Invertebrate checklist
Cheap to keep and easy to get wrong. Almost every problem is humidity, ventilation or an unsuitable species for a beginner.
Before you go
- Identify the exact species and its requirements. "Tarantula" covers animals with wildly different needs and temperaments.
- Set the enclosure up first: correct substrate depth, correct humidity, correct ventilation, and secure ventilation for anything that climbs.
- Check whether the species is CITES-listed. Several tarantulas are, and Annex A specimens need an Article 10 certificate.
- Beginners should start with a terrestrial New World species. Old World tarantulas are fast, defensive and have a significantly stronger venom.
On the day
- Moving normally, not lethargic or curled with legs drawn under the body.
- Abdomen plump but not so distended it drags. A shrunken abdomen means dehydration.
- All legs present and used. Missing legs regrow at a moult but tell you about the animal's history.
- Ask when it last moulted and when it last ate. A pre-moult animal will not eat, and that is normal, not illness.
Questions worth asking
- Captive bred or wild caught? Captive bred, always.
- What is it being kept at, in temperature and humidity?
- What is it eating and what size?
- Has it been sexed, and how?
Walk away if
- The species cannot be identified precisely.
- It is being sold as a handling pet. Tarantulas are display animals; handling risks a fatal fall for the spider and urticating hairs for you.
- It is an Annex A species with no certificate.
Seen something that worries you? Report it. A person reads every report, and we would rather hear from you early than not at all.