Advice needed for a complete beginner!

[Carrie Van der Zee]

Hello,

I apologise in advance for the length of this post, but I am a complete beginner (+ a very keen one at that!) and having got lost in the overwhelming amount of (often contradictory) information available across the internet on the care and feeding requirements of tarantulas, I thought I'd consult the experts for your opinions directly!

I love spiders and tarantulas, and have wanted to get one as a pet for a very long time. The only trouble is, my boyfriend. He's not arachnophobic and is even pretty fond of spiders himself; the real problem is that he is petrified of their usual diet, namely insects and their larvae, which is why I never bothered looking into getting a pet tarantula until now.

You see, I was delighted to learn recently from someone I met socially, who keeps tarantulas himself (but whose number I sadly didn't get), that you can feed an adult on pinkie mice. This would be absolutely no problem at all for either myself or my boyfriend, as we have both taken care of snakes in the past. However, from the reading I have done on the internet, I get the impression that there are some species you shouldn't give mice to as their main food source, and that different species require very different levels of care, and that as a consequence many species are definitely NOT suitable as a first pet.

So far, I've managed to ascertain that the best type of tarantula to start off with is a terrestrial species, but it would have to be one I could purchase as an adult that would be okay to feed pinkies to. Can anyone recommend me a few species that I can do some reading up of my own on that are widely available in the UK and fit all the aforementioned criteria? Or even just recommend any comprehensive guides in the form of a book or two that isn't heavily laden with jargon?

Thanks in advance!

[Guy Tansley]

Hello Carrie and welcome to the forum (and the hobby!)

Yes, you can feed tarantulas on pre-killed pinkie mice although this is usually considered as a 'once in a while' prey item, supplementing an invertebrate-based diet.

I'm not aware of any real evidence to suggest that a tarantula could not survive on a vertebrate diet alone but you will probably find that using this food source, only one or two mice a month would be more than enough. This could mean that your spider gains weight quickly and then simply fasts until after its next moult.

There are many species available that suit the beginner but finding one that accepts vertebrate prey only may be a problem. Often, feeding habits vary between individuals so one that reguarly takes mice as food doesn't mean to say that all of the same species will do the same (some are choosey about their food).

Read HERE for a list of recommended beginners species.

Hope this helps.

[Adam Smith]

Totally agree, while it is possible to feed a tarantula a pinkie and indeed they like them but it really should be treated as a delicacy and not given as staple

diet but rather something to be savoured once in a while.
As you mentioned that there is much contradictory on the hobby on the net and can very much confuse the newbies and novices to the hobby. How people keep there Ts varies from person to person and even in books I have one book will say one thing and another will say the opposite. Basically if you can keep your Ts at the advised paremeters of heat, humidity and so forth with a margin allowed between the highest and lowest shouldnt have problems.

This is the joy of keeping Tarantulas, we have been learning for years but yet still learning and finding out new methods and new ways to keep Ts which can be passed on for the next newbie to take on board.

Try using your own judgement on your ts seeing what makes them tick and what they benefit and defect from.

[Carrie Van der Zee]

Thank you both I' going to keep trying to find out as much as I can before I commit to buying a tarantula, just in case, but your advice is encouranging.

It's a shame really, but unfortunately having insects in the house for any length of time is totally out of the question - wouldn't be a problem for me, but there you go. I'm afraid don't love tarantulas *quite* enough to ditch my boyfriend over it!

I'm going to try contacting local breeders/suppliers for their opinions too, get as much information as I can, so thanks for your words of wisdom!

[Ray Hale]

Whilst feeding tarantulas vertebrate food ( dead of course. It is illegal to feed live vertebrate prey in the Uk) is an option it is not the preferred method by most keepers.

The reasons are:

Small tarantulas and spiderlings are not easy to feed with pinkie mouse bits.

Some of the larger species whist willing to take the prey can be aggressive and getting them to take it can be nerve racking. ( hanging a pinkie at the end of a pair of tweezers over a Pokey is an intersting idea )

If the pinkie is dropped by the spider and discarded it can very quickly begin to decompose and smell if left.

