Tarantulas!

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Zanya

Rat Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 18, 2014
Messages
574
Location
North Carolina, USA
One thing I pride myself in(besides my mammals) are my knowledge of the 'scary' thing that is known as a tarantula. I have three. One is a rescue. I seriously love these creatures to death, but someone has to! They're hated on way too much.
The brown rose hair is Itsy, and the brown and blonde is Payson. Prepare thyself for cool spider poses :bounce:

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They're fun to watch sometimes, but they sit around like rocks most of the time haha. Well G. Roseas do at least. Some species are active. It's a common fear. (Just like my fear of clowns!)
 
I don't have a phobia of spiders, but they would make me a wee apprehensive. LOL
I think I would worry about being bitten. If you could guarantee I wouldn't, then I'd probably be game. :)
 
You're actually not supposed to hold them because even an inch fall can be fatal. Also they don't like it at all. They just barely tolerate it. So I don't hold mine. My problem is feeding them crickets. I HATE those things! Eep :tmi:
 
Gorgeous!
I always wanted to have one, but couldn't get past feeding them live crickets. I don't eat animals, therefore wouldn't keep an animal that had to be fed animals.
Also the fact that I still live at home and my mother prohibits me from having anything with that many legs lol.
My sister's BF has one. She is very old.
 
Sadly, the pet trade in tarantulas has decimated wild populations. Having had three of my own, for nearly two decades, I have a great deal of love and respect for them - as well as for every other species of spider.
I regret ever having supported an industry which is responsible for the deaths of thousands each year - not only of those wild caught, but also promoting the selling of these glorious beings to people who have no experience and no knowledge of their requirements. Most end up dead at a fraction of their natural life.
As much as I adore spiders - I will never support the pet trade in them ever again.

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Whoa, is that a tarantula eye?!
Very interesting.
I could never have a pet that fragile.
Do they breed tarantulas in captivity? Do they lay eggs like other spiders?
 
Yes, many species of tarantula are bred in captivity, but many are problematic when it comes to breeding and it is far easier to obtain wild caught adults. Tiny spiderlings only appeal to real hobbyists - petstores want full grown adults because they are the ones who are going to sell.
Yes, that is my Evelyn's eyeball. She is such a sweet, laid back, little girl who is probably around 25 years old now (or older because her species is very problematic to breed and are nearly always wild caught - regardless of what lies the petstore tells you).
My favourite photo is the one of her cute bottom with the web coming out from her spinnerets. She is so adorable! If you look at her toe in the bottom left - you can even see the two little nails that they have on each of their footies. Those were all taken with a macro lens and she was so cooperative with me. She is such a little treasure.
They are truly natures miracles and we have to stop treating them the way we do.
 
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This is one reason why I love this forum so much...I refuse to kill bugs, spiders, or any creatures because my aunt always taught me "every life is precious." People think I'm weird....you guys are my kind of people. Just reading that someone loves a tarantulas little furry feet makes me smile :) They are quite cute!!
 
Yes, many species of tarantula are bred in captivity, but many are problematic when it comes to breeding and it is far easier to obtain wild caught adults. Tiny spiderlings only appeal to real hobbyists - petstores want full grown adults because they are the ones who are going to sell.
Ummm, how long does it take for a spider to grow up?
Wouldn't wild spiders be wild? All attack-y and bite-y?
How do you entertain a spider? Do they get bored?
 
Agh! I miss my spiders!! (I had about 25 not too long ago, but being forced to move means..well...let's just say I'm struggling to find a landlord who's cool with a parrot, bearded dragon, four ratties and a ball python.)

Growth is not a linear process and depends on food availability, temperature, sex and species to name a few things.

Males mature faster (and die younger) than females.
Warmer temperatures and more food (although excesses of these promote shorter lifespans) will usually result in faster growth.

Species have individual growth tendencies. Some grow much faster than others.

All in all, could be a couple years, only a few years, or many years.

All tarantulas (captive-bred or not) are 'wild' in that they are not really neurologically designed for interaction or affection. They are very primal creatures really---they respond to threats/potential threats, potential mates, light/dark and possible prey. At best you are simply another 'thing' to walk around on and at worst you are a threat and need to be scared off. They are really a 'hands-off' pet much like a fish and prefer not to be disturbed.

As per getting bored or entertaining them....nope. Again, they pretty much sit around waiting for any of the aforementioned stimulus and otherwise sit still in their webs or burrows or do some repair work on their homes. Sometimes they'll take a walk around the enclosure to see if anything is new. Ambush predators with low energy requirements and low energy expenditure habits at their finest.
 
Ummm, how long does it take for a spider to grow up?
Wouldn't wild spiders be wild? All attack-y and bite-y?
How do you entertain a spider? Do they get bored?

All spiders are wild creatures - whether they are wild caught or captive bred. There are some species who have a higher tolerance to being interacted with and some with a very low tolerance threshold. You better know which species you are dealing with before giving it a try.
Spiders don't like to be handled or played with, so I have always left mine alone to do their own thing. Evelyn gets a bit active when I open her enclosure, because she is expecting me to feed her, but she doesn't seem to mind that I am taking photos. The lens in some of those was an inch or two away from her. She is very docile with me and never even thrown her hairs.
Yes, some people feed their spiders mice, but they are idiots and should not have spiders to begin with. Putting aside the fact that it is extremely cruel to feed live mice when they are absolutely NOT a requirement - the match is very even. You have as much chance of your spider being killed by a poor, terrified, cornered mouse as the other way around. It is a cruel and idiotic move to feed live rodents to tarantulas. Those people are in it for the shock value and not because they respect spiders.
 
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