# Why do people keep tarantulas?



## British

I googled it, but couldn't find a real answer. Why DO people keep spiders as pets? I'm assuming it's kind of like keeping a fish; they're fun to look at?


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## Arashi

I have no idea. I'm guessing it's just a hobby, or they want a "cool" pet.

Maybe it's interesting to watch them spin webs or eat their prey or something.

Maybe there are some tarantula owners here who can provide some insight.


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## mkeith501

I interned at a Zoo last summer and got to watch the tarantula shed its exoskeleton. It was SUPER cool! I would never want one as a pet though.


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## British

I'm seriously trying so hard to be open minded and not think that they're terrifying and creepy! I'm soooo scared of spiders.


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## British

mkeith501 said:


> I interned at a Zoo last summer and got to watch the tarantula shed its exoskeleton. It was SUPER cool! I would never want one as a pet though.


That is pretty neat! I'd be scared that the thing would get out and be loose in my house if I had one... My roommate better not get any ideas! O.O


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## Maltey

When we went to pick up our bearded dragon the guy was talking about keeping tarantulas. I'm pretty freaked out by them so I couldn't have one, but he did say they were interesting to watch. I'm pretty sure he said he gets it out to play with aswell.

For me, I think that can only be up to a point. Like the bearded dragon we got- she's fun to watch, for about 5 minutes when she's eating. Otherwise she just sits around all day, which I can imagine a tarantula does. 
Give me a rat any day


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## British

Maltey said:


> Give me a rat any day


Agreed!


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## Arashi

What about scorpions? I've seen those in pet stores, lol.


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## Maltey

I think you're right about it being a 'cool' pet. I saw some scorpions under a UV? light at a zoo and was like wowww that's amazing and I can totally see how somebody would see something like that in a pet shop and spontaneously buy it.


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## British

Scorpions are neat  I held one at a zoo once. He just sat in my hand (I think they made him cold so he wouldn't move  ).


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## Arashi

O yeah, I haven't seen that on a live scorpion but it must be neat, haha.

Hmm, I think I'd be okay with holding a scorpion, if it's without it's sting, lol.


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## Arashi

I wonder how people handle their tarantulas because I've heard their hair causes irritation.


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## British

Google "scorpion under black light"  They're really kind of pretty when they glow! And, have you seen those blue tarantulas? Those are neat...


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## Arashi

British said:


> Google "scorpion under black light"  They're really kind of pretty when they glow! And, have you seen those blue tarantulas? Those are neat...


Haven't seen them but I'll be sure to google


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## mkeith501

I've held tarantulas before. As long as you are fairly still and don't make any fast movements the hair doesn't irritate its just a mechanism against predators. you cant really grab them though, as long as you only touch their feet the hair doesn't get you.


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## British

Now, here's a spider I would like 










(taken from http://dozenflours.com/2008/11/maddys-spider-cake.html )


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## Arashi

Haha, I'm with that.


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## therathugger

I have (When I was young) had a pet wolf-spider in a jar with holes in it, I would feed it everyday and what I thought was neat or cool was the way the spider walked ate and killed. I also thought the spiders simply looked interesting.


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## British

therathugger said:


> I have (When I was young) had a pet wolf-spider in a jar with holes in it, I would feed it everyday and what I thought was neat or cool was the way the spider walked ate and killed. I also thought the spiders simply looked interesting.


Aren't those poisonous? O.O


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## JessyGene

I held a friend's tarantula once and it walked around on my arm...kinda felt like a many legged rat. I was definitely weirded out though cuz i'm a little scared of spiders.


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## therathugger

Well they leave a good welt on you if they bite you but actually I have been bitten alot and never been hurt worse than a feverish welt on me. However there is more than one type of wolf spider, maybe the kind you are familair with is different?







That is what I had in my jar.


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## Flashygrrl

I'm always having to move those kinds of spiders out of the way at work...I'd much rather have the spiders so they can eat the flies. As for home, well, hubby wants a tarantula at some point and I keep having to put my foot down. I don't know why but they creep me out a bit and besides that, we have enough animals!


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## Munchie

My friends boyfriend has tarantulas. She says they're cool to watch and pretty intelligent  I guess it's an acquired taste. I used to have triops and thought they were fascinating to watch but I guess they never really -did- much (other than backflip).


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## emilystar

Ugh we get those in the house all the time. They freak me out because they always run towards my feet at the middle of the night. My brother got bit by one of those and it left a nasty mark. I can deal with the tiny house spiders but once they get bigger than a dime and have hair I'm out.


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## Arashi

Munchie said:


> My friends boyfriend has tarantulas. She says they're cool to watch and pretty intelligent  I guess it's an acquired taste. I used to have triops and thought they were fascinating to watch but I guess they never really -did- much (other than backflip).


Triops? What are those?


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## emilystar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triops


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## Arashi

How bizarre, I had no idea those things existed.


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## emilystar

They're like sea monkeys I think.


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## Arashi

emilystar said:


> They're like sea monkeys I think.


That's what I thought.

They look so prehistoric, lol.


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## Munchie

Sea Monkeys are a bit different and a lot smaller (also I never managed to hatch sea monkeys :c) . Triops grow much bigger and look like mini dinosaur fish  Mine was huge and did backflips and swum upside down a lot. Not a a patch on my rats but they have really interesting hatching patterns, like their eggs are laid in the bottom of puddles, and they dry out and can lay dormant for years, then when the puddles fill up they hatch in like... a day or so?
They can grow up to 11 centimetres and the thought terrified me o.o


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## PetoftheDay

The people who have had tarantulas featured on our website (PetoftheDay.com) usually have them because they are fascinating to watch, can be friendly and like to explore, and some people find them pretty! Beauty IS all in the eye of the beholder. I would not mind having one as a pet, but as my beloved husband is not at all fond of spiders, that's never gonna happen!

