Tarantulas: The Delicate Cannibal

I just tried eating scorpion for the first time a day ago and it was the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted. It was a very small one like 1 inch long and dipped in cheap chocolate. My boyfriend tried the claw, he thought it was ok. I only bit into it once and it was the stinger! I didn't taste the chocolate at all, it was very brittle and crunchy. I can't describe the taste but it was strong like a bunch of chemicals hitting the tongue all at once. My family said if I could withstand the poison that I can endure the Corona virus. This horrible experience makes me scared what a tarantula would taste like but I still will sure give it a try. Maybe not the venomous part first!

In one of the classes I take, we talk about REM sleep ever so often and I wondered what animals dream? REM sleep is Rapid Eye Movement that means it's sleeping. No one officially knows 100% of anything about it but there are theories like how every time the eyes move, that every image of the dream comes about like a picture. But in insects, fish and arachnids, they cannot dream. Arachnids don't have eyelids so they are unable to close their eyes but they still rest like every other animal. And there is not much information of this subject because there's so many articles about spiders going into people's mouths while asleep!!! Please stop!

Before I update anymore, I want to share this with the community before I try adding more information. Hope the link works for you and hope you learn something new! (If it doesn't work, let me know and Blogger sucks) Try copying and pasting the document to the search bar. file:///C:/Users/savan_000/Documents/T/Blog%20of%20Tarantulas_%20The%20Delicate%20Cannibal%20Essay.pdf

Spider's fuzz are not nearly like the hairs on our body. Our thicker hair is to keep us warm but spider's are much more finer called trichobothria and gives them a sense of sound to one tenth of a billionth meter. More solitary spiders who don't rely heavily on webs unlike more social spiders are hairier to hunt easier. You can definitely tell hair on a solitary hunting spider vs very small hair on a social. The only spider that uses their hair as an advantage is the tarantula; new world tarantulas kick off their abdomen hairs to spread into the air as a defense mechanism but is limited since they need to wait for their hair to grow back . According to people with arachnophobia, they're more afraid of hairy spiders instead of bald which shouldn't be the case since there are still many poisonous species that are bald. And like I said before in a previous post, very hairy spiders have an advantage to use their hairs as adhesives to water and allows them to float for

When people are asked what the most powerful spider is out there, people would automatically say the black widow. This is because people are warned about the specific spider early in life to stay away from a certain symbol that would be on the black widow's back that is shaped like a red hour glass. They spread this message out so that kids/stupid people would stay away from them since they're so popular but they're technically not the most daring. But when you ask me, the Brazilian Wandering spider has the most intersting and powerful venom. Once bitten, blood flow increases so stay away guys, or be the worst painful bonner you'll get! Yay! There are other side effects that can occur depending on the body like blood clots, muscle/tissue damage, and paralysis. Remember the Brazilian Wandering spider is a genus not a specific species so there are different kinds. And no, they're not apart of the Theraphosidae family!

I wish you all bountiful presents along with your pet tarantulas... and the wild ones too!

Do you want your fuzzy guy to look like this? I recommend to clean a tarantula's enclosure from time to time monthly. Not only different kinds of fungi but mites and other parasites would infest over the substance over time. This isn't just tarantulas, please clean and inspect monthly for infestations. To fully get rid of an infestation, you not only have to clean the substance but also doing a deep clean of the container as well. If it is a fungi problem, stop spraying water into the exhibit so often and clean the tank more. There are signs you should spot like mites crawling everywhere in the enclosure,  how the tank is foggy with too much humidity or how the tarantula isn't moving much.

Looking up what the best names out there brings me to the first link:  https://m.ranker.com/list/funny-tarantula-names/pet-project These are either funny or a reference to a book or a movie like the spiderman franchise, Harry Potter, Charlotte's Web, etc. But I would rather reccomend unique names that have a meaning to you. I'm naming my new tarantula Donut, wow what meaningful symbolic name!

Tarantulas aren't officially domesticated but pet tarantulas are bred selectively for certain traits like having more of a calm personality. Other than that, they are still wild creatures and some can get really feisty with their pet owners which is why most people aren't fit to own a tarantula since most people want their pets to be cuddled and played with. As any other arachnid, they don't do those kinds of things and that one of the activities that can be done is crawling over their owners carefully.

