Care and Keeping of Tarantulas - Veterinary Medicine at Illinois (2023)

FAQs

Do veterinarians treat tarantulas? ›

When Does My Tarantula Need Veterinary Care? Common reasons to bring your spider to a veterinarian include oral nematodes and problems with the molting process. “Oral nematodes are a common infectious issue in tarantulas,” explains Dr. Keller.

On a monthly basis, your main cost for a tarantula will be its diet. This can range from around $5 to $10, and you can even decrease that cost if you raise crickets yourself rather than purchasing them from a pet store. For periodic substrate changes, expect to spend between $10 and $20.

Care for tarantulas is relatively easy: Feed them once or twice a week depending on their hunger levels, keep humidity high in the cage (if a tropical species), and make sure that there are no crickets in the cage when the spider moults or else the cricket will kill the spider.

Yes and no. Most veterinarians won't have any experience performing treatments on tarantulas. They do have the tools, skills and medications necessary to treat some minor tarantula illnesses. They can be “tranquilized” safely to allow you to work on them without them struggling or biting.

Tarantulas aren't generally very messy, so their habitats only need a little bit of cleaning on a day-to-day basis. Otherwise, all you have to do is do a deep cleaning of your spider's terrarium once every 4-6 months.

tarantula, while sometimes painful, has no serious medical consequences for humans.

-A female tarantula can live 20 - 25 years. A male tarantula only lives about 7 - 8 years. -During most of the year tarantulas are nocturnal and stay close to their burrows.

Some of the best tarantula species for beginners are Brazilian black, Chilean rose, Mexican red-knee, and curly-hair tarantulas. These spiders are known to be fairly hardy and docile as well as tolerant to some handling.

Generally, tarantulas respond to daily handling. They crawl freely when placed on an arm or shoulder, but they definitely are not a pet that an owner can cuddle. Tarantulas are very timid and bite only when provoked.

Mist the terrarium daily. Tarantulas will not thrive in damp conditions, but they do need some humidity—50% to 80% is ideal.

Do tarantulas need light or heat? ›

Heating. A temperature of 21-24°C is required for most of the tarantulas that you should buy as a beginner. If you have a centrally heated room which stays at that temperature all the time then you won't need extra heating during the winter, but you will between spring and autumn when the heating is switched off.

Tarantulas Just Aren't That Into You

Spiders do have feelings, but unlike a dog or a cat, they won't bond with you. In fact, they likely won't even recognize you. They simply aren't hardwired to be companions to humans and should never be bought at pet stores, online, or anywhere else.

If a person gets bitten by a tarantula, the bite will probably feel a lot like a bee sting, with pain in the area of the bite. It will look like a bee sting, too, with redness and some swelling. Because the tarantula's venom (poison) is weak, it's unusual to have more severe reactions involving other parts of the body.

Though their large, furry bodies may suggest otherwise, tarantulas are considered to be calm and quiet pets. Most species of tarantulas are considered to be docile, especially the Chilean rose-hair, the Mexican red-knee, and the Brazilian black tarantula.

Thoroughly clean the secondary cage with bleach water and set it up with fresh substrate. Two days later move the tarantula back into the secondary cage and thoroughly clean the original cage. Switch the tarantula back and forth as many times as necessary to eliminate the mites.

A good rule of thumb is to offer insects that are half the spiders legspan or slightly smaller than the length their body. Feeding a Tarantula everyday will allow it to grow very fast. However, offering food every 4-7 days for young spiders and 7-10 days for larger spiders is a reasonable regimen.

Your tarantula will be happiest living in a 10-gallon terrarium or aquarium. (More on that below.) Your spider will also need an area to hide in, such as a half-log, as well as branches, rocks and leaves to make your tarantula feel more at home.

Sydney funnel-web spider. According to the Guinness World Records, the Sydney funnel-web spider, Atrax robustus, is the most dangerous spider to humans in the world. Native to Australia, this poisonous spider is found in moist habitats such as under logs or in gardens.

Fever, nausea, and vomiting occur rarely. In general, the effects from tarantula bites are mild. A greater health risk is from contact with the spider's hairs. Contact of the hairs with the skin causes lots of inflammation including pain, redness, itching, and swelling that can last for weeks.

Of course, there are aggressive tarantula species out there. One of the most famous is the Cobalt Blue Tarantula from Asia. They are popular among pet spider fans, because of their amazing blue coloring, but also famous for their ill temper and aggressive nature.

What do you feed tarantulas? ›

Tarantulas inside cages are still carnivores, so they need live food sources. The best choices of food for tarantulas in captivity are gut-loaded insects, mealworms, dubia roaches, crickets, and other invertebrates. Larger pet tarantulas can also be fed with small pinky mice, frozen or thawed.

If a tarantula bites you, you may have pain at the site of the bite similar to a bee sting. The area of the bite may become warm and red. When one of these spiders is threatened, it rubs its hind legs across its own body surface and flicks thousands of tiny hairs toward the threat.

The best beginner spider would be a tarantula such as the Chilean rose, Mexican Redleg, or Costa Rican Zebra. These species aren't terribly venomous and are pretty docile when compared with some other tarantulas (their venom is comparable to bee venom).

Unlike a dog or a cat, these animals do not require much care. They can go for weeks without food or water, although some regular care is still needed and recommended. Tarantulas do not generate much waste either, and so cleaning their cages is easy as well.

Pesticides and spider-removal sprays are available, although they are not always absorbed well by tarantulas. Cypermethrin and Bifenthrin are two chemicals often found in liquid sprays designed to eliminate spiders. Liquid sprays need to be sprayed directly on to the tarantulas and tarantula's webs.

