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Terrifically Tantalizing Tarantulas ....
will they make you a good household pet?
Visit a pet store that carries Tarantula Spiders and you'll
often see a crowd around the Tarantula tank, usually made up
of young boys and perhaps their fathers. Women are seldom to
be found admiring spiders. If you don't have a spider
phobia, a Tarantula might be an interesting pet for you, but
there are some issues to be considered before you commit to
bringing your hairy monster home.
The first question to answer is: do you know how big a
commitment you are making? Taking on responsibility for the
life of any other living creature is a big responsibility.
Your pets are completely dependent on you, and you should be
sure that you can take on such a project, and that you will
not soon become bored with it. If you buy an adult Tarantula
spider you are getting an animal that is from three to ten
years old, and it may live for many more years if well cared
for. Your Tarantula probably is not native to your part of
the world, and in that case you cannot simply release it
outside if you are tired of it or if no one will care for it
while you are on vacation or off to college.
Second, can you provide what the spider needs for a good,
healthy life? Tarantulas are all either tropical or from
warm desert areas, and can't be kept without heat in a cold
part of your home, and tarantulas are also fragile and can
lose legs or even die if you drop them. Also you will need
to check and clean its cage every day, provide water, feed
it live food regularly (from every few days to every few
weeks depending on the spider), and keep high humidity in
the vivarium.
Third, all spiders have venom, and all spiders will bite
under the right circumstances. Although most spider bites
are no worse than a bee or wasp sting, individuals may be
allergic and have much more severe reactions to spider
venom. And, since Tarantulas are very large spiders, they
have large mandibles and can not only break human skin but
puncture fairly deeply. Also, some Tarantulas are also very
fast moving and may be extremely hard to catch if they
escape.
Fourth, some Tarantulas have yet another defense mechanism
you may not know about. Tarantulas from the Western
Hemisphere can, when frightened, quickly use their back legs
to scrape and fling special hairs from the back and sides of
their abdomens. These tiny raspy hairs, called urticating
hairs and coated with irritating chemicals, fly into the
eyes, nose and mouth of their perceived enemy and cause
itching and irritation. Some people have even required
surgery to remove the urticating hairs from their eyes. If
you do keep Western Tarantulas, wash your hands after
handling molted skins and keep your spider away from your or
anyone else's face, especially when you first open the cage
and the spider may feel threatened.
Fifth, Tarantulas are nocturnal and most are not very
active, so you may find them a boring pet to keep. Also,
they are expensive to buy and keep, and fragile so you may
not recoup your investment if things don't go well. You
should also be careful to learn how to determine the genders
of Tarantulas before you buy one, because although females
can live for many years, males only live for one year once
they reach maturity. The Tarantula breed you buy also
matters, as some are much more active, or calm, or
threatening, arboreal, terrestrial, or beautiful that other
types.
As we said above, Tarantulas cost much more than other types
of spiders to acquire and keep. You can likely get a large
garden spider free from your yard if you just want a nice
spider pet. In any event, please don't succumb to pet store
impulsiveness and take home a huge spider without knowing
what you as well as the spider are getting into.
More on Tarantulas,
Spiders & Invertebrates
Blissful Plush Tarantulas Stuffed with Total Fun
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