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[Insectile]

Well on WCT someone mentioned someone should start this thread and i thought it was a good idea

My first tarantula was a chilean rose hair (Shelob) and after having her for a 1 1/2 years i went to this bug fair whitch had a guy selling tarantulas  and i bought my second spider a sunburst baboon ( Emperor )

Shelob in the has been fasting for 7 months now and i think she might shed soon

[sean]

While this isn't a bad thread, it is worth noting that this area of the forum has almost nothing to do with WCT. The people who are probably interested in discussing up in WCT are probably not going to see it.

Anyway, I remember a while back my friend had a pet tarantula. It was pretty cool but its dead now. They die too fast for me to be interested in having one.

[Tehz]

I used to have one, but then it died. So I got another, but that one died also.

They only live for a couple of years, but they're pretty cool while they last. I'd recommend them as pets.

[bbqrocks]

Man, spiders scare the hell out of me. If I conquer my fear, then sure, it'd be a bitching pet, but y'know...

[hipster jesus]

Tarantulas are about the only thing that are completely off-limits in terms of pets for me, for I am very arachnophobic.

[tania]

i am usually pretty okay with spiders but tarantulas give me the willies. i tried looking up some videos of them once to see if i could maybe be less creeped out by them and found a bunch, you know, tarantulas just walking around and i thought "oh, hey, they move pretty slow don't they, that isn't so bad at all." then a friend who used to own a tarantula confirmed that nah, that's just what they do when they're hanging out and walking around, and they can actually move really fucking fast when they want to.
so i think i still don't like tarantulas.

[bbqrocks]

Ah man..I don't even need to see a tarantula to have me freaking out. I just picture one moving around, and suddenly I'm jumping up, throwing about cushions, looking under stuff, pulling the sheets off my bed, putting all the lights on...

Spiders is where I fail, man.

[Jposh]

My buddy's got one, it's kind of neat. I can hold it, and it never bites or anything else that would prevent me from getting one, except that it never really does much. It kind of sits under a rock, comes out to eat it's crickets, and goes back.

I'd much rather have a few more rats. There smart, don't bite if you handle them enough, they'll eat anything, and they're extremely cute.

[Patatat]

Thats like having Death as my spotter.

[clockworkjames]

I am poor. I have not got much money but I did want a tarantula.

I ended up getting stick insects instead

Good times.

[tania]

japan is also where asian giant hornets live. they are the length of your thumb and they attack you by:

- spraying flesh-eating acid
- into your eyes
- which contains a pheromone that causes other giant hornets to come over and sting you to death.

take a look at that description, and how it gets worse and worse as you read it even though it was already pretty horrific to begin with. it could be that maybe japan is just a freaky place but i kind of like the idea of a god that really hates tommy better.

[Nettle]

What do you like about keeping a pet spider? (curious)

[bbqrocks]

If I liked the way spiders moved, then I too would love them as pets. Hell...Their fast predators that you can keep in a box.

Do you guys have to buy live bait for them, or what? Cos I used to have nightmares about the local pet store bait...They had all the insects and stuff up on the top shelf, and I could just imagine me standing there and suddenly, everything slides off and I get covered in beetles.

It's the way spiders and some beetle type thing's work that scare me. I'm not very squeamish (couldn't care less about blood or nasty injuries, apart from to the testicular region), it's just the way their legs...Uhhh.

[KvP]

japan is also where asian giant hornets live.

Man, I fucking hate wasps. If anybody gets between me and escape from these things they best be prepared to die.

[est]

Although a handful of Asian giant hornets can easily defeat the defenses of many individual honey bees, whose small stings cannot inflict much damage against such a large predator, the Japanese honey bee possesses a collective defense against them.  When a hornet scout locates and approaches a Japanese honey bee hive it will emit specific pheromonal hunting signals. When the honey bees detect these pheromones, a hundred or so will gather near the entrance of the nest and keep it open, apparently to draw the hornet further into the hive or allow it to enter on its own. As the hornet enters the nest, a large mob of about five hundred honey bees surrounds it, completely covering it and preventing it from moving, and begin quickly vibrating their flight muscles. This has the effect of raising the temperature of the honey bee mass to 47 °C (117 °F). The honey bees can just about tolerate this temperature, but the hornet cannot survive more than 45 °C (113 °F), so it dies. Often several bees perish along with the intruder, but the death of the hornet scout prevents it from summoning reinforcements which would wipe out the colony

awesome

[Blue Kitty]

Asian Giant Hornets

Holy fuck, those things take on Mantises and win.

