In order to keep the tarantula spider at home, you just need to love these animals, because care for them is not troublesome and does not require much money. Spider tarantula is a predator that eats small insects, which you can breed at home, but about this later…
How many tarantula spiders live
Record life expectancy is recorded for female Brachypelma emilia – over 30 years. Males live from 3 to 6 years.
Species of tarantula spiders
Based on where spiders spend most of their lives, they can be divided into 3 species:
- Normal .
- Tree
- Ground
There are many species of tarantulas, but since some of them have a high toxicity, then for beginners will not suit all. And again we can divide tarantulas into groups:
- For novice breeders.
This includes spiders that have a calm character and low toxicity of the poison, relatively slow and not aggressive.
- For confident novices.
Spiders are quite fast, can be aggressive, have an average toxicity of the poison. Therefore, who turns on such spiders should have at least some experience in their content.
- For experienced people…
Spiders of tarantulas have sharp and aggressive character, very fast and their poison is highly toxic. With their bite they can send a person to hospital for a week, or if it is a child or pet, they can kill at all. People who put up such spiders in their homes should understand and be responsible for their loved ones.
These are the most common species of tarantulas, which are popular among breeders:
- For beginners: Acanthoscurria, Brachypelma, Euathlus, Aphonopelma, Nhandu, Grammostola, Thrixopelma ockerti, Lasiodora parahybana, Psalmopoeus pulcher, Kochiana Brunnipes.
- For experienced: Heteroscodra Maculata, Hysterocrates gigas, Ceratogyrus marshalli, Ceratogyrus darlingi, Lampropelma nigerrimum.
Terrarium for tarantula spider.
The tarantula spider does not require much space for itself. For the largest individuals (known size of Theraphosa blondi up to 28 cm in legspan) a capacity of 30 * 30 * 30 cm is enough. In the terrarium at the bottom of the substrate should be put (better coconut, it does not mold due to humidity). The height of the filler depends on the type of spider (wood, ground or normal).
One of the main conditions of keeping tarantula tarantula is maintenance of certain humidity in terrarium. Non-observance of this rule will adversely affect the health of the spider. Which humidity should be set, depends on the specific species. Lighting should be minimal. No sunlight is allowed.
Also put a drinker in his house, but one that doesn’t drown him there. It could be a plastic lid or a small, flat dish. To prevent mildew from forming due to high humidity, provide good ventilation.
How to feed a tarantula spider at home.
Feed tarantulas spiders fodder insects: Turkmen, marble, Madagascar cockroaches, hazelnuts, flour worm. You can also spoil: frogs, mice, locusts, grasshoppers, etc. The main thing you have to be sure of the quality and health of this food.
The food for a tarantula spider should be as big as half of a spider’s body (excluding paws). It is possible and more, but then you risk the health of your pet, because the prey can hurt the spider itself.
The big advantage of keeping a tarantula spider is that the owner can raise cockroaches at home and does not spend money on food.
Feed an adult tarantula spider once in 2 weeks. It is possible and more often, but it is better not to overfeed, as it threatens to tear his abdomen. If your pet does not touch the food for a day, it means he is not hungry and this animal should be cleaned.
Feed the little spider more often and just a little bit. Spiders can refuse to eat. Most often it happens before moulting. Don’t worry, they can live for about a year without food. The main thing is that the terrarium always has water, which must be changed periodically.
Breeding of tarantulas
The male is flirting with the female. Sexual maturity in male tarantulas comes 1.5-2 years, and in female 2.5-3 years. When different-sex spiders find themselves in the same terrarium, the female will either start attacking the male to eat it or let it near to her, which will indicate her readiness for mating.
When the female takes the attack position against the male, take an unwanted guest immediately.
If acquaintance went well, the act of mating will not make you wait long. In spiders tarantulas it takes a few seconds, then the male tends to run away quickly, no matter what the girl did not eat it))) So always be close to the terrarium during mating spiders. After intercourse, sit them down immediately.
Female lays eggs in 1-8 months (depends on tarantula species) after copulation (mating). She wraps them with a spider web turning them into cocoons. In this spider web she can leave her hairs for protection from enemies. Then comes the stage of incubation from 20 to 122 days (each species is different). Also it is influenced by conditions of tarantula keeping: temperature, humidity, calmness, etc. The future mother always protects the cocoon.
The number of eggs in one clutch can vary from 30-60 eggs (in small species) to 2500 eggs (in large species). Baby spiders (also called nymphs) come out of the cocoon after 3 molts. During all life tarantula spider has 9-15 molts. As a rule, males have less of them than females. Further the spiders begin their independent life.