For lighting, tarantulas require a 12-hour light/dark cycle. This means that they don't need any specific ultraviolet light but if they are housed in a room that does not provide enough light, use a fluorescent bulb to create 12 hours of visible light each day.

Spiders do not sleep in the same way that humans do, but like us, they do have daily cycles of activity and rest. Spiders can't close their eyes because they don't have eyelids but they reduce their activity levels and lower their metabolic rate to conserve energy.

Substrate (Bedding)

Most tarantulas and scorpions do very well with a deep layer (2”-4”) of coconut fiber bedding as substrate. Depending on the species of tarantula and what habitat it comes from, it can be kept dry or slightly moist (see the species profiles at the end for more details).

One of the most-interesting parts of the tarantula is their fangs, which they use to subdue their prey with venom. Tarantulas are aggressive and will chase you. Myth: Tarantulas are not aggressive, but if they feel threatened, they could run towards you a short distance. .

A good rule of thumb for terrestrial species is that the floor space of the cage should be 3-4 times the size of the tarantula when its legs are extended. In other words, if you could hypothetically clone your pet, you should be able to put 3-4 of them into the enclosure without them overlapping.

Should you wash your hands after holding a tarantula? ›

Always wash your hands after handling a tarantula. Be aware of its posture. Call the poison center or consult with your physician if you develop pain and redness in one or both of your eyes, or respiratory issues.

Tarantulas have been found to "swim" in both the wild and captivity, using their front legs as paddles to "row" on the surface of the water. They won't be deep diving, but they can paddle.

Tarantulas do best at warm temperatures, in the 24 to 27o C (75 to 80o F) range. Mist their terrarium daily. Although tarantulas will not thrive in damp conditions, they do need some humidity; 50 to 80% is ideal. They prefer live crickets, but tarantulas will eat most insects.

Depending on the external conditions such as temperature or humidity, males can reach maturity within three to seven years, and they typically live for only one year after their last molt. Females, however, reach maturity in four to ten years and then can live to be as old as 25.

Do spiders cry tears? No, spiders don't have tear ducts. Their eyes have hard and dry surfaces so they don't have to be moist.

Portia fimbriata, known as the Fringed Jumping Spider or often just as Portia is renowned as the world's most intelligent spider. It is a spider hunter which modifies its hunting strategies and learns from situations as it encounters them.

It's impossible for spiders and insects to be rabid. Only mammals (including people) are capable of being infected with the rabies virus.

Try not to annoy the king baboon spider, a tarantula native to Tanzania and Kenya: Its excruciating bite can cause days of pain, swelling, and muscle spasms in humans.

“They can break them off by kicking them off the rear end of their abdomen, and the hairs float through the air. If you breathe them in, or get them in your eyes or between your fingers, they itch like crazy.”

When Does My Tarantula Need Veterinary Care? Common reasons to bring your spider to a veterinarian include oral nematodes and problems with the molting process. “Oral nematodes are a common infectious issue in tarantulas,” explains Dr. Keller.

What do I need to know about owning a tarantula? ›

Though common pet tarantula species are docile, they can easily spook if you are trying to handle them and squirm out of your hand. Falls are nearly always fatal for tarantulas, as their abdomens rupture easily. In addition, tarantulas can and will bite you if they feel threatened.

Many people flinch in horror at the sight of them. These big, beefy spiders strike fear in the hearts of arachnophobes everywhere, but in fact, tarantulas are some of the least aggressive and dangerous spiders around.

Spiders aren't often brought to the veterinarian for treatment so there's little risk of you ever having to decide between letting a creepy crawly die or saving it with your skill.

Veterinarians prevent and treat bugs and parasites in pets that can also affect human health, like ticks and worms.

DO NOT use it to treat or manage a tarantula spider bite. If you or someone you are with is bitten, call your local emergency number (such as 911), or your local poison center can be reached directly by calling the national toll-free Poison Help hotline (1-800-222-1222) from anywhere in the United States.

Spiders that require medical attention will need to visit a specialist – yes, there are vets who deal with invertebrates!

Definition: Arachnologist : A person who studies spiders, mites, ticks, or scorpions.

Myth: Physicians, exterminators, and entomologists can identify spiders. Fact: Only arachnologists have the highly specialized skills needed to identify spiders, which take years of concentrated study to learn.

entomologist Add to list Share. If you are crazy about spiders, ants, beetles, and other creepy-crawlies, you might aspire to be an entomologist someday — a scientist who studies insects. An entomologist is a specific type of zoologist, or animal scientist.

What animals do veterinarians work with the most? ›

Companion animal veterinarians treat pets and generally work in private clinics and hospitals. They most often care for cats and dogs, but they also treat other pets, such as birds, ferrets, and rabbits.

Fever, nausea, and vomiting occur rarely. In general, the effects from tarantula bites are mild. A greater health risk is from contact with the spider's hairs. Contact of the hairs with the skin causes lots of inflammation including pain, redness, itching, and swelling that can last for weeks.

Tarantula toxicity is a rare occurrence. There are over 900 species of tarantula, and they are popular as pets. While tarantulas do possess venom, the vast majority of tarantula-related injuries occur as a result of urticating hairs.

To anesthetize the tarantula, he advised soaking a piece of cotton wool in isoflurane and simply placing it in the container with the spider. Wait about 5 minutes, he added, until a sufficient plane of anesthesia results.

Your tarantula will be happiest living in a 10-gallon terrarium or aquarium. (More on that below.) Your spider will also need an area to hide in, such as a half-log, as well as branches, rocks and leaves to make your tarantula feel more at home.

Antibiotics may be required in some cases to aid in the fight against infection. Most bites heal in three weeks or less. When dealing with a Brown Recluse spider bite in dogs, complications and death are extremely rare. In severe cases, wounds may necessitate surgical treatment, and permanent scarring is a possibility.