So, who wants to keep a venomous, eight-legged, hairy Theraphosidae in his house? Any takers?

No, they’re a lot more pleasant than they sound. Actually, they’re not a bad choice for a pet at all. As long as you can maintain and stomach them, tarantulas are an excellent pet for the introvert. They’re reserved and quiet. Also, they’ll make an excellent conversation topic for the guests. Guys, you probably won’t pick up too many ladies with your new spider, but you can scare away anybody you don’t want around.

Tarantulas come in over eight hundred different species. This said, you may want to do research before reaching the check-out line.

First off, you probably want a female. Females, at the longest, can live up to twenty years while males averagely see only two years of life. On top of that, males tend to be more mobile and tactical in escaping a tank or cage (which can be avoided easily by securely blocking all sides of the confinement, especially the top).

For starters in keeping these hairy pets, a ground-dwelling or burrowing spider is recommended as they require the least amount of attention and are overall easiest to maintain. The cage for a ground-dweller (at the smallest) should be at least four times the specimen’s leg span long and twice the leg span wide. Burrowing tarantulas will need a type of soil or substance to…well…burrow in. Another thing to note is that, while space is always nice, a cage too large may make it more difficult for a spider to catch its prey.

When you become more experienced in keeping spiders, you can try an arboreal tarantula (tree-dwelling). These species will need a taller cage such as a ten gallon aquarium with either twigs, branches, or a similar structure to climb and from which to build its web.

As far as food goes, most spiders will eat worms, crickets, and other small insects. Larger tarantulas can even eat mice or lizards. Remember to dust crickets with vitamins, if possible. Water can be kept in a very shallow dish. The shallowness is very important since a tarantula can easily drown.

Several times through their life spans, tarantulas molt. They will roll over onto their backs and shed their exoskeleton, which is replaced by a new one so that they can grow. The whole process is done within several hours and during a two-week period after it’s over, their bodies will be softer until the skeleton is hardened. It’s important that you don’t feed them during and two weeks after the process as they are vulnerable to even the smallest of prey.

Oh, so you want to hold or pet the little guy? Well, tarantulas from the eastern hemisphere are fine, outside of the risk of being bitten, but spiders from the new world tend to have a special type of hair on their abdomens that cause the human skin to itch severely (for these spiders it is recommended to carefully handle cleaning the cage due to the possibility of hairs being left behind.

One last thing to remember: while all tarantula bites are venomous, only a few are life-threatening. Still, the non-fatal effects can include swelling, itching, and severe fever. Every bite should be tended to immediately.