So spiders can be more interactive than, say, goldfish, in that they can come out of their tank for playtime, and it's neat to figure out their individual personalities.


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## British

PetoftheDay said:


> The people who have had tarantulas featured on our website (PetoftheDay.com) usually have them because they are fascinating to watch, can be friendly and like to explore, and some people find them pretty! Beauty IS all in the eye of the beholder. I would not mind having one as a pet, but as my beloved husband is not at all fond of spiders, that's never gonna happen!
> 
> So spiders can be more interactive than, say, goldfish, in that they can come out of their tank for playtime, and it's neat to figure out their individual personalities.


Very cool  I'm learning so much from this thread 

And, the triops are wicked cool looking!


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## Arashi

Tarantulas aren't really my kind pf pet.

I've kept green tree snakes before, though.


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## RatzRUs

I cannot stand spiders >< Lol I had one crawling on me once and I began screaming.


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## echoskybound

A friend of mine keeps Madagascar hissing cockroaches (which are big and flightless, not like the pesty kind) and I think some people just like to watch exotic insects. I guess you could imagine what we seem like to people who are grossed out by rats and mice... they probably think "Ick! How could someone keep that as a pet?!" I bet people who keep tarantulas and other insects find them really fascinating.


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## British

echoskybound said:


> I guess you could imagine what we seem like to people who are grossed out by rats and mice... they probably think "Ick! How could someone keep that as a pet?!" I bet people who keep tarantulas and other insects find them really fascinating.


LOL I think you are right about that!

Cockroaches really freak me out, like spiders; I'd be petrified that they'd get loose and I'd find them in my bed or something, ha ha.


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## littlebird~

Munchie said:


> Sea Monkeys are a bit different and a lot smaller (also I never managed to hatch sea monkeys :c) . Triops grow much bigger and look like mini dinosaur fish  Mine was huge and did backflips and swum upside down a lot. Not a a patch on my rats but they have really interesting hatching patterns, like their eggs are laid in the bottom of puddles, and they dry out and can lay dormant for years, then when the puddles fill up they hatch in like... a day or so?
> They can grow up to 11 centimetres and the thought terrified me o.o


I've never succeeded in growing any sort of monkey or triops... Well, no I take that back, one time it did work, they grew to be about an inch long and swam upside down and I could see their little crawlers. c: but then we had a party and some stupid kid poured wine into their little tank....made me so sad. Ya, I haven't had much success in small prehistoric swimming things. XD


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## Sappho Ten

My housemate has a Queensland bird eating spider (part of the tarantula family) its only a year old ,,fairly feisty when awake so it doesn't come out of its tank ... ..shes as big as your hand already ..he also has a desert rock scorpion and a black rock scorpion ..both just for watching when they are feeding especially under uv light , he likes "unusual" pets ... he also has 2 rats from my last litter tho so he isnt a really freaky person


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## Kiko

I am a tarantula keeper!

In fact I am going to a reptile Expo next month to get some new variety.

I love them, They are fascinating to watch, and if you are like me and love to make accurate enclosures then their habitats make lovely decorations in a home.

For anyone curious, I don't handle my tarantulas. To me they are a 'look don't touch' pet. I am fine with people handling their own however.

Last year my Rose Haired tarantula molted, and it was AWESOME. 
I am attached to that tarantula, she was my first. Her name is Lassie lol


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## deetea

Maltey said:


> Give me a rat any day


Amen sister! 
It hasn't even been a week and I think I'm a lifer - these guys are too amazing!


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## Raturday

Kiko said:


> I am a tarantula keeper!
> 
> In fact I am going to a reptile Expo next month to get some new variety.
> 
> I love them, They are fascinating to watch, and if you are like me and love to make accurate enclosures then their habitats make lovely decorations in a home.
> 
> For anyone curious, I don't handle my tarantulas. To me they are a 'look don't touch' pet. I am fine with people handling their own however.
> 
> Last year my Rose Haired tarantula molted, and it was AWESOME.
> I am attached to that tarantula, she was my first. Her name is Lassie lol


Oh wow, she molted? Did you take pictures of the molt or anything? Did her hair come off with the molt?
I don't think I would ever keep a tarantula as a pet but I understand why some people do. They ARE really interesting.


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## Kiko

I sadly dont have any images of her molt. She did it overnight.

At first it looked like a dead one appeared in the tank overnight because the carapace was just sort of crumpled in the corner. I was so confused!


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## lilmissy22

i have a rose hair tarantula i hold it very little it is a cool pet... i love differnet kinds of animals... i like to watch it eat and i did save it molt.. i have it in a shadow box on the wall.  ....


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## eaturbyfill

If I didn't have a really severe spider phobia, I could understand having one! Definitely not for me, though..


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## elliriyanna

My dad keeps tarantulas and they are VERY interesting he has I think 5 at the moment and Tigger is my favorite. Its not exactly like keeping fish they can be hand tamed but feeding times as well as their habits are just intriguing to watch  They are amazing predators as well as they sometimes get scared by the crickets lol. I will admit its scary at first though.


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## charmmy

i realize this is a little old but i do have a tarantula my good friend wanted one and for christmas i got him and myself a baby tarantula (spiderling) each. when i first got him he was no bigger than my pinky nail now hes about the size of a nickel and its only been a few months. he is a mexican red rump and hes rather interesting i must say. when they molt its quite incredible its like a shell of the spider just dead?

his way of eating is fascinating to watch, but right now yes he is more like having a fish you kind of watch him rather than hold him. when he gets larger i will hold him more, but hes so small and fast! its kind of shocking to see how fast he can actually move. 

and watching him grow is very cool and awesome really. when i first got him he was practically clear but now he has real coloring red and brown its beautiful.


