This is my first post here.
Figuring out what to write about wasn’t easy, but I really want to be part of the community and share my adventures, projects, and passions. So, I thought, why not start with something that might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but means a lot to me?
That would be my love for spiders.
Early on, I knew I wanted to have spiders and reptiles, but of course, my parents didn’t agree. And as life would have it, I didn’t get the opportunity, until recently.
I started my journey with a common house spider, since the commitment for a tarantula is much bigger. I named him John the First.
It was really fascinating having him, watching him hang from his web and eat the worms I gave him. I think this was the first time I realized how much personality spiders can actually have.
After a while, I felt confident enough to get a tarantula, well, kind of. To be fair, I didn’t plan on getting one just yet. But after John the First passed away, I found myself at an animal expo. And as luck would have it, they were selling the very tarantulas I had been dreaming of.
Of course, I couldn’t say no.
He was so small when I first got him. In this picture, I had already had him for a couple of months.
At first, feeding him was a real challenge. I use red runner roaches, and they are fast! Getting used to catching them was no easy feat. The first time I tried, I honestly felt like I was never going to manage it, it was quite nerve-wracking, to say the least.
I had given the roaches a proper enclosure that’s big enough for them to move around, which definitely didn’t make catching them any easier. But even if they’re “just” feeders, they’re still living animals, and giving them a decent place to live felt like the right thing to do.
I feed them fruits and vegetables, which they seem to enjoy.
That said, feeding time is not my favourite moment, because I actually think they’re kind of adorable. Offering them up to the spider as a sacrifice doesn’t exactly feel great.
As time went on he grew bigger and it was time for an upgrade.
He loved to dig holes, so I started researching enclosures, I wanted to give him plenty of space to dig and create tunnels. I noticed that most people use smaller enclosures, but I wanted something bigger. I wanted my spider to have the best.
So, I got a large enclosure and filled it with enough bedding for him to dig as much as he liked.
Which, in hindsight, feels a bit silly, because he ended up making just one hole in his cave, and he never even uses it. He actually prefers to sit out in the open.
Getting him into the new enclosure presented a whole new challenge I hadn’t expected. I didn’t want to harm him, so of course I tried to get him out as gently as possible. But there was one problem: he’s stubborn—extremely stubborn.
Every time I tried, he would flee back into his hole. So, I placed the old enclosure against the new one, hoping he’d wander in on his own. That didn’t happen.
Instead, he came out, walked to the edge of his old enclosure, and waved his little feet around in confusion, as if astonished that the glass wall was suddenly gone. He wasn’t interested in exploring. What he really wanted was to stay in the home he had worked so hard on.
It turned into a long battle. Eventually, I had to remove the top glass of his old enclosure and gently nudge him out with a brush, while he stood stubbornly sideways, doing everything he could to avoid eviction.
I have to say, I’ve learned to keep up with his feeding schedule much better now. There was one time I didn’t feed him for a while, and he got extremely upset, attacking everything in sight.
But now, he’s getting fluffier with every molt and has become a real joy to watch.
And that concludes my journey of getting my first tarantula. I hope you enjoyed reading it and maybe even see spiders in a bit of a better light now.