Tarantula Importing and Arachnid Commerce

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ALL ABOUT AMERICA’S FAVORITE EIGHT-LEGGED PETS
May 2012
Basic
Tarantula Care
Inner View—
Rick C. West
Tarantula Importing
and Arachnid Commerce
$4.00 US/$5.99 CAN
INNER VIEW:
RICK C. WEST
Contents
2
INNER VIEW: RICK C. WEST
3
Basic Tarantula Care
8
Tarantula Importing and
Arachnid Commerce
16
in the
Spotlight
21
Captive Care and Breeding of
Holothele incei
22
Dirt is Dirt
except when it’s Mud
24
Michael Jacobi: Thanks for agreeing
to do this, Rick. I know many arachnid
hobbyists, particularly those interested in
theraphosid spiders, are very interested
in learning more about you and your
work. You are considered to be one
of the worldÍs leading authorities
on tarantulas and you have been
involved in film productions,
scientific consultation for researchers
and wildlife law enforcement,
educational lectures, field work
and ecotravel. You have authored
many papers and articles
about theraphosid spiders and are an
accomplished photographer. In addition,
you are also an arachnoculturist;
keeping and breeding tarantulas in
captivity for many years. Is there one
specific endeavor that you have found
particularly satisfying?
Rick C. West: Thank you for inviting
me. Your question is not an easy one to
answer but I will try by saying there is
no single endeavor about my work that I
find particularly satisfying. In reality, all
aspects surrounding my association with
tarantulas over the past forty years have
blended into one enormously satisfying
and giant interwoven endeavor; the
tarantulas, travel to exotic places, the
history and geography of the countries,
the natural history of the fauna and
flora encountered, the cultures, the
photography, forging new friendships,
conservation and enforcement issues, the
notoriety, and much more.
MJ: Your field work has taken you all
over the world. I am sure many readers
dream of going to just one of the places
you have been fortunate enough to visit.
If one of them could choose just one trip
for observing and collecting tarantulas in
his or her lifetime, what would be your
recommended destination?
RCW: French Guiana. This small country,
a department of France bordering Brazil,
is relatively safe and is easy to drive and
get around in. In my opinion, French
Guiana is one of the least populated little
countries still with a large percentage
of primary rainforest and diversity of
interesting fauna, flora and tarantulas.
continued on 4
3
continued from 3
MJ: Will you be working with
GreenTracks or another company on any
ecotours in the near future?
RCW: I’m presently working out the
ground logistics and pricing with
GreenTracks for future trips to French
Guiana; we will see if trips ever
materialize as there are so many things
to consider and work out on the business
side of ecotourism.
who took me through the ‘ayahuasca
[a powerful hallucinogenic drink]
healing ceremony’ and told me tarantula
myths was also a rare and interesting
individual. I’ve come in contact with
many other indigenous cultures over
tarantula spiders but the previous two
encounters, next to the Piaroa Indians of
southern Venezuela that most readers are
more familiar with, are two encounters
that stand above all the others.
MJ: You also have traveled to some areas
where there is civil unrest and more than
a slight element of danger. Will you share
with us a story about travel in a hostile
environment?
MJ: Your travels have also exposed you
to many cultures and peoples. Your
interactions with the Piaroa Indians of
Venezuela have been documented. Is
there another native people that you have
found especially interesting or friendly?
RCW: Again, not an easy single-answer
question. The Mambila ‘Spider Sorcerer’
who demonstrated spider divination to
me in Cameroon, and correctly predicted
my unborn grandchild’s gender, was
very pleasant and extremely interesting.
The Ese Eje shaman in southern Peru
4
RCW: British Wildlife cameraman, Nick
Gordon, and I were confined by warring
Yanomami Indians in southern Venezuela
in 1992. After some negotiation, we
were released. In 1996, our film crew
and I were in the middle of an Indian
blockade and an advancing army sent to
break them up in a remote Ecuadorian
mountain pass; luckily, no shots were
fired and we were eventually allowed to
pass. On occasion, I’ve encountered local
‘hunters’ in the forest; some of which
make the hairs on your neck stand up
when your gut instinct tells you they’re
sizing you up for robbery, or worse.
I’m not ashamed to admit that I always
carry a weapon in the field and, on
some occasions, my guide has carried a
firearm. You have to be constantly aware
of your surroundings and of the things
that can harm you in the field. My worst
experience in the field came in April 2004,
when my best friend, Nick Gordon, and
I were just starting on a new tarantula
documentary. Nick suddenly collapsed
and died in my arms of an apparent
massive heart attack; he was two years
younger than me! CPR attempts to revive
him failed. When a colleague dies in
the field, you don’t abandon him. With
emotions on the back burner, I spent the
better part of a week taking care of his
body and making sure that both he and
his belongings got home safely to his
grieving family and friends. It will be a
long while before I get over that ordeal.
MJ: What was the first wild tarantula you
collected and do you still remember the
experience?
immediately scooped it up in the bucket
then proceeded to bug the heck out of
RCW: As a small child, I always dragged my parents to let me keep it and take it
home; they did. The more I looked for
home creepy crawly creatures with an
reliable information on how to care for
innate curiosity for them. When I was
tarantulas, the less I found, so, I began to
thirteen years old, I went to visit my
keep my own notes (found out years later
relatives in Poway, San Diego County,
it was Aphonopelma eutylenum). I’m not
USA. My cousin told me they had
‘tarantulas’ living in their orange orchard. ashamed to admit, here and now, that for
the first few months of handling it, I wore
“Tarantulas”!!! no way, I thought. Those
a heavy leather glove. That’s the truth.
couldn’t be the very same giant hairy
spiders I’d only seen in horror films?
