More About Tarantulas Than I Want to Know

Doing some research on the viability of tarantulas as pets - Alea's beau has expressed interest in sharing his domestic space w/one.

I've only got the most limited knowledge of the care & feeding of tarantulas, and little to no interest in ever owning one, but in the name of coworker acquaintanceship & the hopes of seeing Alea in a school-girl get up, I did the deed.

Tarantulas as Pets

 From Lianne McLeod,

Your Guide to Exotic Pets.

 

Feeding, Molting, and Handling Tarantulas

 

Feeding

A diet of crickets, supplemented with other insects, is fine for tarantulas. An adult need to eat surprisingly little - certainly not daily, and once a week may be sufficient. Some owners may try to mimic how a spider would eat in the wild - e.g. completely randomly (maybe a couple of crickets, then one cricket several days later, then a few crickets a week after that, and so on). Adults may fast for extended periods (a month or two is not unusual), particularly before a molt. Growing spiders, however, should be fed several times a week.

 

The cricket should be gut loaded prior to feeding - that is they should be kept on a diet of nutritious food, and they can also be dusted with vitamins prior to feeding. Remember that what goes into the cricket is what you are ultimately feeding your spider.

 

Meal worms, super worms, and roaches can be fed occasionally. Larger tarantulas can even be given pinkie mice and small lizards, if desired, although it is probably not necessary. The most important thing is to keep the food smaller than the tarantula (that is, smaller than it's body) and make sure the tarantula isn't harmed by its prey. This includes not feeding any wild caught insect unless absolutely certain there is no risk of pesticide exposure. When molting the spider is very vulnerable and even a cricket can kill the spider, so remove any uneaten prey within 24 hours at most.

As mentioned in the housing section, a shallow dish of water should also be provided. Pebbles can be placed in the dish to ensure that the spider cannot drown (and also to keep prey insects from drowning).

 

Molting

This is how the spider grows to a larger size - by shedding the old exoskeleton and producing a new one. This is a stressful time for a spider and this is also when humidity levels are most critical. The spider stop eating for some time, then will lay on it's back to molt. The molting process may take several hours. Once the old exoskeleton is shed it will take several days for the new one to harden (this is when growth occurs) and the spider should not be fed during this time as it is vulnerable to injury and even death from something as small as a cricket. In addition, the spider should never be handled during the molting and hardening time. It may take up to two weeks for the spider to fully recover after molting.

 

What About Handling?

While most tarantulas are not very venomous many tarantula experts advise against it. For the handler, bites can be painful, and irritation can result from contact with the itching hairs on the tarantula, but the greater danger is to the tarantula itself. While a tarantula may become acclimated to being held on the hand, if it suddenly runs or jumps it may fall, and the injuries sustained could be fatal. Even a minor fall can kill a heavy bodied tarantula if the abdomen ruptures. Some tarantulas are very fast, and could escape as well. Children should not be allowed to handle them, due the risk of injury to both the child and the spider.

 

 

Hair

Besides the normal hairs covering the body of tarantulas, some also have a dense covering of stinging hairs, called urticating hairs, on the abdomen, opisthosoma, that they use as a protection against enemies. These hairs are only present on some New World specimens (only the subfamilies of Ischnocolinae, Aviculariinae and Theraphoseae) and are absent on specimens of the Old World.

 

These fine hairs are barbed and contain a mild venom. Some species can 'kick off' these hairs: the hairs are launched into the air at a target. Tarantulas also use these hairs for other means. They mark their territories with these hairs. Some arboreal species coat their webs with these hairs. Some species do the same thing with their egg cocoons.

 

To predators and other kinds of enemies, these hairs can range from being lethal to simply being a deterrent. With humans, they can cause irritation to eyes, nose, and skin. The symptoms range from species to species, from person to person, from a burning itch to a minor rash. Some tarantula enthusiasts have had to give up their spiders because of allergic reactions to these hairs (skin rashes, problems with breathing, and swelling of the affected area).

 

Nests

Tarantulas live in a variety of nests. Burrowing tarantulas live under the ground, in burrows. These burrows are either dug by the spider itself, reused burrows abandoned by rodents or other small creatures, or ready-made crevices. The tunnels are lined with silk and a webbed rim is formed at the entrance so as to conceal it. Other tarantulas make their homes under rocks or tree trunks or under the bark of trees. Still others build silken nests on trees, cliff faces, the walls of buildings or in plants such as bananas and pineapples.

 

FIRST AID FOR BITES, TARANTULA DEFENSIVE BEHAVIOR

There are no substantiated reports of tarantula bites proving fatal to a human. However, the effects of the bites of all kinds of tarantulas are not well known. While the bites of many species are known to be no worse than a wasp sting, accounts of bites by some species are reported to be very painful. If there are indeed deadly tarantulas of some kind, it may simply be the case that no human has yet provoked one of them sufficiently to get a fully envenomated bite. Because other proteins are included when a toxin is injected, some individuals may suffer severe symptoms due to an allergic reaction rather than to the venom. For both those reasons, and because any deep puncture wound can become infected, care should be taken not to provoke any tarantula into biting. Tarantulas are known to have highly individualistic responses. Some members of species generally regarded as aggressive can be rather easy to get along with, and sometimes a spider of a species generally regarded as docile can be provoked. Anecdotal reports indicate that it is especially important not to surprise a tarantula.

 

New world tarantulas (those found in North and South America) are equipped with urticating hairs on their abdomen, and will almost always use these as a first line of defense. Old world tarantulas (from Asia) have no urticating hairs, and are more likely to attack when disturbed. Old world tarantulas often have more potent, medically significant venom.

 

Before biting, tarantulas may signal their intention to attack by rearing up into a "threat posture", which may involve raising their abdomen into the air, lifting their front legs into the air, spreading and retracting their fangs, and making a loud hissing noise by rubbing their fangs together. Their next step, short of biting, may be to slap down on the intruder with their raised front legs. If that response fails to deter the attacker they may next turn away and flick urticating hairs toward the pursuing predator. Their next response may be to leave the scene entirely, but, especially if there is no line of retreat, their next response may also be to whirl suddenly and bite. Tarantulas can be very deceptive in regard to their speed because many of them move very slowly, creating the impression that they could not possibly move as rapidly as they actually can.

 

First Aid: Encourage bleeding to wash out the puncture wounds from within. Then clean the bite site with soap and water and protect it against infection. As with other puncture wounds, antiseptics may be of limited use since they may not penetrate to the full depth of a septic wound, so wounds should be monitored for heat, redness, or other signs of infection. Skin exposures to the urticating hairs can be treated by applying and then pulling off some sticky tape such as duct tape, which carries the hairs off with it. If any breathing difficulty or chest pain occurs, go to a hospital as this may indicate an anaphylactic reaction. As with bee stings, the allergic reaction may be many times more dangerous than the toxic effects of the venom.

 

The cobalt blue tarantula, an Asian breed, is really blue. It's an amazing cobalt blue, hence the name - and since it doesn't have the hissy-fit hair-pulling defense, it is aggressive & has venom possibly dangerous to humans. I like how the article puts it: 'medically interesting' venom.

class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Tarantulas are also remarkably long-lived. 30 years. For a bug. Geez.