Apart from size, tarantulas are set apart from the rest of the spiders by having the following combination of characteristics: 1. They breath using two pair of book lungs which are on the underside of the abdomen toward the front of the spider and looks like pages of a book. This makes them sort of spider dinosaurs because other spiders has tracheae which are a tube that lead from the outside deep into the body. The problem with book lungs is that they lose a lot of water due to evaporation. This causes problems for tarantulas because, like all spiders, tarantulas extend their legs using blood pressure rather than muscles and losing water from the body lowers the tarantula's blood pressure. For this reason even a mildly thirsty tarantula may not be able to walk if it does not get a drink. 2. They have fangs that move up and down instead of sideways like all other spiders. Tarantula fangs are used to stab and pull the prey against the body where other spiders use theirs lik e pincers. 3. They have two claws and adhesive pads on each foot. There are about 850 species worldwide and they are found in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world.
Spiders are arthropods and have an exoskeleton which is made up of cuticle, a material that is strong, waterproof and lightweight. All spiders have two main body parts, the front section called the cephalothorax and the rear end called the abdomen. These two parts are joined by a narrow waist called a pedicel. Unlike insects and spider cartoons, spiders does not have a separate head, neck or antennae. The eight legs and food-handling feet called the pedipalps and the mouth parts are attached to the cephalothorax. Tarantulas has 8 eyes but can hardly see at all, they rely almost entirely on touch, taste and smell to perceive their world. They do not have a nose to smell with but use organs on their feet for perceiving airborne chemicals and humidity. There are also chemically sensitive hairs on the legs and pedipalps that act as taste organs. Tarantulas blood is very different froth the blood of vertebrates. Their blood is called hemolymph and is a clear, sometimes pale bl ue or yellow colour. They have small fingerlike projections from the end of their abdomen called spinnerets which they use to secrete silk. Tarantula Sex After a male tarantula mature they spin a little hammock of silk called a sperm web and deposit a drop of sperm from their genital aperture onto it. They then dip the emblus into the drop of sperm and it up into the bulb for later use. Tarantulas mate face to face, the male reaches under the female and inserts the embolus into the female's genital aperture. Many male tarantulas have only several months to live after they have matured, whereas females can live up to years. Digestion If you have a weak stomach then dont read this part. ;) Spiders have external digestion what they actually swallow is a predigested and highly nutritious soup. Tarantulas grind up the prey item into a type of meatball and alternatively suck in the digested part and regurgitate more digestive fluids onto the rest. Predators of the Tarantula On e of their most dangerous enemies are the giant pompillid wasp which specializes in hunting them. The female wasp paralyses the tarantula with a sting and then often stashes the stunned but living tarantula's body in the tarantula's own retreat and lays an egg on it. The wasp egg hatches into a little wasp grub that feeds on the flesh of the living tarantula. The wasp can be as big as a sparrow! Tarantula homes 1. Opportunistic burrowers: They modify pre-existing burrows or hide under features like logs and rocks. 2. Olbigate burrowers: They construct a specific burrow and silk use is variable. Some tarantulas extend the silk lining into a trumpet-shaped collar at the entrance. 3. Arboreal: They build their silk retreats on cliff faces, road banks, trees and buildings. Tarantula Venom and Defence No tarantula venom is known to be lethal to humans however they certainly have a lot of venom and you should be very careful if you decide to handle the more aggressive species. Ol d World species possess a large amount of venom and are far more aggressive and prone to biting than New World species. Most New World tarantulas have urticating hairs that function like microscopic porcupine quills. When annoyed, they can make a warning noise by rubbing specialized structures on the appendages together. Housing Tarantulas can not be housed together because they are potential cannibals. Each species have their own requirements and it is therefore important to do research first before buying. Tarantulas must always have water, even though they don not always have water in the wild, your home is not the wild and your living room in the winter is