Why I bought a Tarantula
Because of my fear of spiders I actually ended up purchasing a tarantula ~
It goes back to when a friend told me they had one as a pet and in fact her husband was a member of the American Tarantula Society and he kept saying the best way to overcome the fear was to face it. Meaning, learn about tarantulas, buy a tarantula and observe and care for one until the fear is overcome.
I bought my first tarantula, Fluffy, a Mexican Red Leg in 1982.
She was large and active and I remember my fist night putting a stack of encyclopedias on top of the screen cover of her tank. I came out around 1 am to make sure she was still there and there she was up the glass wall and waving a leg through the top screen. The reason this was so note worthy stems from how I made this tarantula purchase. At the pet store AFTER the purchase was rung up, the store owner began to tell me some of the history of this particular tarantula that I bought. He told me how a new cage cleaner, a young lady, came screaming from the back one day. What happened was that someone had left Fluffy's cage top a bit loose one day and Fluffy had gotten out and had hidden under one of the other cage trays for rodents. She had gone missing so long that they at the store had forgotten all about her..then when this new hire had pulled the tray out to clean cages, Fluffy scrambed out and scared her spitless...she quit.
So after hearing this...the first day the books went on top of the tank and I kept strict vigilance for weeks before I began to relax around Fluffy.
(By the way, the reason I named her Fluffy rather than something you'd imagine more spiderlike, well, my thought was to name her something cute, sweet and soft sounding to ease those fear feelings - starting off on the right foot!)
I had her for nearly 20 years and she was popular with the kids, going to schools for show and tell and was even entered as a visual/science project for a 4-H display one year and her moults made fine and exciting gifts through the years.
Our second tarantula is a Curly Hair that I bought online from Botar by Eights about 2 years ago. Her name is Ogra and she is a sweetie - very active, healthy and a bit on the shy side. I don't handle the tarantulas much, just enough to move them when needed and that is not often, but can say the fear is gone.
What I discovered is that these creatures are beautiful and have movement beyond ballet.They are shy and don't hunt humans, but think about this: hunt for things usually smaller then they are. They are amazing and not only make for a quiet pet, but do not smell bad and are economical to maintain. Plus having one of these for a pet is having the best conversation piece ever!