Info on Psalmopoeus Irminia?

[Annie]

I've been absolutely fascinated with this species for quite a while, and as much as I love my Euathlus sp, I just need another T. Very addicting they are. So Jamie has a special bundle for a 1" sling and enclosure of this species and I'm seriously itching to take advantage of it. Anyone have any advice for me? I'm still new to the T world and I really don't need another T but... well... I do need another T. If you have other species suggestions I'm open to anything

 

[leaveittoweaver]

Have you dealt with any Avics before? I would do avics before going to Psalms just to get used to arboreals and their speed.

 

[Annie]

The only kind I've had is my Euathlus sp. I almost started with an A. Aviculara or an A. Metallica, but decided to start with a terrestrial first

 

[leaveittoweaver]

The only kind I've had is my Euathlus sp. I almost started with an A. Aviculara or an A. Metallica, but decided to start with a terrestrial first

That was a good call I would star with A.avic or A.metallica then and get some hands on experience before getting into Psalms if it was me

 

[Annie]

That was a good call I would star with A.avic or A.metallica then and get some hands on experience before getting into Psalms if it was me

So which would you suggest, and how different are arboreals going to be to care for?

 

[MassExodus]

The only kind I've had is my Euathlus sp. I almost started with an A. Aviculara or an A. Metallica, but decided to start with a terrestrial first

They're gorgeous, very intolerant of light, or many are, they only come out at night, they're faster and more defensive than Avics. I think the irminia only get around six inches, could be wrong. Mine's still a juvie. Fair warning, I've heard many people say their irminia has a really bad attitude. Ive also seen a few people say they were docile. Supposedly the bite from these are on the high end of the new world potency spectrum. Painful but not too bad. Mine is just skittish, so far. Really gorgeous spiders though. They will come out of an enclosure very quickly if you startle them. If you want a spider that shows itself, I recommend another species Avics are fantastic, my favorite genus among arboreals. Bold, active, and for personality you can't beat an A avic, or from what I hear, the A metallica. Versicolor are beauties, the prettiest arboreals in my opinion. I've never seen more vivid colors then on my versis.
Poecis are great too, I have an adult female regalis and a juvie female metallica. Both are just skittish, although they have their limits and will throw up a threat pose if disturbed too much. The regalis hides constantly, the metallica rarely. Both of these spiders have teleported onto me, both were well behaved when it happened, though. Thankfully. I dont intentionally handle old world species. They're a bit more to handle then a Psalmopeous or an Avic. And I hear their bite hurts like hell. In my experience, the three most unpredictable spiders are Poecis, obts, and C lividus. That's from my own collection, though.

 

[Annie]

They're gorgeous, very intolerant of light, or many are, they only come out at night, they're faster and more defensive than Avics. I think the irminia only get around six inches, could be wrong. Mine's still a juvie. Fair warning, I've heard many people say their irminia has a really bad attitude. Ive also seen a few people say they were docile. Supposedly the bite from these are on the high end of the new world potency spectrum. Painful but not too bad. Mine is just skittish, so far. Really gorgeous spiders though. They will come out of an enclosure very quickly if you startle them. If you want a spider that shows itself, I recommend another species Avics are fantastic, my favorite genus among arboreals. Bold, active, and for personality you can't beat an A avic, or from what I hear, the A metallica. Versicolor are beauties, the prettiest arboreals in my opinion. I've never seen more vivid colors then on my versis.
Poecis are great too, I have an adult female regalis and a juvie female metallica. Both are just skittish, although they have their limits and will throw up a threat pose if disturbed too much. The regalis hides constantly, the metallica rarely. Both of these spiders have teleported onto me, both were well behaved when it happened, though. Thankfully. I dont intentionally handle old world species. They're a bit more to handle then a Psalmopeous or an Avic. And I hear their bite hurts like hell. In my experience, the three most unpredictable spiders are Poecis, obts, and C lividus. That's from my own collection, though.

Thats such a bummer they are such shy spiders! I like the P. irmirnia for their gorgeous coloring, and I was hoping it would be an entertaining spider. Since I've got such a calm and... well... very inactive T already, I'm looking for something that actually does something. I used to be big on 'I want something that I can hold' but now that isn't important to me at all, so attitude sounds great! I'm trying to keep away from the Old World types for now, mainly because I've heard some horror stories about the very pretty Orange Bitey thing. I'm not picky on if it's a glamorous colorful spider, I'll take a spider with personality over something pretty any day. So anything come to mind now that you know more what I'm looking for? I really like your suggestions so far, versicolor is such a gorgeous spider, and I've heard they get prettier with every molt.

