The tarantula spider lives up to 20 years at home. This is one of the most unpretentious animals, in comparison with other types of spiders - it mates, reproduces, grows, and feeds 1-2 times a week. The tarantula family is divided into 13 subfamilies and includes many different species. Each specimen is distinguished by its large size, unique color, and calm temperament.
Specifics of feeding
Having decided on such a pet, first of all you should figure out what to feed the tarantula. These spiders are predators that eat large insects (crickets, cockroaches or their larvae).
It is important that the lunch portion is not much larger than the predator, since tarantulas have too strong an appetite. When trying to eat all the food, they are capable of causing physical harm to themselves (the abdomen will burst).
The younger the pet, the more often it needs food. Up to 1-2 years, the tarantula molts every 20 days, so the frequency of feeding should be the same.
Further, its growth becomes less dynamic. If the spider is already 3-5 years old, then it is fed once every 1.5-2 months. Once every 4 weeks, multivitamins are mixed into the meat ball, and calcium gluconate is added once every 2 weeks. The raw “meatball” is given to the tarantula directly into its paws.
It is not recommended to feed your pet the following:
- ordinary indoor cockroaches (sometimes poisoned);
- street insects (can be infected with parasites);
- mice or frogs (provoke the death of domestic tarantulas).
For those who live far from the city, it is allowed to feed the domestic tarantula with insects caught on the street. For residents of busy cities, it is not advisable to feed their pets street insects.
Etymology of the name
This name comes from one of the varieties of spiders that live near the city of Taranto. According to local residents of the fifteenth century, spiders were the cause of a disease called "Tarantism". According to legend, the bite of this spider infected with an unusual disease that led to inevitable death, and the only possible way to recover was a special, very energetic dance - the tarantella (known to this day). It was common to think that dance should draw all the strength out of the “patient” along with the disease.
Content Features
The most common species in the post-Soviet space is the Mizgir (South Russian tarantula). The length of adult females of this species reaches 3 cm.
They are not one of the brightest and most memorable representatives of the family, but they are very popular because they are unpretentious and well suited for those who are getting a pet spider for the first time.
The domestic tarantula is kept without much difficulty. First of all, they set up a terrarium for him.
Dimensions and volume
If the size of the pet is more than 8 cm, then the length and width of the walls of the terrarium should be at least 80 cm. For individuals ranging in size from 2 to 7 cm, 50 cm is sufficient.
Particular attention is paid to safety. The terrarium should always be covered with a lid. This will protect your pet from escaping or eating it (live insects).
To make the tarantula comfortable, the terrarium should visually resemble its natural refuge . Pet owners have several options: make something like a mink or an open area with a mink.
If the first option is chosen, then the size of the terrarium should be 2 times the size of the spider’s body.
If the terrarium is large and lacks a secluded place, then the pet will feel uncomfortable, being constantly in a state of stress.
If the owners prefer a large terrarium, then they should take care of a shallow shelter where the domestic tarantula will hide.
Boxes for pets can be glass (a regular aquarium will do) or plastic. Tarantulas do well even in lunch boxes.
Many breeders prefer this option, since such containers have reliable latches to prevent escape.
Climatic conditions
The domestic tarantula feels good at an average living room temperature of 23-25 °C.
If the room is warmer (25-30 °C), then the spiders begin to grow more intensively. Their size increases noticeably, and they reach sexual maturity faster.
Additional accessories
The tarantula spider thrives in the most modest conditions. This pet lives quite calmly on an orchid substrate with periodic spraying to maintain moisture.
But it is possible to furnish his home with more imagination.:
- To monitor the humidity in the terrarium, some breeders purchase a hygrometer.
- If your pet tarantula is notoriously weak at escaping, then a terrarium lock would be a worthwhile purchase.
- To maintain the required level of humidity, some owners purchase special sprayers.
A pet should always have access to water, since quite often representatives of this family die from dehydration.
Experienced breeders arrange the terrarium so that it has 1-3 holes. Through them, animals will hide from human eyes.
To create such burrows, various plants or tree bark are used. Thanks to this, artificially created conditions become close to the natural habitat.
Home cleaning
Your pet's home requires constant care. To do this safely, you need to purchase medical tweezers. Its optimal length should be 25–30 cm.
Using tweezers, breeders move the spider from place to place, remove its waste products, the corpses of uneaten insects, and replace the water container.
If tweezers are not available, the pet must first be fenced off with a plastic lid or covered with a plastic container. This will help protect yourself from an animal bite and prevent it from escaping.
Lifestyle
The spider spends most of its time in a hole dug by its own efforts. Tarantula burrows can reach 25 centimeters deep . Inside each burrow, a wall of leaves and cobwebs is cultivated. To protect against rain or before the onset of winter, the spider goes deeper and closes its “hut” with web and earth.
The tarantula is a predator, and therefore is often in search of prey. Spiders hunt mainly at night, sometimes during the day, waiting for prey near their home. Almost all careless insects fall under the insidious mites of tarantulas, among them: caterpillars, mole crickets, crickets, beetles and others.
Tarantulas prefer to be located as close to “home” as possible; they painstakingly protect their territory , protecting themselves from strangers. In cases where the spider needs to move away from the hole, it ties itself to it with a web to make it easier to find its way home. The only option to force the creature to leave its home territory is the mating season; at this moment the spiders forget about everything and lose their heads. As a result, they are able to go a long way in search of a suitable female.
