Old Vs. New Tarantulas

If you've heard the terms New World tarantulas or Old World tarantulas, you might be wondering what their differences are and how it matters when getting a pet tarantula especially for beginners.

Related imageNew World tarantulas: These docile animals are more of an evolutionized strategic approach because they don't have to get too close in order to defend themselves. They have urticating hairs located on the abdomen that can be kicked off from the 2 hind legs so the threat would get agitated in sensitive areas like the eyes, mouth, naval and even skin that can turn into rashes. This is why when you handle a new world, you should always wash your hands afterwards and that you should always handle a tarantula who is more likely to be calm (like a Chilean Rose).If these hairs get deeper and deeper into your body, go to the hospital to get them removed so they wouldn't damage anything else especially when it comes to exposed sensitive areas like the eyes. Be aware that some species can create blindness much faster compared to other tarantulas.


Old World tarantulas: These tropical tarantulas are considered more of a prehistoric version of new world tarantulas. When I say that, I mean that Eastern tarantulas have less evolutionary strategies like how they don't have urticating hairs on their abdomen. But when it comes to defense, they have aggression on their side and violent venom potency to weaken prey and predators so be careful when handling them because they can strike any moment when they feel agitated/threatened. If the body is too weak to overcome the venom inside the body, it is recommended to go to the hospital once the body still feels pain or weakness after a couple days after the biting. Knowing what species tarantula that you were bit by would help in getting an antidote of the specific type of venom that the types of spider has. Overall, the size of tarantula doesn't particularly change between the two.

Remember to do your own research of what genus tarantula you would like to have as a pet to secure your own safety by making sure what their individual defense mechanisms are since a type of species could've developed dangerous defenses. Note: It's called "Old World" and "New World" because those are the terms that were used during Christopher Columbus' journey East to West as the Europeans were creating the geography on the world. It described new places like it was a new world compared to his old world which was around Europe.


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