Aphonopelmas anyone?

[Experiment397]

hey does anyone on here own any aphonopelma tarantulas? i am getting one from my gpa in a few days. cant wait. if so please post what species, and its tank setup. if ya got em go ahead and post some pix. mine is a aphonopelma chalcodes, in a 10 gallon with sand, cholla wood, and sandstone slabs. now lets hear yours!!!

 

[snakeguy101]

They are awesome, we had a few at the pet store I worked at and I about bought one. very calm tarantulas that can make for great display animals and are hardy enough to take handling on a regular basis.

 

[Experiment397]

yup, which is why i am getting an aphonopelma chalcodes instead of a brachypelma boehmei. i will be taking him to educational programs for the elementary school anually.

 

[snakeguy101]

very cool. Be sure to let us know when you get it!

 

[Experiment397]

you got it

 

[katschamne]

We have several species of Aphonopelmas. We have all of ours in containers from the Container Store or in delis depending on the size of the tarantulas. If you do some extra research most people don't recommend using sand in the enclosure. Even though the tarantula have an exoskeleton they are still a very soft body animal unlike a scorpion. Sand is a very abrasive substrate also their book lungs are on the underside of them. We use peat moss or coco fiber that is very dry for ours. Also I would recommend if you use a 10 gallon tank for it's set-up to make sure that the substrate is no more then 1 1/2 times the length of the spider. Since it is a terrestrial species a fall from greater height can be fatal. You can use a very deep layer of substrate. It may even burrow down. for more information I recommend the following "The Tarantula Keeper's Guide", and arachnoboards.com

Here is a partial list of Aphonopelmas that we have. I know this isn't a complete list.
0.1.0 A. behlei
0.1.0 A. chalcodes
0.1.0 A. anax
1.1.0 A. hentzi
0.0.3 A. moderatum
0.0.3 A. paysoni
0.1.1 A. seemani
0.1.0 A. sp "Carlsbad green"
0.1.0 A. sp "Cochise"
0.0.1 A. sp "New River"

 

[Experiment397]

nice. i know about the coco fiber, but since he is wild, i dont wanna switch him off of what he is used to.

 

[katschamne]

Even though they are commonly known as the desert blonde they actually come from scrub lands not pure sand. If you want to try and keep a more naturalistic environment mix the sand with the Eco earth or peat moss.

 

[Masa06]

Sounds fun can't wait to see pics! I would want a tarantula but i'm arachnophobic.

 

[katschamne]

Sounds fun can't wait to see pics! I would want a tarantula but i'm arachnophobic.

The best way to over come irrational fears is to face it head on. Educate yourself and most of the time you come to see that what most people fear are usually based off of misconceptions. I had a huge fear of snakes, but I work in a pet store and my husband has two. They still aren't my favorite but I understand and respect them and I can handle them if need to be.