When I got started with arachnid and insect pets, I had no intentions of getting any tarantulas. After a few orders from tarantulacanada.com, my all time favorite source of critters, they sent me a free tarantula. The non-intimidating kind, just a quarter of an inch big. Tiny, pink, and positively not scary. Easing me in, they were, like the drug dealer giving away dime bags of coke to unsuspecting children. I was however, quite horrified at getting that first tarantula, especially since I wasn't expecting it. But it was quite cute, in a weird sort of way, so I kept it, as well as the 3 other freebie tarantulas they sent me over the next several months. I began to really look forward to the surprises they sent me. Well I have seven tarantulas now, my four freebies and three dwarfs ordered on purpose. While most of them are still acceptably small, the first two freebies are now large. Large for me anyway, 2.5 inches from tip of toe to tip of toe. I am a little freaked out by these not so small tarantulas, In fact, I have one of them on kijiji even as we speak. A girl contacted me the other day expressing interest in buying one of them. She asked me if I handled them, and I said "No, I think they could be handled, they are quite mellow, but it just isn't my thing." This was putting it mildly. She sent me back a picture of herself, holding a much larger tarantula in her hand. This prompted my response, "That would make me scream like a small child." She asked how old I was. She was probably shock to discover that I am probably 2X her age.
Today I tried to move one of these suckers out of her old enclosure into a new, bigger, better one, in preparation for sale. Well the darn thing ended up skittering around my desk, much faster than I would have believed possible for a critter that normally lumbers like a cow in labor. Fortunately I caught it, after squealing like a 5 year old for awhile. Nope, truth is I am not that keen on the big tarantulas, call me a wimp if you wish, I don't mind. I will stick with my mantids, whip-spiders, jumping spiders, etc. And the dwarf tarantulas, there are some really beautiful, colorful dwarfs. Oh, and
Avicularia tarantulas (they are more like little ballerinas than spiders). I still look forward to my surprises from Tarantula Canada, and I really like watching the tiny little spiderlings grow into recognizable tarantulas, but once they get a certain size, well, pet spider anyone?
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| Jennifer, Hairy and Scary |
