# Does Anyone Else Keep Tarantulas?



## smaughunter

I have been keeping T's for about 4 years. I have 45 individuals of 31 different species. I had my first successful breeding last year (Paraphysa scrofa), and a few more breeding planned for next year if my males will mature out.


----------



## xchairity_casex

i do not and never have owned them. would love to see some pics of yours though! have heard that they really do have personalities and can be quite sweet


----------



## MollyWoppy

I remember some time ago someone talking about breeding tarantulas on here. It was quite interesting. If I remember correctly, her's were about 10" or so. She said something about they only grown when they moult and they can live to 20 (or was it 30?) years. 
You've got quite a few of them. Do you sell them or anything?
I'd love to see some pictures too.


----------



## smaughunter

Sure I would be happy to post some pictures. I didn't initially because I know some people would rather not see them. 

To answer your questions many of my T's are sweet tempered but I also have T's that are shy, cranky, or unpredictable. The species plays a role as does individual personality. I really enjoy the diversity in temperament. I have one girl who will throw me a threat pose one second and the next walk onto my hand like nothing happened. 

You are right MollyWoppy they only grow by molting. A spiderling may molt as frequently as once a month, the molt cycles grow longer as the spider grows and ages. By the time the spider is an adult they molt annually or semi-annually, if a female. Males grow to sexual maturity and then do not continue to molt, they will live 6 months to two years past maturity and then die. The longevity is dependent on the species as well as care. We know of a few species where the females may live as long as 40 years (males 10-15), in others 8-12 years for a female (2-3 for males) is typical.

The size also depends on the species. The smallest species grows to a maximum of 2", the largest may attain a maximum of 12", 5" is around an average for most common species.

I do sell and trade some of my tarantulas. The sexed females are fixed members of my family, as is one mature male. The rest are unsexed spiderlings, juveniles, and immature males. When the males mature they will be sent off for breeding or sold, unless I have a mature female of the same species, or if the male is of a species well established in captive breeding programs I may choose to not breed and simply enjoy his company until he passes. The little ones I simply enjoy until they are big enough to sex. The adult girls are my fixed pets and I may or may not breed them, depending on the individual and on the need for captive breeding. 

The fist sac that I produced entirely on my own was from a species that is fairly common, but the majority of the specimens available are wild caught. It is important to reduce and hopefully even eliminate the need for wild captured specimens. Wild collecting decimates wild populations of tarantulas but the majority of tarantulas available in pet stores are wild caught because it is cheap and because adult specimens are more impressive than spiderlings. Luckily most tarantulas have large broods, my single breeding produced over 130 healthy spiderlings and every captive bred individual produced by hobbyists makes inroads to eliminating the demand for wild caught specimens. 

Anyways, soapbox over. Here are a few pictures.

This is Khan a Mature Female _Paraphysa scrofa_ and the mother of my sac









This is Kirk a Mature Male _Parahysa scrofa_. The father.









This is Q, one of their babies









This is Kinuko, an immature male _Chromatapelma cyanapubescans_, freshly molted sitting next to his exuvium (Old exoskeleton)









This is Raiza, a Mature Female _Grammostola rosea_, this is the most common species in the pet trade today, and the biggest victim of population destruction due to wild capturing. 









This is Hoshi, an Immature Female _Poecilotheria miranda_ an arboreal species whose genus is native to India and Sri Lanka. in the wild most Poecilotheria are endangered due to illegal poaching and habitat decimation. Poecilotheria in the hobby are all captive bred and, sadly, it may be that in the future the only specimens left will be those in captivity.


----------



## xchairity_casex

i really like Kirk and Q!

dont know that i would ever own one, though i know they are not dangerous, still have that "EEEEE" reaction if i tried touching one im sure! lol they are lovely though and i have always heard nice things about them


----------



## brandypup

ok after the ick factor that blue is lovely... Not a spider fan. But it's still intresting. Totaly sad the people/humans can destroy even spiders. I would much rather see captive breeding being done then wild caught for selling. 

Ok so yea,,,kinda cool. Glad you shared. :nerd:


----------



## MollyWoppy

Thanks for the pictures and the lesson's, they really are very cute. The blue one is stunning, I've never seen a spider than colour. And the one from Sri Lanka/India, love the way it's camouflaged on the tree trunk. 
Yes, I totally agree with you on the decimating of them in the wild, I had no idea that happened, they catch wild ones and sell them into captivity? Thats just horrible. 
By the way, is that it's web that the blue one is sitting on? It does look freaky, the moulting looks exactly the same, down to the hairs and everything, like it's a dead spider. 
Thanks for posting, thats so interesting. I can tell you are totally passionate about them!