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## Mrm911

I can watch them but once they come out I freak out. When I was in preschool I found one in our playgorund it ws so creepy and hen my bestfriends neighbors had one and when we were over playing with there kittens they brought the tralantula once they fell asleep and they took it out and it ran straight at me and I jump on the couch. They also said that that one was the only one that stayed the other escaped because they used to have a tarantula room. But the put it in the window during halloween and it pretty interesting to watch crawl around. 

I did have a pet spider for a week when I was five, I caught it my backyard. I am okay with hissing cockroaches and most bugs, but no flying one except butterflies. I can almost handleto see any animal but it doesn't mean I can interact with them.


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## unlikelyfather

Completely untrue in the "look at" department. While they are indeed fun to look at, plenty of tarantula owners handle their babies. When I was a kid, my friend's mom had a rosie by the name of, well, Rose. She had gotten her before her son was born (my friend) and I'm not sure about the tarantula's average life span but that spider was ancient. Or, at least, it seemed that way to me. I don't know much about spiders. We were about eight or nine at the time.

Spider fanatics can admire certain traits about them, and if you get the right species they're often tame enough to be held (so long as you respect them and know the proper way to hold them). 

Don't forget that most people would be surprised to see a rat as a pet, and would also cringe away. I'm sure that spider owners all believe they're in on something that the world is missing out on and that their spiders are their precious babies just like our rats are ours.


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## never-sleep

Although I have never had one, I want a trarantula. I knew a kid who had one and he said it was one of the most docile pets he ever had. I held a Rose haired Tarantula a while back and she was absolutely great. She calm and crawled slow on my hands, stopping if I didn't have my other hand up yet for her to climb in.
I guess they are like snakes, or even rats, they aren't everyone's cup of tea 








Found this pic online. It is a Rose Haired Tarantula.


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## Meko102

Tarantulas are good pets, i had a Pink Salmon Birdeater when i first got her she was lovely but became nasty with age and had to give her away  but i found them very interesting to watch, they made no noise and didnt need much attention so they are very easy to look after


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## Ashley29

I realize I'm reviving an old thread, but I feel I could shed some honest, factual insight on the subject.

Tarantulas to me are more of a hobby. They are not like normal pets that you can play with, cuddle with, or even 'pet'. They cannot be 'tamed', honestly their brains aren't formed enough to really act on anything other than instinct. Sure, if you handle often, and you really know the personality of the tarantula in question, you can handle without being bitten. But in all honesty, startle one and it will bite you. They do not recognize you from any other large creature. Actually, they aren't even true spiders, they're moreso the prehistoric ancestors of modern day spiders. They breathe with two sets of book lungs, which if they crawl up the side of the tank you can see underneath them.

Certain tarantulas are more handle-able than others. Most people get rose-hairs, because they are the easiest and cheapest to find. Also, they're considered more slow, and laid-back. Although this may be true for the vast majority, my one rose-hair, Goliath, is not afraid of my hand, and will go into a threat pose if I get too close to her when I change her water dish. She wasn't always like that, though. When I got her I was able to use a soft paint brush on her rump to delicately coax her onto my leg so I could clean out her enclosure. She would just chill there until I moved her back in. However, when tarantulas molt, they go through a sort of 'puberty'. Ever since her last molt, she's mean and I can't touch her, period.

Point being, if you handle your tarantulas, you are the only one gaining any satisfaction. It does nothing for the tarantula, the tarantula doesn't love you, the tarantula doesn't recognize you, the tarantula just wants to eat and poop. They also don't sleep, at all, period, and are most active at night. For anyone here keeping tarantulas who would like quite a show, if you install a red light over the enclosure and turn out the lights at night, you might see some interesting behavior. Tarantulas are incapable of seeing pure red light, it's like they're not programmed to see that end of the spectrum.

So I've had people ask me, '*Why do you have tarantulas?!*'

Because it's like having another world in my home, like having animal planet in my room, and I have 8 because honestly it becomes a bit like collecting pokemon cards. There are so many gorgeous varieties, orange with black markings, black with golden stripes, blue and purple, blue and pink, curly hair, short hair, fluffy, and almost bald. Super big and super small, aggressive webbers, slow bulky burrowers, fast lithe climbers. So many different defence mechanisms, too: Hairs (to shoot at you and give you a rash like fiberglass), or a poop cannon (shoot poop at you, run and hide!), or to bite you (aggressive species, such as the OBT tarantula, will bite instead of run).

I've never been bitten. I don't really handle. Like I said it either does nothing for the tarantula or stresses it out. I've never had hairs shot at me, but Zippy (pinktoe tarantula) pooped at me once, but he was in his enclosure so it looks like a bird just pooped on the side of the glass. D:
*
And for all of you cockroach enthusiasts out there. * I have a colony of blaptica dubia roaches that I use to not only feed my tarantulas, but that I let breed like mad with plans of taking them to reptile shows and selling as feeders. (More nutritious and less dangerous to your reptiles than crickets.) They cannot fly, do not bite, and cannot climb smooth surfaces. I've never had an escape...with the exception of my fiance dropping one and losing track of where it went. We found it weeks later, very skinny and sad looking, hiding under a sock. I felt so bad for it I threw it back in the roach bin and it went straight for the food.

