So, you want to keep a pet tarantula?

Slinkie · 13 Jan 2003 at 16:33

Shown in the link below are several aggressive species which the beginner should avoid. Please don't think it's "cool" to go out and get an aggressive spider - an inexperienced owner will most likely end up with an escaped spider, or a nasty painful bite.
http://www.arachnophiliac.com/burrow/worsttenspids.htm

Where can i see pictures of the "nasty ones"? :eek:

Lopéz · 13 Jan 2003 at 16:35

Originally posted by Élynduil
Hell no! I'm shivering from just reading this. Why anyone would want to own one of those horrible things is beyond me. It's a damn big hairy, scary thing!

Oh come on......tell me this isn't gorgeous?

Incidentally that's a Cobalt Blue, rather agressive and certainly not suitable for a beginner. That's what I'm getting next, followed by a Pink-toed Bird Eating Spider.

MiggyMan · 13 Jan 2003 at 16:37

Originally posted by Lopéz
Oh come on......tell me this isn't gorgeous?

Incidentally that's a Cobalt Blue, rather agressive and certainly not suitable for a beginner. That's what I'm getting next, followed by a Pink-toed Bird Eating Spider.

Tis down right stunning in fact!!!

IndyModeOCHW · 13 Jan 2003 at 16:37

Awww, cute and fuzzy

I wouldn't want to pet it tho

TechnoKitty · 13 Jan 2003 at 16:39

Thats a really informative thread. Thanks Lopez.

However...

AAARRRGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

(I don't like spiders)

iam · 13 Jan 2003 at 16:42

Originally posted by Lopéz

Co'mon, own up, who sprayed the spider blue? :rolleyes:

On a sidenote, AGGGRRRHHH! :eek:

That's one big scary spider!!

Lopéz · 13 Jan 2003 at 16:52

Some of the tropical species are seriously amazing.

How about this for a stunner? This is a Greenbottle Blue, another "must have" for me.

Credit goes to Phong's site for most of these fantastic pictures.

ToastedCheese · 13 Jan 2003 at 16:54

Im not scared of spiders, indeed lived in Australia for many years and seen many a spider including very venomous varieties.

But the thought of having a huge, hairy, monster lurking in a tank in the corner of my room sounds just insane!

AlienSlof · 13 Jan 2003 at 17:04

Those are seriously beautiful spiders - I think I should go back to keeping tarantulas after seeing these! I am used to aggressive ones as my male red-knee was - he was treated with a large amount of respect from me.

I used to also keep snakes and lizards as well as a few other odd unusual pets - down to just the 4 cats now though.

Lopéz · 13 Jan 2003 at 17:27

Originally posted by AlienSlof
Those are seriously beautiful spiders - I think I should go back to keeping tarantulas after seeing these! I am used to aggressive ones as my male red-knee was - he was treated with a large amount of respect from me.

I used to also keep snakes and lizards as well as a few other odd unusual pets - down to just the 4 cats now though.

that's one of the only real drawbacks with tarantulas.
Far too many people think "Ah, this is a docile species, I can lob it about and it won't bite me" Never take your spider's temperament for granted! Much like you wouldn't take for granted the attitude of a Rottweiler or Staff if you kept dogs.

Always gauge your pet's mood if you want to pick it up. If you nudge the spider and it shows any sign of aggression then please don't attempt to handle it.

TonyMontana · 13 Jan 2003 at 17:29

my baby

Yan816 · 13 Jan 2003 at 17:42

Nice post Lopéz, I have been keeping spiders for about 15 years. I have had abot 25 different breeds over the years. The maddest was a trap door spider, that ate its self, even though food was present.

I gotta say though that the Goliath is about the meanest I have seen. Ours has the habit of throwing itself at the glass when it detects your presence, and its only four months old.

The Curly Hair of ours is a greedy swine and will eat anything. Its record in one sitting was about 15 medium sized locusts, three crickets and a pinkie, it was eating constantly for three days and then moulted.

We are still waiting for our Indian Ornamentalto moult, and it is about the best looking of the bunch, but it spends all its time just sitting in a web its has made.

Whats your Chillean Rose like? Ours spends all its time just moving the substrate round and doesnt eat a lot, but its extremely tame.

I will try and up load a few pic's later.

sik · 13 Jan 2003 at 17:44

I want that spider... looks soo cute!

