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Tarantula Forum Topics
General Tarantula Discussion
Serious questions from an arachnophobe- about species, enclosures etc.
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<blockquote data-quote="Jess S" data-source="post: 165503" data-attributes="member: 29302"><p>Hi. Congratulations on trying to get over your arachnophobia. I once too was severely arachnophobic and it ended up extending to pretty much all crawling insects, that's how bad it was.</p><p></p><p>Now I have 14 (soon to be 15) tarantulas and am at a point when I can happily crawl into small spaces at work with large cellar spiders and their eggsacs inches away from my head without feeling bothered by them. In fact, I feel very protective of them. I'm still not keen on E. atrica though but I cup them and put them outside nowadays, rather than running away screaming like before lol</p><p></p><p>I began to get over my fear when I realised how extremely fragile spiders are and I know it's a cliché but they are more scared of us and all they want to do is get away from us to safety.</p><p></p><p>I don't feel you are quite ready to get a tarantula yet. You may need a bit more time to desensitize yourself further. Keep watching videos and reading about tarantulas. Use this forum. I spent around 18-24 months doing this initially to get over my phobia until I reached a point when I became obsessed with tarantulas (in a good way). By then I was spending several hours a day watching videos and reading about them. It became my main way of relaxing. Even then I wasn't planning on actually getting a tarantula but I suppose it was inevitable that I would. I adore caring for my spiders.</p><p></p><p>When you feel able to have a tarantula in your home without it giving you sleepless nights, you seem to have made nice choices of species. I'd also like to recommend a sling of either Tlitocatl albopilosum or Euathlus parvulus (or similar - if you can get Euathlus sp), or a Brachypelma hamorri juvenile. The reason I suggest those is because:</p><p>1. Their body proportions are less scary to an arachnophobe. They are not leggy species.</p><p>2. They are generally pretty slow moving even as slings in that, they are not prone to bolting and if they do they tend not to go much distance. Though I suggest a juvenile hamorri as they are calmer than as slings (I have a B smithi sling which is quite a similar species and it's quite a speedy, bolty little thing) plus they are quite slow growing species.</p><p>3. My experience with these species when I open their enclosure lids is generally T albopilosum will go into their hides. Hamorri and E parvulus will freeze in position. Of course, there is always the odd occasion they do something different but this is my general experience. I would firmly recommend T. albopilosum as a first tarantula. </p><p></p><p>Yes, you can easily make any enclosure escape proof. Just make sure the ventilation holes are smaller than the width of the tarantulas carapace, that the lid fits and closes properly. If you use a plastic lidded enclosure you can even buy small crocodile clips to secure the lid even more. Small slings will need a small container such as a vial or small delicup, with a couple inches of moist substrate as most burrow at that size. Whichever species you get spend time beforehand researching their housing and care needs and prepare their enclosure beforehand. That's the best advice I can give anyway!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jess S, post: 165503, member: 29302"] Hi. Congratulations on trying to get over your arachnophobia. I once too was severely arachnophobic and it ended up extending to pretty much all crawling insects, that's how bad it was. Now I have 14 (soon to be 15) tarantulas and am at a point when I can happily crawl into small spaces at work with large cellar spiders and their eggsacs inches away from my head without feeling bothered by them. In fact, I feel very protective of them. I'm still not keen on E. atrica though but I cup them and put them outside nowadays, rather than running away screaming like before lol I began to get over my fear when I realised how extremely fragile spiders are and I know it's a cliché but they are more scared of us and all they want to do is get away from us to safety. I don't feel you are quite ready to get a tarantula yet. You may need a bit more time to desensitize yourself further. Keep watching videos and reading about tarantulas. Use this forum. I spent around 18-24 months doing this initially to get over my phobia until I reached a point when I became obsessed with tarantulas (in a good way). By then I was spending several hours a day watching videos and reading about them. It became my main way of relaxing. Even then I wasn't planning on actually getting a tarantula but I suppose it was inevitable that I would. I adore caring for my spiders. When you feel able to have a tarantula in your home without it giving you sleepless nights, you seem to have made nice choices of species. I'd also like to recommend a sling of either Tlitocatl albopilosum or Euathlus parvulus (or similar - if you can get Euathlus sp), or a Brachypelma hamorri juvenile. The reason I suggest those is because: 1. Their body proportions are less scary to an arachnophobe. They are not leggy species. 2. They are generally pretty slow moving even as slings in that, they are not prone to bolting and if they do they tend not to go much distance. Though I suggest a juvenile hamorri as they are calmer than as slings (I have a B smithi sling which is quite a similar species and it's quite a speedy, bolty little thing) plus they are quite slow growing species. 3. My experience with these species when I open their enclosure lids is generally T albopilosum will go into their hides. Hamorri and E parvulus will freeze in position. Of course, there is always the odd occasion they do something different but this is my general experience. I would firmly recommend T. albopilosum as a first tarantula. Yes, you can easily make any enclosure escape proof. Just make sure the ventilation holes are smaller than the width of the tarantulas carapace, that the lid fits and closes properly. If you use a plastic lidded enclosure you can even buy small crocodile clips to secure the lid even more. Small slings will need a small container such as a vial or small delicup, with a couple inches of moist substrate as most burrow at that size. Whichever species you get spend time beforehand researching their housing and care needs and prepare their enclosure beforehand. That's the best advice I can give anyway! [/QUOTE]
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