Out of curiosity, I wanted to see what would pop up when searching only the word "tarantula" to see what exactly would pop up on a basic, popular search. At first, I saw the "Top Stories" which showed very current stories of what happened the same day! There are so many illegal transported spider species, it gets really sad especially to someone who adores the little critters. There are YouTube videos that pop up like popular tarantula You Tubers like Exotics Lair, Dark-Den, Deadly Tarantula Girl and old informational videos. Exotics Lair is the main recommendation when searching because he posts often with a million views almost every video. I do watch these You Tubers and I recommend watching them especially Dark Den because he was the one who got me into tarantulas in the first place. I would also say to use DuckDuckGO instead of Google but hey you didn't hear that from me (I want Google to use me in their page(s)).  Overall, the first things that pops

I know this blog is only for tarantulas only but these interesting spiders was too much for me to sway my focus. I found the species of the spider that I found on my porch and so easily at that. It's a orb weaver, one of my favorite types of spider. Family of Tetragnathidae and genus of Leucauge. These orb weavers are only found in the United states, spotted in... "Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, Wisconsin." Usually found in March-September especially May-June. These don't live in homes and usually seen around gardens.

All of a sudden, these green spiders started popping up on my porch. Not sure what kind they are yet but I will see if I can find anything on them. Not sure if they're common in Pennsylvania because I haven't seen them before. They are pretty active. This one spider moves around a lot and it webbed nearly the whole entire porch. There's plenty of egg sacs on the walls and ceiling. It keeps getting agitated when I open the front door because her web gets destroyed. If anyone knows the species please comment below! I can't seem to drink tea without flies getting to me, so I'd rather keep the egg sacs where they are. Besides, these wonderfully green spiders are pretty interesting. They keep crawling on the floor so I'd always need flip flops when I come out though. When I drink tea, it's funny how the same spider is hanging above a chair next to me on her web like we're chilling next to each other.

Here's the brochure I made for Zoology class. It goes into certain topics I focus on but it's mainly basic so people would know the basics of the species before learning the specifics about it. More details are on the post "Zoology Project". I can use this brochure to reference my blog as well. 

If anyone is wondering if they should de-fang a tarantula so they themselves can be safe from their own pet, I recommend you reconsider my friend. Some beginners think it'd be fine to cut off the fangs because they think fangs are like talon claws but no, like a rhino's horn, they can not grow back. Once de-fanged they need to have care all their lives to be hand-fed which is difficult because you don't know when they're hungry. They are silent creatures, unlike a crying child. There are few ways to know if they are like being out of their burrow, waiting for prey to come by or not moving as much.

Spiders can float in water but it does depend on the species of spider because some species of spider are hairier than others. When spiders float on water, it is called "ballooning" and is thought to have been a migratory strategy. "On October 31, 1832, a young naturalist named Charles Darwin walked onto the deck of the HMS Beagle and realized that the ship had been boarded by thousands of intruders. Tiny red spiders, each a millimeter wide, were everywhere. The ship was 60 miles offshore, so the creatures must have floated over from the Argentinian mainland. “All the ropes were coated and fringed with gossamer web,” Darwin wrote" (Yong). According to the article, some spiders can migrate from place to place. This can be evidence to show how spiders had came to different countries all around the world because spiders are everywhere except Antarctica and that spiders had mysteriously migrated to islands so "ballooning" can be the answer as to how they cam

In this show, it shows clips of creepy animals fighting each other. It's an old, cheesy show, season 1 started in 2011. And to no surprise, spiders along with their long distant cousins are in it a lot. It is interesting when it comes down to who wins but it seems like the people who inform you about each animal is bothersome. It feels like they're stalling since they repeat things over again even though I just want to see them fight. It's also infuriating how they keep adding these sound effects when they're fighting. They add cheesy monster howling noises and it gives me a headache. This makes me feel like the show is trying to get people scared of types of animals. It's so frustrating!  Here is a compilation specifically of spider "bug wars" (even though spiders aren't insects): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MoKmY-jofw

I have been having Zoology class since last month and that we did this project on making some sort of presentation we could do. We could have done a video, slide-show, paper packet, brochure, etc... and I choose to do a brochure on tarantulas. At first, I wanted to do sea scorpions instead of tarantulas because I wanted to learn more about them but we couldn't since they are extinct. But I will upload my brochure on the blog soon, I only have to fix a few things up I noticed while I was presenting. Other than that, I haven't had time to post much these few months since it's my senior year at high school, I started my new job, I had to pick up my grades because my senioritis sickened me and I needed to plan for my future. Because I am graduating in a week, I will surely post more. No more excuses.

