Stores

Fear Not Tarantulas –www.fearnottarantulas.com 

Fear Not Tarantulas is the best place you can go to get a tarantula, scorpion, or other related invertebrate. They have a huge selection of tarantulas for good prices, and their customer service is phenomenal! They are always happy to help. You can visit their website linked above or you can stop in their incredible store in Virginia Beach, VA.

Eresus Spider Shop –www.eresusspidershop.com

Another great place is Eresus Spider Shop. Based out of California, they are one of, if not the best place to get invertebrates in the Western US. They have 20+ years of experience, and 95% of their animals are captive bred.

Forums

Tarantula Forum –www.tarantulaforum.com

This is a great place to learn more about pretty much any exotic invertebrate out there. The people on it are generally nice and helpful, and it is very easy to use. There is a For Sale/Wanted section for those looking to buy and sell. This is the main forum I use when I have a question.

Arachnoboards –www.arachnoboards.com

Arachnoboards is another helpful forum. It is a lot like Tarantula Forum, but is different in a few ways. For example, to put up a Classified Ad (Same as the For Sale/Wanted section in Tarantula Forum) you have to pay $10, while it is free on Tarantula Forum. Most of the people on this forum are helpful, but some are very particular. Arachnoboards isn’t quite as beginner friendly as Tarantula Forum, but it is still a great place to learn.

 Facts

Curiosity ClaraFied –www.claralogsdon.com

This is a very informative site with tons of facts about all kinds of creatures, from spiders to snakes to sharks. There are a dozen blog posts, (hopefully more soon) each about a different unique subject. This is a great place to learn interesting facts about animals.

Identification

BugGuide –www.bugguide.net

BugGuide is a superb place to identify any bug you see in North America. It has thousands of pictures, and many of them have a detailed report of where, when, and how the bug was found. I use BugGuide when I find something and I am not sure of the species.

Insect Identification –www.insectidentification.org

This is a more beginner friendly version of BugGuide. It doesn’t have quite as much as BugGuide, but is easier to understand.

YouTube Channels

The Tarantula Collective –https://www.youtube.com/c/thetarantulacollective/featured

The Tarantula Collective, hosted by Richard Stewart, is one of the best places to learn about species specific care, whether it be tarantulas, scorpions, or other miscellaneous invertebrates. His videos are easy to understand while being enjoyable to watch because of Richard’s amazing Macrophotography skills. Richard also has a podcast called The Exotic Pet Collective.

Clint’s Reptiles –https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH18915fTE6yZzKrqdea8RQ

This is a great channel to check out if you are looking to get a pet reptile or invertebrate, but don’t know exactly what kind you want to purchase. Clint Laidlaw goes through each species, ranking them by 5 factors : Handleability, Care, Hardiness, Availability, and Upfront Costs. I highly reccomend this channel for anyone who is looking to get a new scaly pet.

Jack’s World of Wildlife –https://www.youtube.com/c/Jack%E2%80%99sWorldofWildlife/featured

Jack’s World of Wildlife is, in my opinion, one of the best educational YouTube channels out there. Jack Schonhoff strives to teach people the not-so-scary truth about misunderstood creatures such as snakes and spiders. He travels all around the world, coming face to face with lots of fascinating creatures.

The Greenbottle Blue Tarantula is one of the most colorful arachnids out there. These spiders are native to the dry regions of Venezuela. It is the only species in its genus, Chromatopelma. Females can live around 15 years, while males live only about 3 years. This species can grow quite large, growing up to 6 inches in legspan, and they grow at a medium to fast rate.

They are highly sought after by tarantula keepers because of their stunning blue, green, and red colors, they like to stay out in the open, and because they make large, elaborate webs. This terrestrial/semi arboreal tarantula is usually docile, and their venom is weak. They are a very good beginner species, although they can be skittish. It is best to keep them on drier substrate with a lot of anchor points for their large webs. They don’t burrow much, preferring to create tunnels of webbing instead.

