Domestic tarantulas - proper maintenance and what to feed?

Many people feel a sense of fear when they see and mention tarantulas. These spiders are famous for their large size and menacing appearance. However, some fanciers have managed to tame the animal and make it a pet.

If you wish, you can also keep these individuals in your home. But in this case, you should find out in advance information about the living conditions of spiders, the mode and features of placement, and also follow the diet. If all points are followed correctly, you will be able to tame a real tarantula.

IMPORTANT! When kept properly, domestic tarantulas never attack their owners.

Content

Keeping a tarantula at home is not much different from keeping a tarantula spider. For one individual, it is enough to equip a small terrarium, based on the principle - the size of the terrarium should be approximately 2 times the size of the individual. So, for example, for a spider measuring 15 cm, a terrarium measuring 30x30x30 cm is suitable. The optimal temperature for keeping a tarantula ranges from +18 to +30° Celsius.

As a filler, you can use peat or coconut substrate moistened with water. For tropical species, the filler must be wetter than for species that naturally live in drier areas.

The use of sawdust as bedding for the spider should be avoided. The use of coniferous trees is strictly prohibited.

Maintain humidity in the terrarium by spraying water over the substrate. For individuals under one year of age, regardless of their habitat in the natural environment, water should be sprayed at least once a week. The terrarium should also be equipped with a saucer of water. It is advisable to change the water at least once a day.

The domestic tarantula is an asocial animal; it is usually recommended to keep one individual in one terrarium.

For arboreal subspecies, the terrarium should be equipped with thick tree branches along which the spider could climb and weave a web. For this variety of tarantula, a terrarium should be chosen with high walls.

For burrowing tarantulas, a deeper bedding should be made of peat or other substrate in which the spider could dig tunnels and arrange a shelter.

Place your pet's cage so that it is not exposed to direct sunlight. During the cold season, you cannot heat the cage with a regular incandescent lamp. Use a heating element for this purpose. But make sure that it does not dry out the air in the cage and the spider’s bedding.

Homemade tarantula - care and maintenance. What to feed a tarantula at home?

The tarantula is an unusual pet, but today there are quite a few lovers of exotic animals, which include tarantula spiders. These are quite unpretentious arthropods, which can be kept in special terrariums or even in aquariums that have a lid with ventilation holes.

A substrate consisting of a mixture of earth, sand and clay is poured onto the bottom of the container. The thickness of the layer should be within 20-30 cm. In addition, it is necessary to equip the tarantula terrarium with an automatic drinking bowl with fresh water and a shallow pool so that the pet can take water treatments. To create conditions similar to natural ones, it is recommended to place small driftwood and unpretentious grass in the container.

The optimal temperature for keeping tarantulas at home ranges from 25° to 27°C, and since such pets do not need ultraviolet radiation, ordinary incandescent lamps are sufficient to maintain it. To maintain humidity inside the terrarium, you need to periodically irrigate the soil using a spray bottle.

Tarantula spiders are unpretentious in their diet. You can feed your pet tarantula small pieces of fresh beef. As mineral supplements, you can add calcium gluconate to the meatball once every two weeks and multivitamin preparations once every 30 days. The portion should be fed on the tip of a stick directly into the spider's chelicerae.

However, the best food for a domestic tarantula will be insect larvae, small cockroaches and grasshoppers, worms and small frogs, in general, any insect that is not larger than the pet in size. The frequency of feeding of the tarantula depends on the age of the spider. If young individuals need to be fed two to three times a week, then an adult tarantula needs one meal every 8 days. After finishing feeding, all leftovers from the feast must be removed.

It should be remembered that only 1 domestic tarantula can be kept in a terrarium. Otherwise, fights will constantly arise between neighbors, which will lead to the death of one of the pets.

• The best antidote for tarantula venom is its blood, so often to neutralize the effect of the toxin, it is enough to smear the bite site with the blood of a crushed spider.
• The web is the connecting link between the spider and its home. If the web breaks during the tarantula's escape from the hole, the spider will be forced to dig a new shelter for itself.
• Tarantulas are capable of regenerating lost limbs. After the next molt, a new leg grows in place of the severed paw, slightly smaller in size. With each subsequent change of protective cover, the length of the limb increases until it reaches the original length.
• To stay firmly on tree branches or other surfaces, these spiders are able to extend their claws on all their legs.
• The skin on the abdomen of tarantulas is very delicate and can tear if it falls even from a small height.
• During the mating season, males in search of a female are able to move quite long distances.

There are 220 species of spiders belonging to the genus Tarantula. More often than others in different parts of the world you can find the Apulian tarantula (Lycosa tarantula). The southern Russian tarantula (Lycosa singoriensis), also called Mizgir, lives on the territory of the former Soviet republics. His trademark is a dark spot similar to a skullcap.

Tarantula spider - house maintenance

Recently, exotic animals have become very popular.
These include various spiders. These arthropods are unpretentious in care and food. The tarantula spider in the house is kept in a special terrarium or even an aquarium that has ventilation holes. In the “house” for a full-fledged life, you need to create the following conditions: Pour a substrate from a mixture of earth, sand and clay onto the bottom

Its thickness should be up to 30 cm. There should be an automatic drinker and a small pool inside. Optimum temperature +25-27ºС. In addition, it is important to regularly moisten the soil using a spray bottle. One terrarium can contain one individual.. Many lovers of these “furry” babies who want to have such a pet at home are interested in how much a tarantula spider costs

On average, the price depends on the species, age, size, sex and degree of domestication. Their cost does not exceed $28. Babies aged 4 months. can be purchased for $2. The most common species in our country is the South Russian tarantula.

Many lovers of these “furry” babies who want to have such a pet at home are interested in how much a tarantula spider costs. On average, the price depends on the species, age, size, sex and degree of domestication. Their cost does not exceed $28. Babies aged 4 months. can be purchased for $2. The most common species in our country is the South Russian tarantula.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Zv87kc5rZyM

What do tarantula spiders eat?