They can't breed very well under temps of high 80's low 90's. I have complete control of the colony. No they haven't taken over my house, and no you can't even tell they're there. I can't tell you how many guests couldn't believe that we had over 300 roach inhabitants, in a completely still, quiet bin. Also that I was able to talk most of them into holding one.  Most found them quite cute after actually seeing and handling one. Did you know that less than 1% of cockroach species are the ones known to dig through your garbage and infest your home? An unfair rep, I say!


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## alexn

I'm not a massive fan of spiders, but my friend used to have a tarantula - it just sat there, not doing anything for long periods of time.

What really freaked me out though was I was sure it could see me. I sat and stared at it for around 5 minutes, and it didn't move at all. Glanced over the other way when my friend called, and when I turned back (no more than 10 seconds) it was halfway up the side of the tank, again, dead still. It was at that point I decided to not look anymore.


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## LaTortue

Ashley29 said:


> I realize I'm reviving an old thread, but I feel I could shed some honest, factual insight on the subject.
> 
> Tarantulas to me are more of a hobby. They are not like normal pets that you can play with, cuddle with, or even 'pet'. They cannot be 'tamed', honestly their brains aren't formed enough to really act on anything other than instinct. Sure, if you handle often, and you really know the personality of the tarantula in question, you can handle without being bitten. But in all honesty, startle one and it will bite you. They do not recognize you from any other large creature. Actually, they aren't even true spiders, they're moreso the prehistoric ancestors of modern day spiders. They breathe with two sets of book lungs, which if they crawl up the side of the tank you can see underneath them.
> 
> Certain tarantulas are more handle-able than others. Most people get rose-hairs, because they are the easiest and cheapest to find. Also, they're considered more slow, and laid-back. Although this may be true for the vast majority, my one rose-hair, Goliath, is not afraid of my hand, and will go into a threat pose if I get too close to her when I change her water dish. She wasn't always like that, though. When I got her I was able to use a soft paint brush on her rump to delicately coax her onto my leg so I could clean out her enclosure. She would just chill there until I moved her back in. However, when tarantulas molt, they go through a sort of 'puberty'. Ever since her last molt, she's mean and I can't touch her, period.
> 
> Point being, if you handle your tarantulas, you are the only one gaining any satisfaction. It does nothing for the tarantula, the tarantula doesn't love you, the tarantula doesn't recognize you, the tarantula just wants to eat and poop. They also don't sleep, at all, period, and are most active at night. For anyone here keeping tarantulas who would like quite a show, if you install a red light over the enclosure and turn out the lights at night, you might see some interesting behavior. Tarantulas are incapable of seeing pure red light, it's like they're not programmed to see that end of the spectrum.
> 
> So I've had people ask me, '*Why do you have tarantulas?!*'
> 
> Because it's like having another world in my home, like having animal planet in my room, and I have 8 because honestly it becomes a bit like collecting pokemon cards. There are so many gorgeous varieties, orange with black markings, black with golden stripes, blue and purple, blue and pink, curly hair, short hair, fluffy, and almost bald. Super big and super small, aggressive webbers, slow bulky burrowers, fast lithe climbers. So many different defence mechanisms, too: Hairs (to shoot at you and give you a rash like fiberglass), or a poop cannon (shoot poop at you, run and hide!), or to bite you (aggressive species, such as the OBT tarantula, will bite instead of run).
> 
> I've never been bitten. I don't really handle. Like I said it either does nothing for the tarantula or stresses it out. I've never had hairs shot at me, but Zippy (pinktoe tarantula) pooped at me once, but he was in his enclosure so it looks like a bird just pooped on the side of the glass. D:
> *
> And for all of you cockroach enthusiasts out there. * I have a colony of blaptica dubia roaches that I use to not only feed my tarantulas, but that I let breed like mad with plans of taking them to reptile shows and selling as feeders. (More nutritious and less dangerous to your reptiles than crickets.) They cannot fly, do not bite, and cannot climb smooth surfaces. I've never had an escape...with the exception of my fiance dropping one and losing track of where it went. We found it weeks later, very skinny and sad looking, hiding under a sock. I felt so bad for it I threw it back in the roach bin and it went straight for the food.
> 
> They can't breed very well under temps of high 80's low 90's. I have complete control of the colony. No they haven't taken over my house, and no you can't even tell they're there. I can't tell you how many guests couldn't believe that we had over 300 roach inhabitants, in a completely still, quiet bin. Also that I was able to talk most of them into holding one.  Most found them quite cute after actually seeing and handling one. Did you know that less than 1% of cockroach species are the ones known to dig through your garbage and infest your home? An unfair rep, I say!


THANK YOU Ashley29! I saw this thread for the first time today and was debating whether or not to post, and if so, what to say. Your answer to the question "why keep tarantulas?" is pretty much how I feel as well. Although I've been obsessed with all kinds of critters since before I can even remember, keeping a tarantula (or any other invert for that matter) as a "pet" never really even crossed my mind until a couple of years ago. I had a couple of friends that I talked to regularly online (all of us rat owners) who both had fairly large tarantula collections. Until they showed me pictures of both their own Ts as well as pictures of various species online, I had absolutely no idea there were so many different, unique, and fascinating species. After that I was hooked lol. 

