My kids constantly ask for pets. The Little Lady would like a kitty and the Little Man wants a dog. Unfortunately, my husband does not want either. The Little Man has asked for every type of pet under the sun and after much research, I decided on a tarantula which may be a big surprise.
Tarantulas have a bad wrap – they are harmless to humans because of their low venom but it does hurt if they bite. Apparently it feels like a stepping on a tac or being bitten by a wasp when they bite but I don’t want to find out. Tarantulas are very slow movers so I could theoretically take our tarantula out and hold it but I would only do so if he has recently eaten. If the tarantula has not eaten recently and you put your hand in the cage he might confuse you for a cricket.
What I like best about tarantulas is that they take up very little space and they do not smell. Before buying our tarantula, I considered hermit crabs but they need “friends”, they smell and require frequent cage cleanings. Tarantulas do not life in communities and can live their entire lives in the same cage by themselves. Another perk is that they only need to be fed once a week. They eat crickets and you can leave the crickets in the cage with them for up to a week. Tarantulas do not spin a web to catch prey but they set up a trip wire to alert themselves when food is near – and they do move fast when going after their food.
Our tarantula is named Treevi the Tarantuli. Below is a photo of the Little Man the day we got Treevi. We purchased Treevi at the Bug Fair held at the Natural History Museum.