MJ: Where is the oddest place you have
Armed with a bucket and trowel, off we
ever found a tarantula in the wild?
went on the ‘big tarantula hunt’. A two
RCW: I found a small Ephebopus
inch silk-lipped burrow was pointed
murinus, in the French Guiana city of
out to me. I admit that my first thought
Cayenne, living in the spout of an old
was, “That’s all?”, I had expected a huge
gas can. Another time, I found a female
hole. While digging, the dirt caved in
Pterinochilus chordatus right at the edge
and I thought I’d lost the burrow so I
of a plane runway at the Masai Mara
gave up. All of a sudden (to me) the
Game Reserve, Kenya. As my plane
‘earth shook’ and out popped my first
landed and taxied in, I refused to move
tarantula, it was an electrifying thrill. I
continued on 6
5
continued from 5
while I was digging it up, the plane’s
wing went right over my head while the
engine drowned out the frantic shouting
of my wife and travel companions.
natural habitat, but others were taken of
captive tarantulas using dioramas. What
special challenges do each present to the
photographer?
MJ: Are there any genera or species of
tarantulas that you have yet to observe
in the wild that you are particularly
interested in seeking?
RCW: When photographing tarantulas
in the field, you have little to no control
of your subject or it’s setting and
limited time to make your images. In
addition to lunging a lot of expensive
camera equipment around, you have
to contend with the risk of theft or
damage and annoying factors like heat,
humidity, dust, water, mold, biting
bugs and leeches, venomous snakes,
curious or suspicious people, etc. When
photographing tarantulas in dioramas,
or ‘basement setups’, although you have
more control and time over a wider range
of a tarantula’s life stages, you have the
problem of your images not looking
as natural. I have to carefully study
tarantula habitats in the field then try
to recreate bark/lichen/moss patterns,
soil types and microhabitat conditions in
my diorama it’s not as easy as it sounds
when you try to make a marketable
image; However, practice makes perfect.
RCW: Yes, but I won’t say what or where
it is as it would divulge an extremely rare
species and we all know there are people
out there that will destroy sensitive
tarantula populations and habitats
(legally or illegally) just for the almighty
dollar. What squeezes my nards is these
people use the age old argument that it’s
for ‘the betterment of the species’ to have
them survive in captivity. In my forty
year association with tarantula spiders,
I’ve yet to see a single species sustained
in captivity without the infusion of more
taken wild stock.
MJ: Other than arachnids, what animals
that you observe during your travels do
you have a special interest in or fondness
for?
RCW: Free-living tortoises, free-flying
macaws, any of the wild cat family,
venomous snakes, chameleons, oof, that’s
not an easy question to answer either. I
love and enjoy all things encountered on
my field walks.
MJ: Many hobbyists are very familiar
with your incredible photo archive at
birdspiders.com. I know that many
images were captured of spiders in their
6
MJ: You have been asked to judge
hobbyist photographs for several
projects. What are the biggest mistakes
you see made and what are your
suggestions for improving the quality
of arachnid photos taken by the casual
photographer?
RCW: The mistakes I commonly see
in casual arachnid photography are:
the arachnid is out of focus, the limbs
or portions of the body are not all
in the picture, the angle is bad, and
some images are made on hands or
on unnatural or garishly contrasting
backgrounds. I’m not trying to
discourage anyone from making arachnid
images as I know what I’m talking about
here — all my earlier arachnid images
were as bad as or worse than what I just
mentioned.
MJ: I remember a couple dozen years
ago when tarantula keeping was not as
widespread or popular and the people I
learned from directly or indirectly were
people like yourself, Ralph Henning,
Al McKee and Stanley Schultz. When
you first started keeping tarantulas in
captivity were there other pioneers that
helped you along?
RCW: As I mentioned earlier, I started
keeping tarantulas in the summer of
1964. At that time, my key tarantula
mentors were Dr. Beatrice Vogel (USA),
Mr. Robert Mackin (USA) and the now
late Mr. Vincent Roth (USA), Dr. William
Baerg (USA), Dr. Luis Pena (Chile), Mr.
Ramon Mascord (Australia) and Dr.
Cliford Carl (Victoria, Canada). Without
these people’s time and kind support, I
would have given up tarantulas long ago.
subtrate used for tarantulas. I will say,
for one last time, that tarantulas do not
live in a sterile environment. I have used
regular soil from the garden for forty
years and have no more mortalities than
anyone else
who go to
huge lengths
to make their
tarantula’s
terrarium
as sterile as
possible — I
won’t even get
on the subject
of humid
versus dry —
this interview would be long enough!
MJ: If you could keep only one species
of tarantula in captivity what would it be
and why?
RCW: One I’ve never had before — for
me, it’s as simple as that! This is what
drives me on my quests — the search
for the little known/undescribed
theraphosid species.
MJ: Are there any misconceptions about
tarantula husbandry that you would like
to comment on?
