imagine their tolerance is a matter of genetics, brain chemistry or even possibly diet chemistry.

What do you feed a captive goliath? Mice? day old chicks? exceptionally small children?:)

PS. if you have any favorite links on them, please post. or links showcasing your own :)

[Pixie]

yea, well, it was 2am when i wrote that and couldnt think of any other word lol, thanks for correcting me though.

No problem :) I've written some really wierd stuff when really tired!! It's just something that I don't want newbies to think really possible, that a tarantula can be tamed as we do with other animals we "domesticate".

Some are a total joy to handle, in my collection my "tamest" Ts are: b. smithi (CB), a. anax (WC), g. rosea (WC), g. aureotriata (CB).

What do you feed a captive goliath? Mice? day old chicks? exceptionally small children?

LOL!!! You almost made me shoot my drink out of my nose reading that! If children were small enough, I'm sure that t. blondis would have no issue making a meal out of them!

I feed mine rat pinks and young rat fuzzies at the moment with a cricket meal here and there. I don't like feeding crickets much to my "Tonka" (her/his name) as it needs at least 2 doez big crix for one little meal!

It just molted about a week ago and I'm planning to take some new pics of my Tonka. I'll try getting them up by the end of the day :)

It's about 6" now, was 2 1/2" when I got it about 6-7 months ago! Love seeing how fast they put size on!

Pixie

[bubba]

I'm not a big spider fan myself but just out of curiosity, how big do these goliath plate spiders get? Does anyone have any pictures? I guess I just need a good scare today.

[Tarcan]

Theraphosids are observation animals and should not be handled. I always have a very firm position on that issue.

If you want to take good care of T. blondi, it requires special husbandry making this particular species not extremely well suited for someone who starts in the hobby.

WC specimens normally do poor in captivity because of the methods of capture in the wild and the bad treatment that follows until it gets sold to a hobbyist. When you give them optimum conditions, they will normally get back inshape. I never lost a WC of that species, but many people do.


The basic diet of theraphosids in the wild are insects not vertebrates.

[SaIiLdVaEnR]

Yep, I want one, :P

I love them, and am looking around for some deals on slings.

Aidan

[Pixie]

Unfortunately, my "Tonka" was not cooperating with me today for a picture session. Only wanted to stay in it's burrow... Another day then.

Here are a couple pics,

A very crappy pic of Tonka:
http://www.pixiecreatures.com/photos/tonka01.jpg

And a picture of Tonka's set up (yes, that's it's legs :) )
http://www.pixiecreatures.com/photos/tonkatank.jpg

As soon as I find Tonka out of it's burrow, I will take better pics.

Pixie

[m1k3_88]

Pixie, how do u make the burrow?

[Dragoon]

Hello.
I've shown this pic before, here it is again for the new guy.
This is Courtney.
I am guessing from her much lighter color than Tonka, and the fact she has not eaten for two months or so, its a prelude to a molt.
She's been pushing up the peat in front of her clay pot and webbing it all down smooth. But a curious thing? I saw her twisting up her spinnerets to pat down the edge of her clay pot (whoa! can that pedicel twist!) and down again to pat the ground...but there was no web! Or very, very little coming out of her spinnerets. She was going to a lot of trouble, and getting no webs out of the deal.
Could something be wrong with her? Anyone?
D.
<img src="http://varanid.mvd2.com/files/dragoon/Courtleggy.jpg">

[Pixie]

The burrow in Tonka's tank (also Charlotte's my b. smithi) is called a foamarium.

It was "invented" by a vet in the U.S. named Tom McDonnel a few years back to showcase in fish aquariums and other small animal tanks. It's made of a special non-toxic aquarium foam and IMO is PERFECT for setting up some tarantula tanks.

You can read his own words about foamariums here, 2nd post from the top:
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16535&perpage=5&highlight=foamarium&pagenumber=2

I was lucky to have bought mine at great prices on Ebay. Unfortunately, I haven't seen them back up on Ebay in over a year.

