I currently have four tarantulas sharing my house with me. I will second all the things that have been said before:
-They are ultra low-maintainence
-They are are quiet, odorless, and non-messy
-They are insanely cheap to feed and take care of
-They are very, very cool
I will also recommend the book The Tarantula Keeper’s Guide It is the absolute best book, bar none, that I have ever found concerning tarantula keeping.
There are a few basics about tarantulas that can be applied to all species, I’ll try to go through them here:
-They only need to eat about 6-8 crickets per month. If you have an exceptionally large tarantula (one of my girls is a Theraphosa blondi- leg span 11 inches) you may wish to feed them pinkie (just born) mice. These can be purchased either live or frozen at most pet stores. If you’d prefer to feed fozen, you MUST thaw them first. A few minutes in boiling water will
do nicely.
-Aside from the occasional removal of cricket carcasses and shed exoskeletons, you only have to clean the cage about once or twice a year. Doing it any more often actually upsets the spider.
-They must be kept warm, but not hot. DO NOT EVER put your spider in direct sunlight. About 70 degrees F is a good temperature. Mist lightly with water once a day, preferably in the morning. (DO NOT soak the cage.) For a water container (which must be kept filled at all times) you can use a jar lid, or a small crock. If the water dish is deeper than about an inch, put a small rock in in case the spider falls in s/he can climb out.
-DO NOT EVER use cedar substrate. DO NOT EVER use bug spray, hair spray, room deodorizer, or even strong perfume near your spider. The best substrate, IMHO, is newspaper- it’s cheap, disposable, the ink has no effect on the spider, and they enjoy shredding it and pushing the shreds into little piles. Gravel can scratch up the spider’s underside, and astroturf can catch on the spider’s claws and rip a leg off.
-Provide a hiding spot in the cage- a plastic container with a hole cut in the side is great, or you can get a wooden tube for them to hide in. Put the cage in an area with little vibrations- you can put old mouse pads under the cage if you want.
-You do not ever need to handle your spider. In fact, it’s best if you don’t, since spiders will be killed by a fall of more than 3 or 4 inches. To move them, you can just use another plastic container with holes punched in the lid and scoop them in.
-Most tarantulas from the western hemisphere (those most common in the pet trade) have urticating bristles on their abdomens. They will kick their back legs up and send little itchy hairs flying when they’re angry. This means you should leave them alone. This will cause minor discomfort if they land on your skin, and can cause serious pain if they get in your eyes.
-Tarantulas seldom bite, preferring to retreat. If you are bitten, seek medical assisstance immediately- some people (a very small percentage, but just in case) are allergic to the venom. For the vast majority of people, however, a tarantula’s bite is no worse than a bee sting. (Yes, they’re venomous- all spiders are.)
Fun Tarantula Facts You May Not Want To Know:
-Joke store variety itching powder was once made with tarantula bristles
-Tarantulas shed their skin as they grow, and if you’re careful, you can take the shed skin and pin it in a shadow box to make a neat display
-Tarantulas are some of the most primitive species of spider. They spin webs only to line their burrows and sometimes to make carrying cases for food. They also use silk as a trip line to warn them of approaching food or enemies, and to cradle their eggs. Like all spiders, tarantulas can only drink their food- their venom is actually a highly modified form of saliva which paralyzes prey and begins to digest it. They then suck up the pre-digested food.
-Some tarantula species are extremely expesive to purchase- an adult female Brachypelma smithii or Mexican red-kneed tarantula, can cost close to $300.
-Female tarantulas can live for up to 30 years; the males generally only make it to 5 or 6. Males also shed one final time before they create a sperm package which they carry around in their front legs looking for a female to hand it to.
-Some tarantulas can hiss. They do not possess vocal cords, but they possess specialy modified scales on their legs called stridulating oragns, which when rubbed together quickly make a loud hissing or buzzing noise. They do this when they are angry. They also tap their legs up and down to signal to other spiders for mating or threat purposes. Due to their amazingly sensitive hairs all over the legs, tarantulas in a sense hear with their feet. They are, however, deaf to air-borne sound and can only pick up vibrations.
-Tarantulas have bluish-grey blood. This is called hemolyph, and instead of binding to iron as vertebrate hemoglobin does, hemolyph binds to copper. Tarantulas also have book lungs on the underside of their bodies, which look lie tiny bellows, or the open pages of a book. They conserve water and do not excrete liquid waste- only powdery urates.
