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What has eight legs and is awesome?

Kori_Tamashii

Kori_Tamashii

Android Enthusiast
Tarantulas. Anyone else keep 'em?

Few neat facts:

All tarantulas are indeed venomous to some degree.
What's the difference between venom and poison? Venom is introduced directly into the bloodstream, as with a sting or a bite. Poison is ingested, as in chemicals or certain plants.
There has never been a recorded human fatality from a tarantula bite. It's more akin to a bee sting. Sometimes it hurts like hell, but mostly it's just unpleasant.

They do not 'spit hairs', but some New World species can kick off hairs in a cloud, meant to blind the attacker. It can cause itching and hives in humans. Here's a great video demonstrating it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cPxqjSG6HU

You cannot de-venom or de-fang a tarantula - it cannot survive. It'd be like removing a human's digestive tract and jaws. Doesn't really work!

The largest species of tarantula can grow up to 13"!
My current largest is a Poecilotheria regalis, or Indian Ornamental. She's about 9".

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Very nice! They creep me out yet fascinate me at the same time. Yours are really very pretty (for creepy, fascinating spiders :p )
For now I will stick with my snakes, geckos, tortoise and dog :)
 
Well I know something that has 6 legs and is Godlike! :D :D :D

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Yours Truly! :)
 
Haha :)

lol but all jokes aside those little dudes look amazing!

I really think those guys look amazing. ;)

They look like awesome little cool pets :)

Hmm do they bite though???

Are they poisonous or toxic?

They look really interesteing though :)

Also what kinds are they? I have never seen those kind of colours in Spiders.

Nice pets!

Thank you for the share ;)

Regards

Stinky! :)
 
Kori_Tamashii said:
Tarantulas. Anyone else keep 'em?

256611_10150202985486024_512436023_7211047_5750686_o.jpg

SAM_0517.jpg

SAM_0242.jpg
Click to expand...

Great pics, Kori.

I'm a spider appreciator, much to the consternation of most people around me, not the least of which is my wife. I think they're magnificent creatures.. I guess most find them creepy and squash them or spray with insecticide. I move them outside if they appear to be big enough to pierce skin and use their poison.

Tarantulas are the only spider pets that I know of.. although I've tried to make a habitat for wolf spiders on the far end of my property.. not easy, as they eat one another. :o
 
yuck. Creep my the hell out. I was thinking it was one of those "what has X and is Y?" THIS GUY! But it's about spiders - the bane of my existence... ;)

No but they creep me out.
 
Stinky Stinky said:
Haha :)

lol but all jokes aside those little dudes look amazing!

I really think those guys look amazing. ;)

They look like awesome little cool pets :)

Hmm do they bite though???

Are they poisonous or toxic?

They look really interesteing though :)

Also what kinds are they? I have never seen those kind of colours in Spiders.

Nice pets!

Thank you for the share ;)

Regards

Stinky! :)
Click to expand...

I added some info to the first post to answer a few questions.

Pictured above are the following:
Poecilotheria metallica (Gooty Sapphire Ornamental) named Mandark
Brachypelma auratum (Mexican Flame Knee) named Din
Pterinochilus murinus (Orange Baboon Tarantula OR Orange Bitey Thing) named Twitch

There are over 900 KNOWN species of tarantula, with more being discovered all the time. :D
 
Hmm very very interesting!

Wow I never knew all that!

Cool :)

Thanks a million for the interesting share. ;)

Regards

Stinky!
 
Kori_Tamashii said:
I added some info to the first post to answer a few questions.

Pictured above are the following:
Poecilotheria metallica (Gooty Sapphire Ornamental) named Mandark
Brachypelma auratum (Mexican Flame Knee) named Din
Pterinochilus murinus (Orange Baboon Tarantula OR Orange Bitey Thing) named Twitch

There are over 900 KNOWN species of tarantula, with more being discovered all the time. :D
Click to expand...

Spiders are racist.
 
Frisco said:
Great pics, Kori.

I'm a spider appreciator, much to the consternation of most people around me, not the least of which is my wife. I think they're magnificent creatures.. I guess most find them creepy and squash them or spray with insecticide. I move them outside if they appear to be big enough to pierce skin and use their poison.
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I hope you realize by putting the spider outside you are most likely killing it.

Myth: "I'm very kind to spiders; when I find one in the house, I put it back outside instead of killing it."
Fact: You can't put something "back" outside that was never outside in the first place. Although some house spider species can survive outdoors, most don't do well there, and some (which are native to other climates) will perish rather quickly when removed from the protective indoor habitat. You're not doing them a favor.