MJ: Last question: You are a husband,
father, and grandfather so I am sure you
try to spend as much free time as you
can with family, but what other pursuits
completely unrelated to your professional
work do you enjoy if and when you find
the time?
RCW: The number one topic that drives
me wild, and I refuse to keep repeating
myself on forums, is choice of terrarium
RCW: I enjoy fly fishing, hiking, nature
photography and the pursuit of enjoying
every day as if it were my last!
7
New keepers often use too large of
enclosures. Tarantulas naturally live in
burrows or other small confined spaces and
need the security of a small space. A small
cage also allows you to easily monitor its
feeding so you can promptly remove uneaten
food. As a rule of thumb, an enclosure should
be two or three times the legspan of the
tarantula in both width and length. It is also
highly recommended that the distance from
the top of the substrate to the top of the cage
be no more than the legspan for terrestrial
Basic Tarantula Care
8
Tarantulas do not require plants or
of the substrate and cage becoming too wet
avoided by using shorter enclosures and deep
do not require light and tarantulas prefer dark
be a dangerous situation that can easily be
due to watering. Of course, fake plants also
substrate.
cages. Cork bark, hollow logs and driftwood
tarantula cage is the plastic Kritter Keeper™
drafts and where there is little disturbance
have a snap-on well-ventilated lid with an
loud music. It is also important to remember
shops and some superstores, and there are
tarantulas are best kept far away from tobacco
and excellent for terrestrial tarantulas. These
temperature and humidity.
tarantula enclosures.
will explore the tops of their cages. This can
and cats and placed out of reach of children.
you have chosen, especially with regards to
in the sides and top they make very functional
live plants, and they eliminate the possibility
a more expensive glass terrarium container
to research the specific needs of the species
with the addition of ventilation holes drilled
that would normally not climb in the wild
should be exercised to ensure that the
Tarantula Keeper’s Guide. It is also important
don’t make for very attractive displays, but
or plastic plants are much more durable than
maintain their pets. It is a concise overview of
Tarantulas and Other Arachnids and The
housing large numbers of tarantulas. They
of captivity, some heavy-bodied tarantulas
simple and inexpensive plastic container with
also read at least one of the following books:
popular with tarantula breeders and others
to make your pet’s home more attractive. Silk
Tarantulas should be housed in small
tarantula keeping. We recommend that you
Rubbermaid™ and Sterilite™ are very
injury from a fall. In the unnatural situation
This article provides basic guidelines that
meant to provide all information essential to
etc. and manufactured by companies like
decorations, but they can be used if you want
Housing
good tarantula husbandry practices. It is not
are sold as shoe boxes, sweater boxes,
[ground-dwelling] species. This is to prevent
Introduction
will help new tarantula keepers successfully
Clear, plastic storage containers, which
You can keep your tarantula in a very
enclosures that are safe and secure. Care
numerous air holes in the sides and lid, or
enclosure is safe from other pets such as dogs
with a screen lid. Perhaps the most popular
Locate it in an area out of direct sunlight and
or Herp Haven™. These small terrariums
from vibration such as heavy foot traffic and
access door. They can be found at most pet
that nicotine is a powerful insecticide and
some new models that are shorter in height
smoke.
low-profile models are marketed with names
like “Lizard Lounge” or “Breeder Box”.
are attractive items to decorate with and
can provide your tarantula with a welcome
hiding place. Avoid any items that have sharp
edges or are excessively rough in texture.
Also avoid any decor from outdoors that may
harbor pest or carnivorous insects or may
have been exposed to pesticides, fertilizers or
other hazardous materials. When designing
your enclosure remember that terrestrial
(ground-dwelling) tarantulas like more
ground space and a deeper substrate, whereas
arboreal (tree-dwelling) tarantulas need
taller enclosures with a piece of cork bark or
similar item to climb and attach silk nests.
continued on 10
9
continued from 9
Substrate
Any sort of clean and natural dirt free of
pesticides and fertilizers is good. Chemical-
free top or potting soil, peat moss and coconut
coir [popular as a reptile substrate and sold
in compressed bricks as Eco-Earth™, Forest
Bed™, Bed-A-Beast™, etc.] are excellent
tarantula substrates. Horticultural vermiculite
can also be used with great success, but
it is unnatural in appearance, dusty and
some products may contain asbestos-like
substances. Do not use sand [except as a
small part of a mixture containing mostly soil
or peat], gravel, perlite or corn cob or any
other type of small animal bedding, especially
cedar shavings. The substrate should be as
deep as the container allows, at least a couple
of inches whenever possible. This will allow
you to pour some water down the side and
have the bottom depth damp while the surface
in contact with the spider is dry. Ideally, it is
good to have a slightly damp corner—usually
where the water dish is—at one end while the
other end of the tank is dry. Over time this
water will evaporate and provide beneficial
humidity. Replenish as needed taking care to
not saturate the substrate.
Drinking Water
Although tarantulas acquire most of their
water from their food, it is a good idea to
provide a small, shallow dish of fresh water
to adult tarantulas. The natural evaporation
will also provide beneficial humidity. It is
10
more difficult to provide a water dish to
v Tarantulas
small tarantulas, but a spider with a legspan
require a regular diet
consisting of crickets
of a 50-cent piece or so is large enough for a
and small critters in
simple tiny water receptacle such as a 2-liter
order to remain healthy.
soda bottle cap. Provide clean tap water—
do not use “cricket gel” or sponges, which
just get dirty and funky with bacteria and
mold and do not provide sufficient moisture.