As stated by the other posts feeding high protein food to your spider on a regular basis can have a disadvantageous effect on its health. They grow quickly but in my experience this may shorten their life. I like to think of it like this ....."if you eat a Bic Mac every day you will get very fat"....look at me


An old friend of mine fed his Goliath on nothing but pinkies. It was the biggest thing I had ever seen but it didnt live long.

I would recommend you use pinkies occasionally but use crickets as a staple diet. I can understand your boyfriends concern. Crickets can be annoying. Get him to take the time out to have a good look at one. They really are as fascinating as the tarantulas.

I hope you overcome your problems as keeping tarantulas is a great hobby.

If we can help further please PM me.

Ray Hale

[bobgepstein]

Welcome

Hi there...

Welcome to the hobby... Dead easy spids to keep are as follows... If I can keep them, anyone can...

Mexican red knee spiderlings also know as brachypelma smithi

http://www.mbldezine.com/spiderlings/index.php

Curly Hair spiderlings also know as Brachypelma Albopilosa

http://www.mbldezine.com/curlyspiderling/

Chilean Rose spiderlings also know as Grammostola Rosea

http://www.mbldezine.com/chileanspiderling/

Kind Regards,
B.

[Daniel Carpenter]

Hi Carrie,
Trust me these blogs that bob as made come in very useful!

[Carrie Van der Zee]

Thank you all! I've actually managed to make a deal with my boyfriend, that I can have a tarantula and feed it on invertebrates, on the proviso that if any of them escape I arrange for him to go somewhere else while I capture/kill all the escapees.

This brings me on to another question. I've gathered that 7-10 crickets a week is about average for an adult, and that you should make sure there are no crickets in the vivarium while it's molting. But, crickets seem to come in bigger batches than that, and apparently don't survive at room temperature for very long. So how do you store the crickets without any of them escaping?

I'm very excited about all this. I'm going to give myself at least another month of reading up on the subject, then get all the equipment I need before purchasing my first tarantula, but I'm very much looking forward to it!

[Charlene Elliott]

Hiya
I just keep mine in the tub they come in and feed them on apple, cat biscuits, fishfood.
I have mine at room temp and are lasting well, they are cheap as well!!

To prevent escapes I put them in the fridge to slow them down , then get plastic tweezers and get one out which I deposit into a smaller tub which then emtpty into T's viv.

I am relatively new to all this but havnt had any escapes yet!!!

Charlene

[Dave Gunter]

Hiya
I just keep mine in the tub they come in and feed them on apple, cat biscuits, fishfood.
I have mine at room temp and are lasting well, they are cheap as well!!

To prevent escapes I put them in the fridge to slow them down , then get plastic tweezers and get one out which I deposit into a smaller tub which then emtpty into T's viv.

I am relatively new to all this but havnt had any escapes yet!!!

Charlene

LMAO, i had to read that twice charlene - i thought you were referring to feeding the Ts' apple, cat biscuit etc and keeping them in the fridge

[Charlene Elliott]

lol Dave, that would be easier wouldnt it?!!!!

I dont mind T's but I hate the bloomin' crickets, they make me squirm....

Charlene

[Simon Batten]

mine eats 2 crickets a week somtimes 1 if she is hungry he will eat it straight away if not she ignores them

[Daniel Carpenter]

I dont mind T's but I hate the bloomin' crickets, they make me squirm....

Charlene, Wait till you have a sling and you have to feed it ''pin head''
crickets if big ones make you squirm these will for sure!! :P

[Carrie Van der Zee]

It's cool - I don't have any real problem with crickets. When I was at school, I did my work experience at a zoo and I had to feel locusts, mealworms and crickets to all sorts of animals! It's just storing the crickets so that my bf won't be traumatised by them that I'm trying to think of a creative solution for now. I think I might hide them under a sheet of white muslin behind the vivarium or something, and hope they don't make too much noise!

[Charlene Elliott]

Mine are in a brown leather like box (about £4 from wilkos) that sit above the vivs on a shelf.
I have other boxes as well and they look really nice in the living room..

Charlene

P.s I dont like the big ones cause they stare at me!!!