Tarantulas!

My husband just called me from work to ask if we wanted to adopt a pet tarantula (“Its name is Lolth”). The problem is that Lolth’s current owner’s wife has banished Lolth to the basement of their home, and, since it is winter, it’s cold down there and Lolth is suffering. Thus, the search is on for either a winter home or a permanent new home for Lolth. All I could stammer is “I-I don’t know anything about tarantulas!” So hubby says, “Ok, do some research today!” As if I didn’t have anything else to do…

So, I was wondering if any tarantula owners on the SDMB could help me, because I don’t even know where to begin. Do tarantulas make good pets? Are visitors to your house overly creeped out? What do they eat? What is involved in taking care of them? Are there any books or websites I should read? Are there any tarantula-specific issues I should be aware of?

We’ve got a six-year-old girl and several aquariums (with fish) and no other pets.

My son had one for quite a while. The females will live a pretty long time.

Ours (as I assume all tarantulas) ate crickets. Something like 5-6 for a buck, which would last a month or so.

Extremely low maintenance. Basically spray water in and fill water saucer for humidity, and toss in the occasional cricket. By the same token, they are pretty inactive most of the time while in their cage.

Periodically pull out cricket carcasses, and once or twice a year change the bedding. No odor, noise, etc. No need to do anything special when going on vacation.

You can take them out if you wish. Biting is not a big concern. But they do tend to drop these urticating (sp?) hairs, which can cause an itchy reaction. My son, who tends to be quite allergic, did not tolerate these well, tho I never had a problem. And since my son did not take him out much, he was not all that interesting.

I don’t recall ever having a houseguest be grossed out by it. To the contrary, the vast majority of people were quite interested. And it had a major “cool” factor among the kids.

And it is TOTALLY cool when they shed their exoskeleton! I’m sure we have a couple of them lying around somewhere. Just make sure there aren’t any crickets in the cage that day, as the spider can be vulnerable.

YAY!!!
A tarantula thread!!!

Okay…Let me calm down.

I have a curly haired tarantula. She is …I’m guessing…3 years old. She is a female.

I personally think tarantula are excellent pets. They’re quiet. They’re not messy. And you do not have to feed them everyday.WOO!
Okay…visitors creeped out? Not really, my room is more creepier than the tarantula. She’s a cutie.
My tarantula eats crickets and mice. Not at the same time though.
Seriously. I feed my tarantula about every 4 weeks. If she doesnt’ eat the crickets I wait awhile longer and then feed her a pinky mouse. That will fatten her up for another 4-8 weeks. You’re probably thinking GEEZ 2months?!?
But from what I’ve read, tarantulas can go up to a YEAR without eating.
hmm…lets see. I have her in a see thru plastic tub thingy. Its about 3 feet long and 2 feet wide. Substrate is some kind of bark…with a Little bit of sand at the end where her water goes.

Okay now the serious stuff. Think of tarantulas as bugs. Don’t …I repeat DON’T use cedar shavings as a substrate!..Since cedar wards off moths…it will kill you’re tarantula.
Tarantula can go months without eating, but they NEED water.
Don’t put a huge bowl of water in the cage. Tarantulas can drown(or so I’ve read)
Tarantulas have VERY irritable hair on their butts. If you see them flicking them off, that means they are upset and want you to leave them alone. The hair might make you itch too.
Tarantula have fangs…big ones. I’ve never been bit by mine, but thats because I’m not tossing her around and irritating her. If you are allergic to bees I’d be careful of handling the tarantula.
racks my brain some more
They like warm weather…keep water handy.
Oh…and they can climb up glass. Straight up. So always keep a lid on things.

goes off to find the name of my book that helped me the most

~/X(…)/X\

Tarantulae (tarantulii?) eat MICE???
:eek:

Oh yeah - when handling it, be careful you don’t drop it from a height onto a hard surface - I heard this was a prime cause of injury to domestic tarantulas.

okay… I remembered the book name.
Its The Tarantula Keepers Guide.
I don’t exactly have this book. But my library does and I basically checked it out for about 3 months straight to get to know alot.

Males typically live somewhere like 3-5 years

Females can live up to 20 years.

How do you know their sex? You have to wait until they molt to find out. Which like ** Dinsdale ** said, its pretty awesome.
Oh…and when they molt. You might think they’re dead since they usually lay on their back and dont’ move for a while. To know the difference, Tarantulas and spiders usually curl up with their legs underneath them when they die. When a tarantula molts it will usually lay on its back with its legs spread out.

** Ethilrist** My tarantula has eaten a male tarantula for a meal before too!

I’m so freaking excited about this thread. I LOOOOVE tarantulas.

oh and my tarantulas name is Mortiana…after the witch in robin hood.