Water can also be provided by lightly misting
the substrate and/or sides of the enclosure.
Never spray the spider directly and take care
to not create overly damp conditions. Most
pet tarantulas are grassland or desert species
that should have a mostly dry cage, although
having a small, damp area near the water dish
can be helpful [see Substrate above]. Tropical
species require elevated humidity. Research
your pet’s needs and provide accordingly.
Climate
to you. If heat is required it is best to use a
very small reptile heat pad placed near the
Most tarantulas can be kept in the range of
enclosure or on the side of a larger tank, but
temperature in a warm home. In other words,
use it for a reptile. The use of lights for heat
heat in all but the coolest households. Some
conditions and radiant heat sources such
in the upper 70s during the day, but no
black or red incandescent bulb placed several
any extended periods of time. A fluctuating
heat source if used carefully. Keep in mind
days.
higher its metabolic rate will be. It will want
70-75 degrees Fahrenheit, which is room
not beneath or in direct contact as you would
most tarantulas do not require supplemental
should be avoided as tarantulas prefer dark
tropical species may require temperature
as bulbs create overly dry conditions, but a
tarantula should be kept much above 80 for
feet away from the cage can be an effective
temperature is best, with nights cooler than
that the warmer you keep your tarantula, the
When kept cooler than optimum
tarantulas will become inactive, but should
be in no danger at temperatures comfortable
to eat more often and will grow more quickly.
It will also dehydrate quicker so you must
be very observant of the environment and
diligent with care. If your tarantula species
requires moderate to high humidity, you can
provide this by keeping the substrate partially
or mostly moist. If you use a light for heat
and display, be sure to monitor the humidity
levels closely. Turn the light off at night
unless it gets below 65 degrees in your house.
It is advisable to let the temperature decrease
as much as 10 degrees at night, especially for
desert tarantulas.
continued on 12
11
continued from 11
Poecilotheria metallica is one of the most saught after tarantulas in the hobby. Many refer to
them as the “gem” of tarantulas . They are absolutely gorgeous displaying blue, white and yellow
markings . They are fast growers , good eaters and can grow to a good size. Poecilotheria metallica
is not a beginner species . They are fast, they can be aggressive and their venom is potent.
Food
Tarantulas will eat crickets, grasshoppers,
katydids, moths, beetle larvae (e.g.,
mealworms or superworms), houseflies
and cockroaches. Some tropical tarantulas
readily accept earthworms, and some larger
tarantulas will accept live baby rodents,
lizards, and snakes. When feeding, a good
rule of thumb is to offer prey items that are
about half the spider’s legspan or just slightly
smaller than the length of its body. For
example, a 2-inch legspan juvenile tarantula
with a body length just under an inch can be
offered a half to three-quarter-inch cricket
[3-4 week-old]. However, some tarantulas are
aggressive eaters and will eat prey as large as
themselves. As a rule, live prey is required,
however, some tarantulas will scavenge on
dead animals. This is especially true of young
tarantulas, and it is often possible to rear tiny
spiderlings by cutting an adult cricket into
two or three pieces and offering one section.
For young tarantulas, one prey item of
suitable size is appropriate. If you are feeding
comparatively small prey to a large tarantula,
such as adult crickets to an adult “Rose hair”,
you can offer 4-6 at one time. The spider
will attack them in succession and ball them
up into one tidy meal. This ball of food and
silk that a spider ingests over time is called a
bolus.
days for young spiders and every 10-14 for
larger specimens is a reasonable regimen. Do
not feed freshly molted tarantulas for several
days [young] to two weeks [adults]. Spiders,
in general, will keep eating until they are
full, approaching a molt, or ready to lay an
egg sac. In a sense, you can’t really overfeed
young tarantulas, but this isn’t the case with
adults. An adult tarantula might only eat once
a month or even as little as a few times a year
in the wild. A tarantulas abdomen should not
be overly large and impede its ability to move
about with ease.
It is extremely important to remove
any uneaten prey items whether live or dead
within 24 hours or so. I recommend offering
food late at night and removing it first thing in
the morning if not accepted. Uneaten insects
or other prey items can be stressful for the
tarantula, and have been known to damage
and even kill tarantulas if not eaten. Food
remains like the bolus will attract pests and
mold. It is advisable to remove the remains
of any prey items from your tarantula’s
enclosure so that they do not cause unhealthy
conditions for your pet.
Molting
Tarantulas are invertebrate animals that need
to shed their complete exoskeleton in order
How often you feed your tarantula is up
to you. Some people want their spider to grow
as fast as possible and will offer food almost
12
every day. However, offering food every 4-7
to grow. This is the time when the tarantula
is its most vulnerable. Molting may occur as
often as once a month in young “spiderlings”
continued on 14
13
continued from 13
or only once every year or two in adults. As
fingers out of a glove. The cast exoskeleton
food, sometimes for several weeks or even
out complete tarantula. Once the process is
refuses several offered meals in a row it may
rest for as much of a day and then spend the
impending molt is reduced activity, increased
outstretched as its short growing process
mat” and dull coloration. Species that flick
not disturb or feed your tarantula for at least
a molt approaches, the tarantula may refuse
(or exuvium) looks much like a hollowed-
months prior to the process. If your tarantula
completed the pale-colored tarantula will
be about to molt. Further evidence of an
course of the next week or so with its legs
use of silk as it creates a web “molting
occurs and its new exoskeleton hardens. Do
urticating hairs and have a “bald spot” on
a week after molting. A young tarantulas
Tarantulas are extremely
their abdomens are easy to assess.
