- North American tarantulas are not poisonous – at least not significantly. Their venom is comparable to a bee’s.
- They rarely bite.
- Ours is a Texas Brown Tarantula, aka Texas Tan, Oklahoma Brown, etc. They are also common in Oklahoma and Arkansas and can be found in much the US. Maybe you didn’t need to know that part…
- Tarantulas take 10-12 years to mature, and females can live 20-30 years or more. Males die soon after reaching maturity.
- Ours is a female. We can tell because the appendages near her mouth look like small legs. In a male, they would be short with bulbous tips.
- Texas Tans make very gentle, easily tamed pets.
- Tarantulas eat scorpions. And other stuff. But they eat scorpions.
I like tarantulas. - They live underground, often in deserted mouse burrows. I wonder where the mice went? hmmm. Let’s not think about that.
- They are very sedentary.
- They rear up when frightened.
- They can go for weeks, months, or even a year without eating.
- They often fast before molting.
- A lost leg can regenerate over the course of several moltings.
- Mature tarantulas may only molt once each year.
- They have irritating hairs on their abdomens, which they can flick at you. They leave you feeling like you’ve been holding fiberglass insulation rather than a gi-normous spider.
My daughter is holding her right now and begging me to do so as well.
Should I do it?
Maybe I could even post a video…
Related posts:
Oh Yuck Oh yuck Oh yuck….. Sorry I cant handle spiders. You guys are so brave.
THEY DONT BITE! RUN, DONT BELIEVE WHAT EVER BOOK YOU READ THIS INFORMATION FROM, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE TO THE HILLS AND TAKE EVERYONE YOU KNOW WITH YOU AND DON’T LOOK BACK!!!! RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
IF YOU HOLD THIS SPIDER YOU WIN THE NOBLE PEACE PRIZE AND ANY PRIZE EVER OFFERED AND I JUST WONT BELIEVE IT!
http://WWW.INSANEINASHOESPIDERHOLDERS.BLOGSPOT.COM?
My mom always said that they ate crickets (which she has a violent fear of). When I was a baby she says that she let a trantula run loose in the garage to eat all the crickets.
Gross. Me. Out.
Enough said………..
You are a far braver woman than I!
Cheers, Wilm
Okay my 7th grade science teacher had one in the classroom as a pet and would take him out and hold it. Always creeped me out. I don’t mind them as long as they stay outside and eat bugs but stay out of my house. We always had black Tarantula’s at my house growing up. I don’t think I have ever even seen the brown one and I’ve lived here almost my whole life. Interesting. Of course I would never be brave enough to hold it or touch it. If we ever had one I would have to have Cedric or the boys catch it and take it out. Of course not Andrew as lately his take on any bug is to smack it or step on it until dead.
Good for some things bad for others.
Never in a hundred million years could someone get me to hold a spider such as that! I can’t even imagine it. Horrors! I couldn’t even abide to have it in the house, let alone my hand. The picture you posted is enough to give me the total creeps, but touch it?? AAAAHhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
I say no no no. I could never hold a spider that big even if someone paid me. I can’t even stand to see them caged up in a pet store. It IS sort of cool, though.
What happened to nice long legged Daddy Long Legs?
I don’t even mind the tiny spiders I see in my house.
With your spider I would need to be given CPR.
are you being held hostage by the spider, you have not posted a rebutle… good evening…
Alright, am I the only other mom as insane as in a shoe? My comment…
COOL! Wish I lived close enough to come over and check it out!
DH, on the other hand, would probably agree with the other posters on this blog, which is part of the reason we have, count them…-0-…pets.
The kids and I are working on him, though.
Heather
Great homeschool study
You have seven brave little girls there, this farm girl wouldn’t want to touch one of those little fellas 
Homakerang: LOL
(Go for it, Kim!)
I’m feeling a little weak in the knees… maybe I need to take ten deep breaths into a paper bag. Better yet, maybe I should put said paper bag over my head so I won’t see that extremely creepy picture of the enormous beast of a spider or think of someone touching it! EEEEEWWWwwwwww!
Did I ever mention I am deathly afraid of spiders? Those things don’t migrate east toward Alabama in the winter or anything, do they?
I’m with homemakerang… RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!!
Would not happen here! I don’t like spiders. We use the cute and fluffy rule for pets IN the house. The reptile-kinds stay outside to be played with and then released. You, are a braver mom than I!
Good for you, Kim! Did you visit http://www.whatsthatbug.com?
Momma
momma,
I did, but ended up finding very little on tarantulas there. We did spend some time oohing and aaahing over the many other varieties of spiders, but turned to google for info on our newest resident.
Well, that wasn’t a real warning, but the title helped a little and at least the pic was underneath so I could avoid looking.
You take dominion, girlfriend!!
Oh, Kim! I’m sorry, but… Yuck, Yuck, Yuck!!! You are so brave. I would scream like a sissy and jump on a chair, begging for my husband to kill the dreaded thing. I’m such a wimp… I won’t even go into the garage if I’m told that a mouse is in there. I make my 6 yr. old son go and check on the mousetraps for me. LOL!
Wow!! We are a more north than you are, in the 4 yrs. we have lived here I have only seen 2. We have this hilarious video of my then 5 yr. old daughter holding it! Scorpions, huh? Maybe they are not as bad as I thought!!! Although, this year was not the year for scorpions as much as centipedes!!!!
Okay, you may never believe this, but my daughter got her hair caught in a rope outside. I went out to get her free, come back inside and feel something on my neck!!! It was a scorpion!!! I freaked out! My son has a broken toe, so he has kind of let his room go. Not seconds after we found the first one, he finds #2!!! I kid you not!!! This one was a monster! UGH!!
Kelly,
See? You need more tarantulas around there…
Do you get those monstrous fat 10″ centipedes, or just regular little wimpy ones?
When we lived in AZ, we had the huge ones. Here they are only about 1″ long. No biggie really.