Chapter ONE: Tarantulas as Pets

Most members of the Genus Grammostola, such as this G. aureostriata, are quite docile and make wonderful pets. Photo by Russ Gurley.

Is an invertebrate pet right for you?

Other than hissing roaches, hermit crabs, millipedes, snails, stick and leaf insects, and some of the mantids, most invertebrate pets are best not handled. As with marine fish, the excitement comes in designing and creating an exotic jungle forest or an arid desert habitat in an enclosure in your home. Many of the tarantulas on the pet market and discussed in this book are very quick, stress easily, will jump and injure themselves, or may deliver a very painful bite. Some should only be kept by advanced keepers with plenty of experience with potentially dangerous animals. I suggest that a keeper starts small, with one or two of the hardiest and calmest species. This will allow him or her to gain the important experience required.

Read, question, explore, and weigh your realistic abilities, physically, financially, and emotionally, and if you decide to enter the world of tarantula keeping and breeding, this book should be helpful in beginning your journey.

Finding Tarantulas

Once a keeper has chosen a tarantula for a pet and has researched and designed an exciting enclosure that is both beautiful and correct (but also practical), it is time to begin your search for specimens.

Imported / Wild-caught Specimens

During the 1970s and 1980s, almost every captive tarantula in the pet trade was an imported, wild-caught animal. South American Pink-toed Tarantulas (Avicularia avicularia), Haitian Brown Tarantulas (Phormictopes cancerides), and the ultimate pet spider, the Red-kneed Tarantula (Brachypelma smithi) were the most commonly encountered. They were available at pet stores specializing in exotic species. In just twenty years, by the explosive 1990s, spiders and other invertebrates were being imported by the thousands. In addition to the influx of wild-caught specimens were shipments containing hundreds of captive-produced specimens from breeders in Europe.

Captive-hatched Specimens

Availability of captive-hatched tarantulas has increased dramatically as breeders continue to figure out the special needs and “triggers” to get their captive tarantulas to mate and successfully produce offspring. As the importation of wild-caught exotic pets continues to decline, the captive-hatched tarantulas will be needed to expand the hobby and to increase the numbers sought by ardent collectors. As these captive-hatched specimens are typically healthy, disease-free, and parasite-free, they are excellent animals to begin a collection.

Places to Find Tarantulas

Shows and Expos

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There are reptile shows and expos all over the country. With excitement, we have noted an increase in the number of captive-produced tarantulas at these shows. Typically, the specimens offered at these shows are healthy, feeding well, and are excellent specimens to begin a hobby. At these shows you get the rare opportunity to hand-pick the tarantulas you want to purchase and you often have the opportunity to speak with an experienced keeper or breeder. When buying on-line or having tarantulas shipped to you, there is always the risk of receiving animals that are picked by someone who may not have your best interest at heart. Add to the savings of not having to pay shipping and the lack of stress placed on the animals from shipping and the shows and expos are an excellent opportunity to get some really nice tarantulas. The National Reptile Breeders Expo, the Philadelphia for Dallas in Anaheim, Chicago, and Philadelphia, and the American Tarantula Society’s annual conference are a keeper’s best chance of finding large numbers of exciting invertebrates in the United States.

Tarantula Dealers

Some keepers are fortunate to have a local tarantula specialist near their home. Often, these keepers will welcome visitors to their facilities. In this situation, you get to see the breeder’s setups and see his or her animals. You might learn some of their tricks, glean some experience and helpful hints from them, and often gain a new friend or colleague with whom to share ideas and offspring. You can find these keepers through a local invertebrate or herp society, a local university entomology department, ads in a reptile magazine, or on the Internet.

The Internet

The Internet has very quickly developed into a source of live animals. There are several extensive websites that offer classified ad sections where one can buy animals and plants as well as cages, supplies, food, and more. There have unfortunately been occasional problems with unscrupulous, faceless dealers. When buying this way, one doesn’t get to see the animals or the facilities, and many of these Internet dealers are simply buying and reselling animals. If you are careful and inquisitive, these Internet dealers can be a good source for tarantulas. When you contact dealers selling tarantulas, ask plenty of questions. These people want to sell you a live animal and keep you as a future customer so they should be willing to spend a little extra time with you. Make sure they are charging a fair price by looking around at what these tarantulas typically sell for in other ads and from other sources such as dealer price lists. Do your homework. Most will be willing to send you photos of the specific animal in which you are interested. Find out about their packing and shipping techniques. Make sure they sound legal, logical, and safe for the animal. If the seller is rude or unwilling to answer your questions, move on and count your blessings. Typically, these deals end up being the ones you regret.

Shipping and Transporting Tarantulas

There are concerns about shipping tarantulas, even with overnight delivery services. There are Styrofoam-lined boxes, disposable heat and cold packs, and most boxes can travel across the country in a day without a problem. We try to only ship and receive tarantulas from April to October and are careful during cold nights in winter and even more careful about shipping during hot days in summer.

Pet & Specialty Stores

As interest grows, more and more pet stores are offering tarantulas for sale. Not only are they offering tarantulas, scorpions, and other invertebrates for pets, but they are exhibiting healthy animals in proper and inspiring setups. Many are offering correct advice and stocking the best equipment and supplies for their customers. Now, with the increased emphasis on the true needs of spiders and other invertebrates, shops are installing better invertebrate enclosures such as screen cages, cages with screened sides, vertically oriented terrariums, etc. They often offer to help construct exciting and inspired setups for customers. They are also using better food and prey items.

Though many continue to get a bad rap, these shops are literally the front line in our crusade to educate the general public about spiders, scorpions, mantids, and other invertebrates. As the first stop for most people searching for an “unusual” pet, pet shops have the unique ability to inspire a beginning keeper’s first creative ideas and to offer proper procedures for setting up and caring for captive tarantulas.

Choosing A Specific Tarantula

When you discover a tarantula that you are interested in purchasing, begin by checking out the enclosure. If there is a water dish in the enclosure, check the water. It should be clean and free of dead insects. Make sure the cage is relatively free of feces. This will give you an idea of how often the tarantulas are cleaned and how much attention they are receiving. Most stores will allow their employees to toss in a cricket so you can see if the tarantula has a good feeding response.

Check the tarantula that has caught your eye. Make sure it has all legs (though most inverts will grow back missing or damaged legs over time as they molt), is free of injuries, bumps, etc. Bumps, lumps. or an assymetrical abdomen are usually signs of injury, disease, or a parasitic infection. Ask about any guarantee the seller might offer. Is this guarantee offered in writing? Remember, you are often stuck with your decision with no possibility of a refund. In fairness, the seller can’t know the care you will offer and so can only guarantee the tarantula’s current health.

For species that are sort of mid-range in aggression, such as this Zebra Tarantula, Aphonopelma seemanni, a firm grip with the legs held close to the body is recommended. Photo by Russ Gurley.

The King Baboon Spider, Citharischius crawshayi, is a large, beautiful spider, but it is very aggressive and will eagerly deliver a dangerous bite. Photo by Russ Gurley.

As mentioned earlier, most tarantulas do best when kept similarly to tropical fish. A keeper should design and construct an interesting and creative enclosure, add the tarantula to the environment, and enjoy watching its behaviors with minimal interference and handling. Of course for those interested in breeding their tarantulas, some manipulation is required. Typically, males and females will be kept separately and one will need to be introduced into the other’s environment after a period of conditioning. Most of the time, mating attempts will require the keeper to stay close by and protect the male, who is occasionally seen as not only a mate, but a meal.

Handling

For tarantulas that can be held safely, a handler should typically sit on the floor when handling his or...