Does anyone else keep spiders or other arthropods?

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I have four different species of spiders, a common millapede, and a black garden slug.
I've had the lot of them for around three months.

Not here, I'm not a big fan of those sorts of pets, my husband used to have a tarantula when he was younger but now everytime Dylan sees a spider he seems a little anxious about them.

I use to have an unfounded fear of lady bugs, and monarch butterflys becasue I thought that they all had stingers on them.

No, I don't have spiders, I'm terrified of them. Arachnophobia.

I avoid them, if at all possible. Or squish 'em!

I have 2 hamsters?
Mr. freeze and the joker.
I guess thats not the same.

I used to catch cicadas. I absolutley love cicadas!

I have lots of spider friends around my home. My son gets quite upset when he sees one, but I like the fact that they help keep down the mosquitoe population... my mum passionately hates them and murders them all - I think that might be why I like them!

I used to be very afraid of spiders, but I mostly overcame this fear. Still, I do not particularly enjoy spiders crawling on my face. In summer I often do night bike rides on the narrow rocky trail in the forest. When night falls, spiders make webs in the clearing, suspended across the trail. I often see them in distance, stop and crawl underneath. Spiders build very big and intricate webs in a short time, and they deserve a respect for this, so I would go to great lengths to avoid destroying their work. After all, it is not appropriate to disturb the wildlife in their natural habitat. But sometimes I see the web too late to stop, and this usually results in having a spider on my body. This freaks me out, and I frantically try to shake the insect off.

On the other hand, my home is not a designated wildlife habitat, and spiders who choose to live there risk their lives. Same goes for all other bugs.

I don't mind the spiders in my house, they keep it free of flies and suchlike.. I'm not sure about keeping one for a pet though.

Last edited by star-lily on 18 Nov 2004, 9:00 am, edited 1 time in total.

I am not scared of spiders at all. In fact, I will let tarantulas crawl over me. I was in northern Mexico right along the border of Arizona when I found a tarantula on the ground. I let it crawl right onto my hand and was able to keep it on me. Tarantulas have legs that are a little rough, so it was able to cling to my shirt as well. However, I have never kept spiders as pets.

My philosophy exactly!

I enjoy keeping them. Not only do they make interesting scientific specimens, but they are very sweet individuals, each with their own personality.
I especially enjoy the ones I can take out and hold, such as the millapede and the slug. But if I'm really careful and very gentle, I can downwardly stroke the setae on my spider's abdomens. I think they've learned I am no threat, and therefore they are not to me.

a good lesson learned from keeping spiders-- never judge a book by its cover.

And, Nano Ty, You must be one of the select few who will believe me when I say, of all the spider species, the Tirantula is seemingly the most peacful, and the domesticated ones often ENJOY human handling and will ask for it.

Try telling me spiders are nice after I've seen one. I dont know why but when I see one or its head anyway I get very very scared. The last time something like that happened I saw a very real looking drawing of a tarantula in art class and I curled up into a ball and started crying. Everyone told me I was breathing weird. It was one of the most embarrasing things that happened to me but I couldnt help it.

Last edited by ilikedragons on 16 Dec 2005, 11:36 pm, edited 2 times in total.

I've heard a few things about this, so I can believe that...but I am a lot like you when it comes to spiders, ilikedragons-extremely arachniphobic. If I even see one on t.v, I will cringe and sometimes even scream. But I have an abiding love for insects-especially beetles- and will not kill them if I find them in my house although I don't collect them. I don't mean to gross anyone out here, but I find cockroaches very interesting as well.

Oh! I absolutely ADORE, TREASURE, and LOVE Cockroaches!
I'm even going to go out and bye a pet hisser this saturday!