Does anyone keep tarantulas?

prettypennies

My son would like a tarantula for his birthday.

Before I agree I would like to find a bit more out about keep ing and care for one.

What are they like to care for and what are the costs involved?

What would the best species be for a novice keeper?

Any advice gratefully recieved.

cannylass_2

My DD19, has had one for about a year. They are easy to look after, seem to require very little "cleaning out", and just the occasional cricket to eat. I think as long as it is kept in a warmish place or on a heat mat, and have a bit of humidity (soaked cotton wool), seem to do fine.:D

Have to confess i have never handled it, infact it is quite shy and hides a lot (which suits me just fine!!!);)

cheepskate_2

dont know much about terrantula's. but from what i heard the keeper at butterfly world say , is that they are very delicate and if dropped even from a small hieght it can kill them

ollyk

I advise you to go and log in here they have lots of knowledgeable people and will give good advice. They even swap and sell livestock for much better prices you will find in a pet shop!
http://bugnation.myfreeforum.org/index.php

Happy_Bunny_6

My daughter has one, a Chilli Rose ,
It's quite attractive really, a bit pink in the right light!

we keep in in a plastic tank, sat on a half sized heat mat (so it can move away from the heat)
We buy crickets from an excellent supplier on Ebay at £2.20 for a few months supply.
She sprays the tank with a plant spray every day.

The crickets take a lot more looking after!
They need wet greens (cucumber is ideal) or potato, wet brown bread, that kind of thing.

Chilli Rose are one of the best starter spiders as they are quite placid

vics_1982

Hi there,

We used to keep african red knee tarantulas, they required little looking after, A glass tank, with a few bits of wood for them to sleep/hide under, as heat mat and some lovely crickets, We did breed them and kept mum and dad in same tank but with a bit of glass dividing them, there was only about an half an inch gap from the top and she climbed through and ate the male one after having her babies(got the right idea lol)

African red knees are also happy to sit on your hand, mind you be careful not to agrevate them as they can flick there tiny hairs at you. And when they malt there old skins are lovely, you can wind up friends a treat
Hope that helps

StartingAgainKayla70

My 8 year old has had his chillean Rose for over a year now, they say not to handle them to much, so he only gets handled when cleaning out the glass tank, the only costly part is buying all the bits including the tarantula, then its real cheap for the food.

Peronsally I cant stand the thing, but OH and son love it, but they have been warned if ever it got out, and they couldnt find it, the house goes on the market!!