Advice for a potential newbie

[Trisha Bayley]

Hi all,
My 15 year old has been obsessing over a spider. She's mad on snakes, lizards, scorps and tarantula and looking to train for some sort of career with them. I've consistently said no to a pet because, beautiful as they are, the spiders creep me out a bit.
I can't help being a little fascinated though. I've set her a task of finding me all the info she can about caring for one and then said we will consider it.
Obviously, not being daft.. I'm looking into it properly myself.
We have housecats. This is my main concern. If hairy T does a runner.. Him or the cats could be hurt/killed. I've seen lots of advice on here about tanks in the bath and extra barriers to slow escape attempts so I'm OK with that. She wants one to handle.. Which concerned me.. But on here I've seen it's not advisable for The safety of a spider and generally not necessary so that's OK. She won't be allowed to pick it up for fun. So can a kid look after a spider? Can I care for it when she's not here despite the creepy buggers freaking me out?
Advice please guys? (we are in the UK)

 

[Enn49]

Hi Trisha, welcome .
Firstly, I'm sure your fascination will soon turn to a love of these amazing creatures. You'd be surprised just how many of us are recovered arachnophobes, me included, and I now have almost 100.
I too have cats so I keep all my small containers inside a glass fronted cupboard/vivarium. When I do a rehouse I always fasten the cats out of the room just in case.
If your daughter really wants to handle her T it needs to be done close to a soft surface so if the T is startled and jumps it doesn't have far to fall and always have a catch cup close to hand.
Yes, you can care for it. They don't need much care and tongs are great for cleaning out any mess and I find a turkey baster a help in watering. Move slowly around them and you have less chance of startling them so less chance of an escape.

 

[RonC]

Many ts are amazingly simple to care for. Start off with a beginner species. All those require is a water dish, a hide, and plenty of substrate. Even if you choose a docile species each has it's own disposition and can have a bad day.

 

[Trisha Bayley]

Thanks guys. I'll see how we'll she's researched in it and will probably give her the go ahead

 

[Enn49]

Thanks guys. I'll see how we'll she's researched in it and will probably give her the go ahead

Any of the Brachypelma species are easy to raise and relatively calm.

 

[Trisha Bayley]

Any of the Brachypelma species are easy to raise and relatively calm.

Woah there with the big words, baby steps!

 

[Enn49]

Woah there with the big words, baby steps!

The following 3 are the most commonly available, don't cost much and are easy to care for.

Brachypelma albopilosum - commonly known as the Curly Hair, fairly plain colouring but have very curly hair, They are adorable,
Brachypelma emilia - Mexican Red Leg
Brachypelma hamorii - Mexican Red Knee

 

[Trisha Bayley]

I can see you guys are gonna be a terrible influence off to look at pics

 

[PanzoN88]

I can see you guys are gonna be a terrible influence off to look at pics

It's only the beginning, we haven't even begun to get warmed up. I made a thread a while back which lists good beginner species. I'll have to track it down, but it's here somewhere.

Just to get the ball rolling, here is some pictures for reference:

 

[Trisha Bayley]

It's only the beginning, we haven't even begun to get warmed up. I made a thread a while back which lists good beginner species. I'll have to track it down, but it's here somewhere.

Just to get the ball rolling, here is some pictures for reference:

View attachment 36275 View attachment 36276 View attachment 36277

Cute, freaky lil bugs........

 

[Nunua]

Cute, freaky lil bugs........

This reminds me a bit of my mom I don't live at my parents' anymore, but I was visiting when I got my first tarantula. At first my mom was terrifying, telling me that I'm not allowed to keep the tarantula in their house - I was about to stay one more night. I promised to keep it in my room, so sje doesn't need to see it.

Just a bit later she asked me to bring the T down into the kitchen, where she then just sat and kept looking at it - "It's actually quite cute.. Weird, but cute" She named it Maisa (Finnish equivalent for Maisy) and now she keeps asking how Maisa is doing and if she has grown

 

[Trisha Bayley]

This reminds me a bit of my mom I don't live at my parents' anymore, but I was visiting when I got my first tarantula. At first my mom was terrifying, telling me that I'm not allowed to keep the tarantula in their house - I was about to stay one more night. I promised to keep it in my room, so sje doesn't need to see it.

Just a bit later she asked me to bring the T down into the kitchen, where she then just sat and kept looking at it - "It's actually quite cute.. Weird, but cute" She named it Maisa (Finnish equivalent for Maisy) and now she keeps asking how Maisa is doing and if she has grown

Haha not gonna lie, I can watch them for hours. But I am so scared of spiders....

 

[Arachnoclown]

My wife said I could only have a couple when we first got together. She was extremely scared of spiders. 25 years later she lives in a house with a tarantula room. She loves them.