probably drier than any dessert. Humidity should be around 70 to 80 percent for tropical species and 40 to 50 for species from drier areas. Tropical species need substrate that are moist at all times but not so moist that there is condensation on the inside of the cage. There should always be airflow in and out of the tank. It is better to use distilled water rather than tap water as the minerals in tap water will eventually leave deposits on the inside of the cage. The temperature for tropical species should be mid to upper 70F / 20C. Keeping them warmer will mean that they eat more and grow faster. A spider will get stressed if the temperature reach mid to upper 90f / 30C and die over 100f / upper 30 to 40C. Temperature and humidity is of extreme importance and view are tolerant to fluctuating conditions. If you deprive a tarantula from a retreat it may pace and climb about the cage, sometimes to the point of injury. They keep their retreats clean and take great care to dispose of prey remains and shed skins. They also defecate elsewhere. If you keep your tarantula in a small container like a plastic box, it may come to act as if the container is a large retreat with no exit. He will line the box with silk and dash around wildly when you open the lid. It is as if somebody ribbed the ceiling of your bedroom off. On the other hand if the cage is large with no place to build a retreat the tarantula will pace, sit huddled in the corner and run for it when you open the top. Condemning any of the high-strung, moisture sensitive species to a barren, well-lit dry cage is inhumane at best and a death sentence at worst. Tarantulas appear to have only a limited ability to adapt to captive conditions. These are wild animals, and you need to adapt the conditions to them.Substrate The following can be used: Vermiculite, Peat Moss, Sphagnum moss, Bark mulch and potting soil. I use a combination of it. Never use corn cob, pine, cedar shavings, aspen bedding or sawdust, mold grows quickly on it and cedar contains toxic oils that repel and kill invertebrates. Cage Pests Mites: Scavenging mites can have amazing population explosions in tarantula cages that are kept too moist and have a food source. These mites feed on uneaten dead prey and remains. Keep picking up after your spider and you will not have a problem with mites. Scuttle Flies: They are about the size of a fruit fly but are gray and prefer running to flying. These annoying flies are everywhere and can invade your cage from an open window in summer. They lay their eggs on the tarantula and the maggots enter the mouth of the spider and kill it by eating it from the inside out. If you leave any uneaten food in a moist tarantula cage you will soon find it seething with maggots. The best tools in scuttle fly control are cleanliness and dryness. Fungus Gnats: They are harmless little flies and all wings and legs. The larvae feed on rotting plant material and cause no trouble.Feeding. The key to a healthy tarantula is a diverse diet. The domestic grey cricket is staple food of choice but you can give them any bait bug like wax moth larvae, mealworms, superworms and even earthworms. The amount and schedule of feeding depend on the tarantula species, age and time since last molt and th e temperature. Tarantulas almost never have feeding problems, however if they stop eating for over a month then there can be several things to check. The Molt This is an extremely stressful period for a spider because they shed their entire skin at once, including their lining of their mouth, stomach and respiratory organs, even the lining of the sexual organs! It is mind -boggling! This stressful event is accompanied by renewal as this is when spiders heal, even replace lost legs. The shed cycle is mediated by a hormone called ecdysone and the spider has no control over the molt, when it is time to shed, it sheds. Almost all tarantulas shed lying on their backs. Tarantula handling I personally do not recommend handling. If your tarantula falls it will most likely prove fatal. A fall from a height of three feet or more can burst the abdomen and your spider will die in a few hours.
Tarantula Care Sheets: /forums/forumdisplay.php?67-Invertebrate-Care-Sheets Good beginner Tarantulas: Brachypelma albopilosum (Curly Hair Tarantula) Grammostola rosea (Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula) Brachypelma vagans (Mexican Red Rump Tarantula) Lasiodora difficilis (Brazilian Fire Red Tarantula) Brachypelma smithi (Mexican Red Knee Tarantula) Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens (Greenbottle Blue Tarantula) Acanthoscurria geniculata (Brazilian Giant White Knee Tarantula) Grammostola aureostriata (Chaco Golden Knee Tarantula)
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