What i have learnt so far

Hi Guys,

One more quick blog to finish off the night.

While tending to the spiderlings I started to think about all the things I have learnt so far. The number one rule I have learnt is do your research before going to the store to pick up a Tarantula. I cant speak for all of the uk, but the 2 different stores I have been to diddnt have the best knowledge.

I got my male and female from the same store both times the staff were too afraid of the spiders to get them out of their vivariums so that was left to me(no problem). Now when I asked for a mature male as I planned on breeding I was given a sub adult and the store owner told me that he could see the hooks.

Filled with excitement  we raced home to get him housed. Now here is where do you research kicks in. It turns out Austin is not a mature male yet and if I hadn't double checked he would have turned into a very very expensive meal for our female gandalf!

What should be the first thing i buy? the Vivarium? the Tarantula? the substrate? the answer is no. The first thing you should buy(and I wish I did) is the Tarantula keepers guide, its about £8 on amazon and should be read cover to cover.

Strange things I have learnt:

The Chilean rose hair, of which I have two. is not the best tarantula to start with. They fast for long periods with no reason at all. They also have a nick name that isnt used in pet shops, they are referred to in the hobby as "pet rocks" they tend to just sit and do nothing at all.

The second thing, YOU DO NOT NEED HEAT MATS!!!!! you dont need heat mats at all, if you are ok with the temp without having to put a coat on, so is the Tarantula.


Thanks for reading guys, dont forget to check out our Twitter @thorney_critter