C darlingi was my first and a great choice! Still have her and went on to get a C marshalli and sanderi as well. I love the whole genius. But here I am going on 5 yrs in the hobby and I just got my first M balfouri 😅 not my fav to rehouse I’ve learned. Might need to check out that stout leg tho!! Beautiful. Never heard of them before!

Wish I had the balls to move from new world too old. Been keeping T's 16 years. Massive respect to the peeps that keep old worlds

I love that type of background where you can sometimes see the Tarantula's walkin around.

My first old world was a Harpactira Pulchripes. She's really chill and only gave me a threat posture once, when I accidently dropped her food on top of her lol. If she's not in pre-molt, she will always come out at night. She doesn't dig but she loves the hide I gave her.

The marshalli is the reason I got into t's , my youngest son was called Marshall and marshalli was his knick name , I lost my son to an asthma attack 2 years ago, not long after I was watching KZfaq with my eldest looking researching spider for his homework when we found a vid about the marshalli and that was it I was hooked, I have 35 tarantula now all nw but the marshalli will always be my favourite because of this reason , its nice to see them get a mention amazing species ❤ great vid Tom and great list 😊

I love that you always remind people of the specimen to specimen rule. My C. Minax is an absolute angel but my first Balfouri is super fiesty and I remember being surprised by it. 😅 Great list and video Tom! Your videos always make my day.

Dipping my toes into old world, ordered a c. Darlingi, arrives Tuesday from fear not tarantulas. You’re videos have been so sooo helpful in preparing myself

One thing to note about The horned specimens to help out people who want a marshalli or darlingi but still are not ready to make leap to old worlds, there is a new world horned specie called Sphaerobothria hoffmanni (sadly its like the stout leg, its rarely available i've noticed) In other notes, Oddly enough my first old world was a Poecilotheria regalis (Mine has had a super chill demeanor, and since it had plenty of places to hide, it has never given any threat postures or teleporting behavior, other then teleporting to its log to hide, but usually they just sit out in open when i do maintenance or change water etc =)

The horned tarantulas look awesome!

Brilliant video Tom, very informative and enjoyable as usual, great choices 👍 Tom on the list and it gives options to anyone who wants to get into old worlds 🌎.

Another solid video Tom!

great list, very informative! thank you

So far I only have new worlds, but sure am glad the M. balfouri and the H. pulcripes are on the list as these are 2 old worlds I just adore the look of. One of these days.... and the first one E. pachypus is amazing! Wish there were more out there in the hobby. Love you videos and always click immediately when I get notification of Tom's Big Spiders drop. :)

Another good one !

I am doing my research on some old worlds to start with. I have 6 NW as of now and have really enjoyed them. Now I wanna move into just a couple old worlds. Thanks for your hard work on these videos and all the information you put out. It has helped me a lot. Have a great day bro

The video that i've been wanting to see for this whole time about beginner OW. Thanks man, looking forward to get those non urticating Ts

Awesome list! I can’t wait to pick up some of these guys in the near future.

I will say this every time I comment till I’m blue in the face most underrated channels period!!! Love you Tom you taught me so many things over the last 5-6 years and I never lost a t that wasn’t a mature male because I use you for care info just got my first female t stirmi young adult female and 4 inche juvenile that im hoping is a male

awesome picks.

Hi Tom, great video as always. I've just picked up my 1st old world. A H pulchrapies, absolutely stunning T. It's only a large sling but so far really docile. I'm looking forward to watching it grow! 😊😊

Thanks Tom you are the best...

Great video, Tom. I have 3 of the 5 you mentioned. For me, the biggest thing I learned so far about Old Worlds, is their speed. They're on a completely different level. You've mentioned it before but I couldn't comprehend it until I saw it myself.

Thanks Tom! Just getting into the old worlds and have 2 of these: H. pulchripes (6 months) and H. villosella (1 year)....I picked these based on a lot of reading and videos and was happy to see them both on your list. Also happy to report that we are all getting along just fine. Interesting to hear that the villosella can be kept communal.

the fact tat you actually do respond to all coments even after a year says a lot lol you just got a sub and thanks for the info!

