Category Invertebrates

One of the most rewarding aspects of tarantula ownership is being able to successfully breed from your spider, and generally speaking it is not too difficult to find a specialist pet shop or tarantula supplier who might consider buying your spiderlings from you to sell on. Captive breeding is an important service to the worldwide wellbeing of tarantulas, to avoid further wild-caught specimens being taken out of their natural habitat to supply the pet trade.

However, breeding tarantulas is not an endeavour that should ever be undertaken lightly or on a whim, and is certainly not as simple as putting a male and a female spider into the same tank and letting them do what comes naturally. Unless both the spiders in question and the situation is right, what “comes naturally” will generally be a lot of fighting that will be detrimental to both spiders, and generally lead to the death of the would-be father without any spiderlings produced at the end of it!

If you are considering breeding from your tarantula, before you even get as far as looking at how to go about this and the logistics of what is involved, read this article on considerations to bear in mind, and how to reach a sensible decision on whether or not to breed your spiders.

What species of tarantula do you keep?

An important consideration to bear in mind when deciding whether or not to breed your tarantulas is the species of tarantula you keep. This will dictate how easy or hard it is to achieve successful breeding, what the demand is likely to be for the subsequent offspring if breeding is successful, and how challenging it will be to manage the breeding process safely.

Some of the most popular tarantulas commonly kept in the UK are the Chilean rose, Mexican redknee, and other hardy, docile beginner breeds. This means that demand for tarantulas of these types is likely to be higher than for most other species, but also that there are likely to be many more people breeding them to meet the demands of the pet trade. It is important to establish whether or not there will be demand for the species you intend to breed before going forwards. Less common tarantulas such as baboon tarantulas are often in demand due to the fact that they are rather more exotic and there are less breeders producing them, but they are also aggressive and challenging to keep, so the potential market for them will be much smaller.

Cross-species breeding

Many tarantula enthusiasts keep more than one species of tarantula, and it may well cross your mind to see if you can also successfully crossbreed two different types of spiders. However, this is not a good idea! The crossbreeding of different species of spiders to produce hybrids is very much frowned upon in the arachnid-keeping world, and you will almost certainly be unable to find homes for the results of such a mating. Crossbred tarantulas often come accompanied by a range of problems and issues including potential sterility, and not enough is known about any combination of two breeds that form a hybrid to be able to adequately predict its care needs, behaviour or temperament.

What to do with the offspring

A big question of course, is what you will do with the offspring of any successful mating. Tarantulas produce between 50 and 2,000 viable spiderlings eggs from every successful breeding, and while a significant number of these spiderlings will not live to maturity, you will still find yourself with a heck of a lot of fast-growing baby spiders on your hands. All of these will require housing, feeding and care, and while baby spiders can be kept together during the initial stages of their life, they will require separating from each other once they start to eat live food and approach their first juvenile moult, to avoid cannibalism between the offspring!

You may well find that an exotic pets retailer will buy your spiderlings from you once they reach their first moult from nymphs (newborn spiders that are very small and white or transparent in appearance) into spiderlings, but you should source an outlet for the offspring before you breed, to make sure.

You may wish to sell your spiderlings yourself privately, although this can be hit or miss in terms of finding enough potential buyers for your tarantulas; meanwhile you are left with a significant amount of fast-growing juveniles and running out of space, equipment, time and food to look after them with. You will quite possibly wish to keep a couple of the spiderlings from your first successful breeding yourself, but make sure that you can accommodate for all of your potential offspring until they are homed as well!

Only breed from captive-bought spiders

The vast majority of pet tarantulas kept in the UK are captive-bred, and with common breeds such as the Chilean Rose or Mexican redknee, it would be considered very uncommon to see a wild-caught specimen in the UK these days. Some more unusual specimens may have been caught from the wild however, and the beginner or first-time breeder should avoid trying to breed wild-caught tarantulas. Wild-caught specimens are likely to prove more challenging to breed from, harder to care for when breeding and also, may be accompanied by parasites from the wild that can easily be passed onto their offspring and potentially threaten the viability of their life.

Captive breeding is an important part of ensuring the ongoing viability of any given species of tarantula kept as a pet, and reduces the amount of impact on the natural habitat and wild spiders from which our domestic tarantulas originate. Captive breeding from first generation wild-caught specimens of unusual tarantulas is a valuable endeavour, but best left to the professionals!

Where to get help and advice

For the first-time potential tarantula breeder, it can be incredibly helpful to have an expert to hand to answer any questions or help you to trouble-shoot any potential problems. There are many online forums where tarantula enthusiasts gather to discuss their hobby, and you may find that exotic pet retailers or specialist arachnid breeders will also be able to help and advise you, particularly if they might be interested in buying your stock of spiderlings.

One of the most rewarding aspects of tarantula ownership is being able to successfully breed from your spider, and generally speaking it is not too difficult to find a specialist pet shop or tarantula supplier who might consider buying your spiderlings from you to sell on. Captive breeding is an important service to the worldwide wellbeing of tarantulas, to avoid further wild-caught specimens being taken out of their natural habitat to supply the pet trade.

However, breeding tarantulas is not an endeavour that should ever be undertaken lightly or on a whim, and is certainly not as simple as putting a male and a female spider into the same tank and letting them do what comes naturally. Unless both the spiders in question and the situation is right, what “comes naturally” will generally be a lot of fighting that will be detrimental to both spiders, and generally lead to the death of the would-be father without any spiderlings produced at the end of it!

