Regarding Tarantulas as pets

I love spiders :D

RiPz yours are stunning, especially the Cobalt Blue. I'd love one as a pet but I would be worried about how long it would live and also about being able to handle it. If I got one with beautiful colours (don't get me wrong I think most of them are beautiful) I'd want to be fwiends with it and be able to handle it with both of us feeling relaxed and comfortable.

So, for that do you need to get it when its just tiny or would an adult specimen be able to cope with a new human subject?

Ps, I remember that epic spider thread... That's what got me hooked on GD.
 
regulus said:
What size tank would be most comfortable for them? I don't want to keep the poor thing in a tiny tank, I want it to be comfortable.


Can spiders of the same specie share a glass tank?


What sort of spider would you recommend getting for someone who is new to this? Something that's low maintenance as don't die too easily.
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Tank size/shape really depends on which species you go for. Tarantulas can be terrestrial, arboreal (live in trees) or fossorial (diggers), so you'll need to ensure that you have the right type of tank as well as the correct set-up inside. Tarantulas don't really need much room to roam around in as they're pretty sedentary apart from when hunting, so you don't need a massive tank. They tend to hide in the corner if you do. For example, an adult Chile Rose (Grammostola rosea) can quite happily live in a 12"x8" fish tank.

Most species, when put in a communal tank would merely attack/kill one another immediately, so you'd end up with 1 very fat spider. Only a few species are recognised as living communally, mostly species of the Poecilotheria genus. However, species should not be mixed and it's a good idea to have spiderlings living communally out of the same egg sac. This genus also consists of fast, arboreal spiders with a nasty bite and certainly wouldn't be recommended as a beginner's spider. There is the chance that they just wouldn't get on as a group and carnage would result, so you have to take your chance really. I've had 2 communal groups of spiders, both of which were progeny from my spiders. However, whilst one set did great, the others ate one another at about 2" legspan.

In terms of a beginner spider, you can't really go wrong with a Chile Rose (see link above). They're docile, very easy to look after (can be left when you go on holiday once they're adult) and very hardy. You don't even need a heat mat for them. They grow extremely slowly, so I'd recommend that you got a young adult (get it from someone who knows what they're talking about - you don't want a male). They also live for 30 odd years, so make sure that you really want one before you buy. For care requirements, Google "Grammostola Rosea care sheet". You'll find a lot of contradictions between different caresheets, but just take the main points. They like dry substrate, with a little water bowl (that can't be fallen into), a piece of cork bark to climb on and some substrate to dig in. Don't buy a tall tank because they climb sometimes Tarantulas can rupture their abdomens by falling.

Anyway, hope that helps :) There are tonnes of forums you can turn to for advice. Arachnoboards is a good example. Word of warning though: ignore what they Americans say about tank size. They are completely obsessed with giving their Spiders tanks the size of Jupiter and it's not needed.
 
Voltar said:
So, for that do you need to get it when its just tiny or would an adult specimen be able to cope with a new human subject?
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First rule of behaviorology; don't humanise your subject :) Spiders don't "care" who looks after them. They don't get used to you or "like" you. You're just something that feeds them. They don't even really get used to being handled. Sometimes they're alright and sometimes they'll flip out. For that reason, you can buy one at any age. Do take into account their longevity when purchasing though as most of the beginner's spiders live for 25-30 years.
 
I have never been a fan of spiders and certainly would never own one!

However I have always been interested in the appeal of them as pets to others, how do they respond to you as an owner? Do they ever try to attack their owners? Also one of the main parts of the joy of a pet is its unique personality and how they respond to you. I can't see them as the kind of pet with a personality...

Sorry if that's a really stupid question...
 
Nice link Lopez. I just spent well over an hour drooling over some of those pictures (Attenborough on Tarantulas in HD anyone?)

I thought that site was easy to access and had some good information on it regarding first time keepers.

I still don't quite understand a couple of things:

How can you tell an adult spider's age if you didnt raise it from a wee spiderling?
How long will a (for example) juvenile or sub adult spider take to grow to full size (in your experience) and how long do yours normally live?
Are all the spiders from that epic post still going?
Why are we recommended not to handle docile specimens?
Are they sensitive to sound such as loud music etc?

Would a terrestrial spider prefer a larger tank or just their standard size recommendations?


Thanks and TTIUWP :D
 
This thread has made me decide I'm going to get one. I've been reading about them for the last hour or so and looking at pictures of enclosures.

I've got a few questions:
Does it matter that I get a tank that is larger then the sizes people reccomend?
How do keep the humidity at the right level?
And also does loud sound like music effect them? (user above asked aswell)
 
I've been reading about it too, :D
I think they sell the heat pads and they recommend plants to keep the humidity at the right level.
 
A guy down my street used to breed tarantulas. The people who lived next door to him came home from holiday once to find one sat on their tv....!

Though honestly, I reckon I'd be less scared of a tarantula than I would a house spider, now those things are evil - I'm sure they hunt me down on purpose!!
 
Voltar said:
How can you tell an adult spider's age if you didnt raise it from a wee spiderling?
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You can't, but size can be used to "guesstimate" for some species.

How long will a (for example) juvenile or sub adult spider take to grow to full size (in your experience) and how long do yours normally live?
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Depends on how warm you keep it and how much you feed it! Your average Brachypelma might take 10 years to mature if kept cool and fed intermittently, you can get some fast growing Poecilotheria to adult in under a year with lots of food and kept warm.
A rough guide would be
Indian tarantulas - 8-10 yrs
Asians + Africans - 10-15 yrs
South Americans - 25 yrs +

Are all the spiders from that epic post still going?
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Some are, some aren't!

Why are we recommended not to handle docile specimens?
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Always a chance of being bitten, always a risk of spider flipping out, running off your hand and plummeting to death

Are they sensitive to sound such as loud music etc?
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In my experience - not really.

Would a terrestrial spider prefer a larger tank or just their standard size recommendations?
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Not really, bigger tanks are useful for big SA species like Lasiodora, Lasiorides, Xenisthis, Theraphosa

:)
 
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