Tarantula's as a whole are pretty misunderstood and feared by most people. Most would step on them or grab the can of insecticide at first sight. They are far from being dangerous killers that crawl up in your beds at night or spin huge webs in the garage or the barn in an attempt to capture the family dog or one of your children. They do help eliminate insect pest's such as crickets, grasshopers, beetles, moths but will also take mice, frogs and even snakes as a meal in the wild. They are either terrestrial or arboreal. Terrestrials live in deep or shallow burrows, under logs or at the base of tree. Arboreals live exclusivelyin trees, off the ground. They are kept by a variety of people as interesting, low maintenance pets and most can be safely handled. I do not recommend the practice of picking them up, but I do myself handle almost all of my own. Most are not actually aggressive but can be defensive and will put on a great threat display, raising the front legs and baring fangs. Some of the Asian Haplopelma species and many of the Pterinochilus from Africa will rare up so fast that they will almost fall over backwards. These are not pets for everyone, obviously. The lifespan depending on species can be from 7-8 years up to 20-25years for some. Females are heavier bodied with a greater legspan in almost all species and also live much longer. Most males average to adults in 3-4 years and will usually not survive more than a year or two after the final molt. Most of my tarantula's are females but I have a few males as they were sold unsexed. Females will be more expensive as they are wanted by breeders and collectors (like me) that want a larger tarantula with a longer lifespan. Some adult females such as a Poecilotheria metallica are highly sought and can sell for $250.00 to $400.00 each.
So today I thought I'd put a few pics in a gallery of some of my tarantulas. I'll start off with the Aphonopelma's. These are the type of tarantula's found in the U.S.A. so if you find an actual tarantula whether you are in Arkansas or Arizona, it will be from the Aphonopelma family. They are the ONLY type of tarantula that occur naturally in our country but also are foundin several areas of South and Latin America. Most are from 5-6" at adult size while there are a few dwarf species that are only 2-3" adult size. There are no known species that occur naturally East of the Mississippi river.
One of my favorites is the (Latin name) Aphonopelma seemani. These are known in the pet trade commonly as "striped knee" or "Costa Rican Zebra". These are fairly docile tarantulas but can be skiddish and bolt at the slightest movement. One variety that is a dark blue or black with white vertical stripes on the legs. There is a variety from Nicaragua/Guatemala that is brown with pale tan striping on the legs. They do well kept on mostly dry substrate, I mist about half of the 5 gallon enclosure for mine twice per week. I feed crickets, one or two twice per week for my big female. I use plain peat moss for the substrate, about 6 inches deep and have a few fake plants (she's buried them under peat) and a simple hide for her that is just a black plastic cup turned on its side. She is about 7 years old and is close to 6" in legspan. I'll try to put a pic on here of her if its not too big. Her name is Gypsy and she is one of my favorites. She molts about once a year at her present age. When they are young spiderlings, they can molt every couple of months and as they get older, molt less frequently. Gypsy pictured above.
This is about all for now on my Aphonopelma seemani, I'm going to watch the Steelers/Chargers playoff game right now! I'll post again later today.
So today I thought I'd put a few pics in a gallery of some of my tarantulas. I'll start off with the Aphonopelma's. These are the type of tarantula's found in the U.S.A. so if you find an actual tarantula whether you are in Arkansas or Arizona, it will be from the Aphonopelma family. They are the ONLY type of tarantula that occur naturally in our country but also are foundin several areas of South and Latin America. Most are from 5-6" at adult size while there are a few dwarf species that are only 2-3" adult size. There are no known species that occur naturally East of the Mississippi river.
One of my favorites is the (Latin name) Aphonopelma seemani. These are known in the pet trade commonly as "striped knee" or "Costa Rican Zebra". These are fairly docile tarantulas but can be skiddish and bolt at the slightest movement. One variety that is a dark blue or black with white vertical stripes on the legs. There is a variety from Nicaragua/Guatemala that is brown with pale tan striping on the legs. They do well kept on mostly dry substrate, I mist about half of the 5 gallon enclosure for mine twice per week. I feed crickets, one or two twice per week for my big female. I use plain peat moss for the substrate, about 6 inches deep and have a few fake plants (she's buried them under peat) and a simple hide for her that is just a black plastic cup turned on its side. She is about 7 years old and is close to 6" in legspan. I'll try to put a pic on here of her if its not too big. Her name is Gypsy and she is one of my favorites. She molts about once a year at her present age. When they are young spiderlings, they can molt every couple of months and as they get older, molt less frequently. Gypsy pictured above.
This is about all for now on my Aphonopelma seemani, I'm going to watch the Steelers/Chargers playoff game right now! I'll post again later today.
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