----------



## smaughunter

In some places of the world Tarantulas are protected from wild collecting such as Mexico, India, and Brazil, but here in the States, and in Many parts of Central and South America, Asia, and Africa there are few to no restrictions. The real danger is that the demand is for the adult females that are the cornerstone of the population. A single female will produce an eggsac once a year for every year she is fertile she may produce 100 spiderlings (depending on the species) if she does approximately 10 of those individuals will survive to adulthood and approximately half will also be female, the females will take twice as long as to become sexually mature as the males. 4-15 years after this female has produced the 100 spiderling sac there will be 5 new breeding females. At the rate that adult females are being collected new females simply cannot mature fast enough to replace them. 

The best thing that any hobbyist can do is purchase captive bred tarantulas and breed more to increase the availability of captive bred. Increasing the appeal of purchasing spiderlings is also important. the demand for fully mature females cannot be supplied readily by hobbyist breeders because females take so much time to mature and captive bred adult females are much more expensive than wild caught ones because of the time and effort it takes to raise them. 

Sorry I am going off again! :tape2:

There are actually several species of blue tarantula, all highly popular. _Chromatapelma cyanapubescans_ (which is the guy in the picture), _Haplopelma lividum_, _Lampropelma violeceus_, _Avicularia metallica_, _Avicularia versicolor_ as spiderlings, _Monocentropus balfouri_,and the most sought after _Poecilotheria metallica_.

Here's my _Avicularia metallica_









And my juvenile _Avicularia versicolor_. The adult of this species is not blue but it is very striking with a green carapace, red opsithoma (abdomen) and purple legs.









And that is his web he is sitting on. Tarantulas can web, although they don't produce as many types of silk as some true spiders. Kinuko's species is famous for being one of the most prolific webbers.


----------



## xchairity_casex

> Sorry I am going off again!


oh no! its very intresting! i had no idea how much time it took for these little things to mature and grow! seems strange that somthing so small can live so long and have such a complex sexual cyxle that it takes so long. i expected it to be like they mass produce for survival and keep mass producing constantly. very cool!


----------



## MollyWoppy

Yeah, I find it fascinating that they are so slow to mature and am sad about the low survival rate at the same time. I would have presumed, because of their size, they were at the top of the food chain in their species. 
Can you release captive raised tarantulas into the wild?
What's a tarantula's bite like? Painful or not so bad? 
Can you easily tell if they are about to take a chomp out of you, from what you said they do some type of postering first so it sounds like a warning.


----------



## smaughunter

> Yeah, I find it fascinating that they are so slow to mature and am sad about the low survival rate at the same time. I would have presumed, because of their size, they were at the top of the food chain in their species.
> Can you release captive raised tarantulas into the wild?
> What's a tarantula's bite like? Painful or not so bad?
> Can you easily tell if they are about to take a chomp out of you, from what you said they do some type of postering first so it sounds like a warning.


Good questions! Tarantulas are a top insectivore but they have predators as well. Large frogs, birds, and some mammals may prey on tarantulas. In certain parts of Asia and South America humans eat them too. In North America their main predator is the Pepsis Wasp or Tarantula Hawk, a large wasp that paralyzes the tarantula with its venom and then lays an egg on the tarantulas opsithoma, when the egg hatches the larva burrows into the living spider's opsithoma and slowly eats it alive while simultaneously gestating within the tarantula. 

Tarantulas that are in breeding programs at zoos or scientific facilities might potentially be re-released but ones bred in the hobby may not be as there is a risk that the spider could carry some unknown contamination to the wild population. Potentially captive bred specimens could be incorporated into an official conservation program if proven to be contaminant free. 

The potency of the bite really depends on the species. Most New World tarantulas use barbed setae (the hairlike protrusions) on the opsithoma as their primary defense mechanism, these species would only use biting in defense as a last resort and the pain is considered mild. Tarantulas from the Old World, and a few New World species, lack the defense of the urticating setae and utilize biting as their primary defense. These species have much more potent venom which is regarded as "medically significant" which means that if you get a wet bite from one you may need to seek medical care. The pain ranges from moderate to severe and may be accompanied by extreme muscle cramping, erratic heartbeat, and difficulty breathing. That being said no tarantula bite has ever directly caused a human fatality. I have heard of a case where someone got tetanus after being bit and died as a result of that. 

