Domestic tarantulas - proper maintenance and what to feed?

The tarantula is a large spider whose body is covered with hair. The animal belongs to the wolf spider family and lives in dry areas such as steppes or deserts. During daylight hours it hides in fairly deep vertical burrows (up to 60 cm), at night it is active, climbs out and hunts insects. The tarantula spider does not weave a web in the form of a mesh; it only covers the walls of its burrows with it and uses it to build cocoons for eggs.

Content

Keeping a tarantula at home is not much different from keeping a tarantula spider. For one individual, it is enough to equip a small terrarium, based on the principle - the size of the terrarium should be approximately 2 times the size of the individual. So, for example, for a spider measuring 15 cm, a terrarium measuring 30x30x30 cm is suitable. The optimal temperature for keeping a tarantula ranges from +18 to +30° Celsius.

As a filler, you can use peat or coconut substrate moistened with water. For tropical species, the filler must be wetter than for species that naturally live in drier areas.

The use of sawdust as bedding for the spider should be avoided. The use of coniferous trees is strictly prohibited.

Maintain humidity in the terrarium by spraying water over the substrate. For individuals under one year of age, regardless of their habitat in the natural environment, water should be sprayed at least once a week. The terrarium should also be equipped with a saucer of water. It is advisable to change the water at least once a day.

The domestic tarantula is an asocial animal; it is usually recommended to keep one individual in one terrarium.

For arboreal subspecies, the terrarium should be equipped with thick tree branches along which the spider could climb and weave a web. For this variety of tarantula, a terrarium should be chosen with high walls.

For burrowing tarantulas, a deeper bedding should be made of peat or other substrate in which the spider could dig tunnels and arrange a shelter.

Place your pet's cage so that it is not exposed to direct sunlight. During the cold season, you cannot heat the cage with a regular incandescent lamp. Use a heating element for this purpose. But make sure that it does not dry out the air in the cage and the spider’s bedding.

Primary requirements

Before you buy a spider, decide on its size. The size of the terrarium and the conditions in it will depend on the size of the tarantula. It may be better to buy a baby and watch it grow.

Most pet stores offer specialized glass or plastic tanks for these exotic animals. Now ask yourself if you want to recreate natural conditions for your tarantula. The answer to this question should always be “Yes”, however, you will need to buy a large capacity tank in order to do this.

When creating a natural habitat for your pet, be prepared for the fact that you will not see him as often as you would like. In my opinion, you shouldn’t clutter the terrarium too much with paraphernalia, so you can see it more often and observe its actions.

Cover the bottom of the terrarium with a 2 cm layer of vermiculite, and place a layer of cocoa tree bark on top. You can buy all this at nurseries. This soil will help maintain the moist conditions in the terrarium necessary for the tarantula.

The use of compost is not advisable as it needs to be sterilized and changed frequently. The humidity level in the terrarium should ideally be 50-60%. Do not allow the humidity level to drop below 50% as this can be fatal to the spider, especially during molting.

On the other hand, high humidity promotes mold growth. So, you always need to control the humidity level.

The ideal temperature for growing tarantulas is 21-24 degrees Celsius. If you use a central heating system in your home, then this is the temperature that will be maintained and you will not need an additional heater for the terrarium.

However, you may need a heater for the colder months. There are devices such as hot stones, heating mats, etc. that can be used to heat the terrarium.

When a tarantula enters the molting phase, it is important to throw out any remaining food from the enclosure within 24 hours, as small insects or crickets can be detrimental to your pet during this phase.

Homemade tarantula - care and maintenance. What to feed a tarantula at home?

The tarantula is an unusual pet, but today there are quite a few lovers of exotic animals, which include tarantula spiders. These are quite unpretentious arthropods, which can be kept in special terrariums or even in aquariums that have a lid with ventilation holes.

A substrate consisting of a mixture of earth, sand and clay is poured onto the bottom of the container. The thickness of the layer should be within 20-30 cm. In addition, it is necessary to equip the tarantula terrarium with an automatic drinking bowl with fresh water and a shallow pool so that the pet can take water treatments. To create conditions similar to natural ones, it is recommended to place small driftwood and unpretentious grass in the container.

The optimal temperature for keeping tarantulas at home ranges from 25° to 27°C, and since such pets do not need ultraviolet radiation, ordinary incandescent lamps are sufficient to maintain it. To maintain humidity inside the terrarium, you need to periodically irrigate the soil using a spray bottle.

Tarantula spiders are unpretentious in their diet. You can feed your pet tarantula small pieces of fresh beef. As mineral supplements, you can add calcium gluconate to the meatball once every two weeks and multivitamin preparations once every 30 days. The portion should be fed on the tip of a stick directly into the spider's chelicerae.

However, the best food for a domestic tarantula will be insect larvae, small cockroaches and grasshoppers, worms and small frogs, in general, any insect that is not larger than the pet in size. The frequency of feeding of the tarantula depends on the age of the spider. If young individuals need to be fed two to three times a week, then an adult tarantula needs one meal every 8 days. After finishing feeding, all leftovers from the feast must be removed.

It should be remembered that only 1 domestic tarantula can be kept in a terrarium. Otherwise, fights will constantly arise between neighbors, which will lead to the death of one of the pets.