Between 20 and 40 people die each year in Japan after being stung by giant hornets

I know it really isn't all that much compared to other things, but now I am a little scared to go to Japan

[Leinad]

I read that article and had to show it to my dad, who, for once, was actually surprised at something in the animal kingdom. I am actually totally wanting a video game of this now.

[bbqrocks]

The guy on that article is holding it in his hand. His goddamned hand.

[RobbieOC]

Japanese Spider Crab.

I saw some of these in an aquarium once and it was the first time I can ever remember being terrified of an animal in a cage. Just so big and scary.

[Leinad]

I am fairly certain that is a dead and dried/preserved specimen.

[tania]

here is a video showing some 50 or so giant asian hornets somehow taking on and killing an entire nest of honey bees, just in case you have somehow made it this far without thinking they are completely horrific in every way. you can probably skip to about 1:30.
even though they are just insects it is still kind of nauseating and upsetting to watch. fair warning.

edit: oh hey i forgot this video ends with a different colony of bees doing that thing est mentioned. kind of awesome and not completely depressing after all

[ViolentDove]

If you thought the Japanese Spider Crab was scary, you'll love the coconut crab.

The world's biggest crab can climb a coconut palm to look for food. Sometimes, it can even attack humans.

Also,

Should a coconut crab pinch a person, this is not only painful but the frightened crab will usually hold fast. Thomas Hale Streets reports the following trick, used by Micronesians of the Line Islands, to get a coconut crab to loosen its grip:

   "it may be interesting to know that in such a dilemma a gentle titillation of the under soft parts of the body with any light material will cause the crab to loose his hold."

[hipster jesus]

There are only two things in the entire animal kingdom that I am afraid of, and this thread has both of them.

[Cartilage Head]

I prefer kitties.

[RedLion]

I have no problem with bugs or worms or caterpillars or any of that shit, but spiders scare the shit out of me. Always have. I honestly think I have a mild case of arachnophobia. I seriously have like an irrational "HOLY FUCK GET THE FUCKING THING AWAY" reaction.

[Liz]

I have no problem with spiders or snakes or the things that typically creep people out. Sure, they'll startle me if one comes out of nowhere, but I'm not going to hyperventilate and die. I was the kid that picked up little garter snakes to chase people with. Also, I apparently let a tarantula climb all over me at a zoo when I was three! Naturally I don't remember this occurring, but my mom swears it happened.

[RedLion]

Ah, yes, now snakes, that is something that I have no problem with, and that I like. I can't see why people are afraid of them.

But spiders--fuck.

[tania]

no animal needs more than four legs. that isn't right.

[KvP]

We used to have lots of daddy longlegs around here. Having eight legs is bad enough, but when they're all long and spindly... icky.

That having been said, spiders don't really bother me. Hell, back in eighth grade I took a spider biology course over at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and I would build traps out of coffee cans filled with antifreeze and put them in the ground. The spiders would just fall right in. Even the little ones have pretty impressive fangs when you look at them under the right magnification. I think having a tarantula as a pet is certainly novel, but I'd imagine it's just like owning a snake (which I had, at one point) once the novelty wears off you're left with a creature whose relationship with you pretty much begins and ends with feeding.

[Edith]

I ate a daddy longlegs once, on a dare. It was crunchy and tasted like peppermint. I almost threw up after.

[KvP]

 

[Alex C]

Reading this thread because I couldn't get sleep was the worst idea ever. Years from now I will still be awake. I can see myself already, curled upon my bed, pale and drawn. A broken man, clutching a crowbar and contemplating how much longer until evolution results in coconut crabs scurrying around and latching onto people's heads.

[Boro_Bandito]

We used to have lots of daddy longlegs around here. Having eight legs is bad enough, but when they're all long and spindly... icky.

That having been said, spiders don't really bother me. Hell, back in eighth grade I took a spider biology course over at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and I would build traps out of coffee cans filled with antifreeze and put them in the ground. The spiders would just fall right in. Even the little ones have pretty impressive fangs when you look at them under the right magnification. I think having a tarantula as a pet is certainly novel, but I'd imagine it's just like owning a snake (which I had, at one point) once the novelty wears off you're left with a creature whose relationship with you pretty much begins and ends with feeding.

I own a ball python, and yeah, pretty much. I'm not particularly afraid of tarantulas, in fact they are the spiders I'm least afraid of because they're big enough so I can keep an eye on them, if you know what I mean. Most of them aren't very poisonous and if they bit you it wouldn't mean death, like with a lot of smaller spider species. Not to mention they're furry. I had a friend who had one as a kid, but it really wasn't all that interesting. Plus my snake is chill and I'm way more comfortable handling it then i would be a tarantula any day, and can hang out around my neck or on my shoulders, I wouldn't put a spider there. ever.

