How many invertabrate keepers used to have a phobia?

Linds · 01-10-03, 11:06 PM

I would love to keep a few tarantulas, but I'm still quite afraid of them. I've done leaps and bounds in trying to overcome the fear though, before I couldn't be in the same room as one, see one in a book or on the computer, etc. but now I can even pick up a tank with one in it and give it water and crickets

I really hope one day I can overcome this thing completely, they are truly beautiful animals. Irritational fears, gotta love 'em

nouserpif · 01-11-03, 12:07 AM

Used to be FREAKED of little spiders... now, I actually punched my friend because he squished one of those little red spiders...

Dan Conner

doenoe · 01-11-03, 09:01 AM

I got 2 emperor scorpions. Im not afraid of them at all. I havent picked them up, but thats just because i thimk it will stress them. But if i ever want too pick them i, ill probably will be alittle nervous. More afraid too drop them, then holdong them i think
Greetz Doenoe

rattekonigin · 01-11-03, 11:30 AM

I'm mildly arachnophobic, but I had no problems dealing with my tarantula...I think the fact that I payed to have it made it seem more "pet-like"...I dunno, lol...but apart from being fine with tarantulas, I still hate those gross small yellowish spiders that are all over my house and will squish 'em with no hesitation (I call them "Arachnophobia spiders" because they look like the baby spiders from that movie, and they're just as prolific!)

ReptileHQ · 01-11-03, 12:24 PM

I used to keep some tarantulas. They used to freak me out a little, what I didn't like was the urticating hairs on new world species and the nastiness of old world species. I couldn't find any that were fairly docile and didn't kick hairs, so my spider keeping days were fairly short lived...

Chris

Pixie · 01-12-03, 01:43 AM

I've had my Charlotte for about a year and a half and love her!

Tarantulas are wonderful pets in my opinion but they are different from anything else. Many handle their tarantulas and even more so don't. I am one of the latter. The main purpose for me getting one was that I loved looking at them, I've always found them absolutely gorgeous and facinating so I wanted one that I could see every day

It's not a pet that needs to be handled (unless you really want to on a regular basis to tame it), in fact, it's preferrable not to. From all the research I have done, and I can tell you it's been pretty extensive, all discourage handling.

That said, they are one of the easiest animals to keep, here is a pic of my Charlotte's setup, 10 gal tank. It's great because I can always see her, even when she's in her burrow (which can be a very long time).

Mine being pretty much fully grown with a good 5" legspan and with my phobia of crickets, I feed her pinky and fuzzy mice which she seems to enjoy. The great thing about these is that I only have to feed her every 3 to 6 weeks. These meals keep her nice and plump and I all I have to do is supply fresh water and clean her water dish every now and then. Their poop is minimal and easily cleaned up and you only have to do a thorough clean out of their terrariums once or twice a year.

So, it all comes down to why you would want to have one. If you want a tarantula that you can play with and handle, that may take some time before you overcome your fears. Heck, I'm not even afraid of spiders and tarantulas and I don't pick up mine! If you want a facinating and wonderful visual pet that's easy to care for, and from what you wrote in your post you'd be able to care for one well. Then by all means go for it and enjoy!!!

A couple of things to think of: Females live way longer than males, male lifespans generally between 3 and 5 years, female lifespans are generally between 15 and 30 years all depending on the species. Colours also tend to be brighter in the females.

Another thing, if you have a tank with a screen top. Be ready to do some rescue operations! It's fairly common for tarantulas to go wandering around their tanks, climbing the glass and the screen top. The problem is that they often get their claws caught in the screen and can't come down. This can result in a tarantula ripping it's leg off to get free. I can tell you it is extremelly stressful and panicky to come home to your tarantula dangling by one leg frantically and spazing out every 30 seconds.

What I've done to remedy the situation and it's worked for me everytime is that I grab a big kitchen spoon and very slowly lift the lid of her terrarium. As soon as I have enough space. I slip the spoon in the tank and under the T and lift her gently so she can free her leg. I then put her back down in her terrarium and all is well.

