One of the increasingly popular exotic pets these days in the US and UK are the group large, hairy spiders known as Tarantulas. Not a pet that is meant to be handled, tarantulas are still an impressive, interesting, and long-lived pet that requires minimal maintenance. While research on tarantula husbandry should of course be done before making a purchase, there are many species that require little more than a small enclosure, heating, moisture, and food a couple times a week, if that. So after getting set up, there are most tarantulas can be kept happy and healthy with only a few minutes of care per day. While there might not be a reliable distributor of tarantulas in your area, the creatures can, in most weather conditions, be mailed safely to anywhere in the US via overnight delivery. Therefore, all citizens of the continental US have ready access to the largest single tarantula distributor in the US: Ken the Buy Guy. The health and pedigree of his T's are guaranteed, and as a familiar customer of his, having purchased 7 specimens from him over the last few years, I can saw with certainty that he is not the largest Tarantula distributor on the North American continent for no reason: the man knows what he is doing. If you can believe this, Ken currently houses over 7,000 specimens on location! On his website, kenthebugguy.com, you can see what breeds he has in stock.
So if you already have 7 specimens of tarantulas, then what do you feed them and where in your house do you keep them? As for me, I don't think tarantulas are for me because they don't really appeal to me visually and even as a pet. You can even play or cuddle them.
In total, I have 10 individuals that I keep. And I think for the time being this is enough for me, although serious hobbyists keep many more than this. I keep them in my "Reptile Room"; it's on the southern end of the house, so it stays cooler (it's far easier to warm up a cool cage than to cool off a hot one). Tarantulas, like snakes, not only don't need alot of space, they do better with less (to a degree of course). The recommendation is to house your T in a vivarium that is twice to three times the diagonal length of your spider's legspan, with the distance from the bottom of the substrate to the top of the vivarium being no more than the spider's legspan (to prevent a dangerous fall). So for some of the more common larger species in the trade (6 inches full size), a 12x12 inch vivarium will do, and this is how I keep them. While I prefer to build my own vivariums from pine lumber and acrylic plexiglass, there are many relatively cheap plastic containers available at retail and exotic pet stores that can be used.
As for feeding, there are several insect species commonly available at retail petstores that will suffice: namely mealworms, waxworms, and crickets, that are the most common. However, as mealworms aren't a very nutritious insect, and crickets present the problem that uneaten individuals have not uncommonly been known to start chewing on the T, the best insect to feed your tarantula is are dubia roaches. They are expensive if purchased individually, but this is not prohibitive given that Tarantulas don't need to eat very often. Given that I own so many tarantuals, as well as other reptiles and amphibians, I breed my own dubia, which is not at all a difficult feat to accomplish. With proper heating and food, dubia breed exponentially. They are an attractive feeder insect due to, yes, the ease and promiscuity of their breeding, as well as the small size at which they are born. Therefore, my dubia colony can sustain a wide variety of reptiles, arachnids, and amphibians, and saves me the trouble and expense of having to purchase feeder insects from retail. No, dubia can't infest your house. And yes, you're right. Tarantulas, as well as most other exotic pets, with a few exceptions, are not animals you care for with the purpose of developing a personal relationship with the animal (I have 2 cats and a dog for that). It's commonly assumed that non-companion pets are an interest that only men would find attractive, and I would certainly feel this way myself, but you'd be surprised how many women are in this hobby. Personally, I find them beautiful and fascinating creatures. Their brains are so tiny, yet each of them has such a distinct quality of individuality, a phenomenon of nature indeed. Although I can definitely understand why so many are intimidated by them. Daddy issues out the whazoo.