The light bald spot will become
fragile creatures that can increasingly dark until it is almost
easily be injured from a black. If you believe your tarantula
fall or other mishap.
will soon molt it is extra important
to make sure you remove uneaten
adult may require two weeks. It is extremely
delicate at this time and can even be injured
by attempting to flick urticating hairs off its
soft abdomen. Leave it alone.
food [you should always be doing this!]
Handling
humidity levels. A slight increase in humidity
their docile nature and are handled by some
one end of cage and keep water dish full].
and are quick to bite. We do not recommend
not touch or handle.
safety of the spider. Tarantulas are extremely
and pay close attention to temperature and
Some species of tarantula are known for
is recommended [add water to substrate at
keepers. Others have defensive dispositions
Leave the tarantula undisturbed, certainly do
handling any tarantulas, primarily for the
When a terrestrial tarantula molts it
will turn onto its “back” (arboreal tarantulas
molt on their backs or sides, often in a silken
retreat above the ground where they may be
vertical). Don’t be alarmed. It is not dead.
Dead tarantulas usually are ‘right side up’ and
have their legs curled beneath their bodies.
Pressure changes within the molting tarantula
will cause its old exoskeleton to separate at
the carapace and abdomen. It will pull its legs
out of its old skin much like you pull your
14
may fully harden in three or four days, but an
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fragile creatures that can easily be injured
from a fall or other mishap. In addition,
all tarantulas are venomous and have the
ability to bite. Their venom may not be
life-threatening, but it can cause severe
pain and several days of muscle spasms and
cramps. Tarantulas are untamed animals and
unpredictable. They are terrarium pets
like tropical fish or frogs and are best
enjoyed through observation and care,
not interaction.
CricketFarm
©
15
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Introduction
Many tarantula keepers seek the next holy
grail species. Some breeders look for rare
species that might bring a good return on
investment if successfully bred. Other keepers
enjoy the excitement of acquiring a rare
species, possibly one that has never been in
the country before. Just in the past year alone,
American tarantula enthusiasts have had
reason to be enthused about some amazing
species bred in Europe, the most prominent
of which was Poecilotheria metallica. Many
exotic species first become available in Europe
for a number of reasons including less strict
import regulations, the comparative ease
of travel for European trader/collectors
to Africa and Asia, and the great success
of many European breeders. The idea of
circumventing middle men and importing
arachnids directly from sources overseas
crosses every American arachnoculturist’s
mind at some point. This article will reveal
16
the realities of legally obtaining arachnids
from overseas sources. The person who
brought those blue “Poecs” to the US was
me and I’d like to share with you just how
involved importing is.
I have been seriously involved in the
hobby for over twenty years. I have been
fortunate to breed about 40 different species
of tarantulas and have kept close to 300
different invertebrate species. Somewhere
along my arachnocultural path I became
involved in importing
captive bred spiders from
European breeders or
dealers. I do not import
any wild-caught animals
or CITES (Convention in
the International Trade of
Endangered
Species)
protected
arachnids
such as Brachypelma species. To date, I would
estimate that I have imported around 150
arachnid species into the US. Many were
first-time species, most recently Poecilotheria
metallica, P. miranda, P. striata and Euathlus
vulpinus [aka Pachypelma oculatum]. As
the hobby has exploded there has been an
increased demand for something new, but
most hobbyists don’t realize what obtaining
these species takes. I’d like to take you
through the steps required and illustrate why I
sometimes think I am crazy for doing it at all.
Tarantula Importing
The first step required to become an importer
is to apply to the U.S. Department of Interior
Fish and Wildlife Service [USFW] for an
import/export license. The license costs $100
and must be renewed each year [http://www.
fws.gov/permits/importexport/importexport.
html].
Next, you will need to establish a
relationship with a reliable and honest dealer
or breeder. Although many Europeans speak
and write English to some degree”many
even perfectly, there is a chance that a
language barrier will cause some difficulties
communicating. It is best to develop a
partnership through a number of contacts by
email, but to ensure that you are comfortable
with the dealer and any arrangements
international phone calls may be necessary.
These calls may be expensive and due to
time zone differences a bit tricky to arrange.
Finding overseas dealers or breeders can
be very difficult. Many have an exclusive
arrangement with other importers or
excessive minimum order amounts. Others
may be scam artists. Most require that you
take everything they offer, not just the species
you are interested in.
Once a exporter has been found many
details will have to be worked out, not the
least of which is payment. It is customary
for 50% of the total order price to be paid
up front, but some dealers or breeders may
require full payment in advance of shipping.
Either way you will be trusting a considerable
amount of money to someone thousands of
miles away that you probably won’t be able to
pursue legally should your payment be stolen.
Exchange rates need to be calculated; most
Europeans will quote prices in Euro dollars.