Great list. Of course I’m sad no pokies are in there but I get it. The thing about pokies for me is that they demand so much respect from the keeper that they actually make me more relaxed and focused when I deal with them. Specially when compared to my bolty LPs or hair kicking curly hair. I guess it really all comes down to individuals!!

This video is fantastic!! My first were the Harpactira pulchripes, Ceratogyrus marshaIli and the C. darlingi. I love them. My H pulchripes is so awesome .. Its feeding response is insane lol

Hey Tom! Just got done with the podcast that's sort of the cousin to this video and can definitely say it was this kind of list that helped me make my earliest choices in the hobby. I started keeping Old Worlds after only a couple of months but as you say, it's totally up to the confidence and past experience of the individual. As we've discussed I had zero arachnophobia, a background of interacting with venomous native Australian species and I was confident in rehousings very quickly. That to me made me believe that I was ready to jump to faster arboreal Old Worlds like Poecilotheria/Stromatopelma despite the likelihood of being shouted at thoroughly if I confessed that on an open forum. As you know from our interactions, I've done fine and your kind words on my P.metallica rehouse video doubly reassured me that I was doing a calm and safe job in my rehousings. I also really like the look of the E.pachypus now, they have tree trunk legs like me so I think it's written in the stars. Tom Moran, costing me money with every upload.

As a relatively newer keeper I am glad that some of my few old worlds are on this list! I love the M. balfouri and C. darlingi, mine are still just a sling and juvenile respectively but are definitely not as high strung as some of my new worlds (for example, some of my Psalmopeous species).

C. darlingi was my first old world tarantula and I totally agree with it being a beginner old world. Mine is super chill. One of my favorite species!

Yes, I would consider a few Balfour in a communal set up but would start with one and get use to it first

Another wicked good 👍 video ty good sir.. Cheers.

Thanks for this video Tom..! I'm just getting back into the hoppy from being out of it for years and after about 2 months im up to 5 new worlds. ( My GBB sure gives me a heck of a time..!🤣) I would live to get into some ild worlds at some point and this video really helped..!

Great vid TOM

From P.irminia's I just took the plunge and ordered a H.maculata unboxing was fine but "silly me" I did not add the water dish and not giving it time to settle it "teleported" up my arm around my neck and down my leg to the floor. it understandably took me a moment to process what happened luckily some storage totes gave it a safe spot to calm down and using your transfer method I placed it back in it's enclosure phew. a year later we get along fine - tap on the lid it goes into the hide and i can do maintenance and offer food. I'm looking forward to the next rehousing soon! my only issue is destroying the webbing - it's art.

Had to check and see what you recommend

Just ordered my first old world T a 3” Female MONOCENTROPUS BALFOURI - SOCOTRA ISLAND BLUE BABOON. I’m so excited. With my own research and watching vids like Tom’s I made the decision to get one! Great vid 😎

You are finally monetizing. I always thought you should. You are the best teacher of how to keep T's on YT.

That H. Pulchripes is stunning 😍

I came over from the snake hobby 3yrs ago after selling my entire collection. I kept and bred hots for alittle over 20yrs. Specialized in Naja, Crotalus, Sistrurus, Agkistrodon and a quit a few other species. I'm 3rs in this hobby and have to say keeping T's is a change of pace, even with keeping ow. I jumped in big. I find it more relaxing. I wish I discovered this hobby years ago.

Hi Tom, I have to second you on C. darlingi and M. balfouri, those are my only old worlds so far and they have been a real confidence builder! They can be very fast, but their only reaction when disturbed is to run and hide, even during rehousings, not a single threat pose to mention. If treated with due respect, they are perfectly manageable. I might add that they are much more easy-going than my late male T. vagans, who was a complete nutcase! Congratulations on the channel and thanks for all this great content

Thank you for this. I was looking into getting my first old world and was going back and forth between m balfouri and p metallica. I'm a sucker for the blue octofloofs. This helped that decision.

