Pet Tarantulas (Warning: May contain pictures)

[FlipMode]

So yeah, we have had household pets before, but I have never had my own personal pet that I chose, there is pretty good reason for that, I have always wanted an exotic pet like a lizard or something.

The other day, on facebook mah buddy was advertising a few tarantulas that he is selling on, after talking about how to look after one etc I agreed to take one from him later this week. Oh man, my mum was okay about it, but my sister who is an arachnophobe, as you would imagine went absolutely ballistic, saying she would move out with her boyfriend etc lol. I reckon she will be all right once its here and in the cage.

Other than that, they are ideal pets for some, they require very little actual care outside of feeding a couple of times a week (and can live without it for up to a month). They don't really drink, and some of them can be handled as long as one does so calmly. They are like, the least time consuming pets that one can get.

I would rather it will not bite me but I am not overly fussed about it, for one this species is pretty calm and will not bite unless its a final resort (they are not dumb, they know we are much bigger than them), but I do wander if anyone else has or knows someone who has some and might have tips on how to look after one?

Oh, its about 6 inches. and a mature female Chilean Rose Hair, if that helps any.

[jelle]

Hmm what i atleast know is that they aren't very toxic and that the bite doesn't hurt that bad
Its like a sting of a bee or from a wasp. :3

[DGFone]

I'm not really a big pet guy myself, so I could be missing something here, but what really comes down to it is this question: If you get a pet that you don't do anything with and do't have to take care of...
Why get one at all?

[FlipMode]

Yep you are missing something. You feed them like a couple times a week, and when you think about it, you only feed a cat a few times a day but people still get them. It's more for show than anything else but they do still need to be treated properly ( tanks a certain humidity and temperature etc, which varies on species) it's more like having a pet lizzard or snake etc just more exotic pets to own. Plus they shed their skin and stuff, I just find them quite interesting and unique, at least that's what seems to be the draw.

And yeah I'm aware, they are venomous but their fangs aren't big enough to inject venom in a human properly and biting is a last resort so myah.

[Jiirani]

Awesome, I've always been a fan of tarantulas. And you can't say that about only feeding them, I mean you can interact with a tarantula. You can't do that with fish, and people buy those... Do those types of tarantulas shake their bodies and sent their hairs flying about or something like that, because some of them do that right?
And sadly I can't give much advice, but I'm sure there's a lot of information available online. I bet they'll make good pets though.

[FlipMode]

Yeah she will flick hairs when slightly startled ( it's a first defence) but as long as you wash your hands it's fine am side the hairs just irritate and itch a bit if not.

[Regulus]

I'm not sure if I'd rather shoot myself in the foot, or have a tarantula crawling up my arm.

[FlipMode]

^One is lethal, the other is not.

And guise, I have set up the arboreal (basically, the cage, but they are a bit taller to accommodate the spider and all the things that it needs with it. I broke up a pant pot for her to hide behind and all =D. Damn, she has got heating, water, a small tree, and burrows to hide under lol, who knew they were so needy. Hopefully going to pick up mah pet tomorrow, along with some supply of food to keep her going until I can get her some more.

[DGFone]

Where I live, we get Tarantulas in the wild.

Which also means that all the times I saw them, I had to avoid stepping onto them by accident. I guess I will never really understand why people keep suck creatures, but if they want to, I guess it works for them.

[FlipMode]

^I live in the UK, here they are pretty much non existent, I think that is where the fascination comes from for some. Where I am, you would never see such creatures unless imported, its the same reason people I know have snakes, and other reptiles.

A bit like how you guys have Mtn Dew in DIFFERENT FLAVOURS, d00d we only have the original, and people spend quite a bit of money buying the imported ones, but if it were in our shops we would not bother to buy it. Its all about having something unique that would other wise not be possible, at least to me. Yet I am also just generally fascinated by them. The way they shed they shed their skin, hunt, trap and kill prey etc its such a wicked cool pet to have!