In their natural environment, arthropods feed on small insects and amphibians. Tarantulas eat caterpillars, mole crickets, crickets, beetles and even small frogs

It is important that the size of the prey does not exceed the hunter. On average, the absorption process takes several days, while spiders can starve for a long time; the main thing for them is to have constant access to water

The diet of the domestic tarantula spider is no different from the natural one. If there are no insects or larvae, small pieces of fresh beef can be given. The frequency of feeding depends on age. The baby is given food three times a week, and the adult – once

It is important to remove all remaining food from the terrarium upon completion of feeding to prevent it from rotting.

Contents of ctenizide at home

Ctenizides are kept extremely rarely at home. As a rule, individuals caught in the natural environment are used as pets. In captivity, it is advisable to keep varieties that use wood to build their homes. If in their natural habitat females are able to live for twenty years, and males are four times less, then at home such arthropods, as a rule, die quite quickly.

A characteristic difference between ctenisids and other species of mygalomorph spiders is the presence of sharp spines on the chelicerae, thanks to which the arthropod is able to quickly dig the ground. When keeping such a pet at home, you need to allocate a spacious and deep terrarium filled with soil, which will allow the spider to make a home for itself. Tropical arthropods need stable temperatures and optimal humidity levels. You can purchase ctenizide from arachnophiles who breed the species at home. The cost of an adult does not exceed one and a half thousand rubles.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=n6hme9lfvB8%3F

What do tarantulas eat in the wild?

Since tarantulas are usually small in size, in their natural habitat they feed on small and medium-sized insects, sometimes large ones. It is rare, but it occurs that representatives of this genus absorb newborn mice. The main thing is that the victim does not exceed the size of the arthropod itself.

Important! Contrary to popular belief that spiders do not drink, tarantulas do need water.

It is believed that spiders obtain all the necessary liquid from the victim, but this species requires an additional source of water. They often drink morning or evening dew from plants or their own webs.

Description of the tarantula

The tarantula is part of the wolf spider family, although they are constantly trying to mate it with tarantula spiders (lat. theraphosidae). Tarantulas differ from the latter in the direction of movement of the jaws.

Chelicerae (due to poisonous ducts on their jagged tops) perform two functions - an oral appendage and an attack/defense weapon.

The most attractive thing about the tarantula’s appearance is its 3 rows of shiny eyes: the first (bottom) row consists of four tiny “beads”, 2 larger eyes are “mounted” on top of them, and, finally, another pair is placed on the sides.

Eight spider “eyepieces” vigilantly monitor what is happening, distinguishing light and shadow, as well as the silhouettes of familiar insects at an interval of up to 30 cm. The spider boasts excellent hearing - it can hear human steps 15 km away.

The tarantula grows, depending on the variety, up to 2.5 – 10 cm (with a limb span of 30 centimeters).

Females are larger than their partners, often gaining a record weight of 90 grams.

The color of the spider can vary and depends on its habitat. Thus, the South Russian tarantula usually displays a brown, slightly reddish or sandy-gray color with black spots.

Origin of the species and description

Photo: Tarantula spider

The genus Lycosa comes from the wolf spider family. The name of the species originated in the Renaissance. In the past, Italian cities were infested with these arachnids, which is why many bites were reported, accompanied by convulsions. The disease was called tarantism. Most of the bites were recorded in the city of Taranto, where the name of the spider came from.

Interesting fact: To recover, medieval healers instructed patients to dance until they dropped the Italian tarantella dance, which also originated in Taranto, located in southern Italy. Doctors believed that only this would save those bitten from death. There is a version that all this was arranged for feasts hidden from the eyes of the authorities.

The genus belongs to the phylum arthropods and has 221 subspecies. The most famous of them is the Apulian tarantula. In the 15th century, its poison was believed to cause madness and a variety of epidemiological diseases. It has now been proven that the toxin has no effect on humans. The South Russian tarantula lives in Russia and Ukraine and is known for its black cap.

Interesting fact: The species Lycosa aragogi, found in Iran, is named after the huge spider Aragog from the books about the young wizard “Harry Potter”.

In many European languages, the word tarantula refers to tarantulas. This leads to confusion when translating texts from foreign languages, in particular from English. In modern biology, groups of tarantulas and tarantulas do not intersect. The former belong to araneomorphic spiders, the latter to mygalomorphic ones.

Reproduction and lifespan

The mating season for many species of tarantulas occurs at the end of summer. At this time, a sexually mature male begins to weave a web, and then rubs his own abdomen against it. As a result of this, he ejaculates seminal fluid, which ends up on the web. Next, the male immerses his pedipalps into the web, which absorb seminal fluid, and prepares it for reproduction.

Only after this does the mating period begin, and the spider goes in search of a female. When he finds “his lady,” the tarantula begins to court her. So during the courtship period, the male performs the tarantella dance. If the female responds to him with reciprocity and her own disposition, then he plunges his own pedipalps into her cloaca and fertilizes her. Next, the male needs to quickly leave the female so as not to become lunch for her.

Then the baton of prolongation of the genus passes to the female, who begins to weave a special cocoon, where she lays her own eggs. One clutch usually contains from 50 to 2000 eggs.

The cocoon with eggs matures for 40-50 days, and then small tarantulas hatch from there, live and grow rapidly, and by 2-3 years they have already reached sexual maturity.

Speaking about how long tarantulas live, it is important to note that females have an average lifespan of 20-30 years, and males - 5-10 years.

Social structure and reproduction

Photo: Poisonous tarantula spider

The period of sexual activity occurs in the last month of summer. The male weaves a web, after which he begins to rub his belly against it. This provokes ejaculation of seminal fluid, which flows onto the web. The male plunges his pedipalps into it, which absorb sperm and become ready for fertilization.

Next comes the stage of searching for a female. Having found a suitable candidate, the male emits vibrations with his abdomen and performs ritual dances, which attracts females. They lure out hiding females by tapping their paws on the ground. If the partner reciprocates, the spider inserts its pedipalps into her cloaca and fertilization occurs.

