People tend to choose their pets by type. Those who like reptiles also tend to like arthropods like giant millipedes, and amphibians like tree frogs. People sometimes inherit animals and therefore are in some way required to care for something unfamiliar. The usual first question is, "What does it eat?" Then, "How do I care for it?"

This is a page where anyone asking, "What does a Blue Tongued Skink eat?" or "Should you feed your snake live prey or dead/defrosted?" or "How do I set up a habitat for a Bearded Dragon" can get the answers all in one place.

Asking What Does a Blue Tongued Skink eat?" takes you to a lizard page. Lizards only.

The page is not a good one for mammals. It's specialized. It also include other exotics such as tarantulas and scorpions. Nothing venomous, most very docile and great pets.

I'll include info in how to choose a pet. Did you know that cute little green lizard in the pet store, a baby iguana, will grow to longer than 6 feet and basically require a tree branch suspended from the ceiling. It must be handled frequently, or it will become unmanageable. People need to know these things going into the deal.

And so much more........

Pick an animal of choice and ask a question. All of your questions should be answered here or you will be given a link.

Arachnids such as Emperor Scorpions and Tarantulas, Giant African Millipedes, Madagascar Hissing Cockroachs, and related creatures.

Is a Tarantula the right pet for you?

Tarantulas may look a bit frightening, but in reality they are docile, friendly and active, plus they really do have individual personalities.

Since this is an introductory page, the focus will be on the two most popular tarantulas: the Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula (Grammostola rosea), and the Mexican Red Knee Tarantula (Brachypelma smithi). They are both readily available and easy to handle.

Here's a great overview video on “Tarantulas as Pets.” In this clip, the instructor discusses if a tarantula is the right pet for you. Here are the highlights:

Tarantulas are fascinating, but they take a lot of responsibility.

Some species of Tarantula can live up to 20 years or longer in captivity. A long-lived animal is important to your decision-making.

Tarantulas are dangerous if handled improperly. If you’re looking for a pet to touch and pat and carry around like dog or a cat, a Tarantula is not for you. It can be more like a fish…viewed and enjoyed over many years.

Tarantulas are also carnivores. Carnivores need to eat live prey, which you’ll need to feed them each week. Primarily, crickets.

Tarantulas can be dangerous if handled (improperly) and you can sustain bites. This is another important consideration.

Tarantulas are wonderful animals, great pets, but have to be for the right owner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8eeSJwFQ6k

At the end of the video, the instructor is holding a Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula (Grammostola rosea). This species appears frequently in the "How To" videos and is the most popular of all the Tarantulas. The Chilean Rose Hair is a great Tarantula for the first-time Tarantula owner. Reasons? Calm, non-aggressive, people-friendly and easy to handle.

Here's a photo of a Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula:

Is a Tarantula a Pet Spider? No. Along with Emperor Scorpions and Spiders, Tarantulas are Arachnids, but are not Spiders themselves.

Compact, clean, easy to care for, light as a feather, Tarantulas make wonderful pets for the right people.

“How To Care for Tarantulas” is an instructive page. You will learn: How to Choose and Buy a Tarantula How to Set up a Tarantula Habitat How to Feed Your Tarantula

These steps are not time consuming, but you will need to prepare for your pet Tarantula before you bring her home. This will ensure a long-lasting, positive experience for both you and your pet.

Step 1: How to Choose and Buy a Tarantula

How do you prepare for a Tarantula as a pet? Here's a good overview video about “Buying Pet Tarantulas.” These are highlights from the video clip:

Do your homework. Check out Tarantula books, surf online, go to your local Pet Store, ask a lot of questions and find out all the information you need to make sure choosing your Tarantula will go smoothly and easily.

Where are you going to purchase your Tarantula? Exotic pet stores, surf the Internet, but make sure it’s a reputable source.

Once you have found your source, ask if their Tarantulas are captive-bred or wild-caught? If that Tarantula has been wild-caught, has it been collected responsibly?

Tarantulas and their interest in the pet industry have grown. Be sure you’re buying a responsively collected animal, so that these species are not harmed in their native habitats.

Tarantulas cost $30.00 - $100.00 or more, depending on the species. Starter species will cost $30.00 -$40.00 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantulas or Mexican Red Knee Tarantula.

As you become more interested in the Tarantula pet trade, your interest will grow, so will the price old-world

Be sure that the place that you purchase your Tarantula from has a good captive-bred program, or has the mark of collecting responsibly from the wild.