It is important to remember that if you paid
10 Euros for a certain species on a previous
order and the price remains the same on
a subsequent order your cost may change
considerably depending on the current
exchange rate. Payment is usually sent by wire
transfer from account to account and your
bank will charge a fee for this. All aspects of
the transaction need to be discussed including
any guarantees or dead-on-arrival refunds or
credits.
After details of the transaction
are worked out the exporter will need to
schedule an international flight for shipment
of your order. The average shipping cost
of my imports is $300, typically paid to the
exporter in advance. After a flight has been
scheduled you must notify USFW 48 hours in
advance and complete Form 3177, the import
declaration. There is a $55 fee for this and
you will need to specify quantities, scientific
names, common names, prices, country of
origin and other details of the order. If the
total price of your animals exceeds $2000
US you will need to use a customs broker to
handle your shipment upon arrival, which will
cost between $200 and $500.
Port of Entry
Live animal imports must enter the US at a
designated port of entry where they require
continued on 18
17
continued from 17
clearance by U.S. Customs and USFW.
These limited cities include Miami, Atlanta,
New York, New Orleans and Los Angeles.
If you are not close to a designated entry
port city and wish the shipment to travel on
to another airport, a customs broker will be
required regardless of the value of the order.
This person will handle the clearance at the
port of entry airport and then ensure that
the package is routed to its final destination
airport.
Considerable Expense
As you have no doubt realized by now,
importing is very expensive and involves a
considerable amount of “red tape”. Let’s
assume you are well-funded and use an
example to further illustrate the point. Let’s
say that you have become friendly with a
European dealer who has just successfully
hatched an egg sac from Species X. This
spider is blue with neon green stripes, huge
and docile and will be a sure hit in North
America. The dealer will sell the entire sac
of 100 to you as long as you take them all at
$90 US each. That’s $9000 just for the one
species. However, he isn’t going to let you
buy just his most desirable offspring. You will
also have to take 300 Psalmopoeus irminia,
200 Ornithoctonus andersoni, 100 Lasiodora
striatipes, 100 Poecilotheria pederseni and a
number of other spiders. Before you know it
the total price of your spiders is over $20,000.
Add the Form 3177 fee ($55), shipping ($300),
broker fee ($500) and the other costs and you
could buy a new SUV (sports utility vehicle)!
Arachnid Commerce
So is it worth it? Will you be able to recover
your investment and hopefully make a
profit? Maybe, maybe not. The markup at
18
the wholesale level is the lowest percentage.
Retailers who have greater overhead and will
have to house and care for the spiderlings
for some time, experience some losses,
advertise, and ship them individually have a
understandably higher markup. Let’s throw
some imaginary numbers around. We’ll
pretend that with the other costs split among
the total live spiders received the cost of one
specimen of Species X is $100. Let’s say you
have decided you need to make $30 profit on
each spider. So you offer them to the retailers
such as Internet arachnid dealers for $130 as
long as they take at least ten Species X and
twenty each of the other species you were
forced to buy. After the retailer adds his or
her shipping costs the cost per Species X will
be slightly more than $130, but here we will
overlook that. So now the retail dealer has
$1300 invested in ten tiny spiderlings. Let’s
say that the professional retailer who pays
rent for a facility, utilities, website hosting
and design, taxes, attorney and accountant
fees, etc. has to double the cost and the retail
price becomes $260. Is that fair? Well, let’s
look at the reality. One of the spiderlings may
die before it is sold and one may die en route
to the customer and have to be replaced.
That leaves 8 spiders that actually cost about
$165 sold for a gross profit of $760—and
that’s with good luck and doesn’t include
the aforementioned costs of doing business.
Plus, the retailer also has to keep alive and
sell the other species that aren’t in such great
demand. But the previous scenario isn’t
exactly realistic in yet another way. Not all
retailers are “legitimate”. Those who have
“day jobs”, perhaps don’t claim their income
and certainly don’t have the overhead of the
professional dealer may place a forum ad
selling Species X to the hobbyist for $200 or
less. Now the “legitimate dealer” will have
to lower the price or hold on to the spiders
longer, which further increase the risks of
losses and the costs of care.
Hopefully these examples show you
that nobody is getting rich selling arachnids.
Many aren’t even covering all the time, effort
and expense involved. When it comes down
to it the person who is getting the best deal
is probably the consumer—the hobbyist.
Competition keeps prices reasonable and the
educated buyer will consider other factors
such as dealer experience, customer service
and reputation before making a purchase and
experience few risks. Remember that deals
that seem too good to be true usually are just
that. It’s best to develop a relationship with
a reputable well-known dealer/breeder who
contributes to the hobby and will accurately
answer questions about husbandry and
breeding—not just with a purchase—than
just look for the cheapest prices from an
inexperienced hobbyist reseller.
continued on 20
is no species worth the risk of prosecution. If
you are caught you will be solely responsible;
v The most exotic and
the U.S. government can’t go after your
more visually pleasing
overseas source and the entire burden of
tarantulas are not native
the illegal transaction will fall upon you.
to North A merica and
The US has stringent regulations regarding must be imported.
Breaking the Law
A discussion of importing would not
be complete without mentioning the
temptation of illegally importing animals.
