When I saw my first versicolor spiderling along with a picture of an adult I knew I had to have one. Three years later Avic versicolor is still one of my very favorite speices. The spiderlings are electric blue with dark black bumblebee markings. The blue coloration of the spiderlings is a deep rich metallic color that looks almost painted on. The adult coloration is equally attractive with freshly molted adults having a brilliant metallic green cephalothorax, a burgandy to wine colored abdomen, and dark almost black legs with lavender/purple hairs highlighting them. This species is absolutely fantastic both as one of the most colorful display spiders available and as a great even tempered pet. Versicolor are totally docile and just don't bite. They will run and jump but no biting ever. In fact in all the time I have kept tarantulas I have yet to find anyone who can describe a versicolor bite to me . From what I can tell and from my personal experience with this species I believe this to be because versicolors just do not bite in defense.
This species also reaches a nice size at around 6 inches and is both easy to keep and quick growing. Certainly among the best looking of all the tarantulas I treasure my versicolors and do not ever want my collection to be without them. If you don't have a versicolor in your collection, get one. You won't be sorry.
G pulchra is slightly smaller in legspan and perhaps a bit stockier than a B smithi when grown. They obtain a nice chunky shape and have a deep, rich black coloration as adults. Spiderlings are lighter and start to get black at just over 1 inch in size. Another comparison to B smithi would be G pulchra's temperement. You would be hard pressed to find a more docile species. G pulchra is known for it's extremely docile nature and lives up to it. The spiderlings eat voraciously and do very well in captivity. This species like most Grammostola species is one of the easiest of all the tarantulas to keep. Somewhat rare as adults and sporadicly available this species is one of the best regardless of your experience level.
The Horned Baboons derive their name from the horn like structure on the cephalothorax unique to the Ceratogyrus genus. C marshalli has a very pronounced black horn that rises straight up on a nice light colored almost chalky grey body color. The Abdomen is covered in nicely pronounced black flecks and lines as is the cephalothorax. These are a very attractive species although somewhat subdued in color. C marshalli is a species that seems to favor an environment on the drier side as seems to be the case with most of the horned baboons.
C marshalli can exibit a surprisingly fast rate of speed for a stocky, fat terrestrial. This species usually will not hesitate to display a threat posture when disturbed and will also bite. This is an easy to keep species and is truly unique as are all the horned baboons.
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