If you are considering breeding from your tarantula, before you even get as far as looking at how to go about this and the logistics of what is involved, read this article on considerations to bear in mind, and how to reach a sensible decision on whether or not to breed your spiders.

What species of tarantula do you keep?

An important consideration to bear in mind when deciding whether or not to breed your tarantulas is the species of tarantula you keep. This will dictate how easy or hard it is to achieve successful breeding, what the demand is likely to be for the subsequent offspring if breeding is successful, and how challenging it will be to manage the breeding process safely.

Some of the most popular tarantulas commonly kept in the UK are the Chilean rose, Mexican redknee, and other hardy, docile beginner breeds. This means that demand for tarantulas of these types is likely to be higher than for most other species, but also that there are likely to be many more people breeding them to meet the demands of the pet trade. It is important to establish whether or not there will be demand for the species you intend to breed before going forwards. Less common tarantulas such as baboon tarantulas are often in demand due to the fact that they are rather more exotic and there are less breeders producing them, but they are also aggressive and challenging to keep, so the potential market for them will be much smaller.

Cross-species breeding

Many tarantula enthusiasts keep more than one species of tarantula, and it may well cross your mind to see if you can also successfully crossbreed two different types of spiders. However, this is not a good idea! The crossbreeding of different species of spiders to produce hybrids is very much frowned upon in the arachnid-keeping world, and you will almost certainly be unable to find homes for the results of such a mating. Crossbred tarantulas often come accompanied by a range of problems and issues including potential sterility, and not enough is known about any combination of two breeds that form a hybrid to be able to adequately predict its care needs, behaviour or temperament.

What to do with the offspring

A big question of course, is what you will do with the offspring of any successful mating. Tarantulas produce between 50 and 2,000 viable spiderlings eggs from every successful breeding, and while a significant number of these spiderlings will not live to maturity, you will still find yourself with a heck of a lot of fast-growing baby spiders on your hands. All of these will require housing, feeding and care, and while baby spiders can be kept together during the initial stages of their life, they will require separating from each other once they start to eat live food and approach their first juvenile moult, to avoid cannibalism between the offspring!

You may well find that an exotic pets retailer will buy your spiderlings from you once they reach their first moult from nymphs (newborn spiders that are very small and white or transparent in appearance) into spiderlings, but you should source an outlet for the offspring before you breed, to make sure.

You may wish to sell your spiderlings yourself privately, although this can be hit or miss in terms of finding enough potential buyers for your tarantulas; meanwhile you are left with a significant amount of fast-growing juveniles and running out of space, equipment, time and food to look after them with. You will quite possibly wish to keep a couple of the spiderlings from your first successful breeding yourself, but make sure that you can accommodate for all of your potential offspring until they are homed as well!

Only breed from captive-bought spiders

The vast majority of pet tarantulas kept in the UK are captive-bred, and with common breeds such as the Chilean Rose or Mexican redknee, it would be considered very uncommon to see a wild-caught specimen in the UK these days. Some more unusual specimens may have been caught from the wild however, and the beginner or first-time breeder should avoid trying to breed wild-caught tarantulas. Wild-caught specimens are likely to prove more challenging to breed from, harder to care for when breeding and also, may be accompanied by parasites from the wild that can easily be passed onto their offspring and potentially threaten the viability of their life.

Captive breeding is an important part of ensuring the ongoing viability of any given species of tarantula kept as a pet, and reduces the amount of impact on the natural habitat and wild spiders from which our domestic tarantulas originate. Captive breeding from first generation wild-caught specimens of unusual tarantulas is a valuable endeavour, but best left to the professionals!

Where to get help and advice

For the first-time potential tarantula breeder, it can be incredibly helpful to have an expert to hand to answer any questions or help you to trouble-shoot any potential problems. There are many online forums where tarantula enthusiasts gather to discuss their hobby, and you may find that exotic pet retailers or specialist arachnid breeders will also be able to help and advise you, particularly if they might be interested in buying your stock of spiderlings.

Insects of a wide variety of types can make for fascinating pets for people of all ages, and keeping a terrarium or tank of a carefully selected and chosen insect species within the home can be highly educational for children. Many people have only the most rudimentary understanding of what insects actually are, or what makes an insect and insect and the traits they do and do not share.

There is a lot of confusion among the lay public about insects in general, and various tales and “facts” that do the rounds are in reality, not true at all! Whether you are simply seeking to expand your own knowledge, or if you want to make sure that you can answer any questions that your children might have correctly, read on for our list of ten of the most commonly held misconceptions about insects that are repeated time and time again!

1. All insects only live on land

It is a common misconception that insects only live on land, but several different types of insects actually live naturally either within the water of lakes, ponds and streams, or around the edges of the water and sometimes on the surface. For instance, the rove beetle lives on the seashore, and sea skaters live within the sea itself. Midges, damselflies, dragonflies and mayflies all live around the water, and some species lay their larvae on the water or on the banks of the water prior to its hatching into adult insects!

2. Insects are not animals

It is often thought that insects, while obviously not vegetable or mineral, are somehow not animals, or that they are something separate to what we usually think of as being animals. This is incorrect, and for many people, when they say “insects are not animals” what they really mean is that “insects are not mammals,” which is correct.

