adopting a tarantula...

[FelineNine]

Hey all,

I was looking into adopting a female rose-hair tarantula.I have always loved spiders, and am looking forward to giving her a good home, but have never cared for one before.

I figured to ask all the questions from the previous owner, and visit the library to get books etc. If any of you have any care tips though, that would be awesome, or any photos to share of your spider's living set-up.

[Alicia Avocado]

:cry:As an archnaphobe all I can say is....please don't move in next door and forget that cage open!!! LOL

[KirstenKat]

Haha same here yikes huge fear of any kind of creepy crawler. But kudos to you for being one of the few who can care for a spider so many people are afriad :up:

[cstadt]

I don't know anything about the care of them but hope you have good luck with her! I'd love to adopt one, too

[Spidergrrl]

Isowish saw this thread and told me to come give you advice. We have 4 beautiful tarantulas and I can give you loads of tips. I only have computer access at work so let me PM you tomorrow from the public library with some info.

Good for you--spiders make fantastic pets. They eat little, only need their cage cleaned twice a year, never need to go out for walkies. They will do lots of interesting behaviour--our largest one (salmon pink birdeater named Lily Rose) has become a digger and has decided to dig up all her substrate and put it in a big pile. Why? Who knows. That is often pre-moulting behaviour but she's not been fasting like you do before a moult so who knows.

The one thing I would say is please don't handle your spider. I know many people do but it is ultimately not safe for your little friend--if they feel frightened or in danger they will bite and while they are not deadly it will hurt like hell--plus you might drop them. Also their hairs are really irritating so your hands will itch like mad and you might rub it into your eyes and that could be a real problem.

Look to see if their is a Canadian Tarantula society (CTS)you can join. They will give you loads of info and probably a cool newsletter. We are in the BTS. If you don't have a CTS try the American TS.

Google caresheet chilean rose tarantula and you'll get loads of (sometimes conflicting) tips. We have had 2 rose hairs and they are very easy to care for. I'll PM more info tomoorow. Good luck!

[Princess Peach]

I rather like spiders. I have a 6 legged "pet" daddy long legs spider that lives behind my moniter. I am rather fond of him. Or her, as the case may be. I am not quite sure what happened to the last couple of legs, they have been gone for a while. :( He getting quite tame!

No advice, but good luck with your spider.

[isowish]

They eat little, only need their cage cleaned twice a year, never need to go out for walkies.
wow! :eek: I never knew this


The one thing I would say is please don't handle your spider. I know many people do but it is ultimately not safe for your little friend--if they feel frightened or in danger they will bite and while they are not deadly it will hurt like hell--plus you might drop them. Also their hairs are really irritating so your hands will itch like mad and you might rub it into your eyes and that could be a real problem.

:up:

thank you Heather, I knew you would be in the know! :D

[FreestylePup]

Oh I love tarantula's! They are my favorite type of spider. Anyway, good luck adopting your spider.

[dormouse]

Isowish saw this thread and told me to come give you advice. We have 4 beautiful tarantulas and I can give you loads of tips. I only have computer access at work so let me PM you tomorrow from the public library with some info.

Good for you--spiders make fantastic pets. They eat little, only need their cage cleaned twice a year, never need to go out for walkies. They will do lots of interesting behaviour--our largest one (salmon pink birdeater named Lily Rose) has become a digger and has decided to dig up all her substrate and put it in a big pile. Why? Who knows. That is often pre-moulting behaviour but she's not been fasting like you do before a moult so who knows.

The one thing I would say is please don't handle your spider. I know many people do but it is ultimately not safe for your little friend--if they feel frightened or in danger they will bite and while they are not deadly it will hurt like hell--plus you might drop them. Also their hairs are really irritating so your hands will itch like mad and you might rub it into your eyes and that could be a real problem.

Look to see if their is a Canadian Tarantula society (CTS)you can join. They will give you loads of info and probably a cool newsletter. We are in the BTS. If you don't have a CTS try the American TS.

Google caresheet chilean rose tarantula and you'll get loads of (sometimes conflicting) tips. We have had 2 rose hairs and they are very easy to care for. I'll PM more info tomoorow. Good luck!

I never knew any of this stuff. Very informative...but remind me to never ever come to your house. I think I would have a heart attack.

[Masja]

Good luck with your new friend, I love tarantulas, I used to volunteer in the bug department at the museum, so we got to handle lots of critters, it's the crickets that give me the heebie jeebies!!!

[Spidergrrl]

I rather like spiders. I have a 6 legged "pet" daddy long legs spider that lives behind my moniter. I am rather fond of him. Or her, as the case may be. I am not quite sure what happened to the last couple of legs, they have been gone for a while. :( He getting quite tame!

No advice, but good luck with your spider.

Either a bad moult, a fight (spiders can disjoin legs like lizards can lose their tails to escape a predator) or a not fast enough escape after mating can be the causes of leg loss.

We have a tame DLL named Herman who lives behind our loo.

[Spidergrrl]

FelineNine--sent you a very long 2 part PM about everything we do to care for our spiderbabes. Good luck and feel free to PM me about other questions. we'd love to hear when you get her settled in.

[Earthling]

We have a tame DLL named Herman who lives behind our loo.

I had a little spider called Charlotte who lived in my car for about a month. She was always spinning new webs in different places, and I felt really bad everytime I de-iced the wing mirrors and ruined the webs she'd built on them. I'm sure she was pregnant because her abdomen got HUGE suddenly, then it shrunk and I never saw her again. I really hope her babies didn't hatch in my engine and got fried...

[saintsalive]

Great! I have a female rose hair named Curie. If you are an ethical veg*n like me, you'll probably have trouble with the crickets :( But try convincing a tarantula to go vegetarian... And make sure you treat the crickets nicely, I always think this: they're gonna get fed to the tarantula no matter who keeps it, I'd rather have them taken good care of than tossed around by someone else before they die...

[Spidergrrl]

I always say our spiders can't choose what they eat, but I can. We say a little prayer of thanks before we drop in a buggie thanking it for giving it's life so our girls might live.

[saintsalive]

I always say our spiders can't choose what they eat, but I can. We say a little prayer of thanks before we drop in a buggie thanking it for giving it's life so our girls might live.

Yeah... I always find myself reassuringly talking to the little crickets... :( But there is a big difference in this and eating meat... if you watch them eat the crickets, they are gone with one strike, pretty quick and painless, but humans torture their animals... which really sucks. So I definitely get where you're coming from :)