Why do people keep tarantulas?

[Raturday]

I am a tarantula keeper!

In fact I am going to a reptile Expo next month to get some new variety.

I love them, They are fascinating to watch, and if you are like me and love to make accurate enclosures then their habitats make lovely decorations in a home.

For anyone curious, I don't handle my tarantulas. To me they are a 'look don't touch' pet. I am fine with people handling their own however.

Last year my Rose Haired tarantula molted, and it was AWESOME.
I am attached to that tarantula, she was my first. Her name is Lassie lol

Oh wow, she molted? Did you take pictures of the molt or anything? Did her hair come off with the molt?
I don't think I would ever keep a tarantula as a pet but I understand why some people do. They ARE really interesting.

[Kiko]

I sadly dont have any images of her molt. She did it overnight.

At first it looked like a dead one appeared in the tank overnight because the carapace was just sort of crumpled in the corner. I was so confused!

[lilmissy22]

i have a rose hair tarantula i hold it very little it is a cool pet... i love differnet kinds of animals... i like to watch it eat and i did save it molt.. i have it in a shadow box on the wall. ....

[eaturbyfill]

If I didn't have a really severe spider phobia, I could understand having one! Definitely not for me, though..

[elliriyanna]

My dad keeps tarantulas and they are VERY interesting he has I think 5 at the moment and Tigger is my favorite. Its not exactly like keeping fish they can be hand tamed but feeding times as well as their habits are just intriguing to watch They are amazing predators as well as they sometimes get scared by the crickets lol. I will admit its scary at first though.

[charmmy]

i realize this is a little old but i do have a tarantula my good friend wanted one and for christmas i got him and myself a baby tarantula (spiderling) each. when i first got him he was no bigger than my pinky nail now hes about the size of a nickel and its only been a few months. he is a mexican red rump and hes rather interesting i must say. when they molt its quite incredible its like a shell of the spider just dead?

his way of eating is fascinating to watch, but right now yes he is more like having a fish you kind of watch him rather than hold him. when he gets larger i will hold him more, but hes so small and fast! its kind of shocking to see how fast he can actually move.

and watching him grow is very cool and awesome really. when i first got him he was practically clear but now he has real coloring red and brown its beautiful.

[Mrm911]

I can watch them but once they come out I freak out. When I was in preschool I found one in our playgorund it ws so creepy and hen my bestfriends neighbors had one and when we were over playing with there kittens they brought the tralantula once they fell asleep and they took it out and it ran straight at me and I jump on the couch. They also said that that one was the only one that stayed the other escaped because they used to have a tarantula room. But the put it in the window during halloween and it pretty interesting to watch crawl around.

I did have a pet spider for a week when I was five, I caught it my backyard. I am okay with hissing cockroaches and most bugs, but no flying one except butterflies. I can almost handleto see any animal but it doesn't mean I can interact with them.

[unlikelyfather]

Completely untrue in the "look at" department. While they are indeed fun to look at, plenty of tarantula owners handle their babies. When I was a kid, my friend's mom had a rosie by the name of, well, Rose. She had gotten her before her son was born (my friend) and I'm not sure about the tarantula's average life span but that spider was ancient. Or, at least, it seemed that way to me. I don't know much about spiders. We were about eight or nine at the time.

Spider fanatics can admire certain traits about them, and if you get the right species they're often tame enough to be held (so long as you respect them and know the proper way to hold them).

Don't forget that most people would be surprised to see a rat as a pet, and would also cringe away. I'm sure that spider owners all believe they're in on something that the world is missing out on and that their spiders are their precious babies just like our rats are ours.

[never-sleep]

Although I have never had one, I want a trarantula. I knew a kid who had one and he said it was one of the most docile pets he ever had. I held a Rose haired Tarantula a while back and she was absolutely great. She calm and crawled slow on my hands, stopping if I didn't have my other hand up yet for her to climb in.
I guess they are like snakes, or even rats, they aren't everyone's cup of tea

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Found this pic online. It is a Rose Haired Tarantula.

[Meko102]

[h=1] Tarantulasare good pets, i had a Pink Salmon Birdeater when i first got her she was lovely but became nasty with age and had to give her away but i found them very interesting to watch, they made no noise and didnt need much attention so they are very easy to look after [/h]