3. The daddy longlegs is a type of flying spider

With their signature long legs and vaguely spider-like appearance, people often assume that the daddy longlegs is simply a spider with wings! This idea understandably horrifies the arachnophobics of the world, but is also completely untrue. The daddy longlegs is a completely different animal to the spider, and is correctly called a crane fly. They are also not giant mosquitoes either!

4. You can tell the age of a ladybird by counting its spots

Children are often told that counting up the number of spots on a ladybird will tell you its age, and it is easy to see why this story is appealing. However, it is not at all true! By the time the ladybird reaches adulthood, all of the spots it will attain for its lifetime are already present. The ladybird only lives for one year at a maximum!

5. Spiders are insects

Many people think that everything that is small, many-legged and rather unusual looking falls into the category of insects, but the spider is not in fact an insect at all. Spiders have two body segments rather than the normal three that insects have, and eight legs rather than six. The spider is classed as an arachnid, a different designation to “insect” entirely.

6. Everything with eight legs is a spider

Just to confuse matters further, not everything that has eight legs is a spider! All spiders have eight legs, but many eight legged animals (such as the crab, the scorpion, the tick and the harvestman) are not spiders. Eight legged creatures like this all fall under the arachnid family (like spiders) but spiders are just one sub section of the arachnid family.

7. Insects have six legs attached at the stomach

By now you have probably gotten the picture that you cannot tell what order or group something belongs to simply by counting the number of its legs, but it is true to say that all adult insects have six legs. This means that animals like moths and butterflies are insects, but centipedes and millipedes are not! The legs of insects are also attached to the thorax, not the abdomen, the thorax being the middle of the three body sections of the insect.

8. All insects are bugs

Are you confused yet? You could be forgiven if you were! The terms “bug” and “insect” are often used interchangeably, but not all insects are bugs! The word “bug” describes a very specific type of insects from the Hemiptera order, which includes cicadas ad aphids. The beetle is not a bug, although this is probably the animal most likely to be labelled as such!

9. Spiders and bugs crawl out of the plughole in baths and sinks

It is perfectly natural to assume that a spider, bug or insect found in the sink or the bath has climbed its way up through the drainage system to get there, but this is highly unlikely to be true! The most common explanation for spiders or insects finding their way into the plughole is that they have dropped there from the ceiling or wall, or deliberately crawled there from elsewhere. Insects and spiders require a degree of humidity to thrive, which they are unlikely to be able to find within most homes in the UK other than in the bathroom or near to water. This makes sinks and basins appealing to them, and can cause them to climb or fall in and then be unable to scale the high, smooth sides to get back out.

10. Small winged insects are the babies of the species

Seeing a very small flying bug or insect with wings often leads people to believe that the animal in question is a baby or juvenile of the species, and that they will later grow into their adult guise. However this is incorrect; by the time an insect has grown its wings it has already metamorphosised into its adult form, and acquiring the wings occurs in the final moult of the larvae or nymph in order to take them into adulthood.

If you are stumped at what pet to get the kids and getting a dog or a cat is out of the question, there’s a heap of other pets which could be a great choice and which are pretty easy maintenance. From fish to rabbits and lots in between, you’ll find a myriad of creatures of every shape and size which all make terrific first-time kid’s pets. However, rabbits and other small pets which are better off when kept indoors like hamsters, gerbils and even guinea pigs, need lots of care and their cages need to be regularly cleaned out to ensure the environment is nice for them to live in which in turn means quite a bit of responsibility.

Caring for hamsters and other furry pets has to be a family thing and not just a job that’s left up to the children. Fish and terrapins need their tanks cleaning out on a regular basis as well which can become a chore instead of a pleasure. One pet that’s pretty easy maintenance and which is fun for kids to keep is a stick insect (or two). They may not be as cuddly as a kitten or as devoted as a dog but they are fascinating creatures that don’t make lots of noise and they certainly won’t damage your much loved furniture or leave a puddle on the kitchen floor.

Stick insects are also referred to as walking stick insects”” are phasmids and they can vary in size with some being a couple of inches long whereas others can measure up to 12 inches from head to tail. Most of them resemble twigs and leaves found in their environments which means they blend in very well wherever they happen to be. This camouflage of sorts is to keep them well out of sight of their predators and it works very well.

3000 Species of Phasmids

There are well over 3000 species of phasmids but the more common species which are kept as pet include the following:

• Indian Walking Stick/Common Laboratory Stick
• Annam Walking Stick
• Giant Prickly Stick
• Macleave Spectre

The Life Cycle of a Stick Insect

Depending on the species, a female stick insect can lay anything from 1 to 1000 eggs at any one time and the babies only hatch out after one to three seasons have passed by – although again this does depend on the species. Once the babies have hatched, the little stick insects climb up a tree and then proceed to hang upside down during the time it takes for them to moult which they do at least 5 times before they reach maturity.

Male Stick Insects are Pretty Rare

Only around one in every thousand stick insects are male and they can usually fly. Female stick insects don’t actually need a male to lay eggs (much like poultry) but when they do meet up with a male counterpart they mate but only stay together for a few weeks after which they go their separate ways.

The Lifespan of Phasmids

Phasmids have quite short life spans and depending on the species this is anything from 12 to 16 months so if you are thinking of getting some for the kids – it’s a good idea to get a few over a period of time so that when one reaches the end of their lifespans, there are still some stick insects in the environment for the children to look after. Baby stick insects, no matter what species tend to be incredibly cute looking!