• The best antidote for tarantula venom is its blood, so often to neutralize the effect of the toxin, it is enough to smear the bite site with the blood of a crushed spider.
• The web is the connecting link between the spider and its home. If the web breaks during the tarantula's escape from the hole, the spider will be forced to dig a new shelter for itself.
• Tarantulas are capable of regenerating lost limbs. After the next molt, a new leg grows in place of the severed paw, slightly smaller in size. With each subsequent change of protective cover, the length of the limb increases until it reaches the original length.
• To stay firmly on tree branches or other surfaces, these spiders are able to extend their claws on all their legs.
• The skin on the abdomen of tarantulas is very delicate and can tear if it falls even from a small height.
• During the mating season, males in search of a female are able to move quite long distances.

There are 220 species of spiders belonging to the genus Tarantula. More often than others in different parts of the world you can find the Apulian tarantula (Lycosa tarantula). The southern Russian tarantula (Lycosa singoriensis), also called Mizgir, lives on the territory of the former Soviet republics. His trademark is a dark spot similar to a skullcap.

A few facts about tarantulas

In ancient times, residents of Italy considered tarantula bites fatal. There was only one way to avoid death - dancing. The bitten residents began to dance, waving their arms and legs until exhaustion. This is how the famous dance “Tarantella” appeared.

Many people keep these arthropods as pets. Tarantulas do not require special care and live for quite a long time. A female spider can live next to a person for about 30 years.

In nature, tarantulas are very attached to their home. When a spider goes hunting, a web is attached from its burrow to the body of the arthropod. If the web accidentally breaks, the insect may become lost in orientation and then not find its lair. If this happens, the spider digs a new home for itself.

Tarantulas are capable of regenerating their limbs. If a spider loses a leg in a fight with another individual or while hunting for prey, a new one grows in place of the lost limb after some time. The regrown tarantula's foot is smaller in size compared to the rest of the legs.

Conclusion

A tarantula bite is quite unpleasant, but not fatal to humans. In an adult healthy person, the bite goes away after 4 days, and after that there are no symptoms of the spider attack. It is more difficult for those who suffer from allergic reactions. For them, an arthropod attack can result in severe health complications. However, you need to be extremely careful and, if possible, avoid any encounters with the spider. Tarantulas can bite humans, watch the video.

The tarantula is definitely not the most pleasant representative of the animal kingdom, given that in addition to its peculiar appearance, it is also a poisonous insect. The name of this spider, “tarantula,” came to us from Renaissance Italy. In those distant times, there were many of these spiders in the cities of Italy and, as a result, many people were bitten by them. Because of the bite, the unfortunate people suffered from convulsive seizures; of course, these conditions could have been caused by other reasons, but then they were associated specifically with spider bites. And the largest number of people bitten was in the Italian city of Taranto, which gave the name to this spider - tarantula.

An interesting fact: to cure the consequences of a bite from this spider, medieval doctors prescribed dancing until you drop a special dance - the tarantella, which, by its name and history of origin, is also directly connected with the city of Taranto, and with the hero of our today's publication - the tarantula spider.

Contents of ctenizide at home

Ctenizides are kept extremely rarely at home. As a rule, individuals caught in the natural environment are used as pets. In captivity, it is advisable to keep varieties that use wood to build their homes. If in their natural habitat females are able to live for twenty years, and males are four times less, then at home such arthropods, as a rule, die quite quickly.

A characteristic difference between ctenisids and other species of mygalomorph spiders is the presence of sharp spines on the chelicerae, thanks to which the arthropod is able to quickly dig the ground. When keeping such a pet at home, you need to allocate a spacious and deep terrarium filled with soil, which will allow the spider to make a home for itself. Tropical arthropods need stable temperatures and optimal humidity levels. You can purchase ctenizide from arachnophiles who breed the species at home. The cost of an adult does not exceed one and a half thousand rubles.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=n6hme9lfvB8%3F

Description of the tarantula

The tarantula is part of the wolf spider family, although they are constantly trying to mate it with tarantula spiders (lat. theraphosidae). Tarantulas differ from the latter in the direction of movement of the jaws.

Chelicerae (due to poisonous ducts on their jagged tops) perform two functions - an oral appendage and an attack/defense weapon.

The most attractive thing about the tarantula’s appearance is its 3 rows of shiny eyes: the first (bottom) row consists of four tiny “beads”, 2 larger eyes are “mounted” on top of them, and, finally, another pair is placed on the sides.

Eight spider “eyepieces” vigilantly monitor what is happening, distinguishing light and shadow, as well as the silhouettes of familiar insects at an interval of up to 30 cm. The spider boasts excellent hearing - it can hear human steps 15 km away.

The tarantula grows, depending on the variety, up to 2.5 – 10 cm (with a limb span of 30 centimeters).

Females are larger than their partners, often gaining a record weight of 90 grams.

The color of the spider can vary and depends on its habitat. Thus, the South Russian tarantula usually displays a brown, slightly reddish or sandy-gray color with black spots.

Body size and structure

In the imagination of children who first heard the name of an arthropod, different images are drawn in their heads. To confirm or refute fantasies, you should tell what a tarantula spider looks like.

The protostomes are large, up to 4 inches long. Some large species weigh more than 85 g. The largest representative is Heteropoda maxima, weighs 170 g and has a leg span of up to 30 cm. It was listed in the Guinness Book of Records. Males are longer and females have a larger girth.

Arthropods are classified as invertebrates. Instead of an internal skeleton, they have an exoskeleton called an exoskeleton. The body consists of two sections: the cephalothorax (prosoma), the abdomen (abdomen).

Head

The prosoma is an important part of the arthropod body. It contains the medulla and muscles responsible for motor function and the muscles that control the chelicerae and the sucking stomach. Almost all parts of the body are attached to the head.