[HellStorm]

I ate a daddy longlegs once, on a dare. It was crunchy and tasted like peppermint. I almost threw up after.

I thought that they were meant to be like the most poisonous spider or something, but they didn't have fangs big enough to pierce human skin.

[Eli]

I thought that, too, but I just looked it up and it's not true.

I'm really afraid of spiders, snakes, and rats. Mice don't bother me, but ever since 1984, I've been terrified of rats. Tarantulas are better than smaller spiders because you can watch them, but I'm sure I'd freak out more if I didn't know one was around and it suddenly appeared. Pet snakes are okay, but after living in Georgia and seeing rattlesnakes and water moccasins all the time, I hate wild snakes.

The rest of the horror movie animals people have mentioned I hope never to see.

[HellStorm]

I've never really had a problem with tarantulas.
When I was small I lived in Indonesia, and one day my dad came home from work with this picture of a tarantula that they found in the toilets at work. My mum then told him that she'd been shooing that same spider from the boot of the car with a broom everyday.

[Oli]

I ate a daddy longlegs once, on a dare. It was crunchy and tasted like peppermint.

That is some excellent trivia.

[Katherine]

I'm pretty sure if I saw a tarantula on its own, not in a cage or anything, just you know, hanging out - my head would cave in. 

If you don't like spiders, do not Google banana spiders.  Trust me.

[bbqrocks]

I wouldn't google 'brown widow spider', 'camel spider', or 'goliath bird eating spider'- or at least I won't, not now..

[Oli]

If you don't like spiders, do not Google banana spiders.  Trust me.

??

[Katherine]

They are big, and yellow and scary as fuck.  Don't do it.

[hipster jesus]

Do it. You know you wanna.
I'm just saying this because I don't want to be the only person who was dumb enough to actually do that.

[JediBendu]

I'm really afraid of spiders, snakes, and rats. Mice don't bother me, but ever since 1984, I've been terrified of rats.

I am unreasonably terrified of rodent infestations. But other than that I don't really have animal phobias.

Anytime an insect or pest surprises me while indoors I get pretty shaken though. I've had a roach fall on my face while laying down once and I've also been stung by a wasp while sleeping in bed once as well.

I'll probably flip shit if I ever have to spend time in a house with mice or rats though.

[BankHoldUp]

Japanese Spider Crab.

Apparently, these things are omnivorous as well...and are big enough that, if one really wanted to, it could fucking eat you.

On topic: I have a mexican red knee tarantula named Charlotte. I have since stopped trying to keep the lid on her cage since she always seems to figure out how to escape..so for the most part she just roams around my apartment. She goes back into the cage when shes hungry as that is only place I'll put live crickets but then gets back out to go hang out on the back of the couch or something.

It's really strange, she behaves like almost like a  cat...an eight-legged, cricket-eating, guest-scaring cat.

[ViolentDove]

On the topic of unusual pets, I desperately want a pet Quoll. Seriously, they are so awesome. Cute, furry, carnivorous, and the only guy I know who has looked after one claims they combine the best aspects of a dog and a cat into one animal. And they're nocturnal, so they sleep while you're at work and wake up when you get home.

People in this country make a big deal about how feral cats and dogs cause hideous amounts of damage to native species, and yet the government doesn't allow the public any decent alternatives. Quolls are the alternative! Also, they're endangered so domesticating them would save another species from extinction. Here are some pictures of Quolls, to make up for scaring people with coconut crabs.







Baby Quoll (awwww):

[Liz]

Sharp pointy teeth, but somehow adorable.

I want one.

EDIT: Ah, c'mon, pagebreak.

[Oli]

I don't think domesticating is really the best way to save a species. I mean sure it's will keep it from being extinct in the sense that there are none left, but it could still end up extinct in the wild.

On the other hand OMG CUTE! If they are as low maintenence as kitties and purrrr I am sold.

[ViolentDove]

It's definitely not the best way. But it might be the only way, in this case. The main threats are from feral animals and habitat loss. Unfortunately neither of these problems are likely to go away any time soon. I'd rather see these guys exist in a domestic context than not exist at all.

And it's also part and parcel of the whole attitude shift that really needs to happen in Australia. Rather than imposing a euro-centric view of introduced animals as pets and feed stock, high water-use crops, etc. we should be shifting towards practices that better suit the country we're in.

[Jimmy the Squid]

One would hope that over the last two hundred years we'd have realised that european farming methods won't work outside of a temperate zone.

[Insectile]

Quolls are cute but ill stick with giant spiders or one of those awesome coconut crabs

Someone said thier tarantulas kept dieing, maybe Humidity was to low or the tempature was to extreme for the species
                                                        
 Also in most species males die quickly but female tarantulas can live up to 20 years