Quite a few dealers offer them, google the word "foamarium" and you will get a few people who resell them.

I have tried them with other animals in the past (cornsnakes and leopard geckos), although the animals absolutely loved them, I had to take them out because the animals were too messy with natural functions to keep the foam properly clean.

For tarantulas on the other hand, they make absolutely wonderful setup that are almost too perfect! All the T's that I have introduced to this type of setup has adopted the burrow immediately!

Here are pics of what my cobalt blue did within the first few days of having her foamarium setup:
http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12457&highlight=cobalt+blue

There are some drawbacks: Getting your T out of it's burrow is really hard if it dosn't want out! I know, I tried tonight and couldn't get Tonka out for some pics.

Ts love it so much that those who like to hide, never come out!!! After my cobalt webbed her burrow up so I couldn't see her, it was at least 6 months before I saw her again!!! She was moved back into a critter keeper as she never used the rest of the space in her tank. If I'm not going to see her, why bother with the foamarium at all!!!

Currently I have 2 set ups like this, Tonka and Charlotte, here are some pics:
http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12458&highlight=charlotte

I have 2 other spares that I am planning to set up shortly, the Ts are still too small to get a 10g tank, g. aureostriata and l. parahybana.

I most likely will get more in time and set up more Ts that I have this way. I absolutely love them and can't say enough good stuff about these inserts for Ts and I LOVE the way they look and that I can see my Ts while they're in their burrows.

Pixie

[Pixie]

Dragoon:

For the coloring, I think the "age" of the tarantula is a big factor in it's coloring. Almost all the pics of young goliaths I've seen are like Tonka, dark brown with some reddish/pinkish hairs. Older, they seem to turn into a lighter but richer brown.

I can't wait till my Tonka gets to be that beautiful brown :)

As for the webbing, in my experience, they don't web much if at all. I wouldn't worry about the behavior you described, they probably don't produce as heavy silk as other species. (Some seem to produce multiple silk strands at once, others just one or two (completely personal observation)). Sometimes the webbing is so fine that we can't see it until it's gotten a few layers of it, my guess is that's what's going on with your T.

Mine just weaved a thin web mat when it's about to molt. My guess is that yours is probably doing the same :)

I must say, VERY nice specimen you have there!!! :D

Pixie

[bubba]

You may have a convert here. The pictures of the Mexican Red Knee really impressed me. There must be many books out there for beginner tarantula owners. Any suggestions? Thanks

[Pixie]

I must warn you though, it's a very addictive hobby!!! IMO even more so than herps!

There are a few books out there to read up on their basic care, the first that comes to mind is the classic by Stan Schultz "The Tarantula's Keepers guide". Not sure on the exact spelling but it's something very similar to that.

Martin at www.TarantulaCanada.ca has a great book review section, I will let him make the better book suggestions :)

There is a lot of good info on the web for basic tarantula care, here are a few links to start you off:
www.arachnopets.com - www.arachnoboards.com
www.spidertalk.net
www.atshq.org (American Tarantula Society)

What I love most about Ts is a tie between the awesome display animals they are and their easy care and maintenance. I love getting to watch them anytime I want and even after years of having them and different species, I NEVER get bored with them.

Don't be shy to ask any more questions :)

Pixie

[bubba]

I looked at some spiders at a local reptile show but they didn;t have any mexican red knees. Do these come under any other names? But, the spider thing may never happen anyway 'cause the ole lady sez NO SPIDERS! And here I was about to confront one of my biggest fears. I think I would actually do well with a spider like the Mexican Red Knee. Pretty little buggers.

[TheRedDragon]

Originally posted by Pixie
I must warn you though, it's a very addictive hobby!!! IMO even more so than herps!



I hear you there! We're up to three, and I'm sure I'll have at least 10 more by the end of this year! :D