There are 8 simple eyes located on the eminence. They are small and poorly developed. Tree dwellers have better vision than land dwellers. Two-segment processes (chelicerae) are located between the visual organs and the mouth. They contain poisonous glands that exit through the fangs. Through them, the toxin enters the victim or animal when the spider begins to bite - in defense or attack.

A representative of the infraorder mygalomorpha has four pairs of legs and two additional pairs of appendages. Each leg consists of segments and ends with three claws. They are used to grip the climbing surface.

Abdomen

On the opisthosoma there are various organs responsible for digestion, excretory function, and reproduction.

At the base of the abdomen, in the lower part there is an epiginal area, separated by an epigastric groove located between the first pair of stigmas. At the end of the abdomen there are two small web-like appendages (spinnerets). The anus is located even lower.

Belly part

The internal organs are enclosed in an exoskeleton.

Arthropods have exogenous digestion. Tarantulas are the only spiders capable of chewing food. The stomach is a tube running along the entire length of the prosoma. Through the sucking stomach, food enters the true stomach. Digestion is completed in the intestine with the help of the Malpighian tubules. Nutrients accumulate in the screcoral pocket. Unprocessed particles come out as white and dark excrement.

Spider size

Theraphosidae range in size from as small as a fingernail to as large as a dinner plate when the legs are fully extended. Depending on the species, the length ranges from 2.5 to 10 cm, with a leg span of 8-30 cm. The parameter is determined by measuring from the tip of the hind leg to the tip of the front leg on the opposite side.

Reproduction and lifespan

The mating season for many species of tarantulas occurs at the end of summer. At this time, a sexually mature male begins to weave a web, and then rubs his own abdomen against it. As a result of this, he ejaculates seminal fluid, which ends up on the web. Next, the male immerses his pedipalps into the web, which absorb seminal fluid, and prepares it for reproduction.

Only after this does the mating period begin, and the spider goes in search of a female. When he finds “his lady,” the tarantula begins to court her. So during the courtship period, the male performs the tarantella dance. If the female responds to him with reciprocity and her own disposition, then he plunges his own pedipalps into her cloaca and fertilizes her. Next, the male needs to quickly leave the female so as not to become lunch for her.

Then the baton of prolongation of the genus passes to the female, who begins to weave a special cocoon, where she lays her own eggs. One clutch usually contains from 50 to 2000 eggs.

The cocoon with eggs matures for 40-50 days, and then small tarantulas hatch from there, live and grow rapidly, and by 2-3 years they have already reached sexual maturity.

Speaking about how long tarantulas live, it is important to note that females have an average lifespan of 20-30 years, and males - 5-10 years.

Reproduction

Females live about 4 years, males - up to 2. In spring, females emerge from their burrows and bask in the sun. They can travel long distances in search of a mate. They court the female they like for a short time. They mate at the end of summer once in their entire lives; the males die immediately, as the female bites her lover after fertilization. Lays eggs in a hole. Females carry them on themselves in a web cocoon, carefully caring for future offspring. After maturation, young spiders crawl out of the cocoon and live on the female’s belly for some time. As they grow up, the spiders become independent and move away from her. Sometimes the mother provokes the younger generation to enter adulthood earlier. She comes out of the hole and, spinning, throws the spiderlings off her body. The young look for a new home and dig a hole for themselves, the size of which will increase as the spider grows.

Lifestyle

The tarantula spider lives in deep burrows, which it makes in hard soil. Such a spider's dwelling reaches up to 25 cm vertically in depth. At the entrance, the predator builds a vertical wall, using plant remains and soil as building materials. The spider lines its burrow with cobwebs. When the rainy season or molting time begins, the entrance from above is closed with threads of cobwebs and earth. With the onset of winter, the insect covers its home with dry plants mixed with cobwebs.

The tarantula hunts mainly at night, guarding prey at the entrance to the hole. During the day, he sits out in his lair and waits for a random victim there. Based on this, it can be understood that a person can suffer and receive a tarantula bite only in those cases when he himself invades his territory and destroys the home of a predatory insect.

Tarantulas do not go far from their home; if they have to move away a little, they always go, tied to the hole with their web. This is how spiders find their way home. True, there are exceptions during the mating season

At this time, the males, forgetting about caution and rules, go in search of a female, spending a long time on the way

Danger

All types of tarantulas are poisonous. The poison lies in the glands located in the cephalothorax and opening at the top of the tentacles-mandibles, with which the spider pierces the skin of its prey in order to then suck it out. Tarantulas do not attack humans on their own, but if they are teased, especially females wearing an egg cocoon or having young spiders on them, jump up and can bite a person.

For humans, a tarantula bite is never fatal, but causes swelling and pain in the bitten area. In addition, sometimes the skin turns yellow and remains that way for quite a long time (up to 2 months). There is no reliable information about the fatal outcome for humans from a tarantula bite.

Tarantula at home

The popularity of keeping a tarantula at home is primarily due to the fact that it does not require special care. Basically, lovers of exotic animals prefer to purchase a female tarantula, since she lives much longer than the male.

The spider's terrarium needs to be arranged in such a way that there are several holes in it, since this animal often likes to hide in order to be secluded from others. Various plants or tree bark can be used as such burrows, bringing artificially created conditions closer to the natural habitat.

When arranging a terrarium, it is important to take into account the type of tarantula, since some cannot do without branches, while others prefer a moist substrate such as moss, sand and earth. There should always be fresh water in the terrarium, since quite often representatives of this family of spiders die from dehydration

In addition, tarantulas need to constantly spray their habitat with water to create optimal air humidity.

There should always be fresh water in the terrarium, since quite often representatives of this family of spiders die from dehydration. In addition, tarantulas need to constantly spray their habitat with water to create optimal air humidity.

