"If you don't hold them often, over time they will OVERSET FOLLOWS:become distant and not as friendly. The more one holds a tarantula, the more comfortable it becomes with humans, Topping says. I guess I notice little quirks, like the way they move." I don't understand how people say they look the same.
"I can look at them and instantly know if it's a certain one. "Depending on the breed, some have course hair while others are as soft as velvet," she says, with each having specific features that identify them. Topping also sees her tarantulas as pets, holding them frequently and petting them. "She is a lovely pet - quiet, easy to look after and non-aggressive," Whittington says. "But, before you get your hopes up, they're still closer to a cabbage than the family dog in smarts."Ĭlaire Whittington of Regina, Saskatchewan but formerly of Chattanooga, has a palm-sized Chilean Rose Hair named - naturally - Spider. There are many things about the spiders that are intriguing, he says, but perhaps the most interesting thing is "dare I say it, intelligence." His book, "The Tarantula Keeper's Guide," is in its third edition and headed to its fourth.Īt one time, he had 1,300 tarantulas - all with names. The 70-year-old from Calgary, Alberta, told The Associated Press that he got interested in the critters when he was young because normal pets became boring.įor more than 45 years, Schultz has kept, caught, imported, bred, sold, wrote and lectured about tarantulas. So with all that hair and huge fangs and eight legs and general scariness, why do people keep and study tarantulas? For expert Stan Schultz, it's about the exotic. I never try to hold her, but I still admire her. She attacks everything, even when she's not hungry.
"It's a Chilean Rose Hair, which are quite gentle, but she has become an exception. Topping, whose tarantulas range in age from 4- to 16-years-old and live in cages, has never been bitten. "They will bite only when they feel threatened or when they're laying eggs." "I've been handling tarantulas in the store 10 years and 30 years before that, and I've never been bitten," the 48-year-old says. The bigger the tarantula, the higher the price, he says. Scott Carver, a manager at Petco on Gunbarrel Road, says education is the key to rid one's fear of tarantulas, which are sold at his store in prices ranging from $20 to $200. Although there is no documented case of a fatal tarantula bite, some of the spiders have more potent venom than others, and there is no anti-venom, so you treat the symptoms - benadryl, for instance, just like with a bee sting - and hope for the best. It's normal to be scared of what you don't understand."Īll tarantulas can bite, but most owners say it's no worse than a bee sting, unless youĪre allergic. They make it clear when they don't want to be bothered and when they're going to attack. But I think if people understood they won't hurt you unless you are trying to hurt them. They're big, sometimes hairy, and can move super fast - not to mention their giant fangs. "I completely understand people's fears," Topping says. And if you have arachnophobia, tarantulas, being the largest of all spiders, will likely send your fears into turbodrive.
1 at 74 percent, followed be a fear of death at 68 percent). "I have a good variety - an Amazon Tree Climber, a Brazilian Black, Vientiane Purple, Pinktoe - one of my favorites due to the fact she is purple - Chilean Rose Hair, Chilean Copper, Mexican Red Knee, Mexican Red Leg, Mexican Red Rump and Pink Zebra Beauty," she says.Īccording to the National Institute of Mental Health, arachnophobia, the fear of spiders, is ranked the third in America with an estimated 30.5 percent of people suffering from it (fear of public speaking ranked No.
Topping, 21, of Flintstone, Ga., and an employee at a local day care and a gaming store, now has 16 tarantulas living in her home. They were so cool to me and I was fascinated." I thought it was amazing how they ate and how pretty some of them are. At first it was terrifying, but by the second week, I was in love. "She was on vacation so I watered and fed them.
#PINK ZEBRA BEAUTY TARANTULA FULL#
"I started volunteering at Chattanooga Zoo and there was one keeper who had a room full of tarantulas," Topping says. Catelyn Topping holds Dopey, a Chilean Rose Hair tarantula.Ĭatelyn Topping was only 15 years when she fell in love.
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