At one point I owned a little over 30 Ts of various species and sizes but then gradually downsized my collection, keeping only my "favorites" because I was quickly becoming intrigued with other types of inverts as well and wanted to be able to focus on a few of them too. Along with my 10 tarantulas, I now also have several true spiders (a jumping spider, 2 species of wolf spiders, and a female black widow), 2 species of scorpions (c. vittatus and LQs aka "deathstalkers"), several millipedes, 2 species of roaches I use as feeder colonies (lobsters and lats), and 3 species of roaches (hissers, giant peppered roaches, and question mark roaches) that are NOT feeders--I don't really consider them "pets" per se, I don't view any of my inverts like that really. It is really more of a hobby, and since I'm very hands-off with all of them for the most part, theyre almost more like displays, as in I'm able to enjoy making aesthetically pleasing enclosures for them and just sit back and watch as they do their thing (which, I'm not gonna lie, usually involves just sitting in pretty much the same spot for days on end usually lol). 

I love that they're so low maintenance--the majority of them actually thrive on "neglect". Its nice being able to keep such fascinating and unique critters and enjoy them without having to worry about not having time to give them proper care when you already have other high maintenance animals.

And for anyone out there still shaking their head at the thought of purposely keeping and breeding roaches, especially when its not even to use them as feeders, I'm going to include a pic of an adult Question Mark roach (t. olegrandjeani), one of the species I keep and definitely a personal favorite but still just one example of how roaches are not necessarily always ugly and gross looking, and it might give you at least a little better understanding of the appeal they can have.


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## YellowSpork

You guys got me intrigued. I've wanted a tarantula since I was little but haven't thought about getting recently. Until now.  I just read this: "You should clean your tarantula’s cage whenever it looks like it is needed, which shouldn’t be very often. It is usually a good idea to clean the enclosure every 4 to 6 months." True? Cause if so... awesome and I could totally get a tarantula if I bred my own food for it. Cause that means tarantulas are the most low maitenance pet ever.  I mean yeah refill water every day and such, but that's easy.


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## Ashley29

_Edit: I apologise for the large pictures, I resized them but for whatever reason it's not working. D: Hope it's not an inconvenience for anyone!_



LaTortue said:


> THANK YOU Ashley29! I saw this thread for the first time today and was debating whether or not to post, and if so, what to say. Your answer to the question "why keep tarantulas?" is pretty much how I feel as well. Although I've been obsessed with all kinds of critters since before I can even remember, keeping a tarantula (or any other invert for that matter) as a "pet" never really even crossed my mind until a couple of years ago. I had a couple of friends that I talked to regularly online (all of us rat owners) who both had fairly large tarantula collections. Until they showed me pictures of both their own Ts as well as pictures of various species online, I had absolutely no idea there were so many different, unique, and fascinating species. After that I was hooked lol.


Woohoo! Someone who shares my enthusiasm! Yes, it is VERY easy to get sucked into the hobby. I've actually had the privilege of 'converting' a few people from 'ewwww they're so gross' to 'oh wow, I never knew this or that..' after showing my collection and talking about them. It's normal for people to fear things that are different, and that they don't understand. After learning them inside and out and respecting them as 'critters', I don't think of them as any more alien than a squirrel or a chipmunk. Also, I've noticed this with rats/mice too, fear of spiders can also definitely be a 'taught fear' from a young age.

I for one am incredibly jealous that you have millipedes and hissers! I also really like the question mark roaches. I plan on getting some hissers and millipedes after we're done moving and I've had time to find a new job. (Which by the way, where did you get yours?)  Inverts are great, they're all the joys of having a 'classroom pet' to observe and learn from, but without cleaning poops every few days and having to give them time to 'free roam'.

And for anyone wondering what possible variations of tarantula could be visually interesting, check out these fellas:

Ornamental









Orange Baboon









Green Bottle Blue









Oh jeeze, there are so many many many many more.


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## LaTortue

YellowSpork, actually, as long as the enclosure is set up correctly (and "correct" setups are extremely simple and easy), "cleaning" consists of maybe occasionally removing an uneaten cricket or other dead prey item, any food boluses (this would be any part of an insect that didn't get consumed), and molts. As long as you aren't over-feeding, you're not going to end up having dead prey in the first place very often at all, as for the food boluses, I've really never even seen them when feeding crickets or mealworms--the only leftover parts of prey items that I find are maybe the wings of adult roaches like dubias or lobsters. Honestly, even when I do notice stray wings in an enclosure, I don't even bother to remove them half the time, or at least not right away. Also, species that do a lot of webbing often like to incorporate any stray body parts into their webs, same with their molts (which can be really frustrating when you've been waiting forever for a molt in order to determine sex and its totally stuck in the web lol). So basically, you shouldn't even need to clean every 4-6 months unless theres some other issue like mold from keeping the substrate too wet or something. For the most part, cleaning the whole cage is not only unecessary, but can also be pretty stressful on the tarantula. And the water bowls? Think more like filling them once a week maybe, definitely not every day. I usually fill my water bowls at the same time I feed, which for me is about every 2 weeks or so. Baby tarantulas ("slings") are the only ones that I really tend to on a weekly basis since that is when they're most fragile and more sensitive to environmental conditions.

Ashley29, my starting colony of a few adult hissers was given to me by a friend, and then another friend gave me a few more, and now they won't stop reproducing lol. I actually need to start looking into finding homes for a bunch of them since their enclosure is getting crowded and I really don't want to upgrade it. The millipedes are Texas Brown Millipedes (orthoporus? maybe?) and those were also given to me by a friend lol. The question marks and peppered roaches I ordered from one of the online vendors who specializes in roaches. 

P. mets, OBTs, and GBBs are definitely gorgeous Ts, but personally I'm a brachy girl lol. My female B. emilia is my pride and joy.


