Is golden knee a good starter tarantula. I heard on the web.

Question

New to tarantulas but always loved them.

Answer 1

Are you talking about the Chaco Golden Knee? Grammostola aureostriata?

AWSOME species - one of my personal favorites! My mom loves them too! I actually bought her an adult female for mothers day ;)

at 8.5 inches they are the largest species that is docile enough to handle - that right there sold me on them.

However their price might put them out of range for the "beginner" The adult females will run you around $200. (I NEVER suggest getting a male as a pet). Slings can be bought for under $50 - but that is definately NOT a good choice for a newbie. Spiderlings don't come with gender garuntees, also more people loose spiders during molts than any other time - and a sling will molt ALOT. You have to be VERY careful to have the right temperature, and humidity for sling raising - Even a dedicated spider room. Mites or even left over food can and will kill a molter.

Also chacos are SLOOOOOOOOW growers. Takes years for them to fully mature.

Great animal - but you might want to wait a while before dedicating your self to one. I suggest a Chilean Rose Hair tarantual as a starter, they are in the same family as the golden knees (Grammostola) but an adult female will run you abotu $15.

Rose hairs are also very forgiving care wise - they do fine in room temperature, and can go up to a year without food!