Moraine

LOL! Sorry, I know most people think they are scary and gross, but they are my babies!

dakini

Spiders...ugh. I'm with you...but then I have a phobia of spiders...I'm sure they're very nice, but not for me! (Some people would say the same about cats though...)

Arcanegirl

The spiders are beautiful to look at, but not for me *shivers*

Here are my furbabies:
This my dog Bruce


The cat Salem


and the guinea pig Piglet

FJL

OMG Moraine - what cool and interesting pets! I have a bit of a spider phobia, but how interesting!

Do you buy them from a pet shop? How do you tame them? How likely are they to bit? What are their personalities like? Can't wait to hear all about them!

Keep the photos coming guys, i'm loving this! All your furbabies are just beautiful!

Moraine

I have bought a few at pet stores, but mostly I buy them online from breeders/dealers, that way I am not supporting the wild caught trade, most tarantulas in pet stores are wild caught.

Different species are more likely to bite than others, so I am just more careful when working with the more grumpy spiders. But you never know when one of the nice ones will bite, so it's always good to be careful anyway. Those fangs can hurt! I've never been bitten but my husband has, though it was his fault, he was ticking it off. They can't be tamed so to speak, but as you get to know them you can tell their moods, that way if one is feeling rather pissy that day, you don't hold it. Others, you would just never hold anyway, as some of them have more potent venom than others, though none of them are life-threatening.

I don't really hold them much anyway, they are more look don't touch kind of pets. But every now and then I get the urge to hold one, and there are a few that I really trust not to ever bite, like Charlotte. Also the babies are less likely to bite for some reason, so I like to hold them, plus they are so little and cute!

They have all sorts of different personalities, some of them come out of their hides to see me when I open their containers, while others dive for their hides to get away from me when I open their containers lol! Some of them are so docile that I have to literally push them out of the way to do cage maintenance, while others are very skittish and defensive and I don't put my hands in their cages. Some throw threat displays really easily, while others wouldn't threaten if their life depended on it, some kick hair, some never do. It's pretty funny how different they all are.

Anyhoo, enough rambling, thank you for the interest! I don't get to yak about them very much, exept on the tarantula forums.

dakini

Not a problem! I don't mind hearing about spiders and tarantulas, just don't like seeing them...they sound fascinating, but again, couldn't have one in my house...just not a spider-phobia-friendly pet!

FJL

Thanks for all that info, I am super interested because its something I know nothing about!

So what happens if you get bitten...well when your DH got bitten?!? What does tarantula venom do? How long do they live for? Did you used to be scared of them? Are you quieter ones like Charlotte good with all people or just you only?

What type of things are in their cages? What do you feed them?

Moraine

You know its funny, I know alot of very arachnophobic people (my sister included) and they find that the tarantulas are not as scary as true spiders (regular spiders). The tarantulas are so big and hairy and colourful they are just not as freaky, also they don't move quite as fast as true spiders, so that makes them less scary as well. But I totally understand about spider phobias, having grown up with someone who shrieks at the top of her lungs at the mere sight of a spider. Yet she actually touched one of my tarantulas once, though I think she was drunk so that might not count lol!


No problem, I love talking about them!
This is an exerpt from an article I wrote once..

"There are over 800 species of tarantula spiders, all of them belonging to the Theriphosidae family. There are New World (North, South and Central America) and Old World (Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia) tarantulas. Almost all species from the New World possess urticating setae, (special barbed hairs on their abdomens) which they kick off towards attackers with their rear legs. These hairs can stick into a predator's skin and cause intense irritation. Old World tarantulas do not have this feature, but they generally possess stronger venom, perhaps to make up for the lack of a secondary defence mechanism. "

So if you get bitten by a New World Tarantula, the effects would be very mild. My husband was bitten by a New World Tarantula, actually he was bitten by Pigwidgeon, who I posted a picture of, so he had a slight bit of itchyness and that's about it. Well other than the pain from the actual fangs, which can be quite large. If you were bitten by an Old World tarantual, it would be a different story, you would be looking at swelling, muscle cramps, intense pain at the bite site, possible heart palpitations (though that could be attributed to anxiety over the bite, it hasn't been studied enough) and things of that nature. The bite can suck, but it is not life threatening, though I have heard of people with muscle cramps months later from the bite. Experts say that there is no chance of an allergic reaction to tarantula venom, as the proteins in the venom just don't work the same as say, bee venom, but again it just hasn't been studied enough.

Tarantulas can live anwhere from 7 to 30 years, depending on species. I wouldn't say that I have ever had a phobia to arachnids, but I definitely jump if they surprise me. I had a huge house spider crawl onto my chest while I was watching TV a couple of months ago and that freaked me out! The tarantulas only freak me out if they are in a REALLY pissy mood. Then they go into a threat pose like this, then they bob up and down and strike at you with their legs, warning that they are prepared to bite. That freaks me out sometimes, that's when I call the hubby in to help.


No Charlotte is good with anyone, my husband can reach in a pick her up, she doesn't care. She is the one that my sister was brave enough to pet, and my mom too who also hates spiders! If there are children over, then Charlotte is the one whose cage I take out to show them, she is very calm and will only move if I prod her with a stick. So she is a good one to show kids that spiders don't have to be scary.

I use different things in their cages, they all have some type of dirt for substrate, either coconut coir, peat moss or soil. Then I give them a hide if they are terrestrial (ground dwellers) and a water dish. Burrowers get really deep substrate and a water dish, they don't need a hide as they will just dig a hole. Arboreals (tree dwellers) get fake plants and bark to climb on and attach their webbing to. Slings (spiderlings) are housed in little pill vials with just dirt until they are large enough for bigger containers.

I feed them crickets and different types of cockroaches, and sometimes mealworms.

FJL

OMG, that last photo is giving me shivers!!!

Thanks for all that great info hun, you really do learn something new everyday!

Moraine

You're welcome, it was my pleasure!