Tarantula info lots of questions PLEASE HELP.

Question

Cost per year. How to make my dad buy me one. Best one for begginers. Overall costs of stuff to buy. Where to buy. Cruel or not to feed them mice. Allegic reation to bite.(Don't know if iam allegic or not.)Handling and care . Thanks alot for anybody who wants to help.

Answer 1

Well i'm not quite sure on the cost per year. The average tarantula is 15 - 30 dollars a lot more if you want to get into rare specifics. The cage/housing for it depending on size is any where from 35 - 150 dollars. I think tarantulas need a heat lamp (not sure on that one) they need rocks and fake logs for hiding. The only types that require mice are the larger ones and i mean LARGER. Like a Goliath bird eating spider. Most beginners buy Rose haired, stripe kneed, or Mexican red knees. Rose haired are the nicest of the three they eat small insects like crickets and flies. Stripe kneed are some what nice but can be temperamental. Mexican Red Knees are the most aggressive out of the three. Pet stores WILL NOT sell you poisonous tarantulas unless you special order them like the trap door spider. You can get the at Petco, Pet Supplies Plus, Petsmart, or Petland. If they do bite you it feels like a little pin prick so no biggy. Handling and care is different for each tarantula. I don't think they need to go the vet....infact i don't know if there are vets that specialize in tarantulas. The only tarantula that can give slight irritation but is rare is the rose haired tarantula. When you go to buy one they should help you out on what to do for care and housing. You can always search online Beginner Tarantulas or Novice Tarantulas. Care, Housing, and handling of a Tarantula.   I hope that helps in some way.

Answer 2

Cost per year: $30 in food. Initial set-up can be anywhere from $15 - $ infinity depending on how fancy you want it and the size. I have a Goliath Birdeater in a 75g landscaped terrarium with a heater, humidifier/water fall - it cost me just over $300 dollars to set up. On the flip side I have about 50 avic spiderlings in small set ups that cost less than $2 a piece. Minimum set-up for most begining species would be a 10 gal aquarium, substrate, water dish, and hide away.  

How to make dad buy you one: Dad's house dad's rules. Sorry. You might want to try to do extra chorse around the house, and show dad some cool and interesting facts about them. In my experience as a spider loving chick - men are NOT fond of the little 8 legged cuties.

Best for beginners: I am very fond of Rose hairs (grammostola rosea) devinately the most common and cheapest in the pet trade. Also one of the few "handleable" spiders (though handling any tarantual is not recommended) Mexican red knees are nice as well - though they can be temperamental and are quick to kick urticating hairs. They also are expensive - hitting upwards of $100 for a sub-adult. Pink Toed  tarantulas (Avics) are very pretty and are often cited as a good beginner species. Truth be told I never had luck with them and lost a few before I got their set-up right (though I now breed the little buggers!) They're an aboreal spider and are very active (they jump all around their tank) - if you're up for a challenge.

Where to buy - Petco almost always have rose hairs. I have a handul of rosies "rescued" from pet stores - quite literally I have seen dying spiders in tanks and persuaded the manger to write them off as dead and give them to me. I usually buy my stock at reptile or insect shows and of course online.

Feedign mice - just as cruel as feeding a feeder mouse to a snake. However, live mice CAN badly injure or kill spiders - and Most spiders will not eat a frozen & thawed (I have seen someone once get a goliath  to eat them by using tongs and making it "dance around". I however am NOT getting my hand that close to Mr. blondi during feeding time.) I have a few spiders here that will not eat crickets or roaches - my oldest rosie gets pinkies, and several of my guys get green anoles.

If your spider will eat them - stick with crickets.

Allergic reaction to bites - Depends entirely on the species. I have never once gotten bitten by one of my rosies - all are to docile. From what I hear they have a similar reaction to a bee sting. I've been bitten a few times - recently by an unknown species (came in with a shipment - but was NOT what it was labeled as. Still trying to figure out her species) She bit my on my fore arm, the area arounf the bite  bruised (all sorts of pretty shades of black, blue green and purple!) My wrist and hand became swollen - and I hurt like h**l. Worst bite I have ever had - and I am NOT allergic. MY adivce is don't do anything stupid that will lead you to getting bit!

Of course the fangs aren't really what you have to worry about. New world tarantuals have Urticating hair on their abdomen - when they are stressed they kick it off and it is VERY irritating. The only time my had to go to the Emergency room becuase of my hobby was a hair got into my eye while cleaning an enclosure.      

Handling - don't do it. Stresses the spider out. However if you MUST - always check to make sure the spider is in a good mood first - take a soft paint brush and gently stroke the back of abdomen - if the spider goes into a threat posture (rears up) BACK OFF. Make sure you always handle the spider close to the floor or on a bed - a drop as little as a foot can cause the abdomen to split and kill your pet.

Care - Depends on species. Do you research! But here's a quick run down on rosie care - Keep tank out of direct sunlight in a quiet area, throw food in once or twice a week, keep water dish full. Clean dead cricket and spider molts out as needed. If you get a female - be prepared to do this for the next 20 years or so. I only change substrate if it get's moldy or infested with mites - however routine spot cleaning prevents this.

ETA: To the above poster - ALL tarantulas are poisonous. So yes the pet store that is selling a rose hair IS selling you a poisonous animal.

Spiders do NOT need heat lamps - will fry them up! They like dark areas - some species that require higher temperatures will need an under tank heater - but not a lamp.

What do you mean by irritation? See my above info about bites and hairs. NONE of those spiders were rosies - and yeah It WAS irritating - put my in the hospital and had my arm layed up for a while. So No the rosie is not the "only" spider that can be irritating. ALL new world spiders (meaning ANY that come from north america or south america) have urticating hairs - infact mexican red knees are NOTORIOUS for them.

Keep doing your research! Ts make fascinating pets for those educated about them :)