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## Ashley29

LaTortue said:


> Ashley29, my starting colony of a few adult hissers was given to me by a friend, and then another friend gave me a few more, and now they won't stop reproducing lol. I actually need to start looking into finding homes for a bunch of them since their enclosure is getting crowded and I really don't want to upgrade it. The millipedes are Texas Brown Millipedes (orthoporus? maybe?) and those were also given to me by a friend lol. The question marks and peppered roaches I ordered from one of the online vendors who specializes in roaches.
> 
> P. mets, OBTs, and GBBs are definitely gorgeous Ts, but personally I'm a brachy girl lol. My female B. emilia is my pride and joy.


 You have no idea how badly I've been wanting a smithi. But as you put it, you stopped adding to the collection so you can focus on other things. My newest additions were my rats. If I had more space I would definitely get more T's. I currently have 2 rosies, 1 pinktoe, 2 chaco, and 3 curlyhair. The chaco and curlyhair are slings, well now about 150% the size of my thumbnail. They were roughly if not smaller than the size of my pinky nail when I got them. I also wouldn't mind having a red rump, but the smithi is on the top of my list.

Where are you located? If you feel safe shipping, I wouldn't mind hitting you up for a few hissers once I find work. Geeze, I wish I had cool friends like you do. xD I seem to be in an area where there's little to no interest in rats, let alone inverts.


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## LaTortue

I currently have an adult female g. pulchripes (she's huge!), adult female b. vagans, female b. emilia, juvie b. albo (my very first T, got it as a 1/4" sling), juvie p. irminia, juvie a. schmidti, juvie a. behlei, an a. hentzi sling, and a p. cancerides sling. I really want a female b. boehmei, I'll probably end up getting one sometime pretty soon, and possibly a few more brachys--definitely wouldn't mind a smithi, auratum, or klaasi lol.

I live in TX and shipping would be no problem--I've shipped various inverts and reptiles before so its something I'm comfortable with. I'd only need you to pay for shipping--I don't want any money for the hissers themselves.


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## Awaiting_Abyss

Thanks Ashley29 (Ashley is my real name by the way xD) for teaching me some interesting things about tarantulas. 

I don't think I could ever own one; but not because I think they're ugly or that I'm afraid of them. I used to be terribly afraid of spiders, but now I'm okay with them as long as they're not touching me. I don't mind tarantulas as long as they're in their tank. The issue I have with them (which is why I wouldn't have one as a pet) is that they don't love. I love to feel the love from my pets and know that they actually care about me as well. 

I will admit that I really like the looks of the Ornamental one. The blue on it is really pretty.


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## VampireSmeezeGirls

I got started with a pink toed male from a roommate in college who didn't take him when she left for the summer.

Well, males apparently don't live very long as I found out, but yeah, I was hooked. So I have a pink toed female, Aebi, who is pretty friendly as they go. Or at least as friendly as any other T. Andy is a curlyhair female who I adopted from the shelter 3 years now. She was a class pet, and she is NOT friendly at all. Part of me wonders why I keep her as she is very aggressive at times, and you don't see her much, if ever. But, she's just acting like she's been mishandled and dropped too much, and bothered too much, so it's not her fault. So I just give her mostly mealworms and small crickets so there isn't much to clean from her tank ever, and we have a mutual agreement. I drop a divider in, clean half, and then remove. She charges to the clean half, I re drop the divider, and clean the other half. We call it fair.

My response to Why do you own a T? remains Why does anyone own a Chihuahua? Because they are interesting to me, because they are pretty easy to care for if I'm careful, they give me my "creepy pet" factor without the problems with lizards and snakes in my power outage prone area, and for the very simple reason, I can. I'd rather own 100 Ts than own a Chihuahua for even 6 hours. 

It's just a matter of what you want to live with.


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## LightningWolf

Tortue, that guy is Amazing! Didn't know roaches came in pretty colors. Stop fueling my bug addiction. 

Wait quick question. Do they jump? Seriously, I have a huge phobia of insects that jump to get around. the Crickets here, which for those not in Texas, these guys are a completely different species then else where, they Jump, Fly, And can walk on walls. I once saw on just stalking on the ceiling. It was scary. Doesn't help that once a year during Summer we get about 20 in our house a day for a month. Maybe that's why most people here, where I live at lease, are terrified of crickets.

Ashley, stop fueling my bug obsession too. I like tarantulas, though not sure if I would ever get one as a pet simply cause I like something I can interact with on a regular basis. Though they are very pretty


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## Awaiting_Abyss

VampireSmeezeGirls said:


> My response to Why do you own a T? remains Why does anyone own a Chihuahua? Because they are interesting to me, because they are pretty easy to care for if I'm careful, they give me my "creepy pet" factor without the problems with lizards and snakes in my power outage prone area, and for the very simple reason, I can. I'd rather own 100 Ts than own a Chihuahua for even 6 hours.
> 
> It's just a matter of what you want to live with.


Why the dislike for chihuahuas? I've had my chihuahua for 9 years now and he's great and smart. He may have come into my family's life unexpectedly, but he's like my baby and he sleeps with me at night. Though I do sometimes wish he weighed less, so I could hold him longer without my arms hurting. :s They vary in sizes and shapes and their personalities range as much as their looks. Its really unfair that people judge them based on a certain personality when only a small portion of chihuahuas act like that.


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## VampireSmeezeGirls

I don't have to like Chihuahuas. I don't mind if others like them, I personally don't. So I don't own one. Given 15 years of shelter volunteer work, I'm not sure why ANYONE really wants one, but I also know I'm not seeing well bred, good dogs at a shelter. I'm seeing puppy mill, no training, badly mannered dogs. But I don't want one.

Or, it just proves my point. You want to own a Chihuahua, you can. I want to own Ts, I can. You don't have to like my pets, I don't have to like yours. If we all loved the exact same pets, it'd be pretty boring.