Love my Harpactira pulchripes, I missed not having one when I had to cut my collection in half to move, but I picked up a new one this morning.

Hello Tom, my first old world was a Chilobrachys Fimbriatus. I love the color I'm just crazy for it. I have 3 of them. My second OW was a S.Calceatum which is now a very laid back lady 3 years old so far. Then a Poecilotheria tigrinawesseli which is an angel. I have both C.Marshalli and H.Pulchripes, they are stunning creatures, and are eating machines. Great video!

I got my first OW from a fella on tarantulaforums. She is a C. darlingi and is the most chill tarantula in my collection. She never charges me when I'm cleaning up her cage or filling her water dish. She is absolutely gorgeous and she's always hanging half way out of her burrow, so I can admire her daily.

I do feel drawn to the Harpactira genus... beautiful spiders and good to know that they're relatively chill.

Cannot agree more with the top slot! Love the H. pulchripes', in my experience, calm demeanor (I'm handling my now adult female in my profile pic, only because she decided to go for a relaxing walk during a rehouse) and who can't deny those beautiful colors? C. darlingi is a great choice as well, though I wish I saw mine as much as it sounds like you see yours. And GOSH do I wish more people could get a hold of breed E. pachypus!!!! I have wanted one for atleast half a decade lol

OBT was my first on my second order of Ts only a week after my first lol. Mind you I educated myself for months beforehand even getting my first T. I knew I had to respect the danger of the OBT which is likely the only reason it worked for me. My Third order of Ts included 2 Poecilotherias roughly 6 months after my second. 6 Orders in total now, and I'm blessed with 28 Ts, after 3 MM deaths, 3 DOAs, and 1 sling death (within the the first week). Currently I have 10 OW Ts, or 8 unique OW species. Great share as always Tom, keep it up Edit: First order was back in Feb 12 2019, so just under 3 years now, but feels longer lol

Although my favorite is the H pulchripes is my favorite I do love the first one you mentioned. I agree with your statement temperamental varies from specimen to specimen. I had been hearing the C darlingi was a very nice and docile beginner so I ordered a couple. The male was very flighty but the female I nicknamed demon is just that, a demon, lol. Great pix Tom. Tyfs God bless you

great one Tom, I rescued P. regalis and it was out in the open for months now it has made dirt curtains in every opening and has been there for months same with my D. diamantinensis it starting to freak me out.

When it comes to old worlds, I have been taking baby steps when adding one to my collection. Right now I have 2 out of the 5 on this list, the M. Balfouri (I call her Mirage) and an H. Pulchripes (haven't named it yet but was leaning towards Midas or Nova). So far both have been peaches. I know not everyone is fortunate enough to get a laid back specimen, but I have lucked out so far with my first two old worlds.

I gotta say that our harpactira pulchripes is a psychopath, we just rehoused her and it was an all hands on deck rehouse with temporary escape. Very intense rehouse but even feeding this girl gets frantic. ( still one of my favorites)

For me Cyriopagopus albostriatus would make the list. At least mine is very chill, very beautiful and almost always out on display. I still need to get a communal of Monocentropus balfouri... Great Footage Tom! And Harpactira pulchripes would have made top of my list as well. *cheers!

There is a balfouri communal in my not to distant future! I only have C. marshalli as far as old world but after 2 years of keeping I’ve got it down and I’m not worried at all.

Pretty good list, I would say. I'm actually surprised that Idiothele mira wasn't mentioned. Apparently, they are also hardy and not too defensive. A part of me would want to venture into one of these, but the other half tells me to stick to my comfort zone. Stay safe and thanks for sharing :)

I think this is a pretty solid list. My first adventure into keeping old worlds was getting 3 at once P metallica, P murinus, and H pulchripies and my H pulchripies is the one that gives me the most defensiveness. I have yet to have trouble with any of them (knock on wood)

Good choices.

This was a needed video 👍 I bought two pokies as my first old worlds, two months after I started keeping. Think I had 4 pokies before I got my 2 Balfouri and then my h pulchripes.

