I've been wanting to get a tarantula for a while. Anyone have any tips or experience on what to look for?

I had them when I was young (they at least used to be fairly common in AZ so they were captured, not bought).  Like most things I caught, I'd keep them for a while then let them go.

They aren't too bad to keep but they molt as they grow and after I had two in a row fail to come out of molt I quit catching them.  When they molt they go into a form of hibernation while they grow a new skin under their old skin, then they wake up and shed the old skin.  One never woke up, the other did not successfully shed his/her skin; died trying so to speak.

So my advice would be to find out how to enhance their molt survivability...maybe a professional tarantula keeper knows.

Great pets. Had bunch of them, raised babies to adults. Go with adult rose hair to get started they are very docile. Frankly the biggest issue is having the proper sized  food available usually gut bombed crickets.

Yep, I used to be a breeder for exotics (Tarantulas, Scorpions, Monitor Lizards, Snakes like Colombian Redtails, Green Tree Pythons, Ball Python Morphs, King snakes ..etc.)

You want tons of info on Tarantulas...  head over and register at Arachnoboards.com. They have tons of stuff on owning, breeding, selling & buying. Millions of pics too!

faunaclassifieds.com is a good place to start as well, although it is more designed for reptiles/amphibians.

i started with a chilean rose.  pretty easy pet in general.

Holy shit. This site is like the Arfcom of tarantulas. Not sure if they have an area of asshattery quite like GD, but the amount of knowledge and technical information is on par with our tech forums.

Wow interesting to know that you used to be a breeder!

Currently I have a chilean rose hair.  I got him as an adult, and have had him for about 8 years now, so he's getting to be an old man
I cant speak on personal experience about other tarantulas, but I do know that they are different.  The rose hairs are unbelievably easy to care for though.

They are fine in room temperature houses, and dont need a light at all(they actually don't like light).  Just change the water every few days, and feed them a couple crickets every 1-2 weeks.  Thats all there is to it.

Other tarantulas need higher temps and humidities.....it all depends on where they are from....tropical, etc.
Also, some are not too fond on being handled.  Rose hairs are fine, but some like the cobalt blues, goliaths....will show their fangs

Yep,

On Arachnoboards, I used the same screen name. Do a search and check out some of my old posts.

I currently have a Chilean Rose Hair.

Heres a link to my post here on AR15.com
http://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=1&f=154&t=757204

Heres a link to some of what I had over the years. This link has 10 pages of pics and whatnot.

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?48501-ChrisNCT-s-Picture-Thread...-New-T-s-Molts-etc.

Heres the last pic thread I put up there. Many pages long of pics.
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?91430-ChrisNCT-s-Picture-Thread-2-...-New-T-s-amp-Molts

WOW

Thats an AMAZING collection, I really like the setup the GTP is in!
The Goliath Birdeater must be impressive in person.  I've only seen them in photos.
I'm really liking the plant decor in the room

I just posted a pic in this thread http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_154/1440985_Snake_keepers_help_needed.html
Its an enclosure i just finished a few days ago for 2 pythons and my rose hair.

Damn that's a nice collection. I'm going to start with a Chilean Rose Hair, from the reading and pics I've looked at on that site, it seems like getting a plastic container at Wal Mart and drilling some ventilation holes is a hell of a lot cheaper than getting a tank at the pet store.

Would you recommend getting a tarantula from a pet store as a starter, or finding a breeder online?

Tupperwares are nice. They hold humidty very well if you are housing stuff that needs good humidity. The key with the holes is that you put enough to create air flow while keeping moisture in. Too many holes it will dry out quickly. Too little holes it will cause Mold inside.

Lucky for you guys, Chilean Rose Hairs like it on the dry side for the most part. Keep a water dish full of water and mist once and awhile. The area they are from is a semi dry scrubland. They are not a forest tarantula.

Also, keep the substrate high. They will climb sometimes and a good fall will rupture they abdomen and end up killing them. If rule of thumb, if the container is 9" tall, fill 3" of substrate.  Or no higher than 3X the size of the Tarantula. This is for Terrestrial Tarantulas.

If you are going to Arboreal "Climbing" Tarantulas, then you can go as tall as you want.

If you guys want a great breeder or some good links.,.. PM and  I'll get you hooked up! I still know allot of breeders that are doing it. One of them is here in CT.

before i let mine go at the ranch she would eat the little white mice you get from petco

I'm avoiding Arboreals until I have some experience with Terrestrials. If the Chilean Rose is used to a dry climate, is there any risk of overdoing or underdoing it with the holes?

No reason to avoid Arboreal Tarantulas. They are great as well. I like to watch the Avicularis species "Various Kind of Pink Toed Tarantulas" walk around on the glass walls in side the cage. They sometime jump from branch to branch. There are more option with those enclosures too. More foliage, Vines, cork bark tubes or panels,  more of a rainforest atmosphere which I like.

Put as many holes in the Chilean Rose enclosure as you want. Just keep a water dish full. Use those cheap plastic condiment containers. No need for a ceramic dish. The ones that look like the cup that comes with cough syrup.

Yea me personally I would actually lean more towards an arboreal tarantula.  My only experience has been with my rose hair, but I would think that with an arboreal you have a lot more choices in making their terrarium nice.  You can put branches, plants, etc. that they can climb all over.  With the ground dwellers, you have to be careful with what you put in their enclosure.  You don't want anything to high so they don't fall.

Like Chris said the tropical species also allow you to make the terrariums much nicer.... like a jungle.  The rose hair setups are usually kind of bland....

The flip-side is, rose hairs are VERY easy to make happy.  Tropical species require more initial cost/maintenance. But once proper levels are achieved they're easy too.

My new Chilean Rose in its cage.

Lookin good man!

Wait until you see him take a sip of water

Oh and if you ever see him upside down, or it looks like you now have 2 rose hairs.....he is molting/molted lol

Rehousing an Old World species is something everyone should experience

Nice African species!    Pterinochilus murinus... also known as OBT. " Orange Bitey Thing".

Those are bad ass. Definitely on my list of tarantulas to have someday.

Figured I'd throw up a pic of the enclosure if anyone could make any suggestions for me.



Substrate is 2" deep, about 4" from lid to top of substrate. Container was bought at Wal Mart for less than $4, all I had to do was drill some vent holes in the lid. Spider likes to stay inside the hide most of the time.

What I like to do is push up the substrate on the back side of the half log so it's blocked in the back, then push the substrate around the opening of the front so it's more like a hole than a tunnel if that makes sense.  
Also grab a small plant or 2 from petco or any pet store in the reptile section, just to give the enclosure some color....no benefit to the rose hair lol.

Edit: kinda looks like you did that when I looked closer.