My Pet Tarantula
I have a pet tarantula. Her name is Lucretia. Lucretia and I have been together for about two years now. I have never been a big fan of spiders. You might even say that I'm a bit Arachnophobic (afraid of spiders). Sure, the little featherweight Parlor spiders that most of us live with everyday without hardly noticing are no big deal. But a Tarantula, a big, hairy, poisonous Tarantula? Yikes!
Well, here's how Lucretia found her way into my life. About two years ago I moved into a basement apartment of a friend's place. The girl who had lived there before me had gone to Arizona but hadn't quite finished moving all of her stuff out. There was a room of the basement with a bed sheet over the doorway and a sign that said "Keep Out". Some of the previous tenants stuff was still in there so I had agreed to leave that room alone until she returned for it as long as I could still move in.
So a couple of weeks went by and the girl came back from Arizona. She was very nice, and very pretty, so her and I got along quite well from the start. She asked me if by chance I had been taking care of her spider. "Spider, what spider" I said. Then she told me about her pet tarantula that had been living in that sheeted off room while she had been away in Arizona. At this point I was trying to remain calm and keep my cool rather than do what would have come quite naturally: Shriek in horror! But that type of behavior has never impressed a lady in my experience, so I held my tongue.
The girl from Arizona actually only moved upstairs so we became good friends in a short time. I agreed to let the tarantula stay in the basement with me.
As I've been caring for this tarantula for quite some time now, I've actually become quite fascinated with it. I did a bit of research and found the most interesting factoid concerning the tarantula's lifespan. Now of course, male spiders of any kind seem to typically draw the short straw when it comes to longevity. The male black widow is famous for being eaten by its mate soon after fertilizing her eggs. Hence the saying about the female black widow "She mates and she kills".
While the male tarantula isn't actually eaten by its mate, it does have a much shorter lifespan. The male tarantula only lives one or two years tops while the female can live for an incredible average of 25 years or more! That's how I know that Lucretia is a female. She was with the Arizona girl for several years before I even met her so she has to be female.
Anyway, the tarantula is probably one of the easiest pets to take care of. Every two or three weeks I put 8 to 12 live crickets in her tank which she eats at her leisure. Other than that I keep about ¼" of water in a small bowl for her and that's it. She seems to do just fine living in an ambient temperature (68 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit most of the time in my house).
In two short years I've gone from being Arachnophobic to being a guy who sleeps with a live tarantula in his bedroom. I also have a new girlfriend who often sleeps in my bedroom as well, you know, the pretty one from Arizona. Life is good!
I have a pet tarantula. Her name is Lucretia. Lucretia and I have been together for about two years now. I have never been a big fan of spiders. You might even say that I'm a bit Arachnophobic (afraid of spiders). Sure, the little featherweight Parlor spiders that most of us live with everyday without hardly noticing are no big deal. But a Tarantula, a big, hairy, poisonous Tarantula? Yikes!
Well, here's how Lucretia found her way into my life. About two years ago I moved into a basement apartment of a friend's place. The girl who had lived there before me had gone to Arizona but hadn't quite finished moving all of her stuff out. There was a room of the basement with a bed sheet over the doorway and a sign that said "Keep Out". Some of the previous tenants stuff was still in there so I had agreed to leave that room alone until she returned for it as long as I could still move in.
So a couple of weeks went by and the girl came back from Arizona. She was very nice, and very pretty, so her and I got along quite well from the start. She asked me if by chance I had been taking care of her spider. "Spider, what spider" I said. Then she told me about her pet tarantula that had been living in that sheeted off room while she had been away in Arizona. At this point I was trying to remain calm and keep my cool rather than do what would have come quite naturally: Shriek in horror! But that type of behavior has never impressed a lady in my experience, so I held my tongue.
The girl from Arizona actually only moved upstairs so we became good friends in a short time. I agreed to let the tarantula stay in the basement with me.
As I've been caring for this tarantula for quite some time now, I've actually become quite fascinated with it. I did a bit of research and found the most interesting factoid concerning the tarantula's lifespan. Now of course, male spiders of any kind seem to typically draw the short straw when it comes to longevity. The male black widow is famous for being eaten by its mate soon after fertilizing her eggs. Hence the saying about the female black widow "She mates and she kills".
While the male tarantula isn't actually eaten by its mate, it does have a much shorter lifespan. The male tarantula only lives one or two years tops while the female can live for an incredible average of 25 years or more! That's how I know that Lucretia is a female. She was with the Arizona girl for several years before I even met her so she has to be female.
Anyway, the tarantula is probably one of the easiest pets to take care of. Every two or three weeks I put 8 to 12 live crickets in her tank which she eats at her leisure. Other than that I keep about ¼" of water in a small bowl for her and that's it. She seems to do just fine living in an ambient temperature (68 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit most of the time in my house).
In two short years I've gone from being Arachnophobic to being a guy who sleeps with a live tarantula in his bedroom. I also have a new girlfriend who often sleeps in my bedroom as well, you know, the pretty one from Arizona. Life is good!