The animal should be handled with particular care and caution, as its bite can be poisonous to humans. The main thing is not to make sudden movements, so as not to provoke an aggressive reaction from the spider.

The tarantula's habitat should always be covered with a lid with holes for air intake. After all, an animal can easily get out of the terrarium through a web woven in the corners of its home.

The optimal temperature for the existence of a tarantula is considered to be 25-27 degrees. A sharp drop in temperature becomes dangerous for spiders that have had a heavy meal, because the process of rotting food is characteristic of their stomach.

Habitats

Many people are interested in where the tarantula lives in order to avoid meeting it. For example, residents of central, eastern, and northern Russia are unlikely to encounter this arthropod in natural areas, since it is not typical for them to live in such a climatic zone, unless it is possible to meet a tarantula at home as a pet.

But in the southern part of the Russian Federation, Europe, as well as in the African, American and Asian expanses of tarantulas, there are plenty of tarantulas.

Interesting fact: to date, scientists have discovered more than two hundred species of tarantula.

Reproduction

If the male managed to find a worthy candidate, he decides to hit on her. After a short courtship, the spiders enter into a relationship. Unfortunately, this relationship is not destined to end happily ever after. At the moment of mating, the male must be as careful and tense as possible, because at the end of this process the female will try to bite her “suitor” and dine on him. The fate of the male depends on how quickly he reacts (many manage to escape). The female, having already been fertilized, continues to live alone.

Tarantula

Next, the female begins to nurture the eggs; to do this, she gets out of the burrow and turns her abdomen towards the sun (sunlight promotes the development of eggs).

The spider lays its eggs in its burrow. At an early stage, they are stored in a cocoon, which she drags along with her throughout the entire “gestation” period. Even after birth, baby tarantulas live on their mother’s back until they become more independent (they learn to hunt and crawl).

Spider at home: pros and cons

I immediately want to make adjustments and replace the word cons/pros with features. After all, hardly anyone chooses between a spider and, for example, a dog. Below we will collect the subjective impressions of tarantula owners who told us what they like about their pets and what annoys them.

If you are no longer interested in popular pets such as cats, dogs, hamsters and guinea pigs, perhaps you should get a salamander, newt, lemur, squirrel, degu, monkey or raccoon.

All for

1. They are not tied to a place. Perhaps you already know that the initiator of “communication” in a relationship between a man and a spider is always the first. A spider can do just fine without your company even for the rest of its life;
2. They don't take up much space. The spider's terrarium should be twice the size of the spider's body. Large containers force animals to seek additional shelter inside the terrarium, in which they spend all the time, depriving their owners of the pleasure of admiring them;
3. Eating once every 1.5-2 months. Adult tarantulas need to be fed exactly at this frequency.
4. Undemanding to conditions. The necessary equipment for properly keeping a spider is a small terrarium and orchid substrate for bedding.
5. Cheap. It costs an average of $3-5 every two months to maintain a spider. Depending on the cost of the insects you will feed it.
6. Plush, pleasant to the touch.
7. You can take cool photos for your avatars.

Everyone is against

1. Sometimes they run away. It happens that spiders get out of their boxes and travel around the house, risking being crushed.
2. Bad character. Some spiders outright refuse human hands. This must be taken into account from the very beginning and the animal’s contactability must be checked.
3. Sometimes they bite. Such cases also occur, but, according to breeders, all this is due to inept handling. So go through the training.
4. Poisonous. All tarantulas are poisonous, the only difference is the strength of the toxin. The bite of some species is more like a wasp and is not dangerous to humans, while the bite of others can cause loss of consciousness and convulsions.

Did you know? Tarantulas never attack humans on their own, since the strength of their poison is not enough to kill a large animal. Spiders know this, so even if a person acts incorrectly, they prefer to hide.

Description and price of insect

Tarantulas belong to the family of so-called wolf spiders (Lycosidae). They do not weave nets, but dig holes and hunt from ambush. Such behavioral features, characteristic of a number of species, gave the name to the family.

The spider's body consists of the following segments:

• cephalothorax, from which 8 limbs extend, two pairs on each side of the body. In the head area there are eyes and a pair of fangs;
• the abdomen, which contains the internal organs of the spider.

The surface of the body is covered with thick soft hair, which is why the spider is very pleasant to the touch - plush.
Some owners even compare these animals to small kittens. Tarantulas have very pronounced sexual dimorphism - females are twice as large as males and live incomparably longer. The average lifespan of a male is 1.5-2 years, while females live about 30 years.

Familiarize yourself with the features of keeping tarantula spiders and black widow spiders.

The most common species in the CIS, which will be offered to you first, is the South Russian tarantula or Mizgir. Adult females reach 3 cm in length.

This species cannot be called one of the brightest representatives of the family, but they are completely unpretentious and are well suited for beginners.

Did you know? Tarantulas can produce claws that are located on the tips of their legs. Claws are needed in order to climb trees, and at home they are mainly used when the owners take spiders in their hands for better grip.

From 2 to 28 dollars - this is the price for these animals. Despite its exotic appearance, the tarantula is quite inexpensive. A young 3-4 month old spider can be purchased for 1-2 dollars, and how much the breeder will ask for a grown animal depends on the following parameters:

• view;
• age;
• size;
• floor;
• color;
• degree of domestication;
• temperament.

Temperament refers to the spider’s attitude towards a person, the degree of its aggression, and the desire to “communicate.” The maximum price stated on the Internet is around $28.

Nutrition

In the question of what a tarantula eats, it is worth noting that these spiders are notorious predators, and their diet consists of many small amphibians and insects. These can be caterpillars, mole crickets, crickets, beetles, cockroaches, small frogs.