I tell you this not to freak you out but to prepare you for the worst. If you think you can handle that, I'm sure you're gonna love having a tarantula. Then again, if your T is big enough and you have a wire top instead of a screen top you wouldn't have to deal with that kind of problem!

I hope you do go for it, I'm sure you wouldn't regret it. I'm looking to get my second pretty soon, a haplopelma lividium, an absolutely striking T. I can't wait!!!

Kyle Barker · 01-12-03, 04:54 AM

Ive never been afriad of them. Even as a toddler i was outside catching anything and everything

. Im sure with time you will overcome your fear. I have a couple friends that were extrememly arachnophobic and they over came it gradually by first looking at pics, then coming over and being in the same room as one, and eventually actually touching one while i held it. In fact i have talked one of them into getting a black widow (for watching not touching

). Any thoughts of getting any yourself??

Pixie, gotta say NICE cage! I love it. where do you get those insert things? and what size do they come in?

Kyle

ReptileHQ · 01-12-03, 09:47 AM

Hey Pixie, that's one of the better setups I've seen for a tarantula! Good job

Chris

Edwin · 01-12-03, 10:46 AM

I second that. That setup looks amazing.

Pixie · 01-12-03, 10:54 AM

Thank you

Linds · 01-16-03, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rattekonigin
I still hate those gross small yellowish spiders that are all over my house and will squish 'em with no hesitation (I call them "Arachnophobia spiders" because they look like the baby spiders from that movie, and they're just as prolific!)

LOL! Ironically enough those are the only spiders that don't give me the willies, I can carry them around, share space with them, in fact I even had about 20 of them living in my car in the summer. Hehehe... one fell into my pocket so I couldn't get it, but it mustve crawled out when I was driving 'cause I found it in my car the next day. I just loved the way the little guy would drop down and surprise me so I added a few more

Pixie,
Great setup and beautiful spidey! She's absolutely gorgeous!

rattekonigin · 01-16-03, 01:36 PM

LMAO! That dropping down out of nowhere is the thing I hate most about those spiders...I can't count the number of times they've dive-bombed me as I passed through doorways, and then they're all in my hair and I freak out! If they just left me alone (like all the other spiders) I wouldn't have a problem with them.

Linds · 01-17-03, 01:07 AM

Hahahaha for sure!! My front porch gets swamped with them in the summer, every time you open it like 10 spiders fall on your head!

**Aaron_S** · 01-17-03, 03:44 AM

I love that display Pixie...also great post about the tarantulas.

I haven't been scared of spiders but scorpions tend to make me a lil more nervous.I have recntly just started handling an emperor scorpion at my work for short periods of time and they are real hard to get off your hand when you wanna go.

I also have handled a number of tarantulas aswell..just the species that tend to be less aggressive such as rose hairs and pink toes. If you are interested in getting a T I would suggeest Avicularia(pinktoes) or B.Smithi(mex red knee) both great colours and easily taken care of. Other Brachypelma,like the mex red knee,are pretty good too but I do believe the red knee is most docile.

In all my readings i have found that most if not all say do not handle but I believe they do this as a big safety precaution since most if not all tarantulas sold in the pet trade do have venom and if you happen to be allergic would give you some nasty pains.

here's a link to a site with some nice pics and info www.bighairyspiders.com

Kyle Barker · 01-18-03, 06:32 AM

They usually warn people because it will freak the spider out. Ever see one with a bald butt? Those are the new world species that are harassed too much, they kick off their hairs in self defense. I think all these publications say not to hold them because they dont want the spider to get freeked, they just disguise it saying you may get bit and that makes people not want to touch them. Also just a thought i will share. For the people who think the only good spider is a dead one, just remember how mad we get when people say that exact thing about snakes, or to lesser extent lizards. Makes no sense to me why people kill em, if you dont like them just go somewhere else, after all they were here first. Just my thoughts.

kyle