How to Take Care of Your Stick Insects

• All stick insects are vegetarian and like nothing better than eating brambles like raspberry or blackberry leaves which when included in their diet makes it a very nutritious. It’s really important for them to have plenty of fresh food in their environments so they can munch away and stay healthy.
• Stick insects like to hang upside down on plants so you need to make sure they have plenty of room in their environments so they can dangle. As a rule of thumb the height of their tank has to be 3 times the length of the stick insects you keep in it.
• It is better to keep stick insects in a tank because they cannot escape and it’s more fun watching them through the glass or plastic – you can keep them in a meshed cage but you need to make sure they can’t escape through the holes in the mesh which if too large, they will wriggle through.
• Stick Insects originate in nice warm tropical or semitropical countries and as such need in captivity they have to be kept nice and toasty – anything between 75 to 80° F is an ideal temperature for them to thrive in. The one thing stick insects like is to be kept in the dark at night which means opting for a red heat bulb during the night and then a white one during the day.
• It’s really important to keep humidity levels quite high which means doing a little research to find out what level your particular species of stick insect needs to stay happy and healthy. You can also mist their cage and the plants at least once a day which will help keep humidity at the right levels. Stick insects must have drinking water in their environments too.
• These fun creatures do like to be handled but you need to do this very carefully being extra gentle with them when you pick them up. They are more delicate than a lot of other creatures and if they are handled a little too roughly, they may well tell you off by giving you a nip or a bit of a pinch.

Conclusion

Do stick insects make good kids pets? Yes they do because they are fascinating little creatures and they don’t need lots of cleaning out – although their environments do need to be kept clean it is not as demanding as say a rabbit or guinea pig hutch. Although, they don’t boast very long life spans, having a few of them in an environment is fun and looking after them teaches the kids the importance of responsibility in a pleasant and enjoyable way.

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If you find arachnids of all kinds and spiders in particular fascinating, you might have considered the possibility of owning a tarantula as a pet. Tarantulas some of the world’s largest spiders, and have a mainly undeservedly fearful reputation as the stuff of nightmares and horror movies. Tarantulas are not generally aggressive, cannot kill you with a bite, and are (for the main part and considering the most popular pet breeds of tarantula) highly unlikely to bite you in the first place. These common misconceptions only scratch the surface of what is true about spiders versus what many people perceive to be true, and a lot of people’s fear of spiders comes from the unknown aspect of things!

Whether you consider yourself to be a spider expert or are just starting to learn about arachnids with a view to becoming a future tarantula keeper, read on to discover eight true facts about spiders and increase your knowledge!

1. Spiders can’t eat solid foods

Spiders cannot digest solid foods, and would be unable to eat the food they hunt or that is given to them (such as crickets and pinkie mice for pet tarantulas) in the form that it is presented. The underside of the stomach of the spider produces a digestive enzyme, which the spider in question then exudes onto the body of its prey. After the digestive enzyme has broken down the body of the prey, the spider hoovers up the resultant nutritious liquid and digestive enzyme, which is then processed by the body as food.

2. Virtually all spiders are venomous

Just one spider family (Uloboridae) does not possess venom glands; all other spiders in the world, without exception, produce venom. This includes the tiny money spider and the larger but still commonly seen domestic-dwelling spiders you may have spotted in your house or garden! The potency of the venom varies in case to case, from the serious and dangerous venom of the Brown Recluse spider (which fortunately does not live in the UK) down to the weakest, most minor venom that can only affect the very smallest of prey animals.

3. Spiders make up the largest group of carnivorous animals on earth

Spiders are predatory carnivores, and actively hunt for and trap their prey, which can be interesting if rather gruesome to watch for the tarantula owner! Spiders that belong to the Aranaea order compose the largest group of carnivores on earth by order, and spiders eat a variety of different prey dependent on their size, from tiny flies right up to snakes, mice, rats and birds.

4. All spiders spin silk

All types of spiders produce the silk that you will most probably have seen as part of webs, but silk is not only used for making webs and some spiders do not make webs at all! Silk can also be used for snaring prey, lining burrows, protecting their eggs, for shelter, and as part of the mating ritual.

5. Not all spiders use webs to catch their prey

While all spiders produce silk, not all spiders dwell in webs or use their webs to trap their potential prey. Some spiders simply catch their meals by either lying in wait and pouncing, or by actively chasing after their prey! The jumping spider has acute eyesight, and simply hides itself until viable prey is nearby before attacking it. Wolf spiders actively hunt their prey, pursuing them while remaining discreet and ultimately overtaking the unlucky life form in question before attacking!

6. Life is hard for the male spider

It is relatively well known that the Black Widow spider is liable to eat their partner after mating, but life is rather unfair for male spiders regardless of species! Male spiders are commonly eaten by females, and not only as part of the mating process. The elaborate courtship rituals that male spiders undertake when they are ready to reproduce are partially undertaken to convince the female that they are there for a date rather than a meal, and they need to make a swift retreat after mating to avoid ending up on the menu!

7. Spiders move by a combination of muscle power and blood pressure

As well as using their muscle structures to ambulate and move themselves, spiders rely upon blood pressure to move their long legs. This is particularly true for jumping spiders, which jump by means of increasing the blood pressure to their legs until the legs flip outwards and propel them into the air!

