House spiders - care and maintenance

How to make the right choice?

Terrestrial spider species are the best choice for beginners. They are less demanding in maintenance and much slower than woody ones. The best ones to pay attention to are the following species: Lasiodora parahybana, Brachypelma boehmei, Brachypelma albiceps, Brachypelma smithi. In general, the entire genus Brachypelma is considered one of the best for beginners. They are quite calm and their venom is less toxic than that of other species. If you want to get a tree spider, it is worth remembering that you need to be extremely careful with them, as they are capable of moving very quickly.

Types of house spiders

To get along with a new pet, you must first choose the right species. Each spider is unique, so this choice must be approached with special responsibility.

• The curly-haired tarantula can be an ideal option for novice breeders due to its unpretentiousness and calm disposition. Even if you anger this spider to such an extent that it bites a person, the irritation will be no stronger than from a wasp sting. The venom of this spider is completely safe for humans. • The white-haired tarantula is more demanding in conditions of detention, but is still safe for humans. These spiders are very calm and always allow themselves to be picked up unless they are hungry. • The striped tarantula is a suitable option for those for whom the calm disposition of the pet is not so important, since the character of each individual is unique. In addition, these spiders are quite voracious, although it is not necessary to feed them more than twice a week. • The Horned Tarantula is one of the spiders for more experienced breeders. Most often, individuals are very aggressive, and their bites do not go away without leaving a trace. But this species has an unusual color for spiders and does not require special arrangement of the aquarium.

Safety and Cautions

The most difficult to keep at home are poisonous and aggressive spiders, which include species such as:

• Phormistoryrus antillensis;
• Phormictorus auratus;
• Phormictorus cancerides;
• Theraphosa apohysis;
• Thrichorelma oskerti;
• Latrodectus hasselti;
• Latrodectus tredecimguttatus;
• Macrothele gigas;
• Stromatorelma salseatum.

One of the most nervous, quickly excitable and aggressive species are many spiders of the genus Tarinauchenius, whose bite is extremely toxic to humans. Caring for such exotics requires full compliance with safety rules.

Such pets cannot be handled, and when cleaning the terrarium, such spiders must be placed in a special, tightly closed container.

What to do if the spider escaped

Most often, wood spiders escape from loosely closed home terrariums . There may be several reasons for the sudden escape of an exotic:

• finding the spider outside its nest when opening the terrarium;
• sharp withdrawal of the paws when touched;
• jerking almost the whole body in any direction when feeding with tweezers;
• the presence of a disproportionately large food object in the terrarium;
• recent molt.

If the spider nevertheless leaves its home, then it is necessary to carefully observe its movement, without making sudden movements. When the spider stops, it should be covered with any sufficiently wide container.

Then a piece of thick cardboard is placed under the container with which the spider is covered, and the exotic is carefully transferred to the terrarium.

What to do if a spider bites you

Most often, species of spiders that are not dangerous to humans are kept at home; when bitten, the following symptoms occur:

• pain at the site of the bite;
• redness and swelling;
• itching;
• increased body temperature;
• general malaise.

In this case, it is enough to use conventional analgesics and antipyretics, and also treat the bite site with “Zvezdochka” balm or “Fenistil” gel. If the bite is caused by a poisonous spider, then it will be necessary to provide the victim with emergency medical care in a hospital setting as soon as possible.

In general, all types of safe spiders are almost ideal and hassle-free exotic pets that do not require frequent feeding, do not produce allergenic fur, do not mark territory and take up very little space. Such an exotic dog will be the best option for keeping a pet for busy people who do not have the opportunity to devote a lot of time and effort to their pet.

How to choose the right type for a beginner? We recommend that you first purchase relatively inexpensive, hardy and obedient spiders. Among the huge number of tarantula species (about seven hundred described species), there are several with potentially harmful, one might even say dangerous, poison! Pterinochilus, Heteroscorda, Poecilotheria these tarantulas are not for beginners! The most important thing: There are no deadly species among Tarantula Spiders, this is an axiom, all rumors about the hostility of these creatures are much exaggerated! Tarantulas can be divided into two groups according to their method of defense. The first is protection from enemies shaking the stubble from the abdomen

