COMMENT 334671
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2012-10-23 12:30 PM |
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Cool pics and I'm grateful you let him or her be. BTW, like all spiders, tarantulas only have 8 legs. The two "extra" ones up front are Chelicerae which are appendages for handling food.
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PURPLERIDER
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2012-10-23 12:33 PM |
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Very cool pics. Nice close ups.
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PJG
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2012-10-23 12:34 PM |
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Great Pics. When I was a kid in Texas we used to "play" with Tarantulas all the time.
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ECHO
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2012-10-23 12:58 PM |
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I would have been screaming and bawling on that trail if I came across this! I'm trying to break my fear of spiders by looking at all these pictures, but I don't think its working! I think I will be skipping the trails!
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COMMENT 334706
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2012-10-23 01:22 PM |
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To help rid yourself of the fear of spiders: Check out jumping spiders. They are curious, but unaggressive, and about the size of your pinky fingernail at their largest. Often have pretty colors on their backs, sometimes orange designs. 2 big eyes, 6 small ones, so look almost more like an mammal than a spider. Years ago, I encountered one on my Mom's fake hanging plant by the front door. I looked at it. It looked at me. It started doing "push ups", like, "hey, look at me, I'm big and scary, don't mess with me". Totally posturing in front of me. I got strangely brave, stuck my finger out towards it. It jumped onto my finger, then back onto the fake plant. No biting/stinging occurred. I did however jump a little, lol. :) From that day on, I couldn't kill jumping spiders. :) They are just too cute. They will explore your hand if you encourage them.
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COMMENT 334732
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2012-10-23 02:24 PM |
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706: Jumping spiders are awesome. They look so curious when you get close are start looking at them, they look right back. Although I wouldn't suggest putting your finger in the face of the red backed jumping spiders because they do bite (not venomous, but not pleasant either). The tiny little pinky nail sized jumping spiders are just fine to do this with. Not that I'd suggest to someone with arachnophobia to play with a jumping spider to cure themselves. :) Reading edhat in October is probably a good first step, though! Maybe move onto playing with jumpers later.
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COMMENT 334733
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2012-10-23 02:25 PM |
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8 eyes...didn't that. Thanks.
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COMMENT 334746
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2012-10-23 03:15 PM |
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I took an Entomology class and the prof was obsessed with jumping spiders. He even showed us their mating dances.. actually very cute. I'm much less afraid of many spiders and insects after taking that course. Knowledge definitely is power!
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COMMENT 334761
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2012-10-23 03:44 PM |
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OP here- thanks for the informative spider lesson edhatters! I wasn't aware that the two short "legs" were appendages used for feeding. Tnx for that 671 :) and. . .most definitely @746!!
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ECHO
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2012-10-23 03:59 PM |
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I worked at an elementary school up north a few years ago, and one of the 5th grade teachers had different kinds of tarantulas in his classroom. There was almost one for every student. It was part of their science grade to take care of and study the spiders. They would have the younger grades come in and they would do a presentation about them, and then have them come to each table where they would give more info on their spider. When they would do these presentations the teacher would have them dress nice, boys in ties (he had extra in case they didn't have their own). He also taught the boys to be respectful of the girls, and open doors. The kids all wanted to be in that class, I would stand there and itch being surrounded by all the spiders lol!
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COMMENT 334785
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2012-10-23 04:26 PM |
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A little education goes a long way. I got my girlfriend from fearing every spider in sight to gradually putting daddy long legs outside and then jumping spiders. I find spiders fascinating, but am still weary to handle a wild tarantula simply because of their size. I've handled pet ones before, which really are no different, but its simply that idea of the "unknown" that is disconcerting. Wonderful creatures.
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COMMENT 334846P
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2012-10-23 06:37 PM |
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Great pics! Echo: Tarantulas make good pets. They're smart and friendly when they get to know you. Getting to know one could make you more comfortable.with them. Mentioning your Hairy Mygalomorph would be a great way to excuse yourself from tedious social functions, too. They're fragile, though, best to let them crawl onto something that can be moved than to pick them up. We used to have lots of these guys around in the Santa Susana Mountains north of Chatsworth, and they're shy and harmless. The really poisonous local spiders are daddy longlegs, the most common house spider, but their mandibles are too small to bite us.
I'd like to get over my fear of bees and wasps, but the only cure I know of is to get stung hundreds of times.
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COMMENT 334855
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2012-10-23 06:55 PM |
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And! Keep in mind...That big tarantula will not jump out and bite you! Nonsense! You could put your hand down and let him crawl on it. I am not necessarily recommending that to edhat readers. But this is not an aggressive spider. They are a cool gift of nature. Spiders are key to lots of good stuff that benifits us human folk.
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COMMENT 334882P
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2012-10-23 08:08 PM |
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YouTube has a four-minute-long video (1, 433, 702 views): "Goliath Tarantula vs. TV Guy." It is fun to watch, just to see the tarantula calmly get its revenge for being handled far too long. I am encouraged now to take to the trails. I would LOVE to see a tarantula in the wild. People shouldn't keep wild animals as pets. Please don't.
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COMMENT 334883
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2012-10-23 08:09 PM |
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Yes, all spiders have only 8 legs, but the two appendages up front are not chelicerae ( the mouth parts), but pedipalps, which only male spiders possess. All spiders produce venom from the chelicerae, which are quite large in our local tarantulas; this venom is not harmful to humans unless they are allergic to it, though it can be likened to the feel of a bee sting. That male tarantula will die this winter, hopefully after mating. Females have a much larger abdomen and can live many years. Lovely photos of our special local spider!
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COMMENT 335020
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2012-10-24 09:06 AM |
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Those aren't legs, they're sex organs. (No, really.)
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COMMENT 335077
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2012-10-24 10:06 AM |
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What a sexy hairy beast--NOT. The Tarantula migration is ON!
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COMMENT 335138P
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2012-10-24 11:08 AM |
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My daughter's 1st grade teacher found one of these black tarantulas on a tennis court and brought it into class in an incubator. The students had an impromptu unit on arachnids, including sketching the spider and writing about its body parts and what it eats (crickets). It lived in their classroom for about a week. Then they took a trip and released him back to the wild (and away from the tennis court).
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COMMENT 335242
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2012-10-24 01:44 PM |
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I once saw one of those things as big as my hand "HOP" onto a guys shoulder as he was walking by. He froze for what seemed like a very long time until the scary looking thing decided to "hop off". Creeped me out and now that I know they can HOP I stay far away from them !!!
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