8. Spiders can camouflage their egg sacs

Spiders lay their eggs onto a layer of silk, and then cover them in more silk and keep producing additional layers until the egg sac has been created. The amount of silk that makes up the egg sac varies between species, with spiders that spin webs making thick and large egg sacs, and ground dwelling spiders producing thinner casings.

Some species of spider can produce silk that mimics the substrate onto which it is lain, effectively disguising and camouflaging their eggs against danger and predators.

Insects of a wide variety of types can make for fascinating pets for people of all ages, and keeping a terrarium or tank of a carefully selected and chosen insect species within the home can be highly educational for children. Many people have only the most rudimentary understanding of what insects actually are, or what makes an insect and insect and the traits they do and do not share.

There is a lot of confusion among the lay public about insects in general, and various tales and “facts” that do the rounds are in reality, not true at all! Whether you are simply seeking to expand your own knowledge, or if you want to make sure that you can answer any questions that your children might have correctly, read on for our list of ten of the most commonly held misconceptions about insects that are repeated time and time again!

1. All insects only live on land

It is a common misconception that insects only live on land, but several different types of insects actually live naturally either within the water of lakes, ponds and streams, or around the edges of the water and sometimes on the surface. For instance, the rove beetle lives on the seashore, and sea skaters live within the sea itself. Midges, damselflies, dragonflies and mayflies all live around the water, and some species lay their larvae on the water or on the banks of the water prior to its hatching into adult insects!

2. Insects are not animals

It is often thought that insects, while obviously not vegetable or mineral, are somehow not animals, or that they are something separate to what we usually think of as being animals. This is incorrect, and for many people, when they say “insects are not animals” what they really mean is that “insects are not mammals,” which is correct.

3. The daddy longlegs is a type of flying spider

With their signature long legs and vaguely spider-like appearance, people often assume that the daddy longlegs is simply a spider with wings! This idea understandably horrifies the arachnophobics of the world, but is also completely untrue. The daddy longlegs is a completely different animal to the spider, and is correctly called a crane fly. They are also not giant mosquitoes either!

4. You can tell the age of a ladybird by counting its spots

Children are often told that counting up the number of spots on a ladybird will tell you its age, and it is easy to see why this story is appealing. However, it is not at all true! By the time the ladybird reaches adulthood, all of the spots it will attain for its lifetime are already present. The ladybird only lives for one year at a maximum!

5. Spiders are insects

Many people think that everything that is small, many-legged and rather unusual looking falls into the category of insects, but the spider is not in fact an insect at all. Spiders have two body segments rather than the normal three that insects have, and eight legs rather than six. The spider is classed as an arachnid, a different designation to “insect” entirely.

6. Everything with eight legs is a spider

Just to confuse matters further, not everything that has eight legs is a spider! All spiders have eight legs, but many eight legged animals (such as the crab, the scorpion, the tick and the harvestman) are not spiders. Eight legged creatures like this all fall under the arachnid family (like spiders) but spiders are just one sub section of the arachnid family.

7. Insects have six legs attached at the stomach

By now you have probably gotten the picture that you cannot tell what order or group something belongs to simply by counting the number of its legs, but it is true to say that all adult insects have six legs. This means that animals like moths and butterflies are insects, but centipedes and millipedes are not! The legs of insects are also attached to the thorax, not the abdomen, the thorax being the middle of the three body sections of the insect.

8. All insects are bugs

Are you confused yet? You could be forgiven if you were! The terms “bug” and “insect” are often used interchangeably, but not all insects are bugs! The word “bug” describes a very specific type of insects from the Hemiptera order, which includes cicadas ad aphids. The beetle is not a bug, although this is probably the animal most likely to be labelled as such!

9. Spiders and bugs crawl out of the plughole in baths and sinks

It is perfectly natural to assume that a spider, bug or insect found in the sink or the bath has climbed its way up through the drainage system to get there, but this is highly unlikely to be true! The most common explanation for spiders or insects finding their way into the plughole is that they have dropped there from the ceiling or wall, or deliberately crawled there from elsewhere. Insects and spiders require a degree of humidity to thrive, which they are unlikely to be able to find within most homes in the UK other than in the bathroom or near to water. This makes sinks and basins appealing to them, and can cause them to climb or fall in and then be unable to scale the high, smooth sides to get back out.

10. Small winged insects are the babies of the species

Seeing a very small flying bug or insect with wings often leads people to believe that the animal in question is a baby or juvenile of the species, and that they will later grow into their adult guise. However this is incorrect; by the time an insect has grown its wings it has already metamorphosised into its adult form, and acquiring the wings occurs in the final moult of the larvae or nymph in order to take them into adulthood.

If you are stumped at what pet to get the kids and getting a dog or a cat is out of the question, there’s a heap of other pets which could be a great choice and which are pretty easy maintenance. From fish to rabbits and lots in between, you’ll find a myriad of creatures of every shape and size which all make terrific first-time kid’s pets. However, rabbits and other small pets which are better off when kept indoors like hamsters, gerbils and even guinea pigs, need lots of care and their cages need to be regularly cleaned out to ensure the environment is nice for them to live in which in turn means quite a bit of responsibility.

