Tarantulas

[RandomWiktor]

Oooh, BEAUTIFUL tarantulas. I have a 4 year old female Childean Rosehair named Rosalinda. Someone brought 5 tarantulas to the zoo I volunteer at because a pet store had them in cups so small that one tried to shed in it and couldn't so it ruptured its exoskeleton They were all emaciated and full of internal and external parasites. Two died they were in such bad shape, and the zoo could only keep one, so I took the female and my friend took the male.
I think because Rosalinda was starved early in life, she's food-obsessed now. She will attack ANYTHING that moves in her cage, even if its not remotely edible. She ate more crickets in a day then most do in a week when I first got her and was putting her weight back on. Her voracious eating has calmed since then, but she's still insanely agressive. Bit me once; my poor hand looked like a baloon.
Love 'em though. I wish I could have a few tarantulas, as well as some nice giant african millipedes and madagascar hissing cockroaches. But alas, I have fish right now, and don't know a good breeder or distributer atm to get them from.

 

[Angry_Platy]

Do you peeps who have spiders worry about them escaping and getting into your bed or a shoe?

 

[RandomWiktor]

Actually, if the tarantula's cage is pretty far off the ground and he/she climbs out and falls, chances are the impact will result in death. Tarantulas have very heavy bodies, and not very secure exoskeletons, so when dropped, they sortof...er... pop? Granted this isn't true of lighter species and spiderlings, but the bigger they get, the more careful you need to be about dropping them.

Besides, as long as the cage is secure, they're probably less likely to escape then most animals. They can't chew out like a rodent or something, after all.

 

[red_fish_blue_fish]

This is a good place to order spidey's from:
BotarBy8s
This is a great place to get any other type of "buggy":
ExoPets
They ship nicely!

 

[red_fish_blue_fish]

No, I don't worry about my spidey's getting out. They really can't get out unless I leave the cage open...they can't push out, they can't bite out, they can't scratch out...mine pretty much spend there lives sitting in one spot...LOL, and I highly doubt, if they did manage to get out due to my forgetful nature, that they would ominously hide in my shoe and lie wait for me...lol. I think they would probably stay in or near their cages actually. Tarantulas are very fragile and scared of things bigger than them...as a result, they like to stay close to familair ground. Since I do not let them run around my house, they wouldn't know where to go, or know any of the area. They might hang out the top of the cage, but I do not think they would be daring enough to go anywhere. I have read somewhere that tarantulas, in their whole life in the wild, rarely actually travel over 25miles...that means not moving much at all. Once they find a place they like, they set up shop, sleep, and eat there...FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES> which could be the next 25 years or more if you are a female! Pretty boring huh?

 

[Bloo]

WOW that first pic is gorgeous perhaps I'll look into getting one too ! But fear not, I won't just go and buy one, but should it come to making the decision, I will thoroughly research first.

 

[nuttyfishgirl]

nope nope nope they scare me to death

 

[WILDER]

Same here, I would be looking under the bed covers before i got in, then worrying something would crawl on me in the night.

 

[tank212]

They look pretty cool have you ever been bitten by one or do they bite? How do I find info on one if I wanted to keep one and what do I keep them in?

 

[Fiddlesticks]

That is a beautiful spider. . My husband and I want one for a pet. I actually have always had a fear of spiders. They give me the heebie jeebies and I think it would help me get over that. I have a friend who was also scared of them and she went to austrailia for a couple years to live. By the time she came back her fear was cured, because you just have to suck it up if you want to live there.

 

[red_fish_blue_fish]

Well, first you have to decide if you want a tree dweller, or a ground dweller (ground dwellers tend to be less aggressive for the most part, and a wee bit slower...I would recommend a Brazilian Black or a Chilien Rose Hair for a starter T.....also, get one from a good breeder. I listed a good site in one of my previous posts *BotarBy8s* Scan up and check that site out. He ships next day mail, and they ship well. If you guys order one and need pointers on how to unpack your bugs let me know.) Then you want to read up all you can about the particular spidey you want (The less aggressive the better for start....obviously. Remember, tarantulas do not like to be held in general. It stresses them out.) Here is a good site to figure out what you need:
Caring For Your Tarantula
I use Critter carriers. I have found, oddly enough, that most Ts are happy with limited space. Although you still want to give them enough space. Your job is to figure out what that is for the spider you are getting. For tree Ts hight is more important than floor space. With ground Ts width is more important than hight. Humidity varies from bug to bug. The ones I listed as starter Ts you need not worry about having high humidty, in fact the dryer the better. The size of the cage all depends on the size of the spider, and as the spider grows so should the enclosure. Males are smaller and have shorter lives than females, and sex cannot be known truely until bugs are over 3 inches long...or reach maturity. They are really not complicated to care for. Let me put it this way, you could go on vacation for 2months, and your spider would be there when you got back. HERE ARE SOME BASICS: for substrate I use 50/50 mix of peat and sand (about only an inch and a half of ground cover for tree dwellers, and about 5-9 inches for burrowers)...make sure there are no additives or pesticides added that would kill your buggy. DO NOT use sponges for water (They promote mold, and other nasties), use a milk cap, or apple juice jug cap, or a small low shallow dish. Keep it filled with fresh water at all times, and make sure the water is shallow enough that your spider will not drown. I use a rectangle shaped critter keeper turned on its side for tree dwellers, with fake plants, and a log stuck horizontal like a tree trunk for cover (a good place to build a web), and i use the larger round critter keepers for the burrowers. Good luck, happy to answer more Qs...Just ask. SORRY FOR THE LONG POST. If you guys need care sheets for a particular spider let me know, I will post them! Happy hunting. I used to be afraid of spiders too...lol. )

Ole': My Red Knee's: Set up

 

[Mr Miagi]

I noticed your last enclosure for the Red Knee had no lid? Could you keep it in a properly set-up aqarium with a lid? Humidity would rise, but if you had mesh would it be ok?

 

[Mr Miagi]

I have a friend who was also scared of them and she went to austrailia for a couple years to live. By the time she came back her fear was cured, because you just have to suck it up if you want to live there.

I tend to remove around 1-3 spiders a day from my house. Dangerous or friendly, i believe in putting them back outside. Mum would kill them, but she tells me when she finds one and i put it out. We have some native bush i release them into away from the house.

 

[LoachLover]

I like to smash them personally


I hate spiders, a lot

 

[RandomWiktor]

They look pretty cool have you ever been bitten by one or do they bite? How do I find info on one if I wanted to keep one and what do I keep them in?

They def. bite. I've been bit by my female before. Its kindof like getting two nasty wasp stings side by side. However, some people are allergic to the bites so careful handling is important. If you're allergic to bee stings, you tend to be allergic to tarantula bites.
RedfishBluefish answered your second question pretty well so I don't have much to add. Just do a lot of reading; when I was away, my parents put my Chilean Rosehair on sand because they had their red knee on it and it almost killed her. She's much happier in a mulch-type, wet substrate now.