new pet tarantula

Well I think he is adorable.

 

Elnora,
I live in Sequim, WA., I didn't know those things could survive here, I thought they only lived in warmer climates.

We have Hobo spiders and those things are bad news. I don't care for spiders anyway, but Hobos are dispatched immediately when I see them.

 

Oh I think that's a very fun pet!!!!!!! I have always wanted one actually. I would love to keep it in my office (keeps the co-workers out) but I don't have heat so the poor thing would freeze.

 

bruren777,

These are not tarantulas. They are jumping spiders. Got this information off the net.

Phidippus audax
These spiders are so named because of their jumping ability. They can jump many times their own length. They make quick, sudden jumps to capture prey or avoid a threat. They also can walk backward. Jumping spiders are active during the day and prefer sunshine. They normally live outdoors, but jumping spiders can become established indoors and their hunting activities often center about windows and entry doors where their prey is most common.

You can see more here: Jumping Spiders

 

My wife once found a Black Widow and put in a small tank. She kept it for several months.

 

In a building I worked in we were finding black widows in the maintenance closets and trying to get rid of them. One guy got bit and was taken to a hospital, but was released so soon that is was really questionable that the bite-- if there was one-- was from a female bw. But that same guy brought a spider he got into a plastic bottle and offered to give it to me. That one was indeed a female bw, about 1 1/2 inches in leg span with the red violin shaped marking on her thorax. I decided to try to keep her just for the experience. I caught a young cricket and put it into the bottle, and she wrapped his legs up in silk so he could not move, but she didn't appear to ever eat her free lunch. I think I kept her for about 10 days when she suddenly shriveled all her legs up and then didn't move. I should have let her go when she didn't appear to be eating. I'm sure I didn't know enough about such spiders to keep one just to observe, so I won't do that again. But I had my plan if she ever escaped, knowing if bitten by one of these you go through about 12-15 hours of excruciating spasms; which is why I tend to doubt that coworker was really bitten by the dangerous femme fatale.