Caring for hamsters and other furry pets has to be a family thing and not just a job that’s left up to the children. Fish and terrapins need their tanks cleaning out on a regular basis as well which can become a chore instead of a pleasure. One pet that’s pretty easy maintenance and which is fun for kids to keep is a stick insect (or two). They may not be as cuddly as a kitten or as devoted as a dog but they are fascinating creatures that don’t make lots of noise and they certainly won’t damage your much loved furniture or leave a puddle on the kitchen floor.

Stick insects are also referred to as walking stick insects”” are phasmids and they can vary in size with some being a couple of inches long whereas others can measure up to 12 inches from head to tail. Most of them resemble twigs and leaves found in their environments which means they blend in very well wherever they happen to be. This camouflage of sorts is to keep them well out of sight of their predators and it works very well.

3000 Species of Phasmids

There are well over 3000 species of phasmids but the more common species which are kept as pet include the following:

• Indian Walking Stick/Common Laboratory Stick
• Annam Walking Stick
• Giant Prickly Stick
• Macleave Spectre

The Life Cycle of a Stick Insect

Depending on the species, a female stick insect can lay anything from 1 to 1000 eggs at any one time and the babies only hatch out after one to three seasons have passed by – although again this does depend on the species. Once the babies have hatched, the little stick insects climb up a tree and then proceed to hang upside down during the time it takes for them to moult which they do at least 5 times before they reach maturity.

Male Stick Insects are Pretty Rare

Only around one in every thousand stick insects are male and they can usually fly. Female stick insects don’t actually need a male to lay eggs (much like poultry) but when they do meet up with a male counterpart they mate but only stay together for a few weeks after which they go their separate ways.

The Lifespan of Phasmids

Phasmids have quite short life spans and depending on the species this is anything from 12 to 16 months so if you are thinking of getting some for the kids – it’s a good idea to get a few over a period of time so that when one reaches the end of their lifespans, there are still some stick insects in the environment for the children to look after. Baby stick insects, no matter what species tend to be incredibly cute looking!

How to Take Care of Your Stick Insects

• All stick insects are vegetarian and like nothing better than eating brambles like raspberry or blackberry leaves which when included in their diet makes it a very nutritious. It’s really important for them to have plenty of fresh food in their environments so they can munch away and stay healthy.
• Stick insects like to hang upside down on plants so you need to make sure they have plenty of room in their environments so they can dangle. As a rule of thumb the height of their tank has to be 3 times the length of the stick insects you keep in it.
• It is better to keep stick insects in a tank because they cannot escape and it’s more fun watching them through the glass or plastic – you can keep them in a meshed cage but you need to make sure they can’t escape through the holes in the mesh which if too large, they will wriggle through.
• Stick Insects originate in nice warm tropical or semitropical countries and as such need in captivity they have to be kept nice and toasty – anything between 75 to 80° F is an ideal temperature for them to thrive in. The one thing stick insects like is to be kept in the dark at night which means opting for a red heat bulb during the night and then a white one during the day.
• It’s really important to keep humidity levels quite high which means doing a little research to find out what level your particular species of stick insect needs to stay happy and healthy. You can also mist their cage and the plants at least once a day which will help keep humidity at the right levels. Stick insects must have drinking water in their environments too.
• These fun creatures do like to be handled but you need to do this very carefully being extra gentle with them when you pick them up. They are more delicate than a lot of other creatures and if they are handled a little too roughly, they may well tell you off by giving you a nip or a bit of a pinch.

Conclusion

Do stick insects make good kids pets? Yes they do because they are fascinating little creatures and they don’t need lots of cleaning out – although their environments do need to be kept clean it is not as demanding as say a rabbit or guinea pig hutch. Although, they don’t boast very long life spans, having a few of them in an environment is fun and looking after them teaches the kids the importance of responsibility in a pleasant and enjoyable way.

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If you find arachnids of all kinds and spiders in particular fascinating, you might have considered the possibility of owning a tarantula as a pet. Tarantulas some of the world’s largest spiders, and have a mainly undeservedly fearful reputation as the stuff of nightmares and horror movies. Tarantulas are not generally aggressive, cannot kill you with a bite, and are (for the main part and considering the most popular pet breeds of tarantula) highly unlikely to bite you in the first place. These common misconceptions only scratch the surface of what is true about spiders versus what many people perceive to be true, and a lot of people’s fear of spiders comes from the unknown aspect of things!

Whether you consider yourself to be a spider expert or are just starting to learn about arachnids with a view to becoming a future tarantula keeper, read on to discover eight true facts about spiders and increase your knowledge!

1. Spiders can’t eat solid foods

Spiders cannot digest solid foods, and would be unable to eat the food they hunt or that is given to them (such as crickets and pinkie mice for pet tarantulas) in the form that it is presented. The underside of the stomach of the spider produces a digestive enzyme, which the spider in question then exudes onto the body of its prey. After the digestive enzyme has broken down the body of the prey, the spider hoovers up the resultant nutritious liquid and digestive enzyme, which is then processed by the body as food.

2. Virtually all spiders are venomous

Just one spider family (Uloboridae) does not possess venom glands; all other spiders in the world, without exception, produce venom. This includes the tiny money spider and the larger but still commonly seen domestic-dwelling spiders you may have spotted in your house or garden! The potency of the venom varies in case to case, from the serious and dangerous venom of the Brown Recluse spider (which fortunately does not live in the UK) down to the weakest, most minor venom that can only affect the very smallest of prey animals.

