Top 15 MUST KNOW about tarantulas
1. Other tarantulas can live in colonies. (communal setup) f.
With the exception of a few species, most tarantulas lead solitary
lives. but the
Poecilotheria and
Holothele incei are good species to keep as colonies! You can give them large food about twice their size and they will unite to bring it down!
2. How do tarantulas find their food?
Vibrations. Despite eight eyes on top of the carpace, tarantulas are
sight-impaired and rely on surface vibrations made by a nearby moving
target to eat.
Pit viper snakes use heat to locate a meal.
3. Female tarantulas are blessed with a lifespan that is longer than males: with 20 years or more. Female tarantulas living up to 30 years is not uncommon. Females are also the recommended pet for tarantula owners, as the male will make every attempt to escape during mating season.
The
Brachypelma smithi has long life
4. Tarantulas can build webs. t. Tarantulas, like all spiders,
have spinnarets and can make silk webs. Of course their size makes it
impossible to hang in the air. The males make webs on the ground to lay
sperm for mating, while the female creates eggsacs.
5. For many people starting out in having a pet tarantula, this mild species would be an excellent start:The
Chilean Rose tarantula is very docile and can sometimes be held without them flicking hair at you. Other excellent starters include the Curly Hair and the Antillies Pinktoe. Of course, regarding any predatory species, caution is always recommended. See
For Beginner List6. For most humans, being bitten by a tarantula means: Nothing worse than a bee sting. While there are some species that have a nasty bite, unless you have an allergic reaction, tarantulas are for the most part, harmless. Most tarantulas will not inject venom as a warning...they save that for dinner.
7. There are basically two types of tarantula, the Terrestrial and Arboreal: Terrestrial, ground dwelling tarantulas are more to burrowing such as the
Acanthoscurria antillensis (
Antilles Pink Patch Tarantula)
Arboreal. Arboreal, the 'tree-dwelling' spiders. Between the two, the
arboreals are faster, more aggressive and more likely to survive a fall
like the
Avicularia Metallica (
Metallic Pinktoe Tarantula)
8. By and large (no pun intended), the largest tarantula, and largest spider overall, is Theraphosa blondi ( Goliath Bird-eater Tarantula). The aggressive Goliath Bird-eaters are not only capable of catching and eating small birds, they also eat frogs, lizards, bats and the occasional snake. The Bird-eater has an average legspan of 10-12 inches (about 25 cm.) and can cover an average sized dinner plate...or your computer screen!
9. While juvenile tarantulas are victim to such predators as preying
mantises, scorpions and other spiders, the main predator of the adult
tarantula is this: Wasp. Specifically, the Pepsis or
Tarantula Hawk Wasp,
which can paralyze the tarantula without actually killing it and
deposit an egg on the living host. When the egg hatches, the larva will
eat the tarantula before developing into a new wasp. Tarantulas also
make good meals for coatimundis and roadrunners. Some people will even
suggest roasted tarantulas are delicious...if you remove the fangs, hair
and poison sacs!.
10. What is the purpose of hair on a tarantula's body?
-Defense. Most tarantulas, particularly the
'New World' , posses irritating or 'urticating' hair with barbs that can be ejected at an enemy when threatened.
The 'Old World' compensate their lack of hair with aggressive posturing and displays of force.
11. Adult tarantulas MUST do this at least once a year: -Molt. It is through the process of shedding their skin that tarantulas can regrow body parts lost in fighting or evading enemies. A tarantula after molting is extremely vulnerable (even the fangs can bend) and requires at least a week or so to regain full strength. For females, the molting process may continue for a lifetime (see above for a female's lifespan).
12. The most common medical crisis for any pet tarantula is this: -Falling. While arboreal types can fall from a greater distance, any fall might mean a break in the exoskeleton and the spider bleeds to death. A close second is breaks that occurr during molting. Injuries can be prevented by designing the cage so that the space between the lid and the surface of the substrate is no longer than the tarantula's legspan, or a little more.
13. In lieu of a web, tarantulas like this for a shelter: -Burrow. Whether they are obligate (build their own hole) or opportunistic (find an existing hole), tarantulas prefer burrows. When constructing a shelter, you should provide them with as much as five inches of good solid soil to dig in.
14. Tarantulas obtain moisture from their victims. - Any proper tarantula owner should always provide a water dish. Depending on the species see their Caresheet, you will also want to gently mist the tank every so often to keep up the humidity. Tarantulas native to a desert region probably only need to be misted once a week lightly, and tarantulas found in the rainforest should be misted 2 or 3 times a week.
15. Tarantulas have re-tractable claws, just like cats!