I couldn’t agree more about the H pulchripes! Absolutely one of my favorite that I’ve kept, and more laid back than most of my new worlds! I once dropped its enclosure while it was still in it and it just sat there calmly waiting for me to finish the rehousing. My other spiders would have freaked out. Amazing spider and I will check out some others on this list.

Love this list. I have a C. Darlingi and shes not only stunning, hut fast growing. I have an H Pulchripes on the way. I also have 2 pokies only because I felt comfortable with their speed based off my experience with the psalmopoes genus. I really want a stout leg baboon, but like you said. So hard to find.

I'm the one man cheerleading squad for Harpactirella lightfooti but in all seriousness if you can find them they're amazing T's I'm also a weirdo in that in general I find my Old Worlds easier to deal with than my NW's mainly because I only really have to watch one end. My Borneo Black exception to the rule after rehousing here I needed to go rehouse a pokie to calm down

Hope your Thanksgiving was filled with family 💕 and Hugs and lots of love 💞. Hugs 🤗 from me to all of you 🤗

This blue leg tarantula, I had no interest in this species but now I absolutely love them and want more they are absolutely amazing and easy to care for

Hey Tom, wonderful video as always! I 100% agree with your list but I'd like to add H. villosella to the list! They are a very small size (so not overwhelming), much more shy than defensive, and beautiful little spiders! And heavy webbers to boot. I would like to bring something up that is *sort of* something that should be considered on the ladder system or just I feel like something that should be more widely discussed: webbing. A heavy webbing tarantula is very different from one that does little to no webbing. Working with a GBB is different than working with a Xenethsis. Yes both are leggy terrestrials (let's put a pin in the semi-arboreal convo for now) but one is a heavy webber and one isn't. When preparing to own a heavy webber, there are slightly different styles of setups, tricks you need to learn and even tools you need (aquarium scissors, tons of extra soufflé cups) and learning how to work around the webbing is also important: anything that touches that webbing will be a trigger (I think this can be best seen in your recent video on curtain web spiders). They need anchor points which so many people don't realise and for me I even use differently ventilated enclosures for my heavy webbers (mostly OWs, I don't have a gbb and my D. diamantinensis sling is the second tiniest thing I've ever seen): I drill ventilation holes around the surface level of the dirt so I can easily rehydrate the substrate through a hole with a syringe, since the webbing is waterproof once they really web it up, you're not getting access to that substrate anymore. I just really don't hear anyone discussing the importance of learning how to deal with a heavy webbing species DUE TO its heavy webbing. Hope that made sense. Again, love the video and my vote for H. villosella! - Charlotte

Your list is right on point but the blue leg would've been at the top of my list

Great video Tom!!! They all have different personalities, you are 100% spot on. My Brazilian Black is a brat. I opened her enclosure to give her a roach (Dubia) and she kicked hair at me, she thinks she's so tough! So far my sweetest one is my pink toe and he's a he! So far I have all new world but only a total of 10, I need many more! :-)

Please do a list of top 5 spiders with names that are easy to pronounce.

My first old world Ts where 3 Harpactira pulchripes slings now in the juvenile stage and 2 of them are very calm and 1 is just insane 🤣

Awesome video as always. I have a question which goes out to anyone in the hobby, considering beginnerspecies out of the OW. Earlier this fall I bought a mysterybox containing four slings, all considered to be begimmerfriendly. One out of 'em is a Hysterocrates Gigas. Which kinda threw me. I haven't really heard anyone describing Them as beginnerfriendly. However mine is docile enough and I used to have a Poecilotheria Metallica who was quite challenging in comparison to my h.gigas. So anyone with opinions and/or experience may answer. 😊 Keep up the fine work, Tom 👍.