My policy is: Don't get bit. Although some do it, generally it is not advised to handle any medically significant species. The next advise is that medically significant species are for experienced adult owners only. The _Poecilotheria miranda_ picturedv above is a medically significant species, as are all Poecilotheria. If you are interested here is a video documenting a tarantula breeder that got bit by a Mature female _Poeilotheria ornata_, believed to be one of the most, if not the most, potent tarantula. He was not very cautious though and this bit could easily have been prevented. Sometimes in tarantula breeding the female will chose to eat the male, it is one of the typical risks. In this instance the female went to attack the male and the breeder stuck his hand in between them. 10" Female Poecilotheria ornata bite!! (Ouch!!!) - YouTube 

If a tarantula feels threatened they will typically give you lots of warning signs, some more obvious than others. The most obvious is called a "threat posture". Tarantula keepers say that the T is trying to give the keeper a kiss. Here is a picture of a Mature Female _Psalmopeous irminia_ giving me some intense threat posturing while rehoused her to a larger habitat:









If you look closely you can see she has a tip of venom on her fang.

I have never been bit before and with the proper precautions I plan to remain bite free. Most tarantulas available in Pet Stores are docile New World species with mild venom like _Grammostola_, _Brachypelma_, or _Aphonopelma_ species.


----------



## brandypup

I can't belive how tiny those babies are... squeal! lol. Does mom feed them or so you?


----------



## smaughunter

Tarantula moms are very nurturing and care for their babies during their second 2nd instar (similar to stages in isects larva, pupa...Tarantula babies go through different stages of development Embryo, also called Eggs, Post-Embryo, called Eggs with Legs, First Instar, where the front half looks like a spider and the back half looks like a fuzzy egg, and second instar, where the baby is a fully formed spiderling capable of hunting). If the mom and sac are left undisturbed and the sac is fertile the babies will emerge 50-60 days after the creation of the sac as second instar spiderlings. They will hang around the mom's burrow and she will protect them and may kill prey for them to eat. A few genus have been known to regurgitate a nourishing fluid for the babies. After the babies become accustomed to the world they will venture out on their own. 

Sometimes in captive breeding the breeder will leave the sac with mom for the duration but more often the sac is taken at 30-40 days just because it is really hard to keep track of 50-300 tiny babies running around moms enclosure. If the sac is pulled at this time the breeder will open it and incubate the spiderlings at whatever stage of development, which is usually Eggs with Legs or First Instar. When I pulled my sac the babies were first instar, Incubated the spiderlings in 3 delicups lined with moist paper towels at 80 degrees and 80% humidity. In about two weeks they molted into second instar and became tiny fully functional tarantulas. I separated them into individual containers (1 oz plastic condiment cups like you get at restaurants) and began offering live vestigial fruit flies and pinhead crickets. At that time they are completely independent and ready to go to new homes. 

Here's the mom, Khan, tending the sac, during the time they care for the eggsac the mother will not take food and water, she wuill hold her sac constantly, gaurding it and kneading it with her fangs to prevent the eggs from sticking together.









This is from when I opened the sac at 33 days, I was so excited to have live babies!









in the process of molting into second instar. some are 2i already and some are still 1i.









I separated them. I had 3 12 pack soda containers and this shoes box full of little containers.









This is what they looked like:









Hmm. Not sure why my pictures aren't working. I think Photobucket is being a pain.


----------



## xellil

My husband brought home a tarantula in a red bucket the other day. He found him trying to cross the road.

We immediately re-homed him 

I am familiar with the threat posture. I came home one day to find a tarantula hanging on the front door. We have two doors off the porch, so I was going to go in the other one. When I got close, the tarantula did its thing. I got in my car and went back to town for a day or two.


----------



## MollyWoppy

Blast, my earlier post disappeared. Thanks so much for all the info, it is incredibly interesting.
So, because I'm one of these blimin annoying people who always asks questions: - 
How big a cage? aquarium? do you need for a tarantula, for it to live healthily and happily? Can they live alone or do they need other tarantula's around to be fulfilled or will they fight? 
And, what did that mother do when you took the sack off her, she's obviously very protective of it, does she get depressed or anything?
If a tarantula bit a cat or a dog, would it be fatal? 
They are very cute, I must say. 
I haven't watched that video yet, might do tomorrow, I want to preserve my fairy tale view of them at the moment!


----------



## smaughunter

No, I don't mind answering questions. You have good ones.

So for a terrestrial tarantula the length of the cage should be about 3X the legspan of the tarantula from the tip of the first walking leg to the tip of the last walking leg diagonal to the other, so if a tarantula has a 6" diagonal legspan then the cage should be 18' in length. The width and height should be about 1.5X the DLS of the tarantula (the height can actually be a little less but you want it no higher than 1.5X). So for the terrestrial tarantula in the earlier example the tank would be 18"X9"X9". For arboreals it is pretty much the same except that you want the height to be 3X the DLS and length and width 1.5X.