Technically, tarantulas and all spiders don't have compound eyes because compound eyes are only found in insects today and in certain sea creatures back in the Cambrian era. Nowadays, compound eyes are known for their insects like flies or butterflies. Arachnids have close together eyes, some more than others. Their eyes seem almost invisible because of how close together they are. Looking at them in the distance makes it seem like they're sort of eye-less. Most of the time, each spider has eyes with a different lens by having a different focus in different angles of sight. Like how the above eyes would be able to see above them and the sides see upwards to the side or downwards. Crab spider eyes Tick eyes Spider eyes

Because of how octopus have 8 limbs, people think they're related to spiders. They're right but they aren't closely related. It goes back millions of years ago, back when spiders were still being evolved into what they are today while they were still crustaceans but what split them apart were the terms hard-bodied and soft-bodied crustaceans. Spiders were known as shelled organisms because they evolved to have a shelled exoskeleton to ward off predators while soft bodied are more flexible especially when escaping a predator. They were both from an 8-legged crustacean but no one is 100% sure what it was and how 8 legs originated from. 8 Legs VS. 8 Legs (It's funny because they're related):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=108&v=TplU3WNOggQ

People keep saying "white people are crazy" and I know this is a great joke but when it comes to spiders, spiders are cute! How can anyone not let a tarantula crawl on them? I don't really remember Steve Irwin having much time with tarantulas in his show(s) so I'm glad his daughter is. Also, Harriet is such a good name for a harry spider even though it sounds like a boy name.

I've been thinking of making a new blog on all spiders not just tarantulas (on the same profile of course). I'm not saying that I'm done with my tarantula blog at all and that I have been inspired with this topic fully till the present moment. But I also want to branch out and add more topics to the list of what I want to talk about. Tarantulas aren't my only favorite spider and that my second favorite family is the Salticidae family which are the jumping spiders. I also want to talk about my upmost favorite specie, the wasp spider including the ogre-faced spider! I do certainly learn alongside you when researching more and more about tarantulas but I would love to learn more about their related cousins, ancestors, grandmas, grandpas, friends, co-workers.... as well so I wouldn't feel as if I was limited to do only one family of the spider.

I recently made a new theory about the movie "Charlotte's Web." I'm pretty sure you've heard of the story by either a children's book or by the movie since it's so popin' popular. The story represents the spider as this wise, kind spider that helps the main character (the pig) along with the side characters but representing her in that way doesn't mean she's really is behind the scenes. The spider was only acting as if she was the pig's friend to stab the pig in the back at the end.  I'm just jokin' ya. I'm not actually theory-crazy! April fools!

This is the slideshow I was talking about that I presented to the panelists. It took around 2 months to make it (I was busy okay). I put the lecture notes down below so you can see what I said for each slide on my presentation. I didn't even use my note cards and instead, looked at each slide and summarized it in my own words but I still went through all those details on the lecture notes. Other than that, I hope you learn something out of this:

Looking through Amazon once again, I would love to have these pictures on the side of my room. I like the fiery red tarantula picture much better; I would only use one picture along with other different small decor with it so it wouldn't look weird putting a tarantula on your wall. They're both around $280 with free shipping, any kind of size. Here are links (they might expire anytime) if anyone wants to get more details. https://www.amazon.com/Rosenberry-Rooms-Canvas-Wall-Prints/dp/B07HJBWYK1/ref=sr_1_21?keywords=tarantula&qid=1552752355&refinements=p_36%3A1253527011&rnid=386465011&s=home-garden&sr=1-21 https://www.amazon.com/Rosenberry-Rooms-Canvas-Wall-Prints/dp/B07G6QJLYQ/ref=sr_1_24?keywords=tarantula&qid=1552752355&refinements=p_36%3A1253527011&rnid=386465011&s=home-garden&sr=1-24

I can't believe Spider man is finally having a comeback! I've always loved this super hero ever since I was a kid and this movie really did bring Peter Parker back to life. I haven't seen it yet because I'm waiting for it to come out on TV (I'm cheap). But I've seen so many scenes of it and the characters, the animation, the plot, etc was so amazing. I'm glad they did a great job on it; the hype was worth the hype. This, to me , is a step for spiders and human culture/media to come together and I hope people will love spiders more. I think toys and movies of spiders can get rid of arachnophobia slightly because of how people would be more familiar with the spider species. 