The tarantula watches its own victim from its hiding place, and then quickly attacks it. After an attack, the spider paralyzes the prey with its own poison, which subsequently turns the victim’s insides into a nutritious liquid. After this, the tarantula sucks the liquid from the prey.

The process of consuming food by tarantulas can last several days, but in general they are not quite voracious spiders and can do without food for a long period of time. All that is important for them is constant access to water.

Features of feeding

So, what should you feed your pet tarantula? This question may arise for those who are planning to envy themselves such a pet. This nocturnal predator eats all living creatures that are smaller in size. Various insects (crickets, grasshoppers, cockroaches), as well as small mammals, are quite suitable for food.

Tarantulas have external digestion. The whole process of eating consists in the fact that the spider injects poison and digestive juices into the victim, and only then sucks in the digested decomposed tissues of the victim.

You can feed an adult tarantula no more than once a week.

Once a month, multivitamins are mixed into the meat ball, and calcium gluconate is added once every two weeks. The raw “meatball” is given to the spider directly into its paws.

The following are prohibited:

• domestic cockroaches (they may be poisoned);
• street insects (they may be infected with parasites);
• mice and frogs (cause the death of house spiders).

If you live in remote areas of the city or rural areas, then you can feed the tarantula with insects that you caught on the street. In a busy city, feeding a tarantula with street insects is not a good idea.

Avoid unsuitable food for the tarantula - other predators of the same size as your ward can feast on the tarantula themselves. Such individuals include scolopendra, praying mantises, and other spiders.

Once fed, the domestic tarantula stops reacting to potential food and will not hunt for it. But there are times when the owner of the tarantula should stop feeding. A signal for this will be the abdomen enlarged by 1.5-2 times in relation to the cephalothorax. If the spider's feeding process is not stopped in time, this can lead to rupture of the abdomen.

Feeding tips

If your pet tarantula refuses food for two to three weeks, there is no need to panic. A pet tarantula can go without food for a month without any harm to its health.

If the pet is full and refuses the second or third insect in a row, kill the potential food and leave it in the terrarium overnight. If the spider does not touch the victim during the night, simply throw away the insect.

During and after molting, it is better not to feed spiders at all. The start of feeding is determined by the duration of the moult, adding 3-4 days to the number of molts. After the molting is over, the domestic tarantula will be ready to hunt and eat again.

How to get rid of the site

For people who do not want to share their property with such dangerous and unpleasant-looking creatures, we have selected several of the most effective methods that allow you to cope with an uninvited guest:

• use horse chestnuts. If you crush such fruits into a paste and then scatter them over the area, their smell will repel insects, including spiders, for a long time;
• plant a few nuts on your plot. All elements of this plant, including leaves, branches and fruits, are filled with tannins that repel unwanted insects such as flies, spiders, midges, mosquitoes and others;
• dried citrus peels will help get rid of spiders in the house;
• Planting peppermint in the garden will also effectively help drive arachnids out of the area.

Types and way of life of spiders

The tarantula is a member of the wolf spider. These are nocturnal inhabitants, so during the day they sleep in their burrows, but at night they go in search of prey. Tarantulas use the web they weave not for trapping, but as decoration for the walls of their home, or to decorate a cocoon during oviposition.

An interesting fact is the length of the tarantula's hole; it can have a depth of 0.6 m, and in the cold season, tarantulas are able to burrow to a distance of a whole meter. The most similar in appearance to a tarantula is the tarantula spider. If you do not pay attention to the differences in size, they have an external similarity, so most people confuse these two species with each other.

However, they have different classifications: tarantulas are wolf spiders, and tarantulas are descended from tarantula spiders. The biggest difference between the two species is the way the spider's jaws work. Their movements are made in different directions. Tarantulas work with their jaws towards each other, but tarantulas work with their chylicerae in a parallel direction.

Spiders have their own social lives

Although most species of spiders are solitary, some prefer to live in colonies, like insects. Several thousand of these spiders gather in one place and cover vast areas with their networks. It’s not just flies that get caught in such snares—birds and even small mammals become entangled in huge sticky webs, turning spider colonies into creepy animal cemeteries. But the worst thing happens if a flood begins in places where there are massive concentrations of spiders. In this case, hundreds of thousands of spiders gather on small hills that have not been damaged by water, completely entwining them with a web that does not allow anything living to pass through. A similar terrible spider occupation, when many hectares of fields turned into accumulations of cobwebs, happened in 2015 in the vicinity of Memphis, and in 2016 in Tasmania.

Spreading

For the South Russian tarantula, the most preferable climate is dry. For this reason, it can most often be found in steppe, desert and semi-desert regions, and less often in the forest-steppe zone. It appears and digs its burrows in fields, on the banks of various bodies of water, as well as in gardens and vegetable gardens. In a word, soft soils are attractive to him, in which he can easily arrange his nest.

Previously, the South Russian tarantula was distributed mainly in Central Asia, as well as in the southern regions of Russia and Ukraine. But due to climate change, these spiders began to make their way further and further north, and where they were previously rare, they are now found in fairly large quantities.

