As a vet student I'm now seeing a change to include more exotics into vet studies. At the moment it still only focuses on vertebrates(small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and birds) but I really hope that in the coming years invertebrates like tarantulas will be included as well. Even if it's just basic care and problems/illnesses, I think it's important to know about it, despite invertebrates probably making quite a few vets/vet students uncomfortable. They're animals and pets, and if one comes to me after I graduate I hope I'll be able to help it and its owners. Thank you so much for raising attention to important issues like this and trying your best to educate people as well as helping them think about issues that matter.
Important topic, especially highlighting the difficulty in euthanasia when we don't even have the information to make the definite most humane decision. Thank you.
Very much agree on all you've said. And to take ethical keeping to a next step, I often wonder if tarantulas can get bored and if they need enrichment to be 'happy'. When it comes to keeping reptiles I've been able to change my view in a way that wants to give them above minimum care. I want mine to not only feel safe and have the basic needs (food, water, hide), but also enrichments, such as a good substrate to dig in, multiple hides, climable objects, variety in diet, etc. So far the changes I've made seem to have made my pet reptiles 'happier' as they're showing behaviours I haven't seen before as much. With tarantulas, I wonder how much of this can be applied. Besides the basic needs, will they get anything from 'enrichment'? Does giving them more space give them more 'fun to explore'? Do they 'like' having a varied diet, or is food just food to them? With reptiles I believe enrichment like these is highly benificial as there are studies with prove and I've also seen the differences with mine. With tarantulas I am not sure however.
I LOVE this question! I myself don't know if they actually benefit from enrichment, but I always try to give my rose hair more room than she needs and provide her with "toys" (like her ping pong ball) and multiple hiding/digging spots. She actually uses the entire space so I think they do enjoy having different things to interact with and explore.
@@TarantulaHeaven That's really nice! I currently keep my tarantulas in europeaan glass tarantula enclosures (30x30x30cm or 25x25x40cm), but do want to try a size bigger then that soon. Very curious to see if they'll actually utilize it :)
My t keeps climbing the glass I watched your other video about stressed ts. I've changed the substrate for coconut fibre and this seemed to help for a day or two but now she's climbing the glass again. The other night he dragged all the web he laid on the substrate into its hide and I've never seen this before.
Sometimes tarantulas just like to climb :) Also it's possible that your tarantula is going to molt soon because they're hiding and taking their webbing with them. Could be totally normal :)
I completely agree, though the euthanasia side is certainly one I've not put much thought into. Should the time come I need to, then it will be the most humane way for sure, but just like with my cat, until then I try to keep my head in the sand & convince myself they're going to live forever, so will cross that bridge when I come to it. With handling, I will if I have to, but for their safety I'd rather not. I've had to handle some of mine, more on the basis of either handle as I'm attempting to maintain their enclosure, or allow them to escape, but am getting better at remembering to have a catch cup to hand. Like to think I'm doing something right, as bar the odd hair flick or threat pose when rehousing hasn't gone exactly to plan from a couple, mine seem quite calm most of the time. Just pleased they don't understand human language, as some of mine do get called names other than their own, more because of how much of a derp they can be! 😄
That's a great question! I don't know if they get upset by it but I think they can definitely feel the vibrations which may startle them! I did a little video on this a while ago - hope it helps! ruclips.net/video/WYfW608wv58/видео.html
3:33: I STILL find it cute, that they hide behind their own legs, because they believe, that you can't see them, then.🥰❤ The spiders that I have had, so far, have been thru a de-stressing period, after being put into the terrarium. I have given them the time to make themselves feel comfortable with their new home, and then later begun with watering and feeding. The last one, I had, literally JUMPED over to the water, when I gave it to her, she was that thirsty, poor thing.❤ I am going to a reptile/terrarium show in October, so I believe, I'll bring a new friend home... 🙂 But gotta go now, it's dinner time over here, and I'm the chef of the house. 👋😄 See ya.