How do you remove the dead food (with a toothpick)? And where would you keep them (in the freezer - stupid question)?

A heat matt, I have an electric blanket

. Are these generally bigger than the case?

edit: Matt, not mate, duh.

Yan816 · 13 Jan 2003 at 17:45

TonyMontana, whats that your using for substrate? If its saw dust how do you keep the Humidity up?

TonyMontana · 13 Jan 2003 at 17:48

my c.rose is quite calm ...I often hold her with my hands except a period when I used to hold a pensil in the tank and she repeatedly attacked it ...until I fed her some crickets and she continued her sleep

she moves around quite a lot but not too often ...I think Im gonna go for a big aggressive one that will attack my friends when they come in the room

my gf will definetely leave me too

TonyMontana · 13 Jan 2003 at 17:51

Originally posted by Yan816
TonyMontana, whats that your using for substrate? If its saw dust how do you keep the Humidity up?

its saw dust indeed I dont actually keep the humidity very high up I just put water in the tank and I also have no heating pad and she's been fine for 5 years

...next time I get paid Ill get her lots of nice stuff though including a nicer tank as a part of my room renovation...

Lopéz · 13 Jan 2003 at 17:53

My Chile is docile in the extreme.
The only time I ever had a near miss was when I was about 16 and went away for the weekend - a piece of tape used to hold the thermometer in the tank had dropped off with humidity and fallen on the floor of the tank.
Of course as humidity in the tank fell over the weekend the tape regained it's stickiness and the spider got herself badly stuck - 3 legs on one side were trapped.

It took a very stressful hour with a pair of forceps and sharp scissors to cut her free, leaving each leg with a tiny tab of sellotape behind. About half way through the spider lost it and lunged for me three or four times. We got her free in the end though. Moral of the story? Don't put anything sticky in the tank...

Otherwise the only time I won't handle her is if she's not been fed - she spends the majority of her time sitting just outside her bark lair, although as a juvenile she was a prolific climber.

Sik:
That's the same species I have - sometimes they are much much pinker in real life. Mine almost looks orange in some lights. They are ideal beginners pets and cheap to buy too.

Remove dead food with a pair of long forceps, or your fingers.

Keep the crickets next to the tank (they like it reasonably warm)
You can't freeze them! You buy them live, and feed them to the spider live.

HEat mats should be about 1/2 the size of the tank. This way the spider has a choice of sitting on the "warm bit" or the "cold bit" of the floor - I think they cost about £15 from pet/reptile stores.

Yan816 · 13 Jan 2003 at 17:54

Sik, thats a Chillean Rose and would set you back about £15.00 for an adult female. They are a great first spider.

BTW....... to tell a spiders sex look at the two fron legs, about half way down you might see what appears to be two hooks (Tibial spurs). If these are present then its a male. Some times its hard to tell the difference, but there are ways. With Spiderlings its impossible to tell what sex they are untill they mature.

Lopéz, That Cobalt Blue is a fantastic looking spider. My next spider is going to be a Usambara Orange Baboon.

A tip for anyone keeping spiders........Super Glue can be used to seal wounds on spiders.

Lopéz · 13 Jan 2003 at 18:03

Originally posted by Yan816
Sik, thats a Chillean Rose and would set you back about £15.00 for an adult female. They are a great first spider.

BTW....... to tell a spiders sex look at the two fron legs, about half way down you might see what appears to be two hooks (Tibial spurs). If these are present then its a male. Some times its hard to tell the difference, but there are ways. With Spiderlings its impossible to tell what sex they are untill they mature.

Lopéz, That Cobalt Blue is a fantastic looking spider. My next spider is going to be a Usambara Orange Baboon.

A tip for anyone keeping spiders........Super Glue can be used to seal wounds on spiders.

Super glue and/or talcum powder are about the only thing that will prevent your spider from bleeding to death should it be dropped.
In tarantulas the blood flows through arteries and veins but it openly bathes the body cells rather than feeding them via capilliaries.
So if the body gets pierced then it loses blood far more rapidly than an animal with a "closed" capillary fed system.

This is why it's very important not to hold the spider if you are nervous or jumpy.

sik · 13 Jan 2003 at 18:06

I've seen them in many pet shops, they say they're 'de-fanged', is that a necessity? (I think it's a tad mean, but would rather it's feelings hurt than mine).