3. Spiders make up the largest group of carnivorous animals on earth

Spiders are predatory carnivores, and actively hunt for and trap their prey, which can be interesting if rather gruesome to watch for the tarantula owner! Spiders that belong to the Aranaea order compose the largest group of carnivores on earth by order, and spiders eat a variety of different prey dependent on their size, from tiny flies right up to snakes, mice, rats and birds.

4. All spiders spin silk

All types of spiders produce the silk that you will most probably have seen as part of webs, but silk is not only used for making webs and some spiders do not make webs at all! Silk can also be used for snaring prey, lining burrows, protecting their eggs, for shelter, and as part of the mating ritual.

5. Not all spiders use webs to catch their prey

While all spiders produce silk, not all spiders dwell in webs or use their webs to trap their potential prey. Some spiders simply catch their meals by either lying in wait and pouncing, or by actively chasing after their prey! The jumping spider has acute eyesight, and simply hides itself until viable prey is nearby before attacking it. Wolf spiders actively hunt their prey, pursuing them while remaining discreet and ultimately overtaking the unlucky life form in question before attacking!

6. Life is hard for the male spider

It is relatively well known that the Black Widow spider is liable to eat their partner after mating, but life is rather unfair for male spiders regardless of species! Male spiders are commonly eaten by females, and not only as part of the mating process. The elaborate courtship rituals that male spiders undertake when they are ready to reproduce are partially undertaken to convince the female that they are there for a date rather than a meal, and they need to make a swift retreat after mating to avoid ending up on the menu!

7. Spiders move by a combination of muscle power and blood pressure

As well as using their muscle structures to ambulate and move themselves, spiders rely upon blood pressure to move their long legs. This is particularly true for jumping spiders, which jump by means of increasing the blood pressure to their legs until the legs flip outwards and propel them into the air!

8. Spiders can camouflage their egg sacs

Spiders lay their eggs onto a layer of silk, and then cover them in more silk and keep producing additional layers until the egg sac has been created. The amount of silk that makes up the egg sac varies between species, with spiders that spin webs making thick and large egg sacs, and ground dwelling spiders producing thinner casings.

Some species of spider can produce silk that mimics the substrate onto which it is lain, effectively disguising and camouflaging their eggs against danger and predators.

Land hermit crabs are one of the smaller species of land crab, which make the perfect pet for those without much space! Also sometimes known as the tree climbing hermit crab or the Caribbean hermit crab, they are found in the wild on the shores and riverbanks of the warmer climate of the Caribbean islands, and down as far as Mexico. Land hermit crabs are interesting and educational animals, and despite their name, are actually fairly social and active, and like to be kept in pairs or groups.

If you are looking for an interesting and attractive pet that is relatively low maintenance and fairly unusual, read on to learn more about what is required to keep land hermit crabs as pets.

Hermit crab shells

Hermit crabs are especially interesting and unusual, as they live in external shells rather than developing a particularly tough carapace on their own bodies. This means that you will need to provide a selection of shells within their enclosure to allow them to change their accommodation now and then, particularly as they grow and moult their external exoskeleton. A wide variety of different types of shells are suitable for hermit crabs, and a good selection should be made available in order to allow each crab to pick their perfect home! These are usually readily available to buy from aquatic retailers and specialist pet shops.

You can even introduce colourfully decorated shells into the tank to brighten up the appearance of your crabs, although the eventual choice of shell that any crab picks cannot be controlled by their owner!

Housing and accommodation

The size of the tank you will need to provide for your crabs depends largely on how many crabs you intend to keep; for a pair of land hermit crabs, a tank of around a foot square is fine, but for a small colony of crabs, the enclosure size should be a little larger.

You will need to line the bottom of the tank with a substrate of calcium-rich sand such as is sold specifically for crabs and reptiles. This sand retains water well, and can be sculpted and formed into burrows by your crabs without losing its integrity.

Hermit crabs also love to climb, so you should make sure that your tank is tall enough to allow this in safety without escape, and provide ornamentation such as upright logs and other furniture to keep your crabs entertained. Bogwood, cork, and resin ornaments such as those sold for fish tanks are all fine!

You do not actually need to provide an area of swimming water within the tank, although the sand should be kept damp at all times, and you will need to bathe your hermit crabs occasionally- more on this later on.

You will also need to provide a water dish and a food bowl within the tank.

What do they eat?

Hermit crabs do not have huge appetites, and only need a small amount of food each day. You can buy a specially prepared pot of hermit crab food pellets to make life easy, or feed your hermit crabs a balanced diet of a wide variety of foodstuffs. Hermit crabs are omnivorous, and will eat dried prawns, other fish and many fruits and vegetables. They even enjoy such widely varied foods as dog food and nuts, and special treats such as peanut butter on occasion! As crabs need a lot of calcium in order to support healthy growth, you should also feed a pinch of a calcium supplement such as Nutrobal mixed into something sweet now and again.

Fresh water should be available at all times.

Temperature and care

Land hermit crabs require a constant temperature of around 22 degrees Celsius, which can be achieved by placing a heat mat in the tank underneath the substrate. You should ensure that the heat mat has a thermostat to regulate the temperature, and keep a thermometer within the tank to monitor the ambient temperature and check for any anomalies.

