Tom's Big Spiders - Tarantulas and Inverts Tom Moran

As I've spent more time keeping tarantulas, I've realized that questions "what is a good beginner species?" and "what is a good species to raise as a first time sling? have two very different answers.  Just because a species is easier to care for as an adult does not always make it an easy one to raise up. In this episode, I'll discuss the species I tend to recommend when asked what species make for good first-time slings. 

How do you know when you’re getting too many tarantulas? How can you tell when you’re reaching what should be your limit?
In this episode, we’ll discuss the importance of establishing routines and setting boundaries early on to avoid having your collection turn into a hoard. 

I've encountered this scenario many times...an upset keeper emails me to ask what he did wrong because his adult female didn't make it to the supposed max life expectancy.  In many cases, it sounds like the animal died of natural causes, but the thought that it should have lived longer can eat away at a concerned keeper. 


In this episode, we discuss some of the maximum lifespans given for tarantulas online and break down why some might live longer than others. I will also share the ages of several of my females when they finally passed away. 

In this episode, I talk about my experiences with the three Theraphosa species: Theraphosa stirmi (the Burgundy Goliath Birdeater), Theraphosa blondi (the Goliath Birdeater), and Theraphosa apophysis (Pinkfoot Goliath Birdeater). 

To start this one off, I share some of the feedback I got from last week's episode and respond to a couple comments.

Then, at 21:25,  it's been five years to the day when I last covered some tips for ordering tarantulas online. In this episode, we will review the dos and don't as well as discuss some new issues that have presented themselves over the last five years. 

A couple of years ago, I stumbled on an article about the "inadvertent domestication" of animals raised for the sole purpose of being released back into the wild. This is when, despite our best efforts, captive animals were becoming inadvertently domesticated by temporarily or even permanently adapting to a captive environment , which was making them less fit to survive in the wild. This could often occur within a single generation of captive-reared animals.

And that got me thinking...

Many species of tarantulas have been actively bred in captivity for decades, so is it possible (or likely, even) that the animals in our collections have adapted over multi-generational captive breeding to be better suited to being kept in our home? 
In essence, is there a fundamental difference between our captive bred spiders and their wild counterparts? Is human selection making allowing them to thrive in our care?
In this episode, we will explore the theory of tarantula domestication and why I think that it’s important to consider that the spiders in our collections might not necessarily be true wild animals.

NOTE: I am NOT talking about them becoming tame, like dogs or cats. Spiders are not and never will be tame animals. We are specifically asking if they could have been changed by years of being bred and kept by humans.