Yayyyy! Congrats on your soon to be spider child! I also think it's so cute when they hide behind their legs but it makes me sad that it means they are scared :(
As a person that have kept tarantulas for 20+ years. The biggest concern i have is the wild caught aspect. People always want the rarest newest speicies. This means that people catch them in the wild to get money. This is unetical and i am strongly against this. Wild creatures should not been taken from the wild. Always keep captive bred animals,! If this means not getting all the speicies there are, so be it! There are many great speicies and genus that are captive bred. Dont support wild caughting! And try to mimic the habitat they live in, when setting up their tanks. I have always seen tarantulas as tropical fishes. One that keeping fishes would never thinking of petting the fish? Same should apply to tarantulas imo. Mammals like cats, dogs, and mouses an other rodents and rabbits are "build" for petting and handling, and likes when you are petting them. Tarantulas are totally diffrent creatures. Now, if a very placid spider is handled with care and with knollage once or twice, i dont think it will harm them,but they can still bite or bolt,so they get hurt indirectly, so to avoid that, it is very easy. Dont handle. If they must be handle i suggest catch cups. Another con with handling is stress. I am not sure, but i think its very stressful, especially with tarantulas that have established themself in the terrarium. To be taken out from their familiair surroundings. Imagine if some giant suddenly ripped the roof of your house! If it happend to me, i would have been terrified! Shooting a injured tarantula with no hope of saving with a shotgun would be very painless i'd think, but very impractical?🤔
I'm studying animal science, not veterinary medicine, but the most effective and least distressing at-home method I've been able to find to euthanize a large invertebrate is putting them in the fridge for at least 4 hours (preferably more), which will put them in a stupor and presumably make their nervous system unable to respond to stimuli, followed by putting them in the freezer for a day, which will kill them. The best at-home way to kill small bugs is squishing.
@@TarantulaHeaven Of course! If I ever find a better solution (or some solid evidence that this is the best solution) I'll make sure to tell you. It's a topic that's very near to my heart as I sometimes have to euthanize members of my stick insect colony after bad molts
Couldnt't agree more, so many tarantulas - often irrelevant of the actual species or how naturally aggressive etc - are becoming simple 'pets' by people who don't truly understand how different each tarantula is; so unkind for the tarantulas themselves. I have a little girl - 7 yr old female Grammastola Rosea - who i love to pieces but having studied arachnology years ago (and when living with poisonous beauties in South Africa) i knew immediately how to let her settle in her new home at her own pace. As for the time when health problems take the better of her, i'm also open minded but it is still - even today - so difficult to make the 'right choice'. Let's just hope i don't need that for my girl and all other truly loved pet tarantulas xxxx
@@TarantulaHeaven Oh thank you ^^ My father's job was transferred so we moved from England to SA for about 11 years. There were some amazing species over there, like commoon Baboon tarantula - a lovely rusty, gold colour; very docile too. Beautiful xxx
Thanks so much for your question! There is the ability to buy in hard copy (with free digital version) however it's unfortunately pretty expensive due to not being able to mass produce it and the print quality :( I use MagCloud for this service and they are good but expensive (I haven't been able to find a good cheaper option). I believe they ship to Europe. Here's the link if you're still interested: www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/1473934
I don't really think the subject of euthanasia is one of ethics, per se, but of what's best for the spider... however, I do believe that, putting yourself in the spiders position would be beneficial... so, that being said, would you rather: 1. Be fed to a cannibal 2. Freeze to death slowly 3. Asphxiate via CO2 4. Die instantly by being crushed by a 50 ton weight. I don't think there'd be many people who'd have to think about it too long. There's graphic videos on youtube of a construction crane that collapsed into a Mosque that'll show you how instant death is from crushing.
It is odd though, that logically you are right the instant death from crushing is the best option, yet lots of people seem more disturbed by the crushing than any of the other options, when I have seen it discussed on pet forums etc. But maybe that is because crushing takes what feels like more active violence from the owner. Even though we know logically it should cause the least pain if done right, I can imagine it being a very hard act to do emotionally, and have that responsibility to make it a fast clean shot as well as check that was the case. So then perhaps it's confusing our own emotional pain with what's best for the pet.