Then the male quickly retreats so as not to become food for his chosen one. The female weaves a cocoon in the hole in which she lays eggs. Their number can reach 50-2000 pieces at a time. The female carries the offspring on herself for another 40-50 days. The hatched babies move from the mother's abdomen to the back and remain there until they are able to hunt on their own.

The spiderlings grow quickly and soon begin to taste the prey caught by their mother. After the first moult they scatter. By 2-3 years, predators become sexually mature. During this period, arthropods lose their instinct of self-preservation and are easy to meet in broad daylight.

Reproduction

Females live about 4 years, males - up to 2. In spring, females emerge from their burrows and bask in the sun. They can travel long distances in search of a mate. They court the female they like for a short time. They mate at the end of summer once in their entire lives; the males die immediately, as the female bites her lover after fertilization. Lays eggs in a hole. Females carry them on themselves in a web cocoon, carefully caring for future offspring. After maturation, young spiders crawl out of the cocoon and live on the female’s belly for some time. As they grow up, the spiders become independent and move away from her. Sometimes the mother provokes the younger generation to enter adulthood earlier. She comes out of the hole and, spinning, throws the spiderlings off her body. The young look for a new home and dig a hole for themselves, the size of which will increase as the spider grows.

Lifestyle

The tarantula spider lives in deep burrows, which it makes in hard soil. Such a spider's dwelling reaches up to 25 cm vertically in depth. At the entrance, the predator builds a vertical wall, using plant remains and soil as building materials. The spider lines its burrow with cobwebs. When the rainy season or molting time begins, the entrance from above is closed with threads of cobwebs and earth. With the onset of winter, the insect covers its home with dry plants mixed with cobwebs.

The tarantula hunts mainly at night, guarding prey at the entrance to the hole. During the day, he sits out in his lair and waits for a random victim there. Based on this, it can be understood that a person can suffer and receive a tarantula bite only in those cases when he himself invades his territory and destroys the home of a predatory insect.

Tarantulas do not go far from their home; if they have to move away a little, they always go, tied to the hole with their web. This is how spiders find their way home. True, there are exceptions during the mating season

At this time, the males, forgetting about caution and rules, go in search of a female, spending a long time on the way

Lifestyle and its duration

Tarantulas lead a solitary lifestyle and carry fellow members of their species only during the mating season. Females and males treat each other with patience, while same-sex individuals cannot tolerate the presence of the other at all. Spiders live separately in their burrow and spend all daytime in it. Tarantulas usually hunt straight from their home; little will make the spider go far.

The lifespan of Mizgiri is about 3 years, and American tarantulas can live up to 30. Females, as a rule, live longer.

Tarantula at home

The popularity of keeping a tarantula at home is primarily due to the fact that it does not require special care. Basically, lovers of exotic animals prefer to purchase a female tarantula, since she lives much longer than the male.

The spider's terrarium needs to be arranged in such a way that there are several holes in it, since this animal often likes to hide in order to be secluded from others. Various plants or tree bark can be used as such burrows, bringing artificially created conditions closer to the natural habitat.

When arranging a terrarium, it is important to take into account the type of tarantula, since some cannot do without branches, while others prefer a moist substrate such as moss, sand and earth. There should always be fresh water in the terrarium, since quite often representatives of this family of spiders die from dehydration

In addition, tarantulas need to constantly spray their habitat with water to create optimal air humidity.

There should always be fresh water in the terrarium, since quite often representatives of this family of spiders die from dehydration. In addition, tarantulas need to constantly spray their habitat with water to create optimal air humidity.

The animal should be handled with particular care and caution, as its bite can be poisonous to humans. The main thing is not to make sudden movements, so as not to provoke an aggressive reaction from the spider.

The tarantula's habitat should always be covered with a lid with holes for air intake. After all, an animal can easily get out of the terrarium through a web woven in the corners of its home.

The optimal temperature for the existence of a tarantula is considered to be 25-27 degrees. A sharp drop in temperature becomes dangerous for spiders that have had a heavy meal, because the process of rotting food is characteristic of their stomach.

Reproduction

If the male managed to find a worthy candidate, he decides to hit on her. After a short courtship, the spiders enter into a relationship. Unfortunately, this relationship is not destined to end happily ever after. At the moment of mating, the male must be as careful and tense as possible, because at the end of this process the female will try to bite her “suitor” and dine on him. The fate of the male depends on how quickly he reacts (many manage to escape). The female, having already been fertilized, continues to live alone.

Tarantula

Next, the female begins to nurture the eggs; to do this, she gets out of the burrow and turns her abdomen towards the sun (sunlight promotes the development of eggs).

The spider lays its eggs in its burrow. At an early stage, they are stored in a cocoon, which she drags along with her throughout the entire “gestation” period. Even after birth, baby tarantulas live on their mother’s back until they become more independent (they learn to hunt and crawl).

Tarantula - reproduction

The mating season for tarantulas usually begins in late summer. A sexually mature male finds a smooth, flat surface and spins a web on it. Having completed the preparations, he begins to rub his belly against her. As a result of such stimulation, seminal fluid is erupted, after which the male tarantula plunges his pedipalps into it, which absorb it until the fertilization process occurs.

Having found a female, the male begins a courtship ritual, consisting of a kind of mating dance. If the female tarantula reciprocates the partner's feelings, he plunges his pedipalps with a portion of seed into her cloaca and fertilizes her. After this, the male needs to leave his partner as soon as possible so as not to become another portion of food for her.

The female tarantula, having descended into the hole, weaves a cocoon from the web, into which she lays fertilized eggs, the number of which ranges from 50 to 2000 pieces.

For 40-50 days, the female carries the maturing offspring on her arachnoid warts (special paired outgrowths located on the abdomen).

The hatched spiderlings climb onto their mother's back and stay there until they learn to feed without her help.