The Greenbottle Blue is one of my favorite species because of the webs they make and their beautiful coloring. I got mine, an immature female, from Fear Not Tarantulas. They are the best place anywhere to get a tarantula or various different invertebrates. If you are looking to get a tarantula, go to www.fearnottarantulas.com or visit their store in Virginia Beach, VA. Like I said, the Greenbottle Blue is a great beginner species for anyone looking to get their first or second 8 legged friend.

Greenbottle Blue Tarantula, GBB (Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens)

There are a lot of terms in the tarantula hobby, and it might seem a bit overwhelming for a beginner. Here is a list of some common tarantula terms and their meanings to help you understand more of what experienced keepers have to say.

DKS: Dyskinetic Syndrome, a series of symptoms of unknown causes, including jerky, involuntary movements, and an inability to eat. This usually ends in the death of the tarantula, as there is nothing you can do to save it.

GBB: Greenbottle Blue Tarantula (Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens)

LP: Brazilian Salmon Pink Birdeater Tarantula (Lasiodora parahybana)

MF/AF: Mature/Adult Female

MM/AM: Mature/Adult Male

NW-New World: Native to the Americas

OBT: Orange Baboon Tarantula (Pterinochilus murinus)

OW-Old World: Native to anywhere else

T: Tarantula.

Death Curl: A position in which all 8 of a tarantula’s legs are curled tightly under its body. The abdomen may appear shriveled. A tarantula will assume this position if it is dehydrated, or dead or dying.

Hooked Out: Referring to the hooks on a mature male tarantula’s pedipalps used for mating.

Hot: Highly venomous.

Invert: Invertebrate, any animal lacking a backbone.

Molt: The shedding of an arthropod’s exoskeleton so that a new, larger one can take its place. Molting is the most vulnerable time in a tarantula’s life.

Molt Mat: A layer of silk that tarantulas put down to protect themselves during molting.

Premolt: The period of time when a tarantula stops eating and becomes sluggish in preparation for a molt. A tarantula may be in premolt from a few days to months.

Scorpling: Baby scorpion.

Sling: Spiderling, baby spider.

Stress Curl: A position in which a tarantula curls up, hiding its body with its knees. This is a sign that your tarantula is probably stressed.

Stridulation: When a tarantula rubs its fangs together to make a hissing noise in an attempt to scare off a threat.

Tagged: Bitten.

Threat Pose: When a tarantula raises its front legs and shows its fangs in an effort to scare off a perceived threat.

One of the most infamous spiders in the U.S. is the Brown Recluse Spider (Loxosceles reclusa). Also known as the Violin Spider for the patterns on the cephalothorax, these arachnids possess strong venom, and bites are very painful. The venom sometimes even causes the skin around the bite to rot. 

A Brown Recluse Spider (Loxosceles reclusa).

There are many spiders that look similar to the Brown Recluse, causing harmless spiders to be confused with the recluse. One such spider is the Brown Spitting Spider (Scytodes fusca). These small, harmless, slow moving spiders are brown in color and share the same natural range as the recluse, but they can be identified by their trademark large, dome-shaped cephalothorax.

A Brown Spitting Spider (Scytodes fusca) with egg sac. Notice the dome-shaped abdomen and the 3 sets of 2 eyes.

Another similar spider is the Wolf Spider (Lycosidae sp.). There are many species of Wolf Spider, most being a brownish color. They are very fast and some can get quite large. Their bites are mildly painful, about that of a bee sting, but they are not aggressive and are usually docile. The best way to identify a Wolf Spider is to look for the large front facing pair of eyes. 

A large adult female Wolf Spider (Tigrosa cf. helluo). Note the large front facing eyes.

 There are many, many brown colored spiders out there, but it isn’t possible for me to name all of them here. Those listed are just a couple of the most commonly mistaken for Brown Recluses. Remember: Just because its a brown spider doesn’t mean that its a Brown Recluse! If you find a spider that you would like identified, just send a few good pictures of it to me at andrew@bugzrule.com and I will get back to you as soon as I can!