@@taranchies1505 Wow, nice reply. And I think you're right. There's a world of difference between actively crushing your spider, and just putting it in the freezer and checking what the situation is a day, or 2 later. Just leaving the spider in there to freeze to death would objectively be "easiest" for us to do. But it's not about us. It's like the difference between shooting someone with a sniper rifle from 200yds, or stabbing them. The latter being much more up close and personal and as you say, entailing more active violence.
As a vet student I'm now seeing a change to include more exotics into vet studies. At the moment it still only focuses on vertebrates(small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and birds) but I really hope that in the coming years invertebrates like tarantulas will be included as well. Even if it's just basic care and problems/illnesses, I think it's important to know about it, despite invertebrates probably making quite a few vets/vet students uncomfortable. They're animals and pets, and if one comes to me after I graduate I hope I'll be able to help it and its owners. Thank you so much for raising attention to important issues like this and trying your best to educate people as well as helping them think about issues that matter.
Thank you for doing this work and caring about exotic creatures!
Important topic, especially highlighting the difficulty in euthanasia when we don't even have the information to make the definite most humane decision. Thank you.
So glad you agree!
I agree 100% on every point. Tyfs God bless you
Thanks! Hope you are having a good week :)
My Tuesday is made :D
Thanks for tuning in! :)
Great vid
Thanks!
Very much agree on all you've said. And to take ethical keeping to a next step, I often wonder if tarantulas can get bored and if they need enrichment to be 'happy'. When it comes to keeping reptiles I've been able to change my view in a way that wants to give them above minimum care. I want mine to not only feel safe and have the basic needs (food, water, hide), but also enrichments, such as a good substrate to dig in, multiple hides, climable objects, variety in diet, etc. So far the changes I've made seem to have made my pet reptiles 'happier' as they're showing behaviours I haven't seen before as much.
With tarantulas, I wonder how much of this can be applied. Besides the basic needs, will they get anything from 'enrichment'? Does giving them more space give them more 'fun to explore'? Do they 'like' having a varied diet, or is food just food to them? With reptiles I believe enrichment like these is highly benificial as there are studies with prove and I've also seen the differences with mine. With tarantulas I am not sure however.
I LOVE this question! I myself don't know if they actually benefit from enrichment, but I always try to give my rose hair more room than she needs and provide her with "toys" (like her ping pong ball) and multiple hiding/digging spots. She actually uses the entire space so I think they do enjoy having different things to interact with and explore.
@@TarantulaHeaven That's really nice! I currently keep my tarantulas in europeaan glass tarantula enclosures (30x30x30cm or 25x25x40cm), but do want to try a size bigger then that soon. Very curious to see if they'll actually utilize it :)
My t keeps climbing the glass I watched your other video about stressed ts. I've changed the substrate for coconut fibre and this seemed to help for a day or two but now she's climbing the glass again. The other night he dragged all the web he laid on the substrate into its hide and I've never seen this before.
Sometimes tarantulas just like to climb :) Also it's possible that your tarantula is going to molt soon because they're hiding and taking their webbing with them. Could be totally normal :)
I completely agree, though the euthanasia side is certainly one I've not put much thought into. Should the time come I need to, then it will be the most humane way for sure, but just like with my cat, until then I try to keep my head in the sand & convince myself they're going to live forever, so will cross that bridge when I come to it.
With handling, I will if I have to, but for their safety I'd rather not. I've had to handle some of mine, more on the basis of either handle as I'm attempting to maintain their enclosure, or allow them to escape, but am getting better at remembering to have a catch cup to hand.
Like to think I'm doing something right, as bar the odd hair flick or threat pose when rehousing hasn't gone exactly to plan from a couple, mine seem quite calm most of the time.
Just pleased they don't understand human language, as some of mine do get called names other than their own, more because of how much of a derp they can be! 😄
Calm spiders are happy spiders :)
Can loud music upset or be bad for a tarantula?
