A Cronkite News Service Weekend Special

TARANTULAS: NOT MENACING AND DOWNRIGHT LOVABLE, AFICIONADOS SAY

With BC-CNS-Tarantula Portrayals

Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 (thumbnails, captions below)

By STEPHANIE SANCHEZ
Cronkite News Service

TEMPE _ Each month, Tom Sundin watches about 100 furry creatures head home from Pets Inc. with happy owners.

But you probably wouldn’t find these pets cute and cuddly. They have fangs, eight beady eyes and retractable claws at the end of eight long, hairy legs.

Tarantulas sometimes are portrayed in TV shows and B movies as menacing and even deadly, but aficionados and experts note that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, many people find tarantulas downright lovable.

“Tarantulas are not dangerous at all,” said Rick Foss, an Anthem resident who serves as a spokesman for the American Tarantula Society, a national group that educates the public about the creature.

First of all, a tarantula bite isn’t even close to fatal _ it’s more like a bee sting, experts say. And biting you, sneaking up on you, crawling into your bed, etc., are the last things a tarantula would want to do anyway. With obvious frustration, Foss recently wrote a letter to the editor pointing out that tarantulas can’t, as one national news article contended, leap several feet and “bite you just to bite you.”

Foss is so comfortable around tarantulas that he keeps 32 of them in a special room at his house.

“As soon as I held my first tarantula I was hooked,” Foss said.

Sundin, reptile manager at Pets Inc., said his customers are happy to have tarantulas in their homes and often come back for more. (Despite Sundin’s title, tarantulas are arachnids.)

“It almost becomes like an obsession for tarantula hobbyists,” Sundin said. “They want every type of species.”

Bearing him out, Aaron Hicks, a Chandler resident visiting the store, said he has several dozen tarantulas at home. He said he graduated to tarantulas after taking in a scorpion as a pet.

“They don’t require a lot of space,” Hicks said.

But before you try handling a tarantula, do note that it has venom, mild though it is, causing discomfort and swelling in the area of a bite.

Liz Barta, a poison education specialist at Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center, part of the University of Arizona’s College of Pharmacy, said her organization receives about 20 calls a year about tarantula bites. She said those usually come from people who mishandle or provoke tarantulas.

“They are very, very shy creatures, and they won’t crawl onto your bed or pant leg and bite you,” Barta said. “And they’re very fragile, so if they get dropped they can die.”

In case of a bite, cleaning the bite area with soap and water and taking an over-the-counter analgesic should do the trick, Barta said.

For the record, Barta said Arizona has recorded zero deaths from tarantulas.

To those interested in getting into tarantula ownership, Sundin recommends starting with a Chilean Rose Hair tarantula because it is calmer and slower. It retails for about $40.

Female tarantulas are usually the best choice as pets because they can live up to 20 years. Males live a few years or less.

Sundin said that any fear of tarantulas stems from a lack of knowledge.

“You’re bigger, stronger, faster and smarter, so leave it alone.” Sundin said. “Not a single tarantula will actively chase you for any reason.”

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PHOTOS: Click thumbnails to see full-resolution images and download

CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-THE LOVABLE TARANTULA: A New River Rust Rump tarantula is displayed at Pets Inc. in Tempe. Contrary to some portrayals in the popular media, tarantulas aren’t deadly and don’t stalk people. In fact, many people find them downright lovable and keep them as pets. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Stephanie Sanchez)

CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-THE LOVABLE TARANTULA: A New River Rust Rump tarantula is displayed at Pets Inc. in Tempe. Contrary to some portrayals in the popular media, tarantulas aren’t deadly and don’t stalk people. In fact, many people find them downright lovable and keep them as pets. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Stephanie Sanchez)

CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-THE LOVABLE TARANTULA: A Payson Blonde tarantula is displayed at Pets Inc. in Tempe. Contrary to some portrayals in the popular media, tarantulas aren’t deadly and don’t stalk people. In fact, many people find them downright lovable and keep them as pets. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Stephanie Sanchez)