I really don’t know what came into my mind why I got myself into this kind of hobby; because it is rare, exotic, creepy, and not for the faint-hearted perhaps? Or for one reason I don’t know, I just love it. It’s quite a long time since I engrossed myself into this hobby and it’s very addictive. I’m pretty sure this hobby is very unlikely, especially for girls. Who would want to pet a big-hairy-creepy-crawly anyway?
   Well… I do. I am an elfin female, and with one fleeting glance at me you’ll never know that I own some of those enthralling little creatures labeled as the fearsome eight-legged freaks… the tarantulas! 

    Creepy and odd as it seems, I actually have a few of them. In fact, I still want to have more if only my budget allows me. I’ve already spent a fortune with this hobby, but for now I am on hiatus with my tarantula buying spree. Tarantulas can be very costly. But no matter how expensive they get, take this from me… the money spent is all worth it. Shown in the pictures below are my sub-adult tarantulas.

Barbara. She’s a 4 inch heavy webber. She’s quite aggressive and a voracious eater. Hence, the name. I also named her from a friend who almost possess the same characteristics as her.

 
“Shadow”. Still unidentified what genus she belongs, found only in the Philippines. This is my only Local T. She’s a beauty, isn’t she? I love that jetblack color.

    A lot of people I know would freak out the moment they hear the word “tarantula”. The most common remark(s) I hear each time people discover that I keep giant spiders is “What?! You got yourself a tarantula?! Are you insane?!” (Yes I am) or “Baliw ka ba?! Di ba poisonous yan?!! Di naman yan aso o pusa, na pwede mong alagaan at himas-himasin.(Are you crazy?! That’s poisonous right?! That isn’t a cat or a dog that you can pet and caress) ” or “Anong nakain mo at bigla ka na lang nagaalaga ng ganyan? Langya! sa lahat lahat pa ng hayop, bakit tarantula pa? (What have you eaten why you suddenly got yourself into that? Of all pets, why a spider?) " And my most common reply would be, “They’re adorable.” Just that.

I handle some of my creepy crawlies. Left: Handling B. vagans (Mexican Red Rump).
Right: Handling a local unidentified specie. But I would strongly recommend not handling them specially if you aren’t experienced - it’s not only you who is at risk.. the life of a T is at risk too.

     Yes, I find these little creatures very a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e! Interesting and fascinating creatures they are… these little critters never cease to amaze me. It’s like each day they have a little surprise stored for you.

    Not only that, tarantulas are also great stress relievers. They even act as clowns, especially when they do something weird and funny, believe me, they do! I even got late for school, watching my N. chromatus redecorating her house. I even wake up at dawn just to see them eat. My psycho G. rosea is very active, she moves or buries her waterdish all the time, she would even make a curtain of her poops on the walls of her enclosure. She’s normally weird. My C. huahini webs her house that looks like a tunnel, and it looks so beautiful. There’s so much more astonishing little things they do. They will do anything and everything that will confuse and dumbfound the keeper. They’re indeed full of surprises. Herewith are some photos of my babies. I love them to bits…

   
Left: “Bj” 5cm Legspan.The carpenter. She constantly redecorates her house every week. She’s a bit skittish too.
Right: “Rej” 9cm Legspan. The teleporter. Her speed is that of a lightning.

Left:”Dayenenni” 2.5 inches. She’s a psycho. The weirdest spider I have. She would actually make a curtain of poops on the walls of her enclosure (i should get a pic of this). Her nature is SUPPOSED to be docile. But she’s acting mean, nonetheless, still harmless.
Right:”Meriguen” 2.5 inches. That’s “Honduran” Curly hair by the way, not Honudran. She’s very calm. But she flicks a lot of urticating hairs when pissed.

    So back to the topic. I’ve read a line from a known tarantula book which is very true, "Tarantulas are the fall guys. Misnamed, falsely accused, slandered, and convicted without a trial, these giants of the spider world still persist, oblivious to it all, waiting at the mouths of their burrows for only another beetle." - S. Schultz, Tarantula Keeper’s Guide, p.7

    Most people don’t really see the beauty of these “ugly” little beasts. The “Tarantula” movie in 1955 and “Eight Legged Freaks” in 2002 has already gotten way too much to show the people that these creatures are atrocious and horrible. But they are not, definitely not. They’re just little creatures who simply love to munch on little bugs.

    Tarantula care is low maintenance; however, it’s still not an easy task. A tarantula keeper must be very well-equipped with knowledge on how to care for tarantulas, courage, patience (a loooot of patience) and dedication is also included. These vicious little fellows are in fact, delicate. They’re easily stressed and might die .

    And just a word of caution, don’t assume that these creatures are sooo adorable, there’s still a little devil within them. Once they get pissed: they have fangs, big fangs - they have venom – and they bite…hard. They have hairs - they flick – you get itchy… very itchy. I had an experience once when one of my tarantulas got upset when I was trying to get her out from her enclosure. I didn’t notice that she was already kicking hairs. It took almost a week for the itch to completely go away. You know how annoyingly itchy those hairy caterpillars (also known in Visayan dialect as til-as) can be…well, tarantula hair is worse! Just be careful. Or better yet, don’t bother them.

She’s one of my favorites. She’s only 4.5 inches small, maybe she looks big because my hands are thin. hehehe.. anyway, she’s so docile and calm, but runs fast like hell when startled.

And I really want to have a tarantula as big as this. The above picture is still a subadult Theraposa blondi . Tarantulas can reach up to 12 inches legspan, if you might want to know. Picture courtesy of my fellow hobbyist from Philippine Tarantula and Scorpion Society.

And if ever you chanced a tarantula on this stance:

This is the “look but don’t touch” pose. I’d suggest you back off. They bite once provoked. This last pic is not mine, I just got this from Regalis of Arachnoboards.com since I haven’t yet taken a picture of my tarantulas throwing a threat pose on me.

Is there anyone here who shares the same fad with me?