Housing
"Pet pals," sold in pet shops, work well for many species. Many plastic and glass containers can be adapted for tarantula homes. Burrowing species, which are generally heavier, should not be kept in tall containers. If they climb up the sides and drop, they can rupture their abdomens or other body parts and quickly bleed to death. They may also catch their feet in metal-screened tops and lose or break legs or be hurt in a fall. Ground-dwelling species don't need anything taller than their own length, stretched out. Container lengths should be at least about 2 1/2 times the legspan of the individual, by 1 1/2 times. Tarantulas that live in trees (arboreal) don't need the same things that the burrowing, ground-dwelling species do. Arboreals tend to be longer in leg, thinner in body, and often the ends of their legs are broader than the rest of the leg. Cage height is not limited with arboreal tarantulas.

Air circulation in a container is almost never a bad thing, and arboreals especially may die without it. Stagnant containers with very high humidity can easily breed molds, fungi, bacteria and mites. If your particular tarantula doesn't require high humidity, a water dish is fine without misting. Certain species do require higher humidity. Again, find out what species you've got. If you try to maintain your cobalt blue tarantula the same way as your Texas tan tarantula, you'll quickly lose the cobalt blue. What do you need to put in the cage? Generally, substrate and shelter. Substrates can be vermiculite, peat moss, potting or topsoil. There is some reason to suspect that wood products, such as chips may improve the habitat for mites, setting the stage for problems, so they should probably be avoided. Never use cedar products, it is toxic to many arthropods. Different species of tarantulas are used to different conditions. Arboreals live in trees and make their tube-web homes in holes in them, inside bark, or strung between parts of the tree. Solid wood, such as branches or boards are fine for them. Burrowers live in holes and may appreciate deep substrate and dug-in shelters.

Temperatures best for most tarantula species tend to be from 75-85° F. Up towards 90° F or over, you need to be very careful to watch the water dish and humidity. Tarantulas can be successfully kept colder in the winter, but need at least a good long warm season each year to thrive. Direct sunlight might be detrimental to some species, and bright lights may be disturbing to others.

Some tarantula species are very "low-maintenance" pets, others require constant attention. As a general rule, ground-dwelling tarantulas from more arid climates are the easiest. Good examples include the Chilean rose, Grammostola rosea, and the desert blond Aphonopelma chalcodes. Arboreal species and those from wet regions often require more care and maintenance.

Feeding
The most commonly used tarantula food is store-bought crickets. These are fine, but a variety of diet is good too. If you catch insects for your spider, make sure they haven't been exposed to pesticides, and avoid some earwigs and certain beetles (earwigs and some beetles can be dangerous or even poisonous). Larger tarantulas will often eat baby mice, and many tarantulas will take dead prey, or even pieces of meat -- you can experiment. Drosophila (fruit flies) are good for small spiderlings, but a mixed diet is safest. Tarantulas will stop feeding when preparing to molt and food must be removed; see Molting and Medical Problems.

Handling And Bites
Tarantulas have small brains (but large for arthropods) and may react in unexpected ways to whatever they perceive as being a threatening situation for people not highly experienced with them. Tarantulas, especially the ground-dwellers, can easily be killed by even a short fall; they can be very fragile. The arboreals are far less likely to be injured by a fall, but they tend to be very fast and can easily escape and be difficult to recapture. Furthermore, tarantulas possess venom. There is no scientific evidence that any of their venoms are lethal, but bites from some species can be painful and cause unpleasant symptoms. Some people may be harmfully allergic to certain venoms. If you are bitten and have trouble breathing, see a doctor. Most tarantulas from North, South, and Central America have urticating (itch-causing) hairs on their abdomens. They can kick these in the air or in some cases press them into an "intruder." This may cause bald spots on the abdomen, which is nothing to worry about. However, these hairs can cause rashes and occasionally bad eye inflammations in humans. Keep your face away from your spiders and wash your hands after any contact with their bodies or cage bedding. Benadryl may help with rashes.

There are times when you need to move your spider from the cage (such as for cleaning). If you're dealing with an especially skittish, fast animal, you can put it in the refrigerator for 10 or 15 minutes, and that will slow it down a lot. Don't overdo it; the stress of the sudden temperature shock may be hazardous. Whenever you move a tarantula from one container to another, keep a plastic cup or fish net available to catch it with if it bolts. Gently brushing with a paintbrush will help get it going where you want it.

Molting And Medical Problems
In order to grow larger, tarantulas must molt. They do this by splitting the exoskeleton (skin) on the carapace (top of the front body part where the legs are attached) and then working the rest of the body and finally the legs out of the molt. Usually they turn on their backs or sides to molt. Before molting, they will stop eating for a while. The time may be a few days for a small spiderling. Adults will stop feeding for few weeks to as long as several months before molting.

Many insects such as crickets have the potential to attack and kill a molting tarantula. Remove uneaten prey promptly. A spider that is upside-down with its legs in the air is almost certainly molting. Don't try to turn it over or touch it, or you may injure it. The exception to this is if it begins molting while still right side up. With larger individuals, you may have to assist the molting spider over onto its side to prevent leg damage or loss. After molting, it will take an adult tarantula at least several days to harden its exoskeleton (new skin) and begin feeding. Don't bother it until it recovers fully. It will probably be quite hungry, and eat heavily for awhile.

Adult tarantulas usually complete a molt within several hours. If your spider gets stuck in its molt, you may be keeping the humidity too low. Try misting it with water or a 1/20 dilution of glycerin. If it goes over a day or so, drastic measures are needed. You can take a pair of forceps and very gently try to pull off the exoskeleton by pulling on the ends of the old leg skin.

If your tarantula becomes injured in any way and starts bleeding, it is likely to die if not treated. If it loses a leg during a molt, you may be keeping the humidity too low. Hemolymph (tarantula "blood") is pale blue and the clotting systems to stop bleeding may not be sufficient if the wound is large enough. Wounds can be coated with triple nail hardener, nail menders, "Nuskin," medical adhesive, or "Skin Patch" (used by bowlers). Lost legs aren't as likely to bleed as long as the whole leg is cast off (this is called "autotomy.") If a spider loses part of the leg, you can force it to throw off the rest by grasping the femur leg segment close to the body with a pair of forceps and pulling up. If the stumps start to bleed, and this may happen weeks after the leg is lost, you can coat them with one of the materials above. The leg will gradually regenerate over the next few molts, unless the spider is a mature male. Various super glues are probably better to treat abdominal trauma. Occasionally a tarantula cage (particularly damp cages) may become infested with mites. You can keep them at bay by changing out all the substrate and cleaning the cage and any "decorations" with warm soapy water or bleach (but rinse well!) You can also buy predatory mites from a beneficial insectary to kill the pest mites. After the pest mites are gone, the predatory mites die.

Tarantula Responsibility
Tarantulas are arachnids, which comprise all kinds of wonderful, curious creatures, such as scorpions, whipscorpions, tailless whipscorpions, harvestmen and windscorpions to name a few. They are frightening to many, but arachnids are overall a beneficial group of animals. Spiders help greatly to control insects that destroy crops or carry diseases. When taking on the care of an arachnid like a spider, you take on some responsibility for helping change how people perceive them. Some politicians prey on very common fears of spiders and would like to regulate their trade into extinction. Be responsible with your animals! Don't use them to show off. Learn about them, get to know them. Many of them may be threatened with possible extinction because of habitat destruction and perhaps over-collecting. They are more than a novelty. They're an intrinsic, and critical, part of life itself.