Oh and in my last post I said pinky mouse. Its actually a feeder mouse.

To the question, “do tarantulas make good pets,” the only appropriate answer is, “That depends- what do you want out of a pet?”

If all you want is a conversation piece, a curiosity to show off to visitors, or a living creature to look at now and then, a tarantula is perfect. It takes up little space, doesn’t make noise, doesn’t require much care or attention. Pets don’t get much more “low maintenance” than that.

But if you want ANY kind of interaction, you’ll be disappointed. They aren’t intelligent, can’t learn any thing, and don’t have any emotions to speak of. A tarantula will never love you, will never like you, will never even recognize you or know who you are.

So, if you don’t require any emotional feedback from your pet, by all means, get a tarantula. But if you DO want some interaction, you’ll have to get a warm-blooded pet.

So do you have any pictures? Does she look like a poodle? :smiley:

Omagawd! Didn’t you people see 8 Legged Freaks?!?!?!

:: hold me ::

:o

Heh. Yes I do have pics. I thought about posting them earlier in this thread but I was too lazy to search for them. Maybe I’ll do it tommorrow.

She actually just looks like she’s having a bad hair day.

Looking back at my earlier posts I realize something. My tarantula enclosure is a bit big. But thats because I spoil my little friend. She used to pace her 20 gallon aquarium tank so I decided to give her more walking room.

LolaCocaCola I haven’t seen 8 legged freaks. I feel like I’m a disgrace since I loooove spiders. But I do love the movie Arachniphobia.

If I could ask some questions too… I love looking at spiders but I have no desire at all to touch them. Can one care for a tarantula without touching/handling them directly or would that be too tricky?

Also, one web site mentions that tarantulas captured in the wild can carry parasites. How big a risk is this, and can humangs get infected from them?

scr4 you could easily care for the spider without ever touching it. On the rare occasions you needed to change its bedding, you can maneuver it into a tupperware/cool-whip container.

You’ll probably occasionally have to reach into the cage/aquarium, to arrange rocks/plastic plants, clean and fill water bowl, and remove cricket skeletons, but it isn’t as tho the spider flies across the cage to attack your hand. But if even reaching into the cage would gross you out, you might want to choose something else.

Forget 8-Legged Freaks…what about Arachnophobia? I can’t even watch that movie. I hate spiders. In fact, this thread is just making me hyperventilate. OK, time to go before I pass out.

Well, you should definitely check it out, then!

Christ! I’m gonna faint. Or puke.

Pinky mice are…like…babies right?

shudder

I had a turantula for awhile, also had a scorpion. The one thing that I didn’t see that needs to addressed is about water. You need to spray the tank down every few days and leave a few dry spots. You can have a big water dish, but you need some way, like a flat rock, for them to be able to get out.

You should also get some sort of heat source, like a pad, under the tank, they will find the heat and sit on it most of the time. I think they have special ones because too hot will kill them.

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.

Maybe it’s waiting for…

Nevermind :wink:

This is a great thread. Makes me want to get another tarantula:

When I was 16, I spent a summer in San Diego. My cousin and I caught a tarantula, and I kept it as a pet while staying there. I named him (her maybe?) Fred. I liked Fred, and wanted to take him home with me after my stay, so I set him up in a small cake box like you’d get at a bakery, complete with the red & white twine.

At the airport, they said he would have to fly cargo with the other animals, and it would be $50. Screw that. I may be attached to Fred, but I caught the thing for free near some rocks. My aunt says she’ll take him back home with her and let him go, and so we go through security (back when people could accompany you to your gate).

I seem to remember the security person snickering as Fred passed through the x-ray machine.

So we’re at the gate, and my aunt says, “Hey, who’s going to know what you have? Just carry it on board and say that it’s a box of cookies, and stick it under your seat.” Luckily he didn’t escape. Imagine “Terror At 30,000 Feet”

Fast forward to the day after I got home. Fred was now my dearly departed Fred. An ex-tarantula. He was not molting. He was most assuredly dead.

Sigh. I suppose the radiation killed him, which was probably the best outcome. I mean, think of the alternative: X-ray dose turns Fred into Giant Mutant Tarantula That Terrorizes New York!.

I kept Fred in a jar of formaldehyde after that, and he became the official Dead Mascot of our neighborhood stickball games.

Then my mother threw him out. Oh, the indignity of it all. ::sniffle::

Thanks for all your replies!

I wonder if this guy would be able to keep his spider if he got a heating pad for the cage. Of course, if his wife is so anti-spider that she’s banished it to the basement, perhaps it is better if it finds a new home.

Anyway, my husband and I will talk it over this weekend.