After this, the tarantula cubs leave their mother and begin to live independently. Small tarantulas reach sexual maturity in the second or third year of life.

Spider at home: pros and cons

I immediately want to make adjustments and replace the word cons/pros with features. After all, hardly anyone chooses between a spider and, for example, a dog. Below we will collect the subjective impressions of tarantula owners who told us what they like about their pets and what annoys them.

If you are no longer interested in popular pets such as cats, dogs, hamsters and guinea pigs, perhaps you should get a salamander, newt, lemur, squirrel, degu, monkey or raccoon.

All for

1. They are not tied to a place. Perhaps you already know that the initiator of “communication” in a relationship between a man and a spider is always the first. A spider can do just fine without your company even for the rest of its life;
2. They don't take up much space. The spider's terrarium should be twice the size of the spider's body. Large containers force animals to seek additional shelter inside the terrarium, in which they spend all the time, depriving their owners of the pleasure of admiring them;
3. Eating once every 1.5-2 months. Adult tarantulas need to be fed exactly at this frequency.
4. Undemanding to conditions. The necessary equipment for properly keeping a spider is a small terrarium and orchid substrate for bedding.
5. Cheap. It costs an average of $3-5 every two months to maintain a spider. Depending on the cost of the insects you will feed it.
6. Plush, pleasant to the touch.
7. You can take cool photos for your avatars.

Everyone is against

1. Sometimes they run away. It happens that spiders get out of their boxes and travel around the house, risking being crushed.
2. Bad character. Some spiders outright refuse human hands. This must be taken into account from the very beginning and the animal’s contactability must be checked.
3. Sometimes they bite. Such cases also occur, but, according to breeders, all this is due to inept handling. So go through the training.
4. Poisonous. All tarantulas are poisonous, the only difference is the strength of the toxin. The bite of some species is more like a wasp and is not dangerous to humans, while the bite of others can cause loss of consciousness and convulsions.

Did you know? Tarantulas never attack humans on their own, since the strength of their poison is not enough to kill a large animal. Spiders know this, so even if a person acts incorrectly, they prefer to hide.

Nutrition

In the question of what a tarantula eats, it is worth noting that these spiders are notorious predators, and their diet consists of many small amphibians and insects. These can be caterpillars, mole crickets, crickets, beetles, cockroaches, small frogs.

The tarantula watches its own victim from its hiding place, and then quickly attacks it. After an attack, the spider paralyzes the prey with its own poison, which subsequently turns the victim’s insides into a nutritious liquid. After this, the tarantula sucks the liquid from the prey.

The process of consuming food by tarantulas can last several days, but in general they are not quite voracious spiders and can do without food for a long period of time. All that is important for them is constant access to water.

Features of feeding

So, what should you feed your pet tarantula? This question may arise for those who are planning to envy themselves such a pet. This nocturnal predator eats all living creatures that are smaller in size. Various insects (crickets, grasshoppers, cockroaches), as well as small mammals, are quite suitable for food.

Tarantulas have external digestion. The whole process of eating consists in the fact that the spider injects poison and digestive juices into the victim, and only then sucks in the digested decomposed tissues of the victim.

You can feed an adult tarantula no more than once a week.

Once a month, multivitamins are mixed into the meat ball, and calcium gluconate is added once every two weeks. The raw “meatball” is given to the spider directly into its paws.

The following are prohibited:

• domestic cockroaches (they may be poisoned);
• street insects (they may be infected with parasites);
• mice and frogs (cause the death of house spiders).

If you live in remote areas of the city or rural areas, then you can feed the tarantula with insects that you caught on the street. In a busy city, feeding a tarantula with street insects is not a good idea.

Avoid unsuitable food for the tarantula - other predators of the same size as your ward can feast on the tarantula themselves. Such individuals include scolopendra, praying mantises, and other spiders.

Once fed, the domestic tarantula stops reacting to potential food and will not hunt for it. But there are times when the owner of the tarantula should stop feeding. A signal for this will be the abdomen enlarged by 1.5-2 times in relation to the cephalothorax. If the spider's feeding process is not stopped in time, this can lead to rupture of the abdomen.

Feeding tips

If your pet tarantula refuses food for two to three weeks, there is no need to panic. A pet tarantula can go without food for a month without any harm to its health.

If the pet is full and refuses the second or third insect in a row, kill the potential food and leave it in the terrarium overnight. If the spider does not touch the victim during the night, simply throw away the insect.

During and after molting, it is better not to feed spiders at all. The start of feeding is determined by the duration of the moult, adding 3-4 days to the number of molts. After the molting is over, the domestic tarantula will be ready to hunt and eat again.

Breeding food for spiders

Feeding tarantulas is a whole process that begins with the cultivation of food crops.

These could be cockroaches, crickets, fruit flies and even mice.

Today we’ll talk about breeding cockroaches.

I think there is no need to say that cockroaches do not need to create very extreme conditions.

They are content with an air temperature of +28-32°C at the heating point, but cockroaches can be kept without heating at room temperature; sufficient air humidity (to maintain humidity and drinking, you should periodically spray the walls of the volume and the substrate from a spray bottle, at least once every 2 days.

At the same time, you cannot flood it; cockroaches die from high humidity); soil made of sawdust, although you can do without it, and some kind of shelter. In general, everything is almost like our Soviet Prussians.

We tried breeding cockroaches on bare ground, they felt great, but did not want to reproduce.

Then they were asked to hide in ordinary egg cartons, broken into 3-6 cells. And then happiness happened to them. In the small “caves” it turned out to be very comfortable to sit upside down and think about great things, and how wonderful it was to lay ooteks there, neither in a fairy tale nor described with a pen.

It’s also very fun to hang out in the company of peers, which is very convenient when catching food for young spiderlings: you open the houses and look for where the small cockroaches are crowded. Usually you can find about 10 of them there at once.

This whole crowd feeds on whatever they can find; we keep our cockroaches on a diet of grated carrots, beets, apples, cabbage leaves, lettuce, rutabaga, turnips, various herbs and flowers are also possible.