Hermit crabs need to keep their bodies moist in order to prevent drying out inside of their shells, as this can prove fatal for the hermit crab. Ensure that the substrate of the tank is kept damp at all times, and dedicate a few minutes each week to bathing your hermit crabs, to recreate the normal moisture balance that hermit crabs achieve in the wild from living in damp conditions.

Bathing hermit crabs involves setting up a small bowl of water of around 20 degrees Celsius, and dunking them lightly into the water before draining them. Repeat the process, this time leaving the crab in the water until they begin to emerge from their shells, then remove them and replace them back in the tank, all clean and damp!

This procedure should be repeated on a weekly basis to ensure that your hermit crabs stay healthy and well.

Where to buy land hermit crabs

Land hermit crabs are sometimes available from pet shops that stock aquarium fish, or from specialist retailers that sell a rage of exotic pets. You can also buy hermit crabs from private breeders and sellers, who may be able to give you more advice and help with the care and housing of land hermit crabs than commercial enterprises can.

Check out land hermit crabs for sale by private advertisers here on Pets4Homes.

If you have reached the decision to buy a tarantula as a pet, congratulations! Tarantulas are beautiful and fascinating pets, as well as being fairly unusual. Even after you have undertaken all of the significant amount of research that you will need to do to learn enough about these spiders to make an informed decision to buy one, you may nevertheless find yourself getting stuck at the final stages.

Knowing where to actually find a selection of tarantulas for sale, how to spot a healthy specimen, and how to make sure that what you’re buying is the right pick for you is the final leg of your research process, and we can help. Read on for our top tips on finding and choosing a tarantula to suit you.

Decide upon a suitable type of tarantula and do your research on it

There are many different species of tarantula kept in captivity, and not all of them are suitable for the beginner or first-time keeper. Narrow down your choices by considering only hardy, docile varieties that are well suited to the novice keeper, and steer clear of any of the rarer or more exotic and unusual varieties for your first purchase.

Consider the price range and ongoing costs of your selection

Most beginner-suitable spiders are relatively inexpensive to buy, although the larger and more mature a tarantula is, the higher their value comparatively to other tarantulas of the same type. You may desire to buy a large, fully grown adult tarantula with its associated impressive appearance right away, but these are always more expensive and harder to find offered for sale than spiderlings (juvenile spiders) or those that are still growing.

Buy all of the equipment you need before you buy your tarantula

Before you go out browsing tarantulas with a firm intention to buy, make sure that you have everything ready and set up to accommodate your new purchase. Many retailers will offer a discount if you buy your tarantula and a tank and everything else you will need to house them all in one go, but it is strongly recommended to buy the tank and all of the necessary equipment and set it up and get it running before you bring your tarantula home.

Make sure you know enough about tarantulas to recognise what you are being sold

Making a decision on the right variety of tarantula for you is important, as is making sure that you can pick one out of a line up! If you go to a pet store or retailer and ask to view a specific variety of tarantula, do you know enough about them to be sure that what you are being shown is actually a spider of that variety? Remember that male and female spiders within the same breed can look rather different to each other, and that spiderlings and juvenile spiders often look significantly different to their adult counterparts in colouration and appearance.

Find out the best place to buy a pet tarantula

There are a wide variety of potential places to look for tarantulas for sale, and a mainstream, non-specialist pet shop is not the best place to start. Try to buy from an experienced and reputable dealer or seller who is enthusiastic about tarantulas and able to discuss their care requirements with you in depth rather than buying from an unknown quantity.

Specialist exotic pet retailers are often well versed in the care and maintenance of arachnids, as are private sellers and arachnid enthusiasts such as you can find in the tarantulasfor sale sectionhere on Pets4Homes.

Check for any injuries or damage to the tarantulas you are looking at

When looking at any offerings of tarantulas for sale, it is important to buy a specimen that is uninjured and otherwise appears healthy. Look for any injuries on the abdomen or body of the spider, and that all eight legs are present and uninjured! Also ensure that the two pedipalps are present and uninjured, and that the spider does not appear to be moving oddly or suffering from any other obvious problems.

Know what to look for in the healthy tarantula

• Sitting with the legs curled up under the body or appearing to be lying all hunched up is known as the “tarantula death pose,” and generally signifies a sick spider that is not long for this world.
• If the tarantula is standing over their water dish, check to see if they are actually drinking; a spider standing in or over their water dish without actually drinking may be too dry, and suffering from the effects of an atmosphere that is not humid enough.
• Keep an eye out for any bugs, parasites or patchy areas of hair that are not related to moulting.
• Don’t be alarmed to see a tarantula lying on its back with its legs in the air; while this can look to the uninitiated like the final death throes, it usually simply means that the tarantula is preparing to shed its skin. However, it is wise not to disturb a moulting tarantula or one that is about to shed, so it is advised not to buy a tarantula around this time.

Male or female?

It is often recommended to choose a female tarantula over a male, as females tend to live longer; often significantly so. In some species, the average longevity of the male is under five years, while the females can live to well into their twenties!

Buy captive bred

The vast majority of tarantulas kept and offered for sale within the UK today are captive bred, but you should always take steps to ensure that this is the case. All responsible tarantula sellers and breeders will be able to answer straight away the question of where their tarantulas came from and how they were bred; if you are faced with any hesitation or uncertainty in the answer, buy from another seller.