• On the territory of Ukraine, the South Russian tarantula is called the Crimean tarantula, and at the same time it is the largest arachnid that is found in these places. Its burrows with the owner inside are increasingly being found by local residents in their garden plots.
• Recently, these tarantulas have taken root in Belarus. They were first discovered there in 2008. These arachnids began to spread quite actively in the floodplains of the Sozh, Dnieper and Pripyat rivers.
• Southern Russian tarantulas lived in Bashkiria for quite a long time, but in 2016 a real invasion was noted. The reason for this was the abnormally warm weather, which lasted throughout the summer that year.
• Several species of tarantulas are common in Kazakhstan, and the South Russian one is one of them. The habitats are common: the banks of rivers, lakes and salt marshes, and the most active zones are Aktau, Alma-Ata, Aktobe, Shymkent. Particularly large tarantulas are found in Kazakhstan – sometimes their body length reaches 9 cm.
• As for the territory of Russia, large numbers of South Russian tarantulas were seen in the Astrakhan, Belgorod, Volgograd, Kursk and Saratov regions, as well as in the Tambov, Lipetsk and Oryol regions.

Features of existence

The steppe tarantula settles in burrows, which it digs itself, and always lines the walls with its own web. The depth of the hole is usually 30-40 m. For hunting, he does not weave trapping nets, but catches prey at the moment when it runs past his nest.

The signal for an attack in this case is the shadow of a potential victim. Having recognized the outline, the spider jumps out of its ambush with lightning speed, grabs the prey with its front paws, immediately plunges its chelicerae into its body and injects poison. When the victim freezes, the tarantula begins to eat.

The diet of the South Russian tarantula includes:

• caterpillars;
• crickets;
• ground beetles;
• mole crickets;
• cockroaches;
• beetles.

Despite the fact that these arachnids are very attached to their burrow, individual specimens can move quite considerable distances from it. There have been cases when South Russian tarantulas climbed into residential buildings located in small settlements.

Classification

Systematics divides these creatures into four main suborders.

Cyphophthalmi

A small suborder containing about 220 genera. These are primitive harvesters, whose fossil remains are found by paleontologists in Carboniferous deposits.

Representatives of this suborder have an oval oblong body, no more than 2 mm long. The legs are short. They live in the tropics and subtropical regions of Africa, South America and Eurasia.

The suborder includes two large families - Sironidae and Stylocellidae.

Eupnoi

This suborder includes the pigtails with the longest limbs. They have large eyes, a soft belly and special vitality.

They easily tolerate cold, being active until the first frost. Due to their special frost resistance, they settled throughout the planet. They are found on mountain slopes, deciduous and coniferous forests.

The suborder has 1,800 species, united in two families - Phalangiidae and Caddidae.

Dyspnoi

The most ancient representative of this suborder, Ameticos scolos, was discovered in coal deposits in France. Now it includes 320 modern species.

Very motionless species that sometimes seem lifeless. They live in the southern regions of Russia, in the vast expanses of Europe and Southeast Asia.

The legs are short. There are species that have an elastic abdomen, but there are also armored coverings. The suborder includes four families - Ischyropsalidae, Nemastomatidae, Trogulidae, Dicranolasmatidae.

Laniatores

The most numerous tropical suborder. Includes more than 4 thousand species. It is also the most mysterious, as it is the least studied.

Representatives of the suborder have a brightly colored body with a very hard protective covering. The abdomen is characterized by small bumpy growths. The settlement area is extensive. Found in the tropics of Africa, South America, and Australia.

A large population lives in India. The largest suborder includes five families - Cosmetidae, Gonyleptidae, Triaenonychidae, Oncopodidae, Phalangodidae.

Now let’s look at certain types of extraordinary inhabitants of our planet.

Common harvestman / Phalangium opilio

Females and males of this species differ in size, body structure, and color. Males grow from 4 to 5 mm, females are larger - 6–7 mm. On the upper part of the female's body there is a saddle-shaped dark spot.

Both sexes have long legs. The second pair of limbs is the longest. Males have bumpy growths on their bodies that females do not have.

They live in Eurasia and North America. They feed mainly on small insects, but are not averse to eating plant foods.

Opilio parietinus

In the photo, an inhabitant of forests and meadows of the Eurasian continent and North America. Belongs to the Phalangodidae family.

The oblong body reaches a length of 5–7 mm in adults. The female is slightly larger than the male. They have long legs with dark spots on them.

It feeds on caterpillars and beetles. Houses eat mosquitoes and flies. Adapted to life in residential and commercial premises. But now it is actively being replaced by other invasive apartment dwellers.

Opilio canestrinii

The historical homeland of this species is southern Italy. From these territories, it began to spread throughout Europe, adapting to live in a cooler climate.

Females grow up to 8 mm, males - no more than 6 mm. The tarsi in both sexes reach 16–17 mm. Spreading throughout Central Europe, it began to displace the representatives of Opilio parietinus familiar to these places.

They can often be seen on tree trunks and house walls. The species was discovered in 1876 by Swedish zoologist Tamerlan Thorell.

Pettalidae

A separate family of the suborder Cyphophthalmi includes about 75 species. They spread throughout the tropical forests of South America and are found in Australia, Africa, and the islands of Madagascar and Sri Lanka.

Very small. They grow no more than 2 mm. The legs are short. This, according to most-beauty.ru, makes them look like ticks. The color is dark brown, sometimes yellow. They feed on insects and plant foods.

Almost all species prefer to live in fallen leaves. Only in South Africa are they found in caves. Cave dwellers have no eyes. The new family was introduced into the world classification by the French scientist Eugene Simon in 1879.

Ischyropsalis helwigi

The range of this species is limited to European countries. Lives in deciduous forests, but can move to megacities. In cities they settle in orchards and parks.

Quite large harvesters. The body length reaches 7 mm, but the legs can grow up to 1 cm. In times of danger, it moves quickly or freezes, pretending to be dead.

It is a specialist in eating slugs and snails. Thus, it brings benefits by preserving the fruits of trees from dangerous pests.