In any case, house spiders are mostly harmless and beneficial. Human property rights mean nothing to other species. There was spider habitat for millions of years where your home is now. My advice is, "just wave as they go by."
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Source
Spider Myths: Home


To the OP: Spiders have always scared the hell out of me, so I don't think I could ever have one as a pet. Although, I think the blue spider in the first pic is extremely awesome. :)
 
B2L said:
I hope you realize by putting the spider outside you are most likely killing it.




Source
Spider Myths: Home


To the OP: Spiders have always scared the hell out of me, so I don't think I could ever have one as a pet. Although, I think the blue spider in the first pic is extremely awesome. :)
Click to expand...

Actually, if you google Poecilotheria metallica, you can see some way better pics... they're droolworthy when they start showing adult color. Mine's still a baby, so it's not too vibrant... that's just a preview of what he/she will look like... :drool:
 
The dance Tarantella was supposedly started to counteract the venom of the bite. You danced it off.

They migrate out here, and scare quite a few people since they are HUGE!

What do they eat? Do they interact with people? I've seen tropical fish know who fed them.
 
B2L said:
I hope you realize by putting the spider outside you are most likely killing it.




Source
Spider Myths: Home


To the OP: Spiders have always scared the hell out of me, so I don't think I could ever have one as a pet. Although, I think the blue spider in the first pic is extremely awesome. :)
Click to expand...

They must go outside to tinkle. And what about when you walk them?
 
B2L said:
I hope you realize by putting the spider outside you are most likely killing it.
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I'm fine with that.

I'd rather "most likely kill it" than surely have it killed by a family member. Not much difference, but that's the way I like to deal with most house spiders. Most people just kill spiders (if they can) as soon as they see them. I put them outside for a fighting chance.

It's about 95% having my family not have to deal with the "ick" factor and 5% humanitarian. Things like house spiders die. Flies die. ..etc.

Also, I don't think there are too few spiders out there. ;)
 
Frisco said:
I'm fine with that.

I'd rather "most likely kill it" than surely have it killed by a family member. Not much difference, but that's the way I like to deal with most house spiders. Most people just kill spiders (if they can) as soon as they see them. I put them outside for a fighting chance.

It's about 95% having my family not have to deal with the "ick" factor and 5% humanitarian. Things like house spiders die. Flies die. ..etc.

Also, I don't think there are too few spiders out there. ;)
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For some reason, I am reminded about the news story showing a large gathered group waiting for a sea lion or Justin Bieber to be released back into the wild. It took but a few seconds for an Orcha to swim to the surface and eat the critter in front of the gathered crowd. The kids were crying, I was tickled pink.

Some things must be left inside for their open safety.
 
My house is not a safe haven for spiders.

No matter how fascinated I am by a creature, my home is shared with only two parakeets and a cat, as far as non-humans go. ;)
 
zuben el genub said:
The dance Tarantella was supposedly started to counteract the venom of the bite. You danced it off.

They migrate out here, and scare quite a few people since they are HUGE!

What do they eat? Do they interact with people? I've seen tropical fish know who fed them.
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They can eat crickets, roaches, superworms/mealworms... I prefer to use roaches and crickets. Roaches are crunchy. Crickets are small and easy for the spider to catch.

When you see someone feeding their tarantula a mouse or anything else with bones, you know they're a blithering idiot. Tarantulas cannot properly digest or process calcium. When they ingest, say, a mouse, it can cause fatal molting problems. Plus, it's very easy for a mouse to harm or even kill the tarantula.
 
Kori_Tamashii said:
They can eat crickets, roaches, superworms/mealworms... I prefer to use roaches and crickets. Roaches are crunchy. Crickets are small and easy for the spider to catch.

When you see someone feeding their tarantula a mouse or anything else with bones, you know they're a blithering idiot. Tarantulas cannot properly digest or process calcium. When they ingest, say, a mouse, it can cause fatal molting problems. Plus, it's very easy for a mouse to harm or even kill the tarantula.
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I am afraid you are wrong. Ever see this documentary from National Geographic?

The Giant Spider Invasion (1975) trailer - YouTube
 
Kori_Tamashii said:
They can eat crickets, roaches, superworms/mealworms... I prefer to use roaches and crickets. Roaches are crunchy. Crickets are small and easy for the spider to catch.

When you see someone feeding their tarantula a mouse or anything else with bones, you know they're a blithering idiot. Tarantulas cannot properly digest or process calcium. When they ingest, say, a mouse, it can cause fatal molting problems. Plus, it's very easy for a mouse to harm or even kill the tarantula.
Click to expand...

Do they recognize you at all? Even as the keeper of the food?
 
zuben el genub said:
Do they recognize you at all? Even as the keeper of the food?
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Honestly, I don't know. Sometimes it seems they do, sometimes it seems they're just going to try and eat anything that moves. There are all kinds of arguments about it, but nothing is for sure. It's fun to think they might, though.
 
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