, not dangerous, but terribly nasty for a person, after the bristles come into contact with the skin or eyes, it causes burning and itching.
The second is a bite by chelicerae
with injection of poison. There are species of Tarantulas that cannot shake the bristles off their abdomen, but rest assured, these species are very aggressive and will fight to the last, trying to bite the attacker. From the above, it should not be understood that the Tarantula, which prefers to defend itself by shaking off its bristles, will not bite with its chelicerae; rest assured, under certain circumstances, anyone, even the most “kind” one, can use their “fangs”! There is a great connection between the character and habitat of a spider. So Tarantulas of the “Old World” - these are Africa, Asia, almost all are aggressive, and cannot be recommended for beginners. On the other hand, many tarantulas of the “New World” - North, South and Central America will be very docile and not dangerous. It may also be added that each variety will have its own character, its own typical individuality. The genus Brachypelma are very kind, unpretentious and beautiful spiders, but some species are very expensive and rare in Russia. Brachypelma albopilosum is a great spider for a beginner, very cheap and beautiful, its second name is curly hair, which accurately reflects its appearance. We also recommend all types of Aphonopelma for beginners, they are very docile and rarely use bristles. Avicularia species, Chromatopelma, are also a good start for a beginner. Theraphosa blondi, Theraphosa apophysis are giants among tarantula spiders, but they require exceptional housing conditions, their bite has not been studied, but is probably very painful, because the chelicerae in an adult are comparable in length to the fang of a large dog, if, of course, one can compare like that. This “spider” will easily bite right through your hand! And their stubble is not a gift! Haplopelma - in my opinion, one of the most aggressive genera of tarantulas, these are real beasts, they will try to bite in any case, but they are extremely beautiful, which is worth the bright blue Haplopelma lividum! A very important feature when choosing a spider for home keeping is its gender. Only females are long-lived. Males, having reached sexual maturity, which is from 2 to 4 years, soon die. So if you want to have a long-lived specimen, choose a female. How to distinguish a female from a male, read the article “Determining the sex of tarantula spiders.” Age is also important when choosing a tarantula. Never buy an adult spider unless you know at least approximately its age. An old spider is usually quite impressive in size, but it may turn out that it has very little time to live. Usually adult Tarantulas are sold caught from the wild, this is a bad option for a beginner. Natural creatures can be infected with various parasites, mites, etc., and if this spider is not the first in your collection, there is a possibility of infecting others. Also, an adult Tarantula will take a long time to get used to the living conditions that you provide him. The best choice is spiders 5-7 molts, when you can already approximately determine the sex, and you also already know for sure that this is not an old specimen. A good option is that the spiders are very young, but here you need to buy yourself not just one, but at least 3-5 spiders, to be sure that you will get a female from this group. You need to buy young tarantulas from trusted sellers; cases of deception of novice hobbyists are not uncommon. Determining the type of spider after 1-2 molts is sometimes beyond the power of even the most experienced spider breeder. “Unscrupulous” sellers, putting up huge lists for sale, can easily pass off an expensive species of tarantula as a cheaper non-commercial one. It will be very disappointing after a year of growing efforts to discover that you were simply deceived, be careful! In general, raising an adult Tarantula from a small spider is very entertaining; it is a kind of small Tamagotchi toy that needs to be fed and cared for not electronically, but in real life. Here's what we can recommend for beginners. Almost all species of the genera Brachypelma, Avicularia, Chromatopelma, Acanthoscurria, Grammostola. I will update this list as information becomes available.

Reproduction

The sex of a tarantula spider is easy to determine if you follow the recommendations of experts. Young spiders begin to molt after about a month. After molting, the skin is taken and carefully examined. In the posterior region of females there is a depression, and in males there are something like two tubercles. If the individuals are adults, then the sex can be determined by appearance. Males have slightly slimmer legs and are taller, while the body is significantly smaller in size than the female.

After mating, the eggs develop inside the female for 2 months. During this period, she must form a special cocoon. At one time, she can lay up to 500 eggs, while about 50 spiders remain alive. In order for the juveniles to actively develop, the cocoon is moved to a separate terrarium, thereby creating certain temperature conditions.

For the first month, baby spiders do not eat anything, until the first molt. Until this moment, they can be together, after which they are separated one by one. A female tarantula spider molts up to 12 times during her entire life. Males stop moulting immediately after puberty.

Interesting to know ! The tarantula spider is constantly growing and maturing, which is why it needs to shed its “old clothes”. Before molting, individuals turn over on their backs, trying to remove their old skin. At the same time, he completely stops eating. After molting, the spider gets a new color, and the pile is completely renewed.

Life expectancy of a spider at home

The average life expectancy of an exotic pet in captivity can vary greatly depending on the species and compliance with the rules of keeping:

• acanthosсurria antillensis – about 20 years;
• chromatоrelma сyanеоrubеsсens – males live on average 3-4 years, and females – up to 15 years;
• tiger spider – up to 10 years;
• redback spider – 2-3 years;
• Argiope vulgaris – no more than a year.

The female tarantula Ahonopelma, whose average lifespan is three decades, are deservedly among the longest-livers among spiders.

Also, record holders for life expectancy include some species of spiders from the family of tarantulas, which are capable of living in captivity for a quarter of a century, and sometimes more.

Reproduction of spiders, features

The spider's reproductive organ is located in front of the spinning organ . After mating, the male is often extremely careful, since some species of females are capable of killing their sexual partner and using him for food.

This is interesting! Males of some common species after mating do not care at all about their safety and absolutely calmly allow the female to eat them, and some species are capable of living together for a long time.

A few weeks or months after mating, the female begins to make a special cocoon, which she can move around the terrarium in search of the most comfortable conditions. At a certain time, the female independently opens the cocoon and many tiny spiders are born.