Is it possible to reproduce

Sexual maturity in females occurs 1.5-2 years later than in males. If for males this is 1.5-2 years, then for females it is 4-5 years. The mating period begins at the end of summer. After mating, the male usually dies, and the female begins to prepare for the winter. Female tarantulas lay eggs and place them in a silk cocoon, which is attached to the outside of the abdomen. “Gestation” lasts 40-50 days. During this period, under natural conditions, the female tries to be in the sun more often in order to speed up the incubation process; at home, it is worth raising the temperature in the terrarium to +30. +32 °C.

A clutch can contain from 50 to 500 eggs. After the incubation period is completed, the little spiderlings remain with their mother for another month, sometimes covering her entire body. After the expiration of a month, the babies leave the female and begin to lead an adult lifestyle. There are cases when the female herself drives away the young or even eats some part of it, so the babies need to be weaned on time.

Well, now you have the necessary knowledge on how to properly keep a tarantula at home, let this knowledge be useful to you, and remember: we are responsible for those we have tamed.

Spider leg length

The length of the legs of arachnid representatives depends on its species. This is usually the result of how a species has adapted to survive

under certain conditions of its existence. If we were to create a pedestal of record holders in terms of leg length, the first six positions would be occupied by the following species of arachnid representatives:

Very often in life a person can come across a spider with long legs and a gray body that moves quite quickly. Of course, each person reacts to them differently.

: some people simply don’t notice them, but others get very scared. But not everyone knows that this arthropod is not a spider at all, although it is very similar in appearance to one. People called him “false spiders.” In science they are also called “haymakers.” It is very easy to distinguish them, knowing the main distinguishing features: the abdomen of such a “spider” is dissected, it almost completely merges with the cephalothorax. But spiders have a completely solid abdomen and it is connected to the head by a thin membrane.

Knowing how many legs a spider has will help you remember how many eyes it has. It is known that representatives of arachnids have 4 pairs of eyes

. Scientific books usually use a description of arachnids, indicating their overall body length, but they usually do not mention the length of their legs. Therefore, this interesting data can only be found if you study some spider species in more detail, or specifically search for it.

It is worth remembering that not all spiders are always

that had the same body size, and even color, may have legs of the same size. It is very common to find in the wild that spiders that are identical in appearance have different leg lengths.

Despite the fact that today we are surrounded by millions of species of all kinds of insects, both large and completely invisible to the eye, many people have absolutely no idea what these insects actually look like, that is, in an enlarged form. For example, children are not told about how many legs a spider has, either in kindergarten or at school, and in the future people simply don’t think about it. Therefore, the structure of the body of insects remains a mystery to many, and when one is faced with some nuances of this kind, stupor often sets in. Well, let's now try to figure out what a spider looks like and what are the features of its many legs.

Biological certificate

Now let's move on to a description of the tarantula, the characteristics of its behavior, nutrition and reproduction, and give it a brief description as a representative of the animal world.

Scientific classification and lifestyle

The genus of tarantulas belongs to the wolf spider family. They live mainly in burrows, in which they spend all daylight hours, and at night they go out hunting. These arthropods also weave a web, but they use it not as a trapping net, but as a decoration for the walls of their underground apartments and for arranging an oviposition cocoon.

Tarantulas are often confused with tarantula spiders, which is greatly facilitated by the fact that in some languages ​​the word “tarantula” is used to refer to representatives of this family, and even if we ignore the differences in size, these arthropods are similar to each other.

The main difference between the two families is the structure and functioning of the chylicerae. In wolves they move towards each other, in tarantulas they move in parallel.

Description

What does a tarantula look like? These are quite large spiders, reaching a leg span of 30 centimeters. Males are always slightly smaller than females. The bodies of spiders are covered with hairs of gray, brown or brown color, depending on the species.

The largest sizes are tarantulas representing South America; their European relatives rarely exceed a body length of five centimeters.

An interesting question is about the organs of vision of representatives of this family. Curious lovers of the animal world are often interested in how many eyes a tarantula has. We answer - he has eight of them, which allows you to view the entire panorama around both horizontally and vertically.

Nutrition

It is also important to know what tarantulas eat. This is especially true for those lovers of arthropods who are going to breed them in their own apartment. And what, as the character in “The Twelve Chairs” said: “Who needs a mare as a bride!”

And what, as the character in “The Twelve Chairs” said: “Who cares for a mare!”

So, the night hunter feeds on everything that is shorter. It could be an insect, an arachnid of another species, or even small mammals and birds. Digestion in tarantulas, like many other spiders, is external. First, the predator introduces poison and digestive juices into the body of the victim, which decompose the tissues of the victim, and only then absorbs the digested substrate.

Spreading

The question of where tarantulas are found is the most popular among arachnophobes, people who are afraid of spiders. In this regard, residents of central Russia and regions with similar or more severe climatic conditions can rest easy. Here the tarantula can only be found in various zoos and apartments of enthusiasts and Spider-Man fans.

But in the south of our country, our neighboring states, the south of Europe, the African, Asian and American continents, tarantulas are found in large numbers.

Reproduction

Tarantula spiders reproduce like representatives of other spider families, but they still have their own characteristics. First of all, this is the famous mating dance, by which the spider recognizes the male of its own species. In general, the mating process can be divided into the following stages:

1. At the end of summer, the male decides that it is time to extend his tarantula lineage and goes in search of a female.
2. Having found the intended bride, he begins to perform a ritual dance.
3. She, in turn, takes a closer look at the gentleman, and if she decides that he is the man of her dreams and belongs to the same species, she begins to respond to him, copying the dance steps.
4. After such identification, mating itself occurs, after which the groom hurries to quickly retreat before the missus decides to eat him. It must be said that in this respect, male tarantulas are more agile than representatives of the male population of other spiders.

