Hey Steemians! The Dragon Is Going To... Nerd Out On Tarantulas! (commence epic audience eye-roll sequence)
I know a few weeks back I discussed my story of how I noticed that over the course of several months my Arachnophobia waned and gave way to Arachno...philia. Yes, yes you read that right. If you're curious about this odd nerdism, just refer to some of the images posted to my Facebook page in the last several weeks where I post photos of lovely little 8-legged beasties. Or, if you haven't yet read the story of how I noticed my Arachnophobia disappearing, just check it out here : Phobia Gone: Arachnophobe To Arachnophile In 3 Months?
Where We Left Off
A few weeks back, I was venturing into the world of tarantulas and had purchased my very first one, a Green Bottle Blue sling ("sling" is slang for spiderling, referring to a baby spider). I was reading all about the various species of the tarantula enthusiast world, from the handle-able, slower tarantulas to the quick and aggressive beauties that are strictly kept as displays (usually due to striking coloration and markings). The more I learned, the more species I discovered and admired, the more I realized that what all my fellow enthusiasts said was going to be true for me too:
The Basics for Dummies
In the tarantula world, there are a minimum of 850 known species. These species fall into two categories: either Old World or New World. New World species of tarantula developed a defensive mechanism called urticating hairs. They have barbed hairs on their abdomen and can spit (urticate) the hairs into their enemy, causing a lot of itch and irritation in the skin. New World tarantulas are far less likely to bite because they tend to reserve the venom in their fangs for their prey and the urticating hairs are the simplest defense mechanism for them. Because this is true, and they are far less likely to resort to a bite, New World species are usually more common as pets in the trade and are almost always the first purchases of beginners to the hobby. Depending on the species of New World tarantula that spits hairs, the hairs will cause varying degrees of irritation on your skin if they use this defense. Some people report a species spitting hairs and it caused irritation for many days, some just for several hours. Lots of New World species are very docile, even if slightly skittish, and they have to be pretty severely provoked to even 'spit hairs' on you.
Old World tarantulas did not develop the ability to spit hairs, and generally tend to be characterized by high speed movements and a more aggressive nature and quickness to bite since biting and fleeing are their only defenses.
However, Old Worlds are often coming from tropical or exotic places on the planet, and having beautiful colorations and more striking designs on them, so they still remain in high demand in the hobby... though only much more experienced handlers tend to own them, and usually only as displays (not to handle).
My Green Bottle Blue sling that you saw further above is very popular as a beginner pet tarantula because while it is a New World species, delicate, and mostly docile, it carries bright and more unusual colorations like a lot of the Old World species do. When it is full grown it will have a bright teal carapace, bright blue legs, and a bright orange abdomen.
Terrestrial VS Arboreal
New Worlds are often also terrestrial tarantulas, rather than arboreal. However, not all New World tarantulas are only terrestrial. Some New Worlds, which are semi-docile and have urticating hairs, are also arboreal tarantulas. I'll explain.
Terrestrial tarantulas live in the ground, burrow, and have a very delicate exo-skeleton. They can be killed just by being dropped from a foot off the ground. They tend not to dart and run that fast except maybe when catching prey, they don't leap, and their overall movements are often much slower than arboreal tarantulas. They usually don't web heavily except to sometimes line their burrows with some webbing, some don't web almost at all.
Arboreal tarantulas live in trees in tropical climates around the world, sometimes under the bark of trees and sometimes in the branches. They are heavy webbers, and their exoskeleton is not nearly as delicate as that of the terrestrials. They can sometimes leap 8 feet in a single bound, even when they're the size of a dinner plate, depending on the species. They are springy, much faster in their movements, and a lot of them fall into the Old World category so they did not develop the ability to spit hairs. They can fall greater distances and be just fine, and are often far more aggressive or defensive since speed and biting are their only defenses. Think of arboreal tarantulas as a lot like the hyperactive cats of the tarantula world. Most people who own arboreal tarantulas as pets use careful handling tools when rehoming them from smaller enclosures to bigger ones, and typically only experienced handlers mess with arboreals. I'm not experienced, so the one arboreal I do own (pictured above) is one of the species that is actually a New World, rather than an Old World, so it is far less likely to bite and known for being more on the docile side even if it's fast.
That's Not All, One More
You've seen 5 tarantulas now, and the one just above here is the latest addition. I believe he is male but I have to confirm that with an experienced breeder/seller in the trade. He is actually the same exact species -- Green Bottle Blue -- as the little sling I got which was my first tarantula. This is what they grow to look like, though females tend to have large abdomens and thicker looking legs.
Molting Is Badass But Terrifying for Ts
If you look at the photo of the adult GBB just above here, it will look like his abdomen has a bald spot. When a tarantula is about to molt (shed its entire exoskeleton), its abdomenal hairs will start falling off and a bald spot forms. Tarantulas molt several times in their lives as they grow bigger, and each molt is life-threatening, hazardous, exhausting and stressful for them. They typically flip upside down on their backs when its time for the molt to start, and when they emerge their fangs are soft rather than hard so they can't eat for a couple days or more afterwards. Leading up to the molt time, they often stop eating altogether, sometimes for weeks, and terrestrial tarantulas will burrow into the ground without coming out for a very long time while in pre-molt stage. Arboreal tarantulas will web themselves into a webbed enclosure and stay there, often molting while inside the webbed space. My baby Green Bottle Blue did this, and emerged after his molt much brighter and a few millimeters larger in leg span.
I recently learned that tarantulas can shed a leg that is wounded or under threat, and after several molts they will have generated a whole new leg!!! Tarantulas are stunning and bizarre and badass creatures, but they are also rather delicate and a lot more vulnerable in ways people do not understand. I have met handlers who have handled hundreds in their lives and never been bit, typically a tarantula wants to escape or be left alone, but it is true that anything with a mouth can bite. Contrary to some bullshit out on the web, they are not deadly, and even the most venomous Old World tarantulas with medically significant bites are not going to kill you, they just might put you through severe pain, muscle cramping, nausea/vomiting, and a couple weeks of antibiotics from the ER. New Worlds have the urticating hairs and with that they have milder venom, more like a wasp or bee sting, but again, they can bite, technically, and much like with other animals, every tarantula has its own personality that may be a bit unique to the general trend of personality for the species it falls under.