Rosie, the Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula

My first and only experience with a tarantula was at the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster, Colorado. This particular creature is one of the crawl-a-see-em insects that you can get up close and personal with.

When I first met Rosie, a Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula, she was crawling around on her handlers hand. I was quite intrigued with her and at first I only wanted to photograph and ask questions about her. I discovered that she was 9 years old and that most tarantulas of her type live for approximately 20 years.

When the handler asked me if I would like to hold her I said no thanks. After I had walked away, I changed my mind and then went back and let Rosie walk across my hand.

Rosie is a very accommodating tarantula and seems to enjoy interacting with the people that are brave enough to allow her to walk across their hands. She is about the size of my palm, so I wouldn't consider her small. Before I decided to hold Rosie I asked a few questions. The most important question was, "Does she bite?" The handler said that she would only bite if she felt threatened and that her bite would feel like a bee sting. I've been stung by a bee before and it wasn't terrible. I felt I was pretty safe in holding the giant spider.

There were also a couple of tanks full of other crawly things at the Butterfly Pavilion. One tank held a passel of cochroaches. This was truly a gross sight. I have never seen so many in one place. Let's just hope that their tank never gets knocked over. I think the cockroaches were the most disgusting thing I saw that day. There were also a lot more different types of tarantulas. Rosie was the only one that was out of her aquarium.

These tarantulas are native to the desert regions of Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina. If you are going to keep a tarantula as a pet, you'll need something to keep them in. Most of the time a glass aquarium that is either a 5 or 10 gallon tank is sufficient. It's my understanding that they like to eat crickets. You can probably purchase a tarantula from a local pet shop. I have decided that I probably won't choose a tarantula as a pet. They are nice to look at, but I'm not really intrested in crawly things living in my house.

Sources:

http://www.butterflies.org

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilean_rose_tarantula