The substrate can be coconut coir, peat moss, or organic potting soil.

The terrestrial tarantula should be provided with a hide and the arboreal tarantula with a broad climbing branch. Both types need a shallow water dish with clean regular water, not gel water, and no sponge. It is recommended to add a smooth rock to the water dish that protrudes out of the water to prevent crickets from drowning in the water dish. 










Tarantulas are solitary and should be kept alone. There are a few species that can live communally under the right conditions but it is generally only recommended for an experienced keeper to attempt. If it goes wrong you will end up with one very fat tarantula!

Tarantula moms can experience a period of depression when you take away the sac, that is one of the disadvantages of pulling the egg sac. I got lucky in that my mom abandoned her sac at 33 days which was actually the optimal time for me to pull it. It was her first egg sac and many moms get a little confused. It worked out really well because I was able to incubate the spiderlings without the mom getting depressed. One technique breeders use to minimize depression in the mothers is to empty the sac and then stuff it with cotton and give it back to the mom, she will carry it around for awhile more and then decide it is a dud and abandon it. 

Of the mom is nurturing the sac when you pull it she will fight very fiercely to protect it. You have to operate very carefully so that the mom, the sac, and yourself remain unhurt. Here is a great video of a breeder pulling a _Pterinochilus murinus_ eggsac. Their common name is Orange Baboon Tarantula but in the hobby we call them Orange Bitey Things because they are so tough and defensive. Watching that video makes me sweat! It turns out fine though. Taking my OBT's eggsack - YouTube

As far as your last question the evidence is really just anecdotal but I would say that a bite from an Old World T would certainly be fatal for a cat or dog and that a bite from a New World Tarantulas could possibly be harmful, or it could be nothing. I operate under the assumption that all of my tarantulas are lethally venomous to my dog. 0 interaction and possibility for interaction. All tarantula habitats are 100% secured (which they should be in any case) and kept in a room that Kiora has no access to unless under my supervision. She is not allowed in the room while any tarantula is out of its enclosure. Probably most dog owners don't have to be as paranoid as that, I am simply am because I know how smart and inquisitive Kiora is, she will stick her nose into anything and if she can't she will figure out how. Basenjis are half cat, I'm certain of it. With my Ananda, I didn't worry about it so much, she could be in the room when I did maintenance because I knew she wouldn't stick her nose where it didn't belong.

For a cat I would absolutely be that paranoid, most incidents with tarantulas and other pets happen with cats...The most common scenario (99%) is that the cat knocks down the tank, killing the spider, but there could be a scenario wherein the cat released the tarantula and got bit. Tarantula tanks should always be in a secure location, inaccessible to the cat. Lots of T keepers have both cats and Ts. The easiest way is to keep the spider cage in a room that is shut while you are away. 



> I haven't watched that video yet, might do tomorrow, I want to preserve my fairy tale view of them at the moment!


If you do watch it don't forget that it is an example of the worst possible kind of bite, from the hottest species in the hobby. So while it is bad, it really doesn't get worse than that. If you were to be bit by a beginner appropriate species it would really be nothing. Minor mechanical damage and little redness and irritation at the area of the bite.


----------



## xchairity_casex

Awww i feel bad for momma spider. she was protecting her babies so feircly!


----------



## Boy Damang

good day sir. im a ts hobbyist from philippines. i wish to see your ts list. maybe you can sell or trade your ts for me. i have few old and new world ts in my collection. thanks


----------



## carbonxxkidd

Just seeing this thread now, but I do have a tarantula! I'm pretty sure she is an _Aviculara aviculara_ but maybe you could confirm that for me. I'm also not 100% sure she's a female. I've had her for 5 years and she was a tiny sling when I got her. I will post a few photos of her at different stages of her life and a photo of her current home (I got it at tarantulacages.com). 

Also, maybe you could help me: I do not have a way to keep her at a constant warm temperature, so given the time of year she is at room temp (usually ranges between 66-80F, colder in the winter in MN and warmer in the summer) and I keep her humidity at 70-80%. She hasn't molted in probably almost 2 years now, and will take frequent breaks from eating - she will eat like crazy for a week and then not eat for 6 months and so forth. Is this normal? I get a bit worried about her because I'd hate to lose her if she could potentially live 10 or more years! I used to handle her when she was younger but haven't, other than to move her to her new cage and during cleanings, in a long time.