A P.regalis was my second t, and ive had zero problems with it :)

I jumped in with both feet about 6 months ago and bought a OBT sling as my first old world. Stupidly because the tiny little thing was only $5, but despite the questionable decision I’m enjoying it. Eating really well and growing quickly, and I’ve followed the advice of keeping it in an enclosure that is tall enough to give it plenty of space to web so I won’t disturb it when I open the enclosure. Buuuut, despite all the space I gave it in the new enclosure most recently it decided to start making its web right at the lid. So now I’m a little at a loss lmao.

Hiya Tom definitely a request here that I haven’t seen anyone do yet 😉 top ten or fifteen will do, fossorial species. I’d love a decent jar of dirt to look at but unsure which one. Just a suggestion ..

I ordered my first old world today. I may be jumping the gun here having not raised any Ts past the sling stage yet. But today I just found myself putting P. Regalis into the cart and pressed checkout 🤦‍♂️

My first old world was a Poecilotheria regalis, then H pulchripes and Obt. Now I have a Kaeng Krachan, blue Gabon dwarf baboon and a hati hati, my Regalis is very calm and so is my H pulchripes. My obt is sweet too but I know they arent all lol xx

Hey Tom I just got an OBT it's my first Old World but I don't think that I will have any trouble with it because I know enough to respect the crap out of it and I'm just going to start it out in a bit bigger enclosures the little one is right about 1 inch and going to put it in a 32 tall deli cup until it needs something bigger, just wanted to say thanks for all the great advice that you give and the information is amazing would love to meet you in person to shake your hand :)

I always find the concept of 'beginner' spiders fascinating. And the mystique of old world species that the hobby places on a pedestal of infamy. I genuinely can't find a whole load of differences across the board between old world and new world spiders (beyond urticating hairs) regarding their husbandry and behaviour etc. I genuinely believe that if the situation was reversed, that we'd be in a somewhat similar situation. Maybe this is because I started with old worlds and then went on to new worlds but who knows. Great video none the less!

The fort hall baboon seems to be the one i would choose.

I fell in love with E. pachypus thanks to you, and was very fortunate to actually find one at a show here in the UK earlier this year. My first old world and I love her to bits! I now have every spider from this list except for P. lugardi and H. villosella. Do you have any experience with the Augacephalus genus? How do the compare to the spiders on this list, temperament wise?

Love 💞 to my Morans Another wonderful video 📸☺️❣️

I got my first four T's as part of a beginner mystery box. I had been a quiet observer of the community for several years and felt ready to get my own. So I got a box of slings. Unboxing went as follows: one T. albo, sweet. One P. irminia... oh wow. One P. cambridgei... oof alright. And finally... one H. gigas OH LORD! I thought I had done goofed right from the start. But! I ended up loving all of them, especially the H. gigas. She's such a great eater, never defensive. My T. albo though... jeez. Scares the living shit out of me every time I go to feed it. Runs around like a mad man. It didn't take long until I ordered some more, both OWs and NWs, and they're all thriving and I am in love.

My Hysterocrates gigas is an absolute darling to deal with, don't get me wrong i'd not want to hold it! But every time i open the lid it never darts up to see whats going on, rehousing has been a total breeze also. Only issue is its a bit of a pet hole it will dig its self very deep under the substrate and often can't even be seen eating. But when it does come out its absolutely stunning. I do wish it was on display more. I like all the baboons i own a whole bunch, but yeah the Cameroon red baboon is just a joy.

My P lugardi act’s like a trapdoor. Did see a KZfaq video claiming that they are a trapdoor. Did starts a vertical burrow in it’s enclosure and it moved in there. My first OW was a P murinus. Have only good things to say about them.

Pterinochilus Murinus was My first old world Tarantula 🔥🔥🔥

My M balfouri is always upset. But she sure is lovely to look at.

I'm only 4 tarantulas in, all new worlds, and 3 are tiny slings Once I get some rehousings of my P irminia under my belt, I think I am going to get a M balfori or the H pulchripes for my first OW. Both are such beautiful spiders. That stout legged baboon is sooo cute though. Hopefully people will start breeding them more often.

I have only NW terrestrials and i want a M. balfouri as my first OW t.