Along with juicy food, they enjoy eating bran, oat flakes, crushed crackers, mixed feed, powdered eggs, dried aquarium food (gammarus, daphnia, etc.), with the addition of powdered milk, and dry infant formula.

Cockroaches need a spacious terrarium, for example, 50*30*30, where 50 is the length of the terrarium, and the bottom and walls are 30 centimeters each. To make it easier to care for and observe cockroaches, the area can be left open, but do not forget that cockroaches are animals, and humidity and high temperature contribute to the appearance of a specific odor.

Cockroaches also have the ability to deftly crawl on glass and, of course, crawl out of the terrarium. There is a little trick here: the walls of the terrarium along the perimeter from the inside must be smeared with Vaseline with a strip of 5-7 centimeters wide at a distance of 3-10 cm from the sides of the terrarium. There are also species that do not crawl on glass at all, for example Shelfordella tartara.

Types of cockroaches

We divide all available cockroaches into food and decorative.

Feed:

Nauphoeta cinerea . Marbled cockroaches are one of the most common food items for terrarium animals.
Their advantages include extreme unpretentiousness in maintenance, rapid reproduction, lack of odor, and non-aggressiveness. There is essentially only one drawback - the ability to crawl on glass. An adult insect lives 9-11 months. The female carries an ooteca with eggs inside the body until the larvae hatch; there are 25-35 eggs in the ooteca.

Egg development takes 25-30 days. Cockroaches grow to sexually mature adult size in 2.5-3 months, molting periodically. Males are characterized by a special mating ritual - while courting females, they raise their elytra and wings.

There is no seasonal rhythm; they are able to reproduce all year round.
Schultesia lampiridiformis. Origin: Central and South America.
The size is about 2-2.5 cm. It imitates the appearance of some fireflies, which is why it got its English name Firefly Roach. Both sexes look the same, with females only noticeably larger and fatter. It is a viviparous species, runs slowly, including on glass, and is very convenient as a small food object with soft chitinous coverings for small spiders, frogs and lizards. At high air humidity, it is able to reproduce well and quickly and without a substrate on egg trays, the larvae grow quickly to the adult stage.
Shelfordella tartara. Origin: Central and Central Asia.
Size about 3cm. A species with strong sexual dimorphism: females have only rudiments of wings, while in males they are well developed. The larvae are very beautiful, painted black and orange. It is prolific and very convenient for breeding as food for various small terrarium animals, since it is soft, does not climb on glass and does not burrow into the substrate.

Decorative:

Blaberus cranifer. Origin: South America.
Dimensions: up to 60-65 mm. A large representative of the Blaberus genus, variable depending on its geographical origin. All species of the genus Blaberus are good because they are not able to run along the walls of the cage.
Larvae prefer to mostly hide in the substrate, while adults lead a more open lifestyle. These cockroaches can reproduce well and are used as food primarily for larger lizards, amphibians, and tarantulas. The oothecae contain on average about 30 eggs, and the larvae grow rapidly. Gromphadorrhina portentosa. Madagascar hissing cockroach.
The name is due to the fact that in case of danger and especially when touched, cockroaches make a hissing sound. It occurs due to a sharp contraction of the abdomen and the rapid passage of air through the respiratory openings.

This behavior of cockroaches scares away enemies and can cause a feeling of fear even in humans.
Dimensions: females - 60 mm, males - 55 mm, some specimens grow up to 80 mm. Development: in the egg -55 days, larvae - about 4 months. Life expectancy in nature is 1-2 years, in captivity 2-3 years (some individuals live up to 5 years). Archimandrita tesselata. Origin: South America.
They reach sizes of 7-8 cm. A very impressive cockroach: long mustache, large size, huge mustache... Powerful legs allow you to escape from the predator and burrow into the substrate. By the way, one of the disadvantages of the species is its secretive lifestyle, so it is quite difficult to observe them. It reproduces relatively slowly. Usually up to 20-30 babies are born, which reach maturity in 8-12 months. They don’t crawl on glass; in captivity, such a beauty lives for 1.5-2 years.

The South Russian tarantula (Lycosa singoriensis) or Mizgir belongs to the family of wolf spiders. This is a small spider (body size is usually from 2.5 to 3.5 centimeters) of brown-red or almost black color with three rows of eyes on the head (it has 8 of them in total).

In nature, this spider lives for about two years, and in captivity – up to five. Unpretentious in maintenance and care.

These tarantulas usually dig vertical burrows in the ground where they spend most of their time, and the depth of the burrow in the natural environment can reach 60 centimeters. At home, it also rarely leaves the hole or stays very close to it. The period of activity of the spider occurs from early spring to the onset of cold weather, and before wintering the tarantula deepens its home and closes the entrance to its hole.

Under natural conditions, tarantulas feed on crickets, cockroaches and their larvae.

When keeping a tarantula at home, you can feed it once a week with small pieces of minced beef without fat, but it is still better to simultaneously breed crickets or cockroaches to feed the spider. Add calcium gluconate every two weeks; and once a month instead - multivitamin preparations.

Moreover, it is important to feed the spider in the morning or evening and give it a meat ball in its paws.

You can keep a tarantula either in a special arachnaria or in a fish aquarium or terrarium, provided that the lids have ventilation holes.

It is impossible to leave the arachnaria open: although the spider does not know how to climb glass, it can get out in a corner if it entwines it with a web. The lower part of the terrarium is usually lined with clay, sand and black soil mixed with vermiculite, about 15-30 centimeters thick.

It is also necessary to install a drinking bowl and maintain a low level of humidity in the arachnaria. Additionally, you need to place in the terrarium some unpretentious plants, driftwood (South Russian tarantulas love dark places) and a small pool - some tarantulas do not refuse water treatments.

The reflector (arachnarium illumination) should be placed as far as possible from the spider’s hole; Irrigate the soil and replace water before turning on the reflector every morning.