Watch a video on a beginner tarantula on how they molt within a time lapse of 30 seconds. You can see the "leg holes" at 0:13. Even though this is a slow and agonizing process for the tarantula, it is only squirming after the molt to get back up on it's feet not because it was dying a slow death or anything. It's kinda funny how when they get up they just stay really still like it's traumatized from molting and that it looks like they're like: "wait what just happened?" Howbeit, they have animal instincts they knew it was going to happen sometime. What a fast video and great music, right? Classy. This was in my presentation to the panelists I was talking about before, they sure loved the music but they were creeped out because of how big it was on the white board! 😅

I've started learning German for the past few months and have finally gotten to the word spider! In German it's spelled spinne and it's pronounced kinda like sh-pin-a. In plural, it's spinnen. I decided to learn German because of how they pronounce certain words in a way I can't particularly describe yet. Also, I had just found out a few days ago that I'm 42% German! What a coincidence. And that I have a GERMAN Sheppard. Double coincidence! Out of curiosity, I looked up on google translate on how to say tarantula and it was tarantel! Not much different to tarantula. It might be wrong cause it's Google Translate after all. I may even post in German from time to time once I'm advanced in the language.

A female Wolf spider taking care of her young on her back, looking for prey outside the burrow.  All tarantulas don't care for their young when the spiderlings gain independence when leaving the egg sac. Heck, even when the spiderlings are still inside the nest, the mother steps on them on accident. Tarantulas and most spiders are one of those animals who don't have the compassion to teach their children how to survive the real world. Spiders are solitary creatures and that even the most social groups of spider only guards the egg sacs for around one or two months. This is very harsh for the newborn spiders because they were basically left on their own since their birth and that their survival is extremely low that there might be a few that survive in the wild out of hundreds of siblings. Fathers, on the other hand are dead beat dads who say they're coming back from the store in a few hours. Spider fathers are not "compassionate" either. They either ran away

So again with the roasting... LOOK AT THIS CURTAIN. Why would I want to see this through my window? This is awfully too much going on. Curtains should be basic not Google Images turned into curtains like this. But again, extreme hardcore tarantula lover might like this, it's just over the top for me, I don't know about you. The only thing I like is the curtain rod because the leaves are simple and elegant. Like can I please buy the curtain rod instead? I bet making tarantula products for anything can be done but it has to be done right and has to stay simple but I haven't seen that yet but at the same time, I don't really want to see that no matter how good it is. That's how bizarre these images are, they can't be done like this! There's also other versions (designs) of the product and you can see for yourself, it's a little bit out there. I'm sorry I'm "roasting" but it's just a little too extreme and it KINDA deserves it.

For Christmas, my sister got me a Harry Potter themed Lego set about the one of the first movies in the series. Even though that spider wasn't exactly inspired by tarantulas, I still like it and I completed it in a few hours after I got it. I know I am very late when it comes to publishing this since Christmas was months ago. I have absolutely no idea where to put it still and I want to hide it because I'm an 18 year old with Legos but of course I still appreciate it. It's pretty cool how the abdomen (butt) can rise up in a threatening posture including the eyes, fangs and legs.

A myth among the tarantula pet owner community has been going around on why not to fill the tarantula's water bowl all the way. This has caused so many pet owners and even zoos to use wet sponges, filled with bacteria instead. This is abuse because it can cause fungal issues within the habitat and the tarantulas internal immune system, causing it to die slowly with no clear water in sight. Besides, even when tarantulas are in water, their hairs can protect them by floating but the most dangerous case scenario is for the tarantula to be flipped upside down with its head under water. That is the main reason for why it is dangerous but that is considered rare and it being rare surely is better than bacterial drinking water.

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I was searching for tarantulas with a white background on Google Images and I found this.... Then, I'm wondering WHO WILL EVER GET THIS??? This table looks horrible!! I mean, there are many people who like tarantulas but they wouldn't exactly want to see them while they're eating all the time. I guess It's mainly for people who are extreme at tarantula collections and their whole life is based on them but still, it's so weird. The chairs look okay but it seems it's so out of place because they don't exactly match the theme it's going for. But hey, for all you extremes out there, it's $46.99.