With these tips, you will be able to get yourself a great Tarantula from a great source.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYDcwTMRsdo

When you visit pets stores where you can see Tarantulas, ask the personnel (if possible) to help you handle a Tarantula.

As mentioned, two species are cited as ideal for the first-time tarantula owner - the Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula, and the Mexican Red Knee Tarantula.

You have seen the photo of a Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula. Here's a photo of a Mexican Red Knee Tarantula:

Step 2: How to Set up a Tarantula Habitat

What is the proper habitat for a Tarantula? Here is an informative video on one way to set up a home for your Tarantula. Here are the highlights:

Choose an enclosure with a tight-fitting lid that covers the entire top. Choose a 5 or 10 gallon aquarium.

Fill the bottom of the aquarium with substrate. You have choices: coco fiber potting soil, regular untreated potting soil, or vermiculite.

Provide a Tarantula hiding place for your pet. A broken clay flower pot or a piece of hollowed tree bark. Safe haven for your Tarantula.

Your pet will need a small Tarantula water dish. Put a smooth rock in the middle of the dish to prevent drowning.

Place your Tarantula in the enclosure and give her time to acclimate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddDj6PNWnWo

Very Important - only put one Tarantula into the Tarantula enclosure! They can be cannibalistic.

When you choose your Tarantula enclosure, it can be referred to as an aquarium, a vivarium or terrarium. The secure mesh or screen top can fit over the vivarium, or slide into it via special slots built into the top of the tank. If possible, find one that locks. Glass is best because it is easier to clean.

The substrate or "bedding" should be about 1 to 3 inches deep. In addition to the substrate discussed in the video, Desert Sand Substrate looks great and is comfortable for the Tarantula.

Building a home for your Tarantula can be a lot of fun. The more you add (within reason), the happier your pet. But they need to be the proper items.

In choosing the hiding place or retreat for your pet, a small terra cotta flower pot is ideal. When you "mist" your Tarantula enclosure (not the animal itself), the terra cotta retains some of the moisture and keeps the Tarantula more comfortable. All you need to do is take an ordinary spray bottle of clean water and spray the Tarantula's enclosure from time to time. Not too wet, but just enough to keep mild humidity. (This is discussed in the video in Step 3.)

Keep a smooth rock in the middle of the Tarantula water dish. Basically, the Tarantula straddles the dish and "sits" on the rock to drink or absorb moisture. The water dish also maintains mild humidity in the tank. The crickets like it, too. Clean the water dish frequently to prevent mold.

Time to decorate the Tarantula habitat! There are many available logs, artificial plants, rocks, artificial vines, etc. You can even buy a terrarium desert backdrop and tape it to the back of the tank to complete your scenery.

The tank should maintain a temperature of between 70* to 80* F. Provide heat with a reptile heating pad stuck UNDERNEATH the bottom of the glass tank. Otherwise, it may be too hot.

Step 3: Feeding Your Pet Tarantula

What does a tarantula eat? This video explains methods of feeding tarantulas. Here are the highlights.

The species in the enclosure is the Chilean Rose Hair.

It’s important to ask your pet store what they use to feed the species of Tarantula you choose.

Most Tarantulas feed on crickets. Larger species may eat pinky mice, others may eat mealworms. The Chilean Rose Hair eats crickets, a great source of nutrition.

Buy your crickets, do not catch them. Wild crickets carry disease or may have been exposed to chemicals harmful to your Tarantula.

Choose crickets the right size for your Tarantula.

She may not eat right away. Tarantulas are nocturnal so she may wait until dark.

All Tarantula prey food must be alive.

Make sure the Tarantula water dish does not run dry.

With a misting bottle, mist the soil, not the Tarantula.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n265yn5M8Sk

NOTE: Place the crickets in the vivarium one or two at a time. If your Tarantula is not hungry, she will find them a bother. Take uneaten crickets out after a day or two and put them back in their container, and remove them quickly if they die. This happens. Don't worry.

HOT TIP: If you buy several crickets, they will need a little habitat of their own until your Tarantula is ready to eat. If you keep a small raw carrot or a slice of orange in the vivarium, the cricket will have food and moisture while it is waiting to become dinner. The cricket is now gut loaded. When you gut load a cricket, it transfers the nutrients over to the Tarantula when it's eaten. Many Tarantula owners calcium dust the cricket with calcium powder before offering it to the Tarantula. Place a small amount of calcium powder in a small zip-lock bag with one cricket. Shake. Place the dusted cricket in the Tarantula's vivarium. If she eats it, repeat.

