Tarantulas and You

Tarantulas have been fairly popular pets for a number of years, but make more of a fascinating hobby than an interactive pet. Tarantulas are unique, quiet and don’t take very much space which makes them a good pet for apartment dwellers. Although Tarantulas are often thought of as being dangerous, they are actually fragile creatures that stress easily and don’t take well to a lot of handling.

There are over 800 species of Tarantula, but the pet store varieties tend to be hardy and easier to care for than some of their relatives. The Tarantula comes in a variety of sizes and appearances and because they’re native to many differing climatic areas, the needs for housing and care do vary for the different species.

Tarantulas would rather run away than be confrontational, but they do bite and their bites are venomous. For most of the pet species the toxic levels of venom are similar to that of a bee or wasp. The poison will cause pain, redness and swelling, but would not normally be serious, or fatal, unless a person has allergic reactions to spider bites.

Some species of Tarantula have tiny hairs on their bellies that can be released if threatened. The hairs have barbs and can work themselves into the skin and cause itching and irritation. They can also penetrate the eye and cause inflammation, so you should not rub your eyes after doing anything with the spider and its cage until after you’ve thoroughly washed your hands.

The best choices in Tarantulas for first time owners are ground dwellers or burrowers because they’re a little slower moving and easier to handle. These can be: Chilean Rose;Costa Rican Zebra; Mexican Redknee; Mexican Redleg; Desert/Mexican Blonde; or the Curly Hair Tarantula.

The Pinktoe is a good first arboreal tarantula (tree dwelling), but not a good first tarantula. Generally, these tree dwellers are more challenging to care for and the Pinktoe is quite fast and agile which makes handling more difficult.
Female Tarantulas are usually the better choice of pets because they tend to live longer than the males. A female could live up to 20 years, where a male’s life expectancy is only a couple of years.

When buying your pet Tarantula, make sure that the age and sex are known. You should also find out the scientific name for the spider as that will be the best way to get the appropriate care information. And Tarantulas are not social animals, so do not keep more than one in a single enclosure.