My 1st old worlds were (2cm slings and under) 2x C. DARLINGI, 1x OBT, and 2x Philippine Tarantula sp. NORTH CEBU LARGE (coz there is a N Cebu Dwarf it seems.). All 5 in 1 package I got last March. Darlingi A: Food catcher, won't let food touch anything. Feels like a Geniculata crossed with the whack-a-mole game during feeding. Darlingi B: Whack-a-mole without whacking anything during feeding time. OBT: "I will run around my webbing before you can feed me, hooman." N. Cebu Large: Pet holes (as slings, idk if they will grow out of the pet hole status). You guys eating the bugs I gave you? You guys still alive? Oh! New molt pieces have appeared! Yup. Still alive.

Hey Tom, great video, there was a species of tarantula that you didn’t mention on there and it is probably the only Asian species that would rather retreat then give a threat pose and that’s the Ornithoctonus aureotibialis, awesome spiders I’m sure they can be defensive but I’ve had many of them that were more skiddish then defensive 😊

Happy late Thanksgiving and late black Friday!!

I started with an orange baboon for my first old world. Im wanting to really get a indian violet soon.

I would add the O. phillipinus as a good starter. Really I think many are fine, as long as your rehouse game is on point. I would also add the H. himalayana, and the O. aureotibialis. I have personally had really good luck with Chilobrachys, but I know that they have a rep for a reason. And I agree that they are individuals. Right now my two worst are both New Worlds. Don't get in over your head, and don't get discouraged. Happy spidering.

Hey Tom great video,I would say pokies,because there not really defensive yes they have poten venom,but I have found them easy to keep and to deal with. My first old world was a c marshalli AF,I think I was only been in the hobby a few months,but I saw her at a show and just got her.she is pretty laid back if u dont mess with her like I did when I rehoused her she was a psycho.i do have have a a couple of chilobrachys sp which are laid back and never threat posed me.and the other day I rehoused my obt and wow not a single threat pose very well behaved.so the way I see it u either get a laid back one or u dont.same as the new worlds, my t albo is a crazy one.

I just got an H villosella sling...feeding time is so impressive. The second the b lat hits the webbing the spider explodes! It's legs flail everywhere while running over, it'll catch the nymph, quickly chomp down, then tweek out right back to it's den. 😆 speed demon!

Great list Tom, I don't disagree with it, however, I do feel that if anyone is going to move in to old worlds from docile new worlds they should be confident with bold tarantulas, when my h. Pulchripes was a juvenile it used to Web up the lid of its tub, so when I removed the lid to feed I had to use something to hold the Web so it didn't rip out all the substrate, hide etc., as they have an amazing feeding response, whatever I used to hold the Web in place, the T thought it was bringing food, the result was a slowly opening lid with a fast spider looking like it was coming for you😂 i imagine it could be quite distressing to someone used to slow Ts, the solution was to get the food in before lifting the lid off completely, it was always happy with its mouth full😂

Hello Mr. Tom I'd like to see a video of the top 5 bad attitude and threat poses another words the mean of the old world Tarantulas Thanks Brian

Great list buddy, I'd have chosen the same myself

Just had a look at your post on your website about the E. pachypus, you say it reminds you of a satyr....all I got were visions of 80's legwarmers! (Please lets never bring those buggers back!)

My first 2 old worlds are a C darlingi and an OBT. My C darlingi was super fast and my obt was chill unless in premolt. Not bad for a starting ow pets, people should just see it as nw but faster and more shy.

The fort Hall is great beginner but mine use to alway dart to the top of the enclosure and run out I had mine for 3yrs now

I had a great p. murinus so i guess individuals vary. p. chordatus was also great. then pokies really aren't that bad either. edit: just checked on the chordatus after posting this and it molted, confirmed female after 2 years of being a sling. hopefully she is still chill, sometimes they change after molting.

Here: 2:45 Eucratoscelus pachypus 4:25 Pterinochilus lugardi 6:06 Ceratogyrus darlingi 7:56 Monocentropus balfouri 10:11 Harpactica pulchripes 12:40 Heterothele villosella