I've been thinking for a while that I should custom order some bracelets that have cheesy jokes on them. This one isn't really funny but I made a few that was related to spiderman but sadly I totally forgot how they went.  I was thinking how I could sell custom bracelets to help get rid of arachnophobia throughout the spider community and to induce arachnophilia instead. I like using green as the theme when it comes to tarantulas, it makes it tropical or dirty looking and I think it fits really well with their personality/habitat. 

Once the spider population in a home is so over grown, not only in basements and dusty corners but in everyday rooms can be overcome with extremely dangerous types of spiders like a huntsman, recluse, tarantula or even black widow can kill. Many don't know how spiders anatomy works especially when it comes to their defenses like venom and how their venom is regained over a certain amount of time. Depending on the genus, a couple of bites could kill and so even though spiders usually aren't aggressive, this could still pose a huge threat particularly when neighboring spiders are close within territories, causing stress. This could mainly cause a threat against weak or vulnerable people like new born babies, elderly, or in dire need of help of an illness. But don't fret, these demonstrations would be considered a rare case because of how unlikely it is to happen since there are many ways on preventing a huge spider infestation in human-active places but nonetheless, be weary

You like my Photoshop? Let's play a little game... guess which number is the closest relative  of the tarantula. Comment down below to answer. Only choose one! Whoever wins gets a.. funny tarantula meme. And yes, I know number 21 looks creepy as hell. Many types of families of the spider (not all types are in here).

Here is my essay on the research of tarantulas. I am still thinking about adding much more to it in the future and once I do, I will post the document again to notify you guys. I have worked on this document for around 2 years and knowing research can't be fully stopped, I am inspired to keep adding on to it and adding much more detail to give a full overview of the spider. I have not gotten into many subtopics of the ones I had already discussed about in the research essay but I am willing to give it a try within months of this year but in the meantime, I will still post on the blog. Please tell me if anyone is having troubles accessing it. I hope you enjoy the "draft" of it so far! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VMqBrmuwpMf-E-szPMdSPIqxUAn3yDxfHqyQgqoZXa8/edit?usp=sharing

I had gotten a completely different book than what I thought I'd get when trying to get a tarantula-related book from Carnegie Library. It's called, "Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History" by Bill Schutt. It's about the statistics and information of zoology of many different animals such as invertebrates and mammals, including insects of course. I have chosen this book, not to look sketchy but because tarantulas are cannibals, it's how they survive as newborns and what they commit after mating/during courtship. I had chosen to look deep into a section of their natural instincts such as cannibalism because that's what spiders are known for. I learned that animals use cannibalism as a survival/hunting strategy. And that there are specific species that use females and their kids as survival by eating them as a tactic of survival along with mating evolution. This is very helpful to comparing other animals so I could get a better view and aspect to the zoo

As the victim juices out from it's own carcass into the spider's esophagus, the spider pierces the body over and over again to keep the juices flowing into below the fangs. And will stop once the spider is full to its liking. Spiders don't particularly have taste buds nor tongues so, how would they be able to taste prey? As a substitute for teeth, tarantulas have fangs to make the body of the victim juicy enough to slurp it into the stomach instead of having to chew it meaning, if food isn't in the "mouth" for long then why have taste buds? Well their "taste buds" are centimeters towards the face where the pedipalps are located. These pedipalps are areas to store sperm in males but in females, it's only to sense.

Essential Question: How do you care, mate, feed, etc  for a pet tarantula properly and appropriately? Foundation Question: In what ways could you care for a tarantula appropriately? NOTES (In own words; one line long) SOURCES (Author’s Last Name or “Full Article Title”) Main Idea 1: Supplies Heating lantern above enclosure to apply heat onto specimen All specimen need a different temp & humidity in enclosure Depends on species - temp around 25 degrees c Use heat map on cage/bulb on top of cage NO direct light! - it’ll be too hot Depends where they usually lived in wild Humidity is given by spraying water in the enclosure Moist dirt is key for the tarantula Tarantulas are used to these environments Like rain forest tarantulas especially 60-70% humidity level Have a thermometer to know (Videojug). Get different species of bug to feed pet weekly/monthly - give variety Feed them twice per week or more/less -