About us
I don’t know where and when my fear of spiders started, but it was severe from my earliest memory. I used to run screaming in the opposite direction. Thankfully my love of animals kept me from killing spiders, I would always ask the closest person to take them outside or move them as far away from me as possible.
The turning point for me was when my fear almost caused a car accident. My partner and I were driving down the highway and I screamed as a tiny spider started it’s descent on a silk string from the ceiling of the car. I startled my partner so badly that he swerved. I knew I couldn’t continue to be ruled by fear. Of course it took another incident to really start the process, but I made a best friend and he helped kick start my love of arachnids.
I was alone at home and a wolf spider ran across the floor, I cupped it (and put a heavy rock on the glass cup because fear brain said it was necessary), but my partner was out of town for the next week. I saw that my acquaintance was online and asked him (knowing he loved spiders and owned tarantulas) what to do. He tried to walk me through it, but I just wasn’t ready to face that level of fear. That spider died under the cup, likely from dehydration, and I felt awful.
I asked my new friend what I could do to start the process to get rid of my fear. Slowly I started looking at images, watching videos, placing plastic spiders in my environment that my cats could helpfully surprise me with. I then found spider YouTube and consumed close to 100 hours over the course of a year. I went to the local museum and looked at spiders in the bug room. I spent time looking at the tarantulas at my friends place. Then I started thinking about maybe owning a tarantula, my brain was at war with itself over if it was a terrible or brilliant idea. I looked into local spider dealers, went on forums, and joined FB groups. I learned everything I could to narrow it down to the best first tarantula for me.
I decided on a Grammostola pulchra and a Cyriocosmus elegans. I was going for something docile and something undeniably cute. When I received the spiders I was sad to see the G pulchra hadn’t made it. They had also sent a freebie an Lp (Lasiodora parahybana) I panicked a bit, because that wasn’t a species I had researched and I knew nothing about it. I called the seller and they very patiently walked me through the care and temperament of the Lp. It was 1/4" sling so it didn’t seem intimidating. I have now had that Lp for quite a few years and it is hands down one of my favourite tarantulas. She is such a great eater, is always out, isn’t a hair kicker (though they can be and their hairs are not fun).
I made a local tarantula friend and she knew the way I was enamoured by my new spiders that I wouldn’t stick with just two for long. My collection quickly grew as I sought out new experiences with unique species. I loved observing them and tweaking each environment based on my observation of their behaviour. I find that care guides are a great starting tool, or starting point, but it’s important to observe your arachnid and make changes as necessary.
Now I am looking forward to breeding projects, teaching people about arachnids, and sharing what has now become my passion. My friend who helped me get over my fear likes to tease me that he did his job too well, and he did.
The turning point for me was when my fear almost caused a car accident. My partner and I were driving down the highway and I screamed as a tiny spider started it’s descent on a silk string from the ceiling of the car. I startled my partner so badly that he swerved. I knew I couldn’t continue to be ruled by fear. Of course it took another incident to really start the process, but I made a best friend and he helped kick start my love of arachnids.
I was alone at home and a wolf spider ran across the floor, I cupped it (and put a heavy rock on the glass cup because fear brain said it was necessary), but my partner was out of town for the next week. I saw that my acquaintance was online and asked him (knowing he loved spiders and owned tarantulas) what to do. He tried to walk me through it, but I just wasn’t ready to face that level of fear. That spider died under the cup, likely from dehydration, and I felt awful.
I asked my new friend what I could do to start the process to get rid of my fear. Slowly I started looking at images, watching videos, placing plastic spiders in my environment that my cats could helpfully surprise me with. I then found spider YouTube and consumed close to 100 hours over the course of a year. I went to the local museum and looked at spiders in the bug room. I spent time looking at the tarantulas at my friends place. Then I started thinking about maybe owning a tarantula, my brain was at war with itself over if it was a terrible or brilliant idea. I looked into local spider dealers, went on forums, and joined FB groups. I learned everything I could to narrow it down to the best first tarantula for me.
I decided on a Grammostola pulchra and a Cyriocosmus elegans. I was going for something docile and something undeniably cute. When I received the spiders I was sad to see the G pulchra hadn’t made it. They had also sent a freebie an Lp (Lasiodora parahybana) I panicked a bit, because that wasn’t a species I had researched and I knew nothing about it. I called the seller and they very patiently walked me through the care and temperament of the Lp. It was 1/4" sling so it didn’t seem intimidating. I have now had that Lp for quite a few years and it is hands down one of my favourite tarantulas. She is such a great eater, is always out, isn’t a hair kicker (though they can be and their hairs are not fun).
I made a local tarantula friend and she knew the way I was enamoured by my new spiders that I wouldn’t stick with just two for long. My collection quickly grew as I sought out new experiences with unique species. I loved observing them and tweaking each environment based on my observation of their behaviour. I find that care guides are a great starting tool, or starting point, but it’s important to observe your arachnid and make changes as necessary.
Now I am looking forward to breeding projects, teaching people about arachnids, and sharing what has now become my passion. My friend who helped me get over my fear likes to tease me that he did his job too well, and he did.