----------



## RachelsaurusRexU

They are very interesting and beautiful to look at but, man, you guys are brave! It took me almost a year to handle my dubia roaches, and I still can't bring myself to touch the mature males. Huge spiders? Forget it! I'll just enjoy the pics and info


----------



## smaughunter

Darn  I wrote a response but it crashed. Short answers are:

Yes that's an A avic

Looks female

As your T ages they may go from an annual to a bi-annual molt schedule, that is normal. 7-10 years is about typical for a well cared for female avic.

Humidity and temperature are great.

Setup looks good but I would remove the sponge from the water dish. They are breeding grounds for bacteria and don't benefit your T any.

How much do you feed? That type of feeding pattern can be the result of overfeeding. For a 4-5 inch female avic I recommend one adult cricket (or equivelant) every 5-7 days during warmer months and one adult cricket every 10-12 days during the colder months. 

sorry my replies are so short, re-writings posts is a bummer.


----------



## carbonxxkidd

That's okay, you are still helpful! The thing in her water dish is actually a rock, it's there because crickets tend to drown in there and I figured I'd save myself some mess. Her water dish isn't as shallow as I'd like it to be.

I usually buy 4-6 large crickets at a time. Lately I'll buy them and she won't even eat them, but when she is eating, she will eat all I give her - usually not at once, I sometimes help her by putting the crickets in her web (otherwise they will die). She tends to not go hunting and then they don't get close to her. During the summer if I catch a large moth I will feed that to her too. She seems more excited by them than crickets. Maybe she's a spoiled T, if that is even possible haha. 

Another question I have: I typically try not to disturb her web, but the last time I cleaned her enclosure I was forced to take it down. This was a few months ago, and she hasn't built a new one. Any ideas why this is?


----------



## smaughunter

Ah, O.K.. A rock is just fine in the water dish, I use them myself for the same purpose. It's never fun to find a stinky dead cricket in your water dish.

4-6 crickets is O.K....if you feed that quantity about once a month. Tarantulas, like any other animal will eat as much as they can get in preparation for lean times. What happens when she has as much as she can eat available all the time is that after awhile she feels that since food has been so plentiful for so long that naturally lean times ought to follow. This is a common cause of fasting. I would continue to offer her food on a regular basis while she is fasting...but maybe just one cricket at a time. As long as her opsithoma is plump and her water dish stays full she will do O.K. 

Avics don't take to adjustments very happily, it may take her awhile to feel comfortable enough to rebuild her web. Some Avics choose to go without one, although it is less common. My _A amazonica_ and _A versicolor_ both live in web hammocks but my _A metallica_ has never used one. If she looks healthy: opsithoma plump, mouth clear of obstructions and no signs of stress then I wouldn't worry. 

Sounds like you are a good spider parent! Any plans for more?


----------



## carbonxxkidd

I have noticed that. When I bought her cage last year, she was pretty upset with me when I transferred her. She got a bit defensive during the move and didn't do much for a few weeks afterwards (except build her web right where it would get destroyed every time I opened the door, haha). She has since learned her lesson and makes her web toward the back and it's usually pretty extensive. Typically she will make a new one right away if something happens to it, but for the past couple months she has just been hanging out on the back of her cork bark or on the side of the cage.

She does look healthy, definitely a fatty. I did buy her 4 crickets the other day and there are only two left, so I'm assuming she ate them which is good! Thank you so much for the info, I feel a lot better about how she has been acting lately. I wasn't sure if there was something wrong or if it was just normal behavior. I honestly never thought she would grow up to be what she is now, I definitely did not expect to keep her alive this long. I was lucky that when I got her I had access to a couple cricket colonies so getting pinheads was easy, but everything I read online said that pink-toes were typically not a beginner tarantula and were hard to keep. I must say she's been pretty easy so far, and it is very rewarding to see that I raised her from the size of my thumb nail to the size of the palm of my hand! 

I don't have any plans to get any more at the moment, although sometimes I want to rescue the ones I see at Petco - they usually have rose hairs but I have seen a couple pink-toes too. I do plan on getting another one when I lose this one though - they are cool to have around and I really enjoy watching them catch and eat their prey - seeing my T get excited and dart around her cage after a moth is very entertaining for me. Speaking of which, I fed quite a few pinkie mice to tarantulas in college (never to an arboreal though) and that is something I'd like to try in the future...but she probably has to make a web first.


----------



## Noodlesmadison

No, but I have always wanted one (or two). We have stick insects at the moment and thinking about getting a tarantula at the next reptile expo!


----------