Pros and cons of keeping tarantulas
The advantages of keeping such a pet include the following::
- the house spider inhabits a terrarium that does not take up much space.
- You have to feed your pet more often than once every 1.5-2 months.
- This pet does not require special conditions.
- Owning a tarantula is an inexpensive pleasure. The cost depends on the insects chosen for feeding.
In addition, pet tarantulas are pleasant to the touch and make interesting photos for social networks.
The domestic tarantula, when living near people, has the following disadvantages:
- Sometimes spiders leave the terrariums. Moving freely around the living space, they run the risk of being crushed.
- Some pets categorically refuse human hands. In order not to be disappointed over time, it is important to check the contact quality of the spider when purchasing.
- If you do not undergo training and do not follow all recommendations for keeping a tarantula, then it is possible that it will bite the breeder.
- All tarantulas are poisonous, and they differ in the strength of the toxic substances. The bite of some species is no different from when a wasp or bee stings. But there are also those that, with their bite, provoke loss of consciousness in a person and cause involuntary convulsive muscle contractions.
Tarantulas are never the first to attack humans or large pets. The strength of their poison is not enough to cause irreparable harm to large living creatures.
They have an instinct for self-preservation. Even if a person misbehaves, they prefer to find shelter rather than bite him.
How much does a tarantula spider cost?
The cost of an exotic animal depends on the species. The price of a rare specimen is calculated in dollars. You can order a tarantula spider online on the website. Often bought from collectors based on an ad. Tarantula spiders are sold in pet stores. The cost of a pet is from 100 rubles. up to 10,000 rub. The price of a tarantula spider also depends on gender - females are always more expensive.
When choosing a pet, you need to consider age. It is better not to buy too large individuals, as they may end up in old age. It is necessary to inspect the shell on the abdomen; if it is damaged, wrinkled, or has cracks, it is not worth buying, since the animal may be sick. Do not buy a tarantula before molting or immediately after it. The spider must be active and respond to touch.
Is the bite dangerous?
The level of toxicity of a tarantula is affected not only by its species, but also by age, gender or season. The most poisonous are considered to be adult females that have already become sexually mature and belong to large species. They are especially dangerous during mating and egg laying.
In all tarantulas, the toxicity of poisons increases from the beginning of spring to the first month of summer, and then rapidly decreases with the arrival of autumn.
Most often, the domestic tarantula produces poison, which is as dangerous to humans as the poison of a wasp or bee. Redness and swelling occur at the damaged area. These symptoms disappear quickly without the use of a specific antidote.
Sometimes after a bite the following symptoms develop::
- the bite site hurts, turns red, and swells;
- the person becomes lethargic and drowsy;
- the temperature rises sharply to 38 °C, but does not last long;
- Nausea may occur, accompanied by vomiting.
If the case is particularly severe, the victim experiences a disturbance in spatial orientation, nausea, convulsions, and loses consciousness.
With symptomatic treatment, the person quickly returns to normal. But if he has an allergic reaction to toxins, then the victim needs urgent hospitalization.
Known species
- The Apulian tarantula is perhaps the most famous subspecies. These crumbs rarely reach seventy millimeters in length, but they have a rich history. The fact is that this is the same species that lives in the vicinity of Taranto. It was this spider that was considered poisonous and dangerous, causing a “terrible” disease.
- The South Russian tarantula is another famous species that lives in Russia. It can reach up to four centimeters in size. It inhabits many territories, but is mainly found in steppes and forest-steppes. The appearance has one distinctive feature - a small “cap” on the cephalothorax.
Possibility of reproduction
Males reach sexual maturity faster (in 1.5-2 years), and females have to wait 2 times longer. They become capable of reproduction only after 4-5 years.
The period of intercourse for procreation occurs in the second half of August. After mating, the male dies, and the female prepares for the winter. She places a clutch of eggs in a silk cocoon on the outside of the abdomen.
The female carries the eggs on herself for 40-50 days . If the female is in the wild, she tries to be in the sun more often to speed up the incubation process.
At home, the temperature in the terrarium should be artificially increased to 30-32 °C. One clutch contains from 50 to 500 eggs.
Newborn spiders cannot leave their mother for another four weeks. At the same time, they should be close to the female’s body, receiving her warmth.
After a month, the spiderlings leave their mother and begin to live like all adults. Sometimes females themselves drive away the offspring or eat part of it, so breeders must separate the babies from their mother in time. The domestic tarantula is an interesting pet that not everyone would dare to keep. But if you follow simple rules, then such an exotic creature will be able to delight with its presence at home for many years and will not pose a danger to humans or other pets.
What to feed a tarantula spider at home
The name of the family misleads many people. Initially, you might think that the spider eats birds; it needs to be fed with birds. This is not entirely true, the name appeared thanks to an entomologist from Germany, who, while traveling through the tropical forests of South America, saw an exotic spider that was eating a bird - a hummingbird. The information appeared in the press, and the animal has been called that ever since.
The main diet is insects. Tarantula spiders eat:
- crickets;
- grasshoppers;
- cockroaches;
- flies;
- bloodworms;
- moth caterpillars
Large exotic animals are periodically given raw chicken, fish, and small rodents. The growing young generation is fed 4 times a week, adults - 2 times.