The procedures detailed above are the
only way to legally have arachnids shipped
from overseas into the United States. If you
purchase animals from outside the U.S. and
have them shipped to your door via EMS
Speedpost [international express mail] you
commit two federal offenses, both punishable
by fines and imprisonment. You would not
only be smuggling livestock by not declaring
it to USFW, but also violating federal postal
regulations. Furthermore, if you were caught,
you would cast a dark cloud over the hobby
as well as the honest dealers who put great
effort and expense into bringing exciting
species to the hobby. In short, your actions
would give the rest of us a bad name. There
19
continued from 19
livestock coming into country. Whereas many
European hobbyists can freely post boxes
of arachnids to another country in Europe,
and even Canada, it is very difficult to legally
import livestock to the US.
Although I do not import any CITES
listed species, I will close with a brief mention
of this. Special permits and their associated
fees will be required, usually at both the
exporting country and here in the U.S., and a
customs broker will be necessary to assist with
vArachnoculture USFW verification. There is the possibility
is a growing business
that paperwork produced by some countries
in A merican territory,
will not be valid, and you will be in a heap of
however there are
trouble for receiving the protected animals.
many laws and policies
which make acquisition The exporter or the country of origin would
of finer species a
not be affected—the responsibility would be
troublesome issue.
completely yours.
20
Conclusion
I hope this article has given you a better
understanding of what goes into acquiring
that fancy spider you love so much. I also
hope you now realize why Species X would
be more expensive here in the U.S. than
in Europe and understand that American
dealers are not ripping you off. There is no
correlation between overseas retail prices and
those found in the American hobby. As with
anything, much of pricing comes down to
supply and demand, as well as the costs and
risks of conducting business. Hopefully as
the hobby continues to grow more and more
desirable species will be bred in the U.S. and
become more affordable to the American
arachnoculturist.
in the
Spotlight
Brachypelma smithi
Grammostola rosea
This is the quintessential, docile spider of all time.
Usually very “sweet” in disposition. From “Raiders
of the Lost Arc” to Elvira, this is the most seen and
saught after tarantula of all time -- part of the reason
it became so rare. Over-hunted & illegal to catch and
sell in numerous countries, rest assured your specimen
was born in captivity. Only recently has this species
become more affordable, thanks to enthusiasts. Though
all spiders are capable of biting, we’ve yet to hear of B.
smithi doing so to any of our personal friends. Though
B. smithi “kicks hair” sometimes, it’s not generally
known to do so as fiercely as others, and though they’re
catagorized as type 3 hairs, they have not seemed as
bad as B. boehmei or nearly as bad as B. blondi to us,
but everyone is different, so please see our Cautionary
Page. A desert species used to dry climate, he/she
couldn’t be easier to care for. Very long lived and not
dependent upon frequent feeding (relative to some
other species), it is usually eager to eat and grow. The
best “starter” there is -- even over Chilean Rose, in our
opinion. Get in while the “bumper crop” is good! Not
shown here, they grow very larger & develop beautiful,
yellow leg bands in older age, just like in the movies.
Often referred to as the rose-haired tarantula, this is
possibly the best beginner spider, depending on one’s
personal taste. By this we mean: young tarantulas are
often more skiddish than older, handled ones. G. rosea
quickly becomes acclimated to being handled, if that’s
really what you’re looking for. Keep in mind handling any
arachnid is forever a controversial subject. For example,
we’ve never had a B. smithi (Mexican red-kneed) ever
bite, though young ones run away even a bit more than G.
rosea, in our opinion. On the other hand, many more bite
reports are purportedly in existence for G. rosea!
The consensus, still, that this is rare, and bite reports
usually only tell of a needle-feeling, minor puncture,
lightly, either involving no subsequent feelings or
sometimes a minor buzzing or tingling which quickly
dissipates. Due to the older ones’ tendency to be
docile, we’ve handled this spider even more than the
Mexican red-knee, due to its tolerance of us and also
its relative less tendency to kick urticating abdominal
“hairs”, be they either less irritating to us than other
species, or less kicked & thus *fluffed* onto us in
particular. A quintessential starter tarantula, females
live many years and grow to an impressive size!
(Mexican redknee)
(Chilean rose)
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Captive Care and Breeding of Holothele incei
[Holothele incei]
Holothele incei (F.O.P.-Cambridge, 1898) is a small
species originating from scrub and tropical rainforest
areas of Trinidad where it is relatively common. Often
called the “Trinidad Olive”, it is a fascinating species
to rear. I have had specimens in my collection for
nearly ten years and have been lucky enough to breed
them on several occasions. Similar in colouration to
another Trinidad species, Psalmopoeus cambridgei,
H. incei is clothed in olive green and brown hairs and
the carapace takes on a beautiful golden tinge as the
females mature. The abdomen is similarly patterned
with chevrons. Males are around half the size of the
On average, females only reach 60 mm [2
in] in legspan. They are copious web-spinners, filling
Index
their containers with thick silken tubes tunneling
through the substrate. Housing is a simple affair and
any medium to large container will suffice. A deep
substrate (peat or peat/vermiculite mix) will allow
the spider to burrow but it will do equally well with
less, constructing its retreat around the sides of the
container. Kept at average temperatures of around
75°F [24°C] with 65-70% relative humidity, I have
found them easy to rear, with females living around
eight years in captivity.
