-
Tarantula Tips
- Tarantulas are Arachnids and classified as a spider.
- Go to a pet store that has tarantulas before buying one.
- Only put one tarantula into the vivarium! They can be cannibalistic. <ref>kenthebugguy.com: [http://www.kenth...
- "Mist" your tarantula enclosure from time to time. <ref>reptilesandtarantulas.com: [http://...
- Feed your crickets before feeding them to your tarantula. <ref> mahalo.com: [http://www.mahalo.com...
- A Chilean Rose Tarantula is the perfect "first-time" tarantula
-
-
Is a tarantula the right pet for you? In How to Care for Tarantulas, you will get the answer to that question, plus a lot of information about these fascinating creatures. Tarantulas may look a bit frightening, but in reality they are docile, friendly and active, plus tarantulas have personalitiesarachnoboards.com: [1].
Is a tarantula a pet spider? Yes. Tarantulas are arachnidswashington.edu: [2], which also includes scorpions and more. Tarantulas are spiders, but they are a sub order. It's a little confusing, but a Tarantula is a spider.
Since this is an introductory page, for someone curious about tarantulas and thinking about getting a pet tarantula, the focus will be on the two most popular tarantulas. The first is the Chilean Rose Tarantula,exoticpets.about.com: [3] (Grammostola rosea), also known as a Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula. The second is the Mexican Red Knee Tarantula (Brachypelma smithi). They are both readily available and easy to handle.
“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, and How to Feed a 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.
Compact, clean, easy to care for, light as a feather, tarantulas make wonderful pets for the right people. -
-
Tarantulas as Pets
Here's a great overview video on “Tarantulas as Pets.” In this clip, the instructor discusses, "Is a Tarantula is the right pet for you?" These are the highlights:
Tarantulas are fascinating, but they take a lot of responsibility.
Some species of tarantulas 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 would 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.
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.
-
Step 1: How to Choose and Buy a Tarantula
When you visit pets stores where you can see tarantulas, ask the personnel (if possible) to help you handle a tarantula.
Two species are cited as ideal for the first-time tarantula owner - the Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula, and the Mexican Red Knee Tarantula. -
Chilean Rose Tarantula
The Chilean Rose Tarantula, also known as the Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula, is the most popular pet tarantula.
-
Mexican Redknee Tarantula
The Mexican Red Knee Tarantula, or Mexican Redknee Tarantula, is a very popular pet tarantula and easy to handle.
-
Buying Pet Tarantulas
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.
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.
-
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 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. -
Setting up a Tarantula Habitat
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.
-
Step 3: Feeding Your Pet Tarantula
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.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.
-
Feeding Tarantulas
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.
-
Tarantula Molt
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. Disturbing a tarantula during her molt could result in death..JPG)
-
Resources Powered by Google
-
How To Care For Tarantulas (Lifestyle & Home: Creepy Crawlies)
Video : Follow Mark Amey's step by step guide to looking after tarantulas safely. Learn all about tarantula care, including how to feed them insects, keep them in the right co...videojug.com -
KEEPING YOUR TARANTULA HEALTHY: A QUICK GUIDE
KEEPING YOUR TARANTULA HEALTHY: A QUICK GUIDEconcentric.net
view more links...
-
-
About this page
-
Page Views0