You can get a spider out of its hole using a ball of soft plasticine, uncured wax gum, or warm resin. If he doesn't respond to the ball, then he'll have to dig it out. The arachnaria should be cleaned every month or month and a half. It is imperative to free the hole from various waste products of the arthropod creature, and trim the plants to make enough space for the spider.

Keeping a South Russian tarantula does not require any special expenses and will not take much time.

How to get rid of the site

For people who do not want to share their property with such dangerous and unpleasant-looking creatures, we have selected several of the most effective methods that allow you to cope with an uninvited guest:

• use horse chestnuts. If you crush such fruits into a paste and then scatter them over the area, their smell will repel insects, including spiders, for a long time;
• plant a few nuts on your plot. All elements of this plant, including leaves, branches and fruits, are filled with tannins that repel unwanted insects such as flies, spiders, midges, mosquitoes and others;
• dried citrus peels will help get rid of spiders in the house;
• Planting peppermint in the garden will also effectively help drive arachnids out of the area.

Types and way of life of spiders

The tarantula is a member of the wolf spider. These are nocturnal inhabitants, so during the day they sleep in their burrows, but at night they go in search of prey. Tarantulas use the web they weave not for trapping, but as decoration for the walls of their home, or to decorate a cocoon during oviposition.

An interesting fact is the length of the tarantula's hole; it can have a depth of 0.6 m, and in the cold season, tarantulas are able to burrow to a distance of a whole meter. The most similar in appearance to a tarantula is the tarantula spider. If you do not pay attention to the differences in size, they have an external similarity, so most people confuse these two species with each other.

However, they have different classifications: tarantulas are wolf spiders, and tarantulas are descended from tarantula spiders. The biggest difference between the two species is the way the spider's jaws work. Their movements are made in different directions. Tarantulas work with their jaws towards each other, but tarantulas work with their chylicerae in a parallel direction.

Spreading

For the South Russian tarantula, the most preferable climate is dry. For this reason, it can most often be found in steppe, desert and semi-desert regions, and less often in the forest-steppe zone. It appears and digs its burrows in fields, on the banks of various bodies of water, as well as in gardens and vegetable gardens. In a word, soft soils are attractive to him, in which he can easily arrange his nest.

Previously, the South Russian tarantula was distributed mainly in Central Asia, as well as in the southern regions of Russia and Ukraine. But due to climate change, these spiders began to make their way further and further north, and where they were previously rare, they are now found in fairly large quantities.

• On the territory of Ukraine, the South Russian tarantula is called the Crimean tarantula, and at the same time it is the largest arachnid that is found in these places. Its burrows with the owner inside are increasingly being found by local residents in their garden plots.
• Recently, these tarantulas have taken root in Belarus. They were first discovered there in 2008. These arachnids began to spread quite actively in the floodplains of the Sozh, Dnieper and Pripyat rivers.
• Southern Russian tarantulas lived in Bashkiria for quite a long time, but in 2016 a real invasion was noted. The reason for this was the abnormally warm weather, which lasted throughout the summer that year.
• Several species of tarantulas are common in Kazakhstan, and the South Russian one is one of them. The habitats are common: the banks of rivers, lakes and salt marshes, and the most active zones are Aktau, Alma-Ata, Aktobe, Shymkent. Particularly large tarantulas are found in Kazakhstan – sometimes their body length reaches 9 cm.
• As for the territory of Russia, large numbers of South Russian tarantulas were seen in the Astrakhan, Belgorod, Volgograd, Kursk and Saratov regions, as well as in the Tambov, Lipetsk and Oryol regions.

Features of existence

The steppe tarantula settles in burrows, which it digs itself, and always lines the walls with its own web. The depth of the hole is usually 30-40 m. For hunting, he does not weave trapping nets, but catches prey at the moment when it runs past his nest.

The signal for an attack in this case is the shadow of a potential victim. Having recognized the outline, the spider jumps out of its ambush with lightning speed, grabs the prey with its front paws, immediately plunges its chelicerae into its body and injects poison. When the victim freezes, the tarantula begins to eat.

The diet of the South Russian tarantula includes:

• caterpillars;
• crickets;
• ground beetles;
• mole crickets;
• cockroaches;
• beetles.

Despite the fact that these arachnids are very attached to their burrow, individual specimens can move quite considerable distances from it. There have been cases when South Russian tarantulas climbed into residential buildings located in small settlements.

Where does the tarantula spider live?

Photo: Tarantula spider from the Red Book

The habitats of the species are represented by a wide range - the southern part of Eurasia, North Africa, Australia, Central and Asia Minor, America. Representatives of the genus can be found in Russia, Portugal, Italy, Ukraine, Spain, Austria, Mongolia, Romania, and Greece. Arthropods choose arid areas to live.

They live mainly in:

• deserts;
• steppes;
• semi-deserts;
• forest-steppes;
• gardens;
• vegetable gardens;
• on the fields;
• meadows;
• along the banks of rivers.

Tarantulas are heat-loving arachnids, so they cannot be found in cold northern latitudes. Individuals are not particularly picky about their habitats, so they even live in saline steppes. Some manage to get into houses. Distributed in Turkmenistan, the Caucasus, Southwestern Siberia, and Crimea.

Most predatory spiders prefer to live in burrows that they dig themselves. They choose the location for their future home very carefully. The depth of vertical burrows can reach 60 centimeters. They move the pebbles to the side and rake out the soil with their paws. The walls of the tarantula's shelter are covered with cobwebs. It vibrates and allows you to assess the situation outside.

At the end of autumn, spiders prepare for wintering and deepen their homes to a depth of 1 meter. The entrance to the hole is plugged with leaves and branches. In the spring, animals crawl out of the house and drag the web behind them. If it suddenly breaks, there is a high probability that the animal will no longer find its shelter and will have to dig a new hole.

Now you know where the tarantula spider lives. Let's see what the poisonous spider eats.