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## Jewely-Cat

Heyy, I own a tarantula! Her name is Epiphany!  We keep her because she's fun to look at, funny, and "cute" (To me anyway)


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## Willieboo

Tarantulas are actually fairly docile spiders, too, so they can often be picked up/held and don't often bite unless threatened or scared. While they don't necessarily make the same kinds of relationships that rats and dogs and such do, I'd still give them the same love. I love tarantulas and other spiders not just because they're 'cool' but because I love nature, and nature incorporates all critters of course. c: I see them as friends just as I would see any other pet.


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## RatFanatic245

when i was 4yrs old and i was moveing to manitoba we stopped of at this little mini zoo type thing and there was this spot for Tarantulas and my parents asked if i wanted to hold one, needless to say i flat out refused, but, they walked away to look at the other animals and one off the workers asked if i wanted to hold one, and i was like ya sure why not, lol. it was a mexican redknee tarantula, not hugely dangerous but really cool. and to those who are wondering how they do not eritate your hands when being held they only release their hairs when they are being threatened and the hairs are from the abdomen. also a few years ago my dad got into the tarantula hobby for about 4-5 months and he had this really awesome blue legged and body with an orange abdomen but that the original owners calle pumkinbut, lol.


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## Drowsy

I think it really comes down to a persons personal LIKES.

You can't judge someone for not liking chihuahuas, because you think they should. And then judge them for liking spiders, because you don't! xD
Everyone needs to respect what other people enjoy. No 'ew why do you like that, it's so gross/creepy/slimey/etc!'

I think all animals are cool. I'm deathly afraid of roaches but I STILL like them on some level. they are fascinating as long as there is glass between them and me. I think the same goes for tarantulas and such. They are like fish and axolotls in a way. The majority of time you observe, not handle. You let them do their thing and enjoy them doing it.
Many species of reptile.amphibians are like that, too. c:

They're fascinating pets.


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## Snutting11509

My boyfriend and I have a Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula, her name is Molly. She is approx 8 or 9 yrs old and has molted twice (summer 2010 was the last time). She is originally my boyfriends but since we live together I guess that makes me her owner as well. I have never held her because I am very nervous about it, not so much about her biting me but about me freaking out and potentially dropping her and causing injury or death. My boyfriend has handled her several times for cage cleanings and is very cautious about it as to not stress her out too much. She is very interesting to watch in her cage, and her coloring is very beautiful when the light hits right (soft pink). Watching her lay her webbing is the best part I think... she walks around the while cage laying a web using her little 'butt feeler things' (that's what I call them), it is very cute to watch. Oh also she rolls her cricket carcass' all over to one specific location in her cage, I'm not sure if this is a common habit of tarantulas or not but i find it very funny. Usually withing a few hours of her eating she will take her front two legs and roll the cricket across her cage to 'the graveyard'. My boyfriend says that he originally got her because she was beautiful yet dangerous at the same time. She was so cute and the idea of spiders laying webs (in this case on the ground) is fascinating! Web laying is the way they map out their world. I originally was freaked out by the idea of having a tarantula in my bedroom never mind in the same house as me (my mom is *PETRIFIED *of tarantulas!!!!!). I can now proudly say that Molly's cage sits on the nightstand of my side of our bed... and its been like that for almost 4 years! I talk to her everyday (silly, I know), but she is part of the family! Maybe this will help you understand a little more about the beauty of owning a spider.


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## rattyandseekersmum

i would LOVE a tanty, but we cant have them in my country, so im out of luck. they look sooooooo pretty though


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## Ruka

I keep Tarantulas because they are simply amazing!

They are easy to keep, cheap to fee, make no noise, and take up minimal space.

I handle my Tarantulas, and have never been bitten. I have been haired though.

I love to watch them, to learn about the spiders.

And honestly, even though I didn't get them for the whole 'YOU HAVE WHAT IN YOUR HOUSE!? factor, it does amuse me at times how people can get so worked up over a spider behind glass.


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## Gannyaan

.... I am terrified of anything with more than 4 legs. It's entirely irrational. Oh wait... Everything except bees. I know..... Moths on me would freak me out..... But a bee? No problem. I am so scared of spiders that I can't walk under trees where I've seen them. Or lie on the ground outside. I always wanted to get over my spider fear!!!! If I saw a tarantula in a tank, it would probably help me to get over it because they are fuzzy...... But don't they get lonely without any spidy friends? Anyways... I'm no one to judge, but I'm still terrified. No idea why.... 


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## TheRatPack8

I have a fascination with spiders. I don't own one but its hard to explain to someone who is scared of them. They are beautiful, deadly, and graceful all at the same time. I thought I would be scared of holding one if given the chance by it turns out I was fine with it, it was the scorpion I was scared of! But I held that too. I mean how many chances will you get?

















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## shadowgee

I used to have a tarantula named Charlotte (after the spider in Charlotte's Web). She was a Pink Toe Tarantula. My main reason for wanting and owning a tarantula was that they're just very beautiful and interesting animals. There are so many different types of tarantulas; each one is so beautiful and they're all different. I loved to watch mine molt, spin her web, and my favorite thing to watch her do is eat. I find them very interesting. I think a lot of people assume it's "just a spider", and don't think about all of the interesting things they do and how different each type of tarantula is.


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## Ruka

Gannyaan said:


> .... I am terrified of anything with more than 4 legs. It's entirely irrational. Oh wait... Everything except bees. I know..... Moths on me would freak me out..... But a bee? No problem. I am so scared of spiders that I can't walk under trees where I've seen them. Or lie on the ground outside. I always wanted to get over my spider fear!!!! If I saw a tarantula in a tank, it would probably help me to get over it because they are fuzzy...... But don't they get lonely without any spidy friends? Anyways... I'm no one to judge, but I'm still terrified. No idea why....
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App


Noo.. Two spiders equals ONE fat spider!!

