The Lava Tarantula is the most beautiful species of tarantula in the world as far as I’m concerned. The common name perfectly describes the incredible coloration, consisting of a fiery orange/red contrasted against jet black. It really has to be seen to be believed. The Lava tarantula is still a real rarity in the hobby, though a limited number of specimens have become available in recent years. Their popularity and rarity, however, mean they sell out almost as soon as they become available. This is a tarantula species you really need to be on the hunt for; your chances of just stumbling acro ..read more

Psalmopoeus victori is a New World arboreal (tree-dwelling) tarantula.  Hailing originally from Mexico, this species is known under two different common names; the Darth Maul tarantula or the Mexican Half-and-Half. Both these names do a good job of describing the appearance of this species.  The Darth Maul name springs from the fact that this is a red and black tarantula that matches the color scheme of the Star Wars villain.  The Half-and-Half name arises from the way these two colors are arranged; it’s essentially black at the front end (both legs and carapace) and then half ..read more

Praying mantis can eat wax worms. They’re fat, juicy and usually very well received. While they’re not my number one recommended prey item, I believe they can represent a useful addition to your mantid’s diet.  Benefits of Wax Worms for Praying Mantis Possibly my favorite thing about wax worms is that they normally stay fresh and healthy for several weeks after purchase.  I like to try to keep at least one tub of wax worms at home at all times because they’re a great “backup” if other food sources run out. This is especially so in winter, when some feeder insects won’t reproduce as ..read more

Praying mantis can grow back limbs, but this only happens when they change their skin.  Essentially a praying mantis that has lost one or more limbs will continue to look the same for some weeks or months after the accident. However, deep inside, the praying mantis is trying to regrow the limb.  When your praying mantis next molts you’ll find that the limb has been partially regenerated. The word “partially” is important in that sentence. Your praying mantis won’t immediately regrow a full-sized limb. Instead, the limb that regrows will be much smaller than the other limbs. It is oft ..read more

Female praying mantis can lay eggs without mating. This can have a number of impacts, particularly if you’re keeping them as pets.  The crucial thing to realize here is that while an unmated female praying mantis may lay eggs, they will be infertile. Praying mantis, apart from a small number of more unusual species, are typically not parthenogenetic. The eggs laid are not fertilized, and so won’t hatch.  If you’ve reared up a praying mantis from a small juvenile and you’re surprised that it suddenly lays eggs then this shouldn’t worry you. It doesn’t necessarily mean that a rogue mal ..read more

You finally Googled it didn’t you? You were so intrigued you decided to search for “what does tarantula poop look like?”. Don’t worry – you’re not the only one And I’m not going to disappoint you. After 25+ years of keeping tarantulas you’re about to learn everything you wanted to know about tarantula poop – and probably a few things you didn’t want to know either… Tarantula Poop Appearance Tarantula poop is typically a runny liquid. It is most commonly white in color, though can also be darker in color. It dries soon after the tarantula has pooped, producing a dry, chalky material. As taran ..read more

Molting is one of the single most dangerous times in a tarantula life. The formerly fearsome predator becomes almost defenseless for hours or even days.  Even a single cricket accidentally left in the cage can do enough damage nibbling at your tarantula to cause its death.  When your tarantula is molting, therefore, you want to stack the odds in your favor. You want everything just right, so your beloved pet can molt without issue or interruption.  But what if you accidentally disturb a molting tarantula? How serious is this, and what should you do? Read on to find out…  I ..read more

Waxworms do not need to be refrigerated. They can be kept safely at room temperature without any issue.  The reason why some animal keepers opt to keep their wax worms in the refrigerator is to slow down their lifecycle.  Wax worms will eventually turn into a pupa, at which point they normally lose their appeal to most insect-eating animals. It’s not hard to see why; a wax worm that has pupated stops wriggling around, and it’s this motion that normally attracts attention to them.  So if you only have one or two pets that you are feeding wax worms to then refrigerating them may a ..read more

One common question asked about tarantulas is whether they have 10 legs. It seems a lot of these searches recently are coming from Animal Crossing players, who have noticed that the tarantulas featured there seem to have 10 legs. Why is that? Do tarantulas really have 10 legs?  If you’ve ever wondered the same thing then read on for the answer! How Many Legs Do Tarantulas Have? Tarantulas have 8 legs in total, not 10. That is to say they have 4 pairs of legs in total.  So what about the other 2? Well these look very similar to legs, but are infact known as “palps” or “pedipalps” to a ..read more

Old World tarantulas are tarantulas coming from the continents of Africa and Asia. This is in contrast to so-called New World tarantulas which are found in the Americas.  Whilst it might seem odd to classify tarantulas based on this very broad distinction of Old World tarantula vs New World tarantula there are some important reasons for this. It is most commonly used among tarantula keepers, because these two broad groups can be surprisingly different to keep as pets.  Characteristics of Old World Tarantulas So what makes Old World tarantulas notably different to New Worlds? And why ..read more