Is it possible to reproduce

Sexual maturity in females occurs 1.5-2 years later than in males. If for males this is 1.5-2 years, then for females it is 4-5 years. The mating period begins at the end of summer. After mating, the male usually dies, and the female begins to prepare for the winter. Female tarantulas lay eggs and place them in a silk cocoon, which is attached to the outside of the abdomen. “Gestation” lasts 40-50 days. During this period, under natural conditions, the female tries to be in the sun more often in order to speed up the incubation process; at home, it is worth raising the temperature in the terrarium to +30. +32 °C.

A clutch can contain from 50 to 500 eggs. After the incubation period is completed, the little spiderlings remain with their mother for another month, sometimes covering her entire body. After the expiration of a month, the babies leave the female and begin to lead an adult lifestyle. There are cases when the female herself drives away the young or even eats some part of it, so the babies need to be weaned on time.

Well, now you have the necessary knowledge on how to properly keep a tarantula at home, let this knowledge be useful to you, and remember: we are responsible for those we have tamed.

Biological certificate

Now let's move on to a description of the tarantula, the characteristics of its behavior, nutrition and reproduction, and give it a brief description as a representative of the animal world.

Scientific classification and lifestyle

The genus of tarantulas belongs to the wolf spider family. They live mainly in burrows, in which they spend all daylight hours, and at night they go out hunting. These arthropods also weave a web, but they use it not as a trapping net, but as a decoration for the walls of their underground apartments and for arranging an oviposition cocoon.

Tarantulas are often confused with tarantula spiders, which is greatly facilitated by the fact that in some languages ​​the word “tarantula” is used to refer to representatives of this family, and even if we ignore the differences in size, these arthropods are similar to each other.

The main difference between the two families is the structure and functioning of the chylicerae. In wolves they move towards each other, in tarantulas they move in parallel.

Description

What does a tarantula look like? These are quite large spiders, reaching a leg span of 30 centimeters. Males are always slightly smaller than females. The bodies of spiders are covered with hairs of gray, brown or brown color, depending on the species.

The largest sizes are tarantulas representing South America; their European relatives rarely exceed a body length of five centimeters.

An interesting question is about the organs of vision of representatives of this family. Curious lovers of the animal world are often interested in how many eyes a tarantula has. We answer - he has eight of them, which allows you to view the entire panorama around both horizontally and vertically.

Nutrition

It is also important to know what tarantulas eat. This is especially true for those lovers of arthropods who are going to breed them in their own apartment. And what, as the character in “The Twelve Chairs” said: “Who needs a mare as a bride!”

And what, as the character in “The Twelve Chairs” said: “Who cares for a mare!”

So, the night hunter feeds on everything that is shorter. It could be an insect, an arachnid of another species, or even small mammals and birds. Digestion in tarantulas, like many other spiders, is external. First, the predator introduces poison and digestive juices into the body of the victim, which decompose the tissues of the victim, and only then absorbs the digested substrate.

Spreading

The question of where tarantulas are found is the most popular among arachnophobes, people who are afraid of spiders. In this regard, residents of central Russia and regions with similar or more severe climatic conditions can rest easy. Here the tarantula can only be found in various zoos and apartments of enthusiasts and Spider-Man fans.

But in the south of our country, our neighboring states, the south of Europe, the African, Asian and American continents, tarantulas are found in large numbers.

Reproduction

Tarantula spiders reproduce like representatives of other spider families, but they still have their own characteristics. First of all, this is the famous mating dance, by which the spider recognizes the male of its own species. In general, the mating process can be divided into the following stages:

1. At the end of summer, the male decides that it is time to extend his tarantula lineage and goes in search of a female.
2. Having found the intended bride, he begins to perform a ritual dance.
3. She, in turn, takes a closer look at the gentleman, and if she decides that he is the man of her dreams and belongs to the same species, she begins to respond to him, copying the dance steps.
4. After such identification, mating itself occurs, after which the groom hurries to quickly retreat before the missus decides to eat him. It must be said that in this respect, male tarantulas are more agile than representatives of the male population of other spiders.

Next, the female finds a burrow suitable for wintering, where she spends the entire winter. With the onset of spring, she crawls out of her home and exposes her abdomen to the warm rays of the young sun.

In the female’s body, warmed by the warmth of the sun, eggs begin to form, up to 700 eggs depending on the species. At the end of this process, the female weaves a cocoon from the web directly on her stomach, where she places the formed eggs.

So she carries her offspring on herself until the young begin to hatch. Sensing this moment, the young mother gnaws through the cocoon and releases her children into the wild.

However, the babies do not leave their mother, but move onto her back, where she carries them until they learn to feed themselves.

Description of the spider

Appearance

The color of tarantulas is mainly brown or black with reddish spots and stripes.

Based on size, all types of tarantulas are divided into small, medium and large. In America, spiders up to 10 cm in size live, their paw span is up to 30 cm. European relatives of the tarantula are much smaller than their American counterparts. Females reach a size of 4.5 cm (with a paw span of up to 8 cm), males are somewhat smaller and are rarely larger than 2.5 cm.

Spider's home

Tarantulas live in burrows, which they dig for themselves. Spiders choose their burrow location very carefully. One of the prerequisites must be the presence of a body of water nearby. The depth of the hole is on average 50–60 cm.

The tarantula weaves a web around the walls inside the hole and, by its vibration, determines what is happening on the surface.

Before wintering in colder regions, tarantulas deepen the hole to 1 m and clog the entrance with leaves entwined with cobwebs.

Reproduction

Male tarantulas reach sexual maturity by the end of summer and during this period they look for an opportunity to mate with a female. This is a very risky undertaking, since often young tarantulas lose their vigilance and, instead of an act of love, can simply be eaten by the female. Having discovered a female, the male tarantula begins to vibrate its abdomen and actively move its front legs. These actions allow the pauhiche to correctly determine the species of the male.

If the female is ready to mate, she begins to repeat the movements of the male. After mating, the male must quickly leave, otherwise the excited female may simply eat her sluggish partner.