Tarantulas are solitary animals, they will eat each other. Even during mating the male usually dies unless the keeper intervenes, and even then, once the male reaches sexual maturity, he's only got a few months left..



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## SpiderRats

I actually keep +30 tarantulas with a few other random bugs. They're really awesome to watch just move around or spin web... or really them doing anything is interesting to me. Feeding time is especially cool. However they're not as smart and cuddly as rats. Which is why I have both ;D


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## Gannyaan

Thirty tarantulas?


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## Gannyaan

Ok, SO, I actually was freaked out when I read this post about 5 months ago... Ever since then, I have thought about Ts, and looked into them....

Weeellll, i kinda want one now. This is so strange because i am the kind of person that can't walk under trees or lie on grass without being scared of spiders... So, I don't. I think it's because I've been bitten and also because growing up, my older cousins were scared of them... Tarantulas are actually big and fuzzy.... Watching a documentary about them actually helped with my arachnophobia. 


Tarantulas can't kill you if they bite you, and they're also kinda cute! It's sad that they don't enjoy being held tho.... I was watching videos of the euathlus sp red ... Wow! Tiny and beautiful! 

I actually love the t blondi now, but I wouldn't get one since I'm so inexperienced....

Anyways! All you invert fans made a difference and opened my mind. 


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## RosesRufflesandRats

I always thought they were pretty cool. I don't think I would be able to keep them though. I don't know if anyone else here has restless leg syndrome, but if you do, you will know that creepy-crawly feeling your weird circulation will give you at nights. I always have to turn on my lamp because I'm just SURE I have a spider crawling on me! Having a tarantula in the house would make that even worse, Lol!


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## poodlecrazy1

Arashi said:


> I wonder how people handle their tarantulas because I've heard their hair causes irritation.


As long as they don't get frightened they wont kick their hairs off, which is what causes the skin irritation. the hair won't come out unless they release it.


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## poodlecrazy1

There was a tarantula in the pet store that I absolutely fell in love with. The guy let me hold her once and it was love at first site. She was so sweet and gentle she would just crawl up my arm at a very slow pace and then crawl back down it was so cute. she was very pretty too. she was like a Rose Hair Tarantula or something like that. I couldn't have her as a pet though so she had to stay at the pet store. I would visit her and hold her every time I went in though.


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## Moonferret

Tarantulas are amazing and sooo beautiful! at the moment I only have one but there was a time I had 50 (and thats not including the 125 hatchlings me and my family reared for sale - legit of course, theyre members of the british tarantula society and used to breed for them) I only ever had one girl flick hair at me and it was my fault anyway, all the others have been very well behaved. I used to love getting to feed them when I was a kid and watching them make their webs. 
Gannyaan, thats great that its helping your phobia! Having grown up with them I have no problems with tarantulas but having been in a relationship with someone deathly terrified of them I can see why some people are now. But theyre such amazing little creatures I cant help but be drawn to them


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## 3 ratties

People probably think they are just a cool pet to have  Maybe they think they are beautiful or like the look of them. I dont like to judge, because as rat lovers, we get judged as well, and i know how it feels. alot of people probably ask why do people keep rats? Everybodys just different and sometimes theres no explanation


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## Namaste_RatMother

My tarantula was my best friend. They're typically really just gentle giants unless you threaten or scare them. She shed her skin once so perfectly and went to hide, I thought it was her and broke down crying until my mom took the shell out and told me it was just her shed skin. Some people use them as accessories to show how "cool" they are, but we had Rosey because she was a pet, part of our family, just like any other pet.

She's also the reason why I can totally stand big spiders like tarantulas. But tiny little evil things?? HAH no o.o Tarantulas you can watch run. Those tiny guys? They run and you have no idea where they went......


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## december333

As an owner of a rosehair tarantula I can say they are really awesome pets. You dont have to just watch them, you can pick them up, talk to them, pet them (if they are comfortable with you). You can take them places on your shoulder. They are really neat. They can flick hairs, but like another mentioned its just a defense. Heck, I'll take an itchy arm over a bite! And really as long as you wash and pat where ever they came in contact its not even going to irritate you. I'll admit I am a BIG baby when it comes to spiders. We get these big black ones.. and by big I mean small.. lol. They just seem BIG to me..  I scream like a baby and call my fiance to come kill them. and he is a bigger baby than me. He wont even come within 5 feet of me when I have Charlotte out!! HAHA

I've also kept a scorpion as a pet, we had a baby female emperor scorpion. They are not as interesting to watch, our spent most of the time hiding only coming out every so often late at night to eat. Contrary to what you might have seen/read, blacklights are VERY harmful to their exoskeleton. You can have it on them for a few minutes, but some people will use that as a night lamp and its very bad. Cool to see, but bad. lol.

I wasnt all that fascinated with her though. She was more of my fiance's pet.

I love my girl, she is so pretty (I'm guessing she's a girl) lol


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## Elska

They're not really my thing, but my brother's a big spider-lover and he used to have a Bird Eating Spider, (a member of the Tarantula family - like I believe someone mentioned earlier in the thread!). He was after one for ages and finally bought himself a little baby.

He loved that thing - he insisted it was friendly and played with it all the time. It never bit him or anything, and it certainly seemed comfortable with being handled.

I guess for some people, they make awesome pets


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## cagedbirdsinging

Please keep an eye on thread dates before responding! This thread is several months old.


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