Next, the female finds a burrow suitable for wintering, where she spends the entire winter. With the onset of spring, she crawls out of her home and exposes her abdomen to the warm rays of the young sun.

In the female’s body, warmed by the warmth of the sun, eggs begin to form, up to 700 eggs depending on the species. At the end of this process, the female weaves a cocoon from the web directly on her stomach, where she places the formed eggs.

So she carries her offspring on herself until the young begin to hatch. Sensing this moment, the young mother gnaws through the cocoon and releases her children into the wild.

However, the babies do not leave their mother, but move onto her back, where she carries them until they learn to feed themselves.

Appearance

Tarantulas are quite large in size, reaching about 30 centimeters. Moreover, females are significantly larger than males. The entire spider is covered with hair, which is brown, brown or gray in color, depending on what species the spider belongs to.

The largest representatives of tarantulas live in the vast expanses of South America, but individuals living in the European expanses generally have a body size of no more than five centimeters. An interesting fact about the structure of a spider's body is the number of eyes. The tarantula has as many as eight of them, which allows it to easily cover the visual area in the horizontal and vertical plane.

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).

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.

We create conditions in the terrarium

To satisfy the modest needs of tarantulas, you don’t even have to go to a pet store. Household and floral will be enough. For a full life, a spider needs boxing, bedding and food.

Dimensions and volume

The terrarium should imitate the spider's natural shelter. Therefore, first we need to decide what exactly we are going to imitate - the mink itself or the open space with the mink. In the first case, the size of the terrarium should be twice the body of the spider itself, no more. If the box is too spacious and there is no additional shelter in it, the spider will feel uncomfortable and be in constant stress. If you decide to choose a large terrarium, make sure that there is another, smaller shelter inside where the animal can hide.

Speaking about the materials from which the box will be made, plastic and glass are equally suitable. It is worth noting that tarantulas live well even in lunch containers. Breeders especially love this option for its reliable latches that will not allow the spider to escape from the box.

Climatic conditions

Tarantulas are also suitable for an average room temperature of +23…+25 °C. But at higher temperatures (+25...+30 °C) spiders grow more intensively and reach larger sizes, becoming sexually mature earlier.

Important! You can understand that the spider is aggressive by a certain pose: the front legs are raised up, the abdomen is lowered. Also, when in danger, the animal “shoots” at the enemy with lint, which, when it gets into the predator’s respiratory tract, causes irritation.

Additional accessories

Spiders feel great in the most spartan conditions - a substrate for orchids as bedding and periodic spraying to maintain humidity, but you can arrange your “apartment” in more interesting ways:

1. Hygrometer. Problems with temperature conditions usually do not arise, but air humidity is no less important. To monitor this parameter, you can purchase a hygrometer; the device will measure the temperature and humidity in the terrarium. This device costs 7-8 dollars.
2. Lock for the terrarium. Solution for escape spiders. Cost about 4-5 dollars.
3. Sprayers. Used to maintain humidity in the terrarium.

You will probably be interested in reading about keeping a leopard gecko, a chameleon, a corn snake, a red-eared turtle, an iguana, a moose, an opossum, a manula, a capybara and a crocodile in the house.

Lifestyle

Leads a solitary lifestyle, forms a pair only for the mating period. It lives in arid places, lives in burrows up to 50 cm deep. Spends most of its time in its home, prefers to hunt “from home”. Before entering, observes her condition. Even when hungry, the South Russian Mizgir does not go far from his own home.

The main diet is small insects, relatives, snails, caterpillars, as well as frogs, mice, snakes. At the sight of the victim, the wolf freezes, waits for the right moment, and then almost instantly rushes to attack. If the prey is waiting for a predator in the web, it is not in a particular hurry, approaches with a confident step, bites, injects poison and its own saliva. Under the influence of the secretion, the victim’s innards turn into a liquid mass, which the mizgir drinks.

Where does the tarantula spider live?

Photo: Tarantula spider from the Red Book

The habitats of the species are represented by a wide range - the southern part of Eurasia, North Africa, Australia, Central and Asia Minor, America. Representatives of the genus can be found in Russia, Portugal, Italy, Ukraine, Spain, Austria, Mongolia, Romania, and Greece. Arthropods choose arid areas to live.

They live mainly in:

• deserts;
• steppes;
• semi-deserts;
• forest-steppes;
• gardens;
• vegetable gardens;
• on the fields;
• meadows;
• along the banks of rivers.

Tarantulas are heat-loving arachnids, so they cannot be found in cold northern latitudes. Individuals are not particularly picky about their habitats, so they even live in saline steppes. Some manage to get into houses. Distributed in Turkmenistan, the Caucasus, Southwestern Siberia, and Crimea.

Most predatory spiders prefer to live in burrows that they dig themselves. They choose the location for their future home very carefully. The depth of vertical burrows can reach 60 centimeters. They move the pebbles to the side and rake out the soil with their paws. The walls of the tarantula's shelter are covered with cobwebs. It vibrates and allows you to assess the situation outside.

At the end of autumn, spiders prepare for wintering and deepen their homes to a depth of 1 meter. The entrance to the hole is plugged with leaves and branches. In the spring, animals crawl out of the house and drag the web behind them. If it suddenly breaks, there is a high probability that the animal will no longer find its shelter and will have to dig a new hole.

Now you know where the tarantula spider lives. Let's see what the poisonous spider eats.