Related M Pages pet-spider Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula Mexican Red Knee Tarantula Spider

Interesting Tarantula Fact: From time to time, you will find your Tarantula molts. It sheds its entire body, right down to the eyeballs. Leave it alone, then give it time and isolation until the new arachnid emerges and its body has hardened up a bit. Then remove the molt.

Tarantulas are not Spiders, but they are Arachnids. Go to a pet store that has Tarantulas before buying one. Only put one Tarantula into the vivarium! They can be cannibalistic. "Mist" your Tarantula enclosure from time to time. Feed your crickets before feeding them to your Tarantula.

I inherited a Giant African Millipede, and not a lot of information. After extensive time on the Net, here's what I finally found out.

What does a Giant African Millipede eat?
African Millipedes are vegetarians. They like lettuce. They love apple slices. Likewise cucumber slices, with the rind peeled off. Remove any excess food at the end of the day. Fresh is best.

What is the proper habitat for a Giant African Millipede?

African Millipedes need warmth and moisture. They need to be maintained at about 75ºF and they need to be misted daily. African Millipedes can be kept in relatively small vivariums, approx. 5 gallons, but make sure to include moist bedding such as sphagnum or peat moss. The substrate should be something smooth. If it is too coarse, their feet get stuck.

Interesting Millipede fact:

There is a symbiotic relationship between Giant African Millipedes and tiny bugs resembling mites which spend their lives living on the Millipede's legs. The tiny insects keep the Millipede clean, and the Millipede provides food for these creatures as they clean the arthropod. One cannot exist without the other.

Emperor Scorpions

Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches

http://www.mahalo.com/pet-spider

http://www.mahalo.com/spider Spiders

An Overview of Tarantulas: Is a Tarantula the right pet for you?
Tarantulas may look a bit frightening, but in reality they are docile, friendly and active, plus they genuinely have individual personalities.

Here's a great video on Tarantulas as Pets.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8eeSJwFQ6k

At the end of the video, the instructor is holding a http://www.mahalo.com/chilean-rose-tarantula Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula (Grammostola rosea). This species appears frequently in the "How To" videos and is the most popular of all the Tarantulas.

Here's a photo:

The Chilean Rose Hair is a great Tarantula for the first-time Tarantula owner. Reasons? Calm, non-aggressive, people-friendly and easy to handle.

Is a Tarantula a http://www.mahalo.com/pet-spider Pet Spider? No. Along with http://www.mahalo.com/search?q=Emperor+Scorpion Emperor Scorpions and http://www.mahalo.com/spider Spiders, Tarantulas are http://www.mahalo.com/search?q=arachnids Arachnids, but not Spiders themselves.

Compact, clean, easy to care for, light as a feather, Tarantulas make wonderful pets for the right people.

Introduction: This is an instructive page - How To Care for Tarantulas. You will learn:
How to Choose and Buy a Tarantula
How to Set up a Tarantula Habitat
How to Feed your Tarantula

These steps are not time consuming, but you will need to prepare for your pet Tarantula properly. This will ensure a long-lasting, positive experience for both you and your pet.

Step 1: How to Choose and Buy a Tarantula: How do I prepare for a Tarantula as a pet?
The first thing to do is your homework. Find a local http://www.mahalo.com/search?q=Pet+Store+Tarantulas Pet Store where you can see Tarantulas and, if possible, ask the personnel to help you http://www.mahalo.com/search?q=Handle+Tarantulas handle a Tarantula. You can order http://www.mahalo.com/search?q=Books+on+Tarantulas Tarantula books, surf online, find out everything you can about Tarantulas in general.
Here's a good overview video about Buying Pet Tarantulas:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYDcwTMRsdo

Two species are cited as ideal for the first-time tarantula owner. You have seen the Chilean Rose Hair, and the http://www.mahalo.com/mexican-redknee-tarantula Mexican Red Knee is also mentioned. Here's a photo:

Step 2: How to Set up a Tarantula Habitat: What is the proper habitat for a Tarantula?
Very Important: Only put one Tarantula into the vivarium! They can be cannibalistic.
Here is an informative video on one way to Set up a Home for Your Tarantula.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddDj6PNWnWo