Easily bred in captivity, courtship for this
female when mature and lack the chevron pattern
species is long and involves much leg drumming
on the abdomen. The carapace takes on a silvery
from the responsive female. Fresh males are under
appearance and the legs are grey/brown with the
no threat but it is noted that the female may kill the
tarsi almost black. Surprisingly large as spiderlings,
male instantly on a second introduction. Eggsacs are
they have a voracious appetite from day one and
laid some three weeks after mating. Approximately
grow relatively quickly, attacking prey from the safety
four weeks later the fully formed spiderlings emerge,
of their burrows.
totaling around 100.
B
Brachypelma smithi
21
G
Grammostola rose
21
H
Holothele incei
22
The following notes were from a diary on Holothele incei over an 18 month period:
15 Oct 1999: Laid infertile egg sac.
21 Oct 1999: Mated (male from same eggsac). Calm pairing with multiple palp insertions
over a long period (10 minutes). The male shows no fear towards the female
and began courtship on introduction. Female responded eagerly and emerged
from her burrow to mate.
01 Dec 1999: Eggsac produced. A deep burrow was excavated and the spider sealed itself
inside. The mobile eggsac measures approx. 15 mm in diameter and can be
clearly seen through the silk inside the container.
01 Feb 2000: Spiderlings separated (77 in total).
22 Feb 2000: Mated (same male as previous), courtship and pairing similar to the first
time.
25 Mar 2001: Moulted.
06 Jul 2001: Mated again. Long courtship, brief palp insertion and female attacked male
but he escaped unharmed.
08 Jul 2001: Killed second male on introduction. This time, instead of beginning to court
the female on introduction, the male began to groom himself on the edges of
the female’s web. Sensing his presence, the female moved slowly towards his
position and attacked almost immediately.
25 Jul 2001: Laid eggsac.
16 Aug 2001: Eggs hatched. Found a spiderling with double abdomen (this specimen
managed to go through its first moult successfully but died soon after).
Separated spiderlings—108 in total.
01 Jan 2002: Moulted.
30 Apr 2002: Mated.
03 Aug 2002: Moulted.
22
P
Poecilotheria metallica
All content within Arachnizine
courtesy of www.exoticfauna.com
12
23
Dirt is Dirt
except when it’s Mud
No matter what you want to call it, it’s just dirt.
That stuff lining the bottom of your arachnid
cages, the stuff we like to call substrate, the stuff
that keepers have strong preferences for and rigid
feelings about, the stuff that fuels contentious
debate and time-wasting polls, the stuff that
evokes odd desires for sterility and purity,
it ain’t
that complex.
v
Oftentimes,
regular backyard
soil is perfectly
suitable for your
eight- legged buddy!
I have been on numerous collecting trips to
the southwest US and I have yet to find one
tarantula burrow in heat expanded mica, better
known as vermiculite. Maybe it’s the rest of
the world’s tarantulas that live in it? Are there
any tarantulas living in Canadian peat bogs? Or
maybe other tarantulas put their soil in ovens
meant for pizzas and turkeys and pies in an
attempt to sterilize it. Ah, nothing like baked
dirt for dinner or explaining the casserole pan
of dirt in the oven to your spouse.
Ever see any
scorpions in line at the pet store waiting to buy a
small bag of dirt for $5 or chunks of fir bark for
$10?
Flash news report just in ... arachnids don’t
live in sterile hospital clinics. In fact, many live
amongst leaf litter teeming with alien life forms
that are hard at work,
thanklessly breaking down
organic matter, humbly participating in nature’s
woundrous cycle.
So, why this obsession, mostly
in America, with a substrate that contains no life.
What do you have against those cool fluorescent
yellow mushrooms that grow out of your peat
mix from time to time?
Why the paranoia
that the garden soil in your backyard contains
arachnid-host-specific mites? Come on. Grab a
shovel.You’re surrounded in dirt. If you’re lucky
it will contain beneficial organisms like wood lice
and isopods and some bacteria
that just might
clean up the waste you forgot to remove and is
attracting unwanted terrarium pests.
If not, make
sure you add some! I do.
Call me old school,
but I’ve had little trouble using the dirt the earth
provides instead of the product the marketers
sell.
Sure, I make sure there aren’t any little
centipedes or ants or anything that might eat a
spiderling in the dirt. I also make sure that dirt
is collected where no fertilizers or pesticides of
any sort have been used. There’s clean dirt and
there’s ... well ... er ... dirty dirt.
Dirt is good but mud is bad. If only people
worried as much about how stagnantly saturated
their substrate is as they do how lifeless it is.
Ventilate.Ventilate.Ventilate some more.
I don’t
know about yours, but my arachnids get hydrated
by being fed well and having access to fresh water.
None of my arachnids drink dirt. I mean, mud.
Dirt is great. Dirt is free.
I confess. My rant is a tad hypocritical. Sometimes I use fake dirt, especially for the
numerous tarantula spiderlings
I have for sale
that are confined in the micro micro-environment
of a vial. And since some dirt hater is going
to email me saying that dirt is obviously full
of cooties and ask what I would use if not
nature’s earth, I’ll whisper it: 75/25 coconut coir/
vermiculite with just enough water to make it
barely, almost, kinda sorta clump.
But if it’s a terrarium bigger than a vial or deli
cup, I still put wood lice and isopods and such in
it! Maybe even a live plant.
24