Hello and welcome to my homepage. I have made a simple compilation of information I have found in books, on the internet and from personal experience about keeping a Tarantula successfully in captivity. Intro: http://www.concentric.net/~Lottery/hyper/CAREGUID.HTM Probably the best guide on the net: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/spydawebb/index.html Good guide on deciding what Tarantula to get: http://www.thebts.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=3812 Where to buy Tarantulas and insects: http://www.tarantula-shop.com/shop/index.php http://www.thespidershop.co.uk/insect/index.php http://www.virginiacheeseman.co.uk/ http://www.tarantulabarn.co.uk/ http://www.martingoss.co.uk/ http://www.mcgrathsinverts.googlepages.com/ http://www.bugsdirectuk.com/tarantulas.html http://www.exotic-pets.co.uk/inverts-for-sale.php additional sites selling insects: http://www.theinsectplace.com http://www.dartfrog.co.uk/livefoods.html http://www.exotic-pets.co.uk/inverts-for-sale.php http://www.thelivefoodwarehouse.co.uk/ http://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/ http://www.livefoods.co.uk/ Praying Mantis: http://www.insectstore.com/ http://www.prayingmantid.co.uk/ http://www.metamorphosis.gb.com/ http://www.bugzuk.com/mantis.htm virginiacheeseman & thespidershop Feeding Tarantulas: What to feed the Tarantula: - springtails - fluitflies - bloodworms - earwigs - housefly - crickets - grasshoppers - fruit beetle grubs - locusts - roaches - waxworms - mealworms - earthworms - and additionally small rodents These foods have been listed in the order of their size however they can be bred and raised in various sizes. The bold feeder insects are my preferred insects. I do not like crickets as they escape easily, need alot of space for breeding and require a fair amount of maintenance. However they do produce huge numbers of offspring. Do not feed ants, wasps, bees or spiders. They can potentially harm your Tarantula. Feed no more insects than the equivalent mass of the Tarantulas carapace per week(roughly). They require very little food compared to some other animals. A varied diet is important in keeping your Tarantula healthy so it lives as long as it should do naturally, it is especially important to give a growing tarantula a varied diet. Keep the insects well fed. The healthier the insects diet, the healthier your Tarantula will be. Avoid cheap dog food that contains artificial colourings. Pretty much all insects should be fed on a mixture of dog biscuits, wheetabix, oats and lettuce. Fruits can be fed additionally too. only waxworms are fed exclusively on weetabix and honey All relevant information about keeping and breeding these insects can be found here: http://www.thebts.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=3485&highlight=feeder+insects guide on raising crickets: http://skylab.org/~chugga/cricket/ and detailed info on housefly breeding: http://www.jangala.co.uk/Curly%20winged%20fly%20culture%20webpage.htm Sexing your Tarantula: http://www.thebts.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=3345 http://www.arachnophiles.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=5442 http://www.birdspiders.com/faq_sex.php Temperature: Tarantulas can tolerate a temperature between 17 degrees C and 28 degrees C. Anything below 10 degrees or above 35 degrees for an extended period will kill the Tarantula. The temperature is the Tarantula's biggest indication of what season it is(summer, winter) In winter, the Tarantula will usually hide away and become very inactive, not eating much. In spring, the Tarantula will come out of hiding, warm itself up and start eating more. In summer the T will hide again but still eat lots. In autumn, the T is most active, being out of hiding a lot and feeding heavily for the upcoming winter. A Tarantula can be kept in captivity at room temperature (18 degrees - 21 degrees) just fine but the Tarantula will think it is winter and will consequently hide more and eat less than a Tarantula that is kept at 22-26 degrees. Supplying anything above 26 degrees in captivity is not necessary and your Tarantula might decide to hide more in those conditions. It is far more important to supply a growing Tarantula with some heat that it is for an adult Tarantula. Most Tarantula keepers tend to agree that an adult Tarantula is perfectly happy at room temperature and does not require heating. A growing spider however will not grow as fast if kept below 22 degrees C and will be alot less active. Humidity and Ventilation: Humidity is usually a new Tarantula keepers biggest worry. It really should not be. In England, the humidity never drops below 40% and most species will be able to live in our climate without giving it any additional water. I still water a corner of the enclosure ever so slightly every week to be on the safe side. Ventilation is probably more important, especially in small containers, however too many ventilation holes might make the enclosure lose too much humidity and heat. Find the right balance so that the substrate does not dry out too quickly but most importantly that it does not stay damp for more than a week. Some species require a higher humidity than others do, however the enclosure should never have a humidity above 60%. This will encourage mould and mites to grow. On top of this, the Tarantula's webs will build up dew drops from the high humidity. So how to provide the high humidity needed by some species? Well there are two ways to do this in my opinion. 1. Water the enclosure well to get humidity up to 80%. Make sure the enclosure is well ventilated so that humidity drops to 60% over the following 3 days. Keep humidity at 50-60% for a week, then repeat the humid period again, making sure the enclosure is never too humid for too long of a period of time. 2. Keep the enclosure bone dry but water the burrow so that the Tarantula's hide is ever so slightly moist. Like this the Tarantula can go out exploring and when it feels dehydrated it can retreat into its burrow and re-hydrate itself. On top of this, adult Tarantula's should be provided with some fresh water in a very shallow water dish on a weekly basis. Most will not need it but some do hydrate themselves in the dish. Do not bother refilling the dish if the T buries it. Just top it up weekly; your T will not need to hydrate itself more than once a week in our climate. Breeding Tarantulas: There is not much truely accurate information about Tarantula breeding available yet. Unfortunately alot of opinions get mixed in with facts when it comes to breeding and so it is hard to distinguish between what will work and what might not. Some people believe some species need a cooling period to let them know it is winter time to encourage them to produce an egg sac, others believe a humid period should be provided to simulate a rainy season. The problem is, there are so many different species, each requiring different triggers to start breeding, it is hard to make a general guide for all of them. The more tropical species, which live amongst evergreen trees, will not require a cooling period however species like grammastola and brachypelma that experience a winter in the wild could be encouraged to lay eggs with a cool period. Here is a general guide on breeding: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/the.tarantula.store/breeding.htm Tarantula Forums: http://www.thebts.co.uk/ http://www.arachnophiles.co.uk/forum/ Heating: Tarantula enclosure: Tarantula behaviour: Spiderling care: Egg sac Incubator: Coming soon…

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