Choose a 5 or 10 gallon aquarium, in this case also known as a http://www.mahalo.com/search?q=vivarium vivarium or http://www.mahalo.com/search?q=Terrarium terrarium, with a secure mesh top, preferably one that locks. Glass is best because it is easier to clean.
The bottom of the vivarium should have 1 to 3 inches of http://www.mahalo.com/search?q=vivarium+substrate substrate or "bedding." You have lots of choices. In addition to the ones shown in the video, http://www.mahalo.com/search?q=desert+sand+substrate Desert Sand looks great and is comfortable for the Tarantula.

Building a home for your Tarantula can be a lot of fun. The more you add (within reason), the happier your pet. But they need to be the proper items.
Provide a http://www.mahalo.com/search?q=Tarantula+Hiding+Place hiding place or retreat for your pet. A small http://www.mahalo.com/search?q=Terra+Cotta+Pot terra cotta flower pot is ideal. When you "mist" your Tarantula enclosure (not the animal itself), the terra cotta retains some of the moisture and keeps the Tarantula more comfortable. All you need to do is take an ordinary spray bottle of clean water and spray the Tarantula's enclosure from time to time. Not too wet, but just enough to keep mild humidity. This is discussed in the video in Step 3.
Your pet will need a http://www.mahalo.com/search?q=Tarantula+Water+Dish small water dish. It's easiest on the creature if you keep a smooth rock in the middle of the dish. Basically, the Tarantula straddles the dish and "sits" on the rock to drink or absorb moisture. The water dish also maintains mild humidity in the tank. The http://www.mahalo.com/search?q=Crickets crickets like it, too. Clean the water dish frequently to prevent mold.

Time to decorate the http://www.mahalo.com/search?q=Terrarium+decor Tarantula habitat! There are many available logs, plants, rocks, vines, etc. You can even buy a http://www.mahalo.com/search?q=Terrarium+Desert+Backdrop desert backdrop and tape it to the back of the tank to complete your scenery.
The tank should maintain a temperature of between 70* to 80* F. Provide heat with a http://www.mahalo.com/search?q=Tarantula+Heating Reptile/Tarantula heating pad stuck UNDERNEATH the bottom of the glass tank. Otherwise, it may be too hot.

Step 3: Feeding Your Pet Tarantula: <strong>What does a tarantula eat?
This video explains methods of Feeding Tarantulas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n265yn5M8Sk
Primarily, Tarantulas eat crickets. NOTE: Buy your crickets, do not catch them. Wild crickets carry disease. Place the crickets in the vivarium one or two at a time. If your Tarantula is not hungry, she will find them a bother. Take uneaten crickets out after a day or two and put them back in their container, and remove them quickly if they die. This happens. Don't worry.

HOT TIP: If you buy several crickets, they will need a little habitat of their own until your Tarantula is ready to eat. If you keep a small raw carrot or a slice of orange in the vivarium, the cricket will have food and moisture while it is waiting to become dinner. Also, the cricket is now http://www.mahalo.com/search?q=Gut+Load gut loaded, meaning it will transfer the nutrients over to the Tarantula when it's eaten. Many Tarantula owners http://www.mahalo.com/search?q=Calcium+Dust dust the cricket with calcium powder before offering it to the Tarantula. Place a small amount of calcium powder in a zip-lock bag with one cricket. Shake. Place the dusted cricket in the Tarantula's vivarium. If she eats it, repeat.

Related Mahalo Pages: http://www.mahalo.com/pet-spider http://www.mahalo.com/chilean-rose-tarantula Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula http://www.mahalo.com/mexican-redknee-tarantula Mexican Red Knee http://www.mahalo.com/spider

Step 5: Interesting Tarantula Fact: From time to time, your tarantula will http://www.mahalo.com/search?q=Tarantula+Molt molt. It sheds its entire body, right down to the eyeballs. Leave it alone, then give it time and isolation until the new arachnid emerges and its body has hardened up a bit. Then remove the molt.

Tips: Tarantulas are not Spiders, but they are Arachnids., Go to a pet store that has Tarantulas before buying one., Only put one Tarantula into the vivarium! They can be cannibalistic., "Mist" your Tarantula enclosure from time to time., Feed your crickets before feeding them to your Tarantula.,