 

[Chubbs]

I recommend cambridgei before irminia as they're a bit calmer and less prone to aggressive behavior. P.irminia are very very fast, and one of the most defensive New World species. If you know nothing about this genus at all, I suggest doing some reading up on the entire genus, If you're expecting a beautiful spider though that you can show off to guests, you're going to be extremely disappointed. This is probably the most reclusive of the genus, and they spend most of their time hidden away. Psalmopoeus species are great intermediate tarantulas, but I would not recommend any of them as a first arboreal. For the record, there are Old Worlds with much worse venom than P.murinus (such as Pokies), but what makes the OBT worse than many of these is not only its attitude, but its unpredictability and spazzy behavior. P.irminia is quite a bit more defensive than Pokies, but it lacks the powerful venom (although Psalmo venom is still quite strong by New World standards and reported to be very painful.)

 

[Annie]

Ok, well now you guys have really made me want an A. Versicolor. I appreciate the help, I really know very little about different species and genuses and all that
So how hard is an a. versicolor to take care of as a sling?

 

[MassExodus]

Ok, well now you guys have really made me want an A. Versicolor. I appreciate the help, I really know very little about different species and genuses and all that
So how hard is an a. versicolor to take care of as a sling?

Easy. Avicularia need a lot of cross ventilation, its the most important thing. Just give a sling a water dish and maybe moisten the substrate on one side every few months, but let it dry out. The main thing is fresh water in a dish, suitable decor to web to, and heavy cross ventilation. Do not let your substrate get wet or muddy, just moisten it and let it dry out. Many people don't make it rain for avics because overly humid, stuffy conditions are blamed for killing them, so they just provide a water dish. I only do it rarely, as a treat or to simulate rain in the wild. Don't let it get colder than about 70 at night, 75 or 80 in the day, and enjoy watching a cute electric blue sling turn into a purple legged beauty

 

[Chubbs]

Ok, well now you guys have really made me want an A. Versicolor. I appreciate the help, I really know very little about different species and genuses and all that
So how hard is an a. versicolor to take care of as a sling?

Not that hard really. Slings are of course going to be a bit more fragile than juveniles and adults. Avic slings seem to have a higher death rate than other genera, but this is most of the time due to improper keeping conditions. You see with the majority of tarantulas, there are basic conditions that should be met, but due to many species (particularly beginner's species), being more hardy and adaptable, they are less susceptible to death as a result of some of these conditions not being met. With many of these you can sort of "bend the rules" or tweak things a bit more than you can with Avics. Avicularia can be just as tough as any tarantula, but they (at least the slings) can be a bit more difficult for someone who is still trying to lear and apply just the basics of tarantula care in general. This is simply due to the fact that tarantulas in this genus have somewhat more ummm.... specific (?) needs/requirements. The "rules" are not quite as bendable with them. You can tweak things a bit still, but certain things just don't seem to bode well with them. For example, I have noticed that Avicularia seem to thrive more when given lots of cross-ventilation (and little to no top-ventilation), while being kept on drier substrate. An often fatal mistake that many people make is reading online care sheets which claim that these need lots of humidity (not completely true but for the sake of keeping things simple and somewhat short, I will save that info for later), and keeping the enclosure too moist and stuffy while not providing enough ventilation. This restricts the airflow, resulting in a stagnant and stuffy enclosure, which a lot of times can result in a dead Avic. Slings you can keep a bit more moist, but you should never sacrifice ventilation for extra humidity. This is very vital when it comes to keeping Avics. Really, all they need for humidity is a full water dish, and a small bottle cap will do just fine for even the tiniest of slings. Avics certainly aren't an advanced genus, but they require a bit more attention to certain details than most other "beginner's" species.

 

[Annie]

Great! So, lets say I get a 1" sling, how big of an enclosure should I give it? I know they need a tall enclosure, and as both of you have said a lot of cross ventilation. And is it true they grow rather fast? Oh and is it possible to go overboard on cross ventilation?

 

[MassExodus]

Id say they have a medium growth rate. And personally, I don't think there's such a thing as too much ventilation. For a one inch sling, I would use one of those small cubes from the container store or hobby lobby, I'd get the taller one, I think it's 6" tall x 4 wide x4 deep. Drill holes, and voila. Give them plastic plants or upright cork bark to web to, an inch of substrate, water dish, you're golden Versi slings are fun to raise. You'll miss them when they grow up

 

[Annie]

I already have an enclosure in mind, its a 5 1/2" tall, 4 1/2" in diameter soup container. Semi clear plastic and I can put in a ton of holes. Could I use that?

 

[MassExodus]

I already have an enclosure in mind, its a 5 1/2" tall, 4 1/2" in diameter soup container. Semi clear plastic and I can put in a ton of holes. Could I use that?

Of course, sounds perfect. I just recommend the little cubes because they're really clear and cheap.

 

[MassExodus]

Hmm. I meant to post a different pic, Lol, but it seems I'm having technical difficulties, this is my genic. I'm not sure how she's relevant to the discussion..

 

[Annie]

Hmm. I meant to post a different pic, Lol, but it seems I'm having technical difficulties, this is my genic. I'm not sure how she's relevant to the discussion..

She's gorgeous, that's all the excuse she needs to be relevant lol