Basic Care Guide

Welcome to my Tarantula care page, here you will find my tips on basic tarantula care.

1. Choosing your spider

If you are new to the hobby you will find yourself with hundreds of spiders to choose from, but which one is right for you? Well, if you have not kept spiders before the basic qualities you are likely to need in you new pet are hardiness, ease of care, and a docile, calm temperament.

Happily lots of spiders live up to these qualities so you will still have a good variety to choose from. In my experience some of the best starter species to consider are:

The Chilean Rose (pictured on the left at the top) - this is a superb first spider, hardy and able to tolerate a wide range of conditions, also unlikely to bite or flick hairs. They can be tawny brown or red in colour and reach a good size, also they make an excellent display spider.

The Curly Hair - a nice docile spider that can reach a very good size. They are covered in curly brown hairs and have a fuzzy appearance, making them look almost cute and cuddly. Also they are widely available and not too expensive either.

The Mexican Red Knee - these are very attractive spiders that are hardy and relatively calm, however it should be noted they are quite prone to being skittish and to flicking hair. They are however readily available, and will spend lots of time out in the open.

2. Age of the spider

You will see that tarantulas can be purchased at three different stages of development: spiderling, juvenile, and adult/sub adult. Spiderlings are very small and considered 1-5cm. They tend to be very delicate and require specialist care, therefore I do not suggest you start out in the tarantula hobby with a spiderling, however they do have the benefit of being able to watch the spider grow. A better choice, which still has this benefit may be a juvenile spider. These are about half their adult size, and tend to be hardier than spiderlings. You will still be able to watch the spider grow, but will start with something that is bigger than 5cm. Adults and sub adults are pretty much full size, and since females have long life spans, you can expect to be with your pet a long time even if you buy it as an adult. Please note mature males do not make good pets, as they are not long lived once they reach this stage.

3. Housing your spider

All the species listed above are terrestrial species, which means they live at ground level and require more ground space than height. There are two types of terrestrial tarantula - opportunistic burrowers and obligate burrows.

Opportunistic burrowers will take advantage of any shelter available. All the spiders listed above are opportunistic burrowers and will gladly use half a flowerpot or "spider cave" or piece of cork bark which they are provided with. 

The substrate should be a mixture of fine quality peat and vermiculite. You can either purchase one of the spider bedding mixes widely availible from petstores and online suppliers, or make the mixture yourself.

For obligate burrowers you will need to have a thick layer of substrate as these spiders are required to be able to dig deep burrows in which they will live. These spiders tend to make a nice silk layered entrance and will dig out a deep chamber to lurk in inside.

You can house your tarantula in a range of either a plastic containers or glass tanks. In all cases the tank or container should have adequate ventilation for your pet. I suggest you buy a tank or plastic enclosure from your local exotic petstore or online supplier.

It should be noted that tarantulas are cannibalistic so only one spider should be kept per enclosure, or else one will decide to snack on the other. There is an exception to this rule with some ornamental species - the Indian Ornamental will live in community colonies if raised together as spiderlings. I do however suggest you gain some tarantula experience before attempting this as "pokies" (as they are often called) are fast and aggressive and have a potent bite.

For arboreal spiders (such as pink toes and ornamentals) the tank should be vertically orientated. Your petstore will stock a range of tanks that are suitable for arboreal tarantulas. It should be noted that arboreal tarantulas are more complicated to keep that terrestrial spiders, so not really suited to beginners. However there are many beautiful species, and once you venture into the tarantula hobby you are bound to want to start an arboreal collection soon.

4. Tarantula Moulting

As spiders grow they have to shed their exoskeleton skin. For adult spiders this will happen about once a year, spiderlings and juveniles will do this more often. During this time a spider is vulnerable and it is important you leave it alone. Make sure you maintain a good humidity as incorrect levels can lead to moulting problems. Don't panic if you find your spider lying upside down, this is the usual posture adopted for moulting and the spider will flip itself upright when it is done. After moulting your spider will be very delicate until its new skin hardens. Leave it alone and do not offer it any food for about a week.

5. Feeding your spider

Most tarantulas will happily eat crickets, and the good thing is crickets are available in many different sizes so can be matched up to the spiders current size. The cricket offered should not be bigger than the tarantulas abdomen. Some people will offer pinkies and even mice to bigger spiders, but I find my tarantulas do not need this fatty food, and thrive on a cricket diet. There are also a range of other feeder insects such as locusts and wax worms you can consider.

Spiders can go a long time without food so it is important not to over feed them, this can lead to them becoming fat and this in turn can result in moulting problems. I tend to feed my tarantulas one-two crickets a week. I withhold food if the spider is showing obvious signs of preparing to moult.  These signs include hiding away in the burrow or silk tube, the spider being less active and refusing food.

6. Heat and Humidity

Tarantulas require warm temperatures and varying degrees of humidity to stay healthy. 75-80F is a good general temperature (however it does vary from species to species). Regarding the humidity you will need to research your species as some spiders need about 60% and others will require as high as 85% to remain healthy. Arboreal spiders in particular require both good ventilation and high humidy to thrive, this can be tricky tp maintain in captivity. The addition of live plants to an arboreal enclosure can help keep to the conditions right.  

So that's basic tarantula care in a nutshell. If you have any further questions feel free to email me, and I wil be happy to help. Otherwise before starting your tarantula adventures I suggest continuing your research with some good books and online reading.

Good luck.

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