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Erase all misconceptions you have of tarantulas now!

Hello out there! I did a very very large project on tarantulas in 10th grade and was able to present it in JSHS, a very select Science Symposium! So I consider myself to be a tarantula expert as far as general knowledge. Like I've said, this page is under construction. I have tonssss of pictures to put up, but I have to convert them from slides first! (My JSHS presentation was oral, thus all the slides...) So this page will be expanding once I get stuff together!

Did you know?

There are over 40 species of tarantulas in the US alone.
The largest tarantula, the Goliath bird-eating spider, can weigh a quarter of a pound, and have a leg span of 10 inches.
There are no reports of anyone ever dying from being bitten by a tarantula. In fact tarantula bites are no worst than a bee or wasp sting.
Some people consider tarantulas to be a delicacy.

Here are a few pictures with explainations:

This picture shows the basic setup I used to house each tarantula seperately. I used 14 Chilean Rose tarantulas in my experiment.

Here's a picture of a tarantula digesting a freshly caught mealworm. Tarantulas eat by pumping digestive fluids into their prey and then sucking up the juices. Yum yum! My project dealt on which was a 'better' food source- mealworms or crickets.

This picture was taken right before my 16th birthday. The tarantula is actually my PET, and not part of my experiment. I bought her several years before I bought the other tarantulas for my experiment. Her name was (of course) Rose. :) Unfortunately she had a problematic molting and died a little while ago :( I believe there was not enough humidity for her and I regret my mistake greatly. PLEASE know how to care for a tarantula BEFORE you buy one! There are books and webpages that deal with proper care of these spiders.

These are *some* of the references I used in my project, and for the most part they are all accurate:

A Night Stalker, The World & I, September 1993, pp 162-167.

April Kopp, "TARANTULA: Web of misconceptions surrounds gentle giant," New Mexico Magazine, Oct., 1992, pp. 78-83.

Samuel D. Marshall, "The Importance of Being Hairy," Natural History, Sept., 1992, pp. 40-47.

Tarantulas, National Geographic, September 1996, pp 98-115.

Vosjoli, Philippe de; Arachnomania: The General Care and Maintenance of Tarantulas & Scorpions, Advanced Vivarium Systems, Lakeside, CA. 1991, pp. 3-58.
A wonderful book on how to care for tarantulas

West Coast Zoological:
The company that provided my tarantulas, I recomend them to anyone wanting a certain breed of tarantula or other animal.

Tarantulas.com:
A site with lots of information. I've glanced over it and it seems very informative.

Email: BahamutChild@hotmail.com