The fertilized female hibernates in her burrow for the winter. In the spring, with the arrival of the first warm days, the female tarantula crawls to the surface and exposes her abdomen to the sun. This promotes the formation of eggs in the spider's body. When the eggs mature, the female weaves a web where she lays her eggs. Depending on the type of tarantula, there are from 200 to 700 eggs (on average 300–400).

Next, the female forms a cocoon from the web with the laid eggs, which she rivets to her body. The spider walks with this cocoon until the spiderlings begin to move inside the cocoon. The spider gnaws the cocoon and helps them crawl out. Immediately after birth, the spiderlings climb onto their mother and settle there in several layers. The spider carries her babies on her until they begin to feed on their own.

When the babies grow up, the mother begins a journey, during which she gradually throws off the spiderlings. In this way, she resettles the younger generation.

What do they eat?

Tarantulas feed on insects and animals that are not larger than them. The spider lies in wait for its prey not far from the hole, pulls it inside and has lunch there. Tarantulas eat their prey in a very unique way. They bite into an insect or animal and inject a poisonous liquid into it, which dissolves all the insides of the victim. After this, the spider simply sucks out all the contents.

Specifics of feeding

Having decided on such a pet, first of all you should figure out what to feed the tarantula. These spiders are predators that eat large insects (crickets, cockroaches or their larvae).

It is important that the lunch portion is not much larger than the predator, since tarantulas have too strong an appetite. When trying to eat all the food, they are capable of causing physical harm to themselves (the abdomen will burst)

The younger the pet, the more often it needs food. Up to 1-2 years, the tarantula molts every 20 days, so the frequency of feeding should be the same.

Further, its growth becomes less dynamic. If the spider is already 3-5 years old, then it is fed once every 1.5-2 months. Once every 4 weeks, multivitamins are mixed into the meat ball, and calcium gluconate is added once every 2 weeks. The raw “meatball” is given to the tarantula directly into its paws.

It is not recommended to feed your pet the following:

• ordinary indoor cockroaches (sometimes poisoned);
• street insects (can be infected with parasites);
• mice or frogs (provoke the death of domestic tarantulas).

Is the bite dangerous?

The level of toxicity of a tarantula is affected not only by its species, but also by age, gender or season. The most poisonous are considered to be adult females that have already become sexually mature and belong to large species. They are especially dangerous during mating and egg laying.

In all tarantulas, the toxicity of poisons increases from the beginning of spring to the first month of summer, and then rapidly decreases with the arrival of autumn.

Most often, the domestic tarantula produces poison, which is as dangerous to humans as the poison of a wasp or bee. Redness and swelling occur at the damaged area. These symptoms disappear quickly without the use of a specific antidote.

Sometimes after a bite the following symptoms develop::

• the bite site hurts, turns red, and swells;
• the person becomes lethargic and drowsy;
• the temperature rises sharply to 38 °C, but does not last long;
• Nausea may occur, accompanied by vomiting.

If the case is particularly severe, the victim experiences a disturbance in spatial orientation, nausea, convulsions, and loses consciousness.

With symptomatic treatment, the person quickly returns to normal. But if he has an allergic reaction to toxins, then the victim needs urgent hospitalization.

We create conditions in the terrarium

To satisfy the modest needs of tarantulas, you don’t even have to go to a pet store. Household and floral will be enough. For a full life, a spider needs boxing, bedding and food.

Dimensions and volume

The terrarium should imitate the spider's natural shelter. Therefore, first we need to decide what exactly we are going to imitate - the mink itself or the open space with the mink. In the first case, the size of the terrarium should be twice the body of the spider itself, no more. If the box is too spacious and there is no additional shelter in it, the spider will feel uncomfortable and be in constant stress. If you decide to choose a large terrarium, make sure that there is another, smaller shelter inside where the animal can hide.

Speaking about the materials from which the box will be made, plastic and glass are equally suitable. It is worth noting that tarantulas live well even in lunch containers. Breeders especially love this option for its reliable latches that will not allow the spider to escape from the box.

Climatic conditions

Tarantulas are also suitable for an average room temperature of +23…+25 °C. But at higher temperatures (+25...+30 °C) spiders grow more intensively and reach larger sizes, becoming sexually mature earlier.

Important! You can understand that the spider is aggressive by a certain pose: the front legs are raised up, the abdomen is lowered. Also, when in danger, the animal “shoots” at the enemy with lint, which, when it gets into the predator’s respiratory tract, causes irritation.

Additional accessories

Spiders feel great in the most spartan conditions - a substrate for orchids as bedding and periodic spraying to maintain humidity, but you can arrange your “apartment” in more interesting ways:

1. Hygrometer. Problems with temperature conditions usually do not arise, but air humidity is no less important. To monitor this parameter, you can purchase a hygrometer; the device will measure the temperature and humidity in the terrarium. This device costs 7-8 dollars.
2. Lock for the terrarium. Solution for escape spiders. Cost about 4-5 dollars.
3. Sprayers. Used to maintain humidity in the terrarium.

You will probably be interested in reading about keeping a leopard gecko, a chameleon, a corn snake, a red-eared turtle, an iguana, a moose, an opossum, a manula, a capybara and a crocodile in the house.

Lifestyle

Leads a solitary lifestyle, forms a pair only for the mating period. It lives in arid places, lives in burrows up to 50 cm deep. Spends most of its time in its home, prefers to hunt “from home”. Before entering, observes her condition. Even when hungry, the South Russian Mizgir does not go far from his own home.

The main diet is small insects, relatives, snails, caterpillars, as well as frogs, mice, snakes. At the sight of the victim, the wolf freezes, waits for the right moment, and then almost instantly rushes to attack. If the prey is waiting for a predator in the web, it is not in a particular hurry, approaches with a confident step, bites, injects poison and its own saliva. Under the influence of the secretion, the victim’s innards turn into a liquid mass, which the mizgir drinks.