That's a great question! I don't know if they get upset by it but I think they can definitely feel the vibrations which may startle them! I did a little video on this a while ago - hope it helps! ruclips.net/video/WYfW608wv58/видео.html
3:33: I STILL find it cute, that they hide behind their own legs, because they believe, that you can't see them, then.🥰❤ The spiders that I have had, so far, have been thru a de-stressing period, after being put into the terrarium. I have given them the time to make themselves feel comfortable with their new home, and then later begun with watering and feeding. The last one, I had, literally JUMPED over to the water, when I gave it to her, she was that thirsty, poor thing.❤ I am going to a reptile/terrarium show in October, so I believe, I'll bring a new friend home... 🙂 But gotta go now, it's dinner time over here, and I'm the chef of the house. 👋😄 See ya.
Yayyyy! Congrats on your soon to be spider child! I also think it's so cute when they hide behind their legs but it makes me sad that it means they are scared :(
@@TarantulaHeaven We're totally on the same page.😄👍 But I have to sleep now. Looking forward to more news on your lovely critters.
As a person that have kept tarantulas for 20+ years. The biggest concern i have is the wild caught aspect. People always want the rarest newest speicies. This means that people catch them in the wild to get money. This is unetical and i am strongly against this. Wild creatures should not been taken from the wild. Always keep captive bred animals,! If this means not getting all the speicies there are, so be it! There are many great speicies and genus that are captive bred. Dont support wild caughting! And try to mimic the habitat they live in, when setting up their tanks. I have always seen tarantulas as tropical fishes. One that keeping fishes would never thinking of petting the fish? Same should apply to tarantulas imo. Mammals like cats, dogs, and mouses an other rodents and rabbits are "build" for petting and handling, and likes when you are petting them. Tarantulas are totally diffrent creatures. Now, if a very placid spider is handled with care and with knollage once or twice, i dont think it will harm them,but they can still bite or bolt,so they get hurt indirectly, so to avoid that, it is very easy. Dont handle. If they must be handle i suggest catch cups. Another con with handling is stress. I am not sure, but i think its very stressful, especially with tarantulas that have established themself in the terrarium. To be taken out from their familiair surroundings. Imagine if some giant suddenly ripped the roof of your house! If it happend to me, i would have been terrified! Shooting a injured tarantula with no hope of saving with a shotgun would be very painless i'd think, but very impractical?🤔
Such great points!!!
I was going to counter one of your points but then read your last suggestion and realized it wasn’t worth it
I'm studying animal science, not veterinary medicine, but the most effective and least distressing at-home method I've been able to find to euthanize a large invertebrate is putting them in the fridge for at least 4 hours (preferably more), which will put them in a stupor and presumably make their nervous system unable to respond to stimuli, followed by putting them in the freezer for a day, which will kill them. The best at-home way to kill small bugs is squishing.
That's fascinating! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!
@@TarantulaHeaven Of course! If I ever find a better solution (or some solid evidence that this is the best solution) I'll make sure to tell you. It's a topic that's very near to my heart as I sometimes have to euthanize members of my stick insect colony after bad molts
Couldnt't agree more, so many tarantulas - often irrelevant of the actual species or how naturally aggressive etc - are becoming simple 'pets' by people who don't truly understand how different each tarantula is; so unkind for the tarantulas themselves. I have a little girl - 7 yr old female Grammastola Rosea - who i love to pieces but having studied arachnology years ago (and when living with poisonous beauties in South Africa) i knew immediately how to let her settle in her new home at her own pace. As for the time when health problems take the better of her, i'm also open minded but it is still - even today - so difficult to make the 'right choice'. Let's just hope i don't need that for my girl and all other truly loved pet tarantulas xxxx
So cool that you studied arachnology and lived in South Africa! That sounds amazing!
@@TarantulaHeaven Oh thank you ^^ My father's job was transferred so we moved from England to SA for about 11 years. There were some amazing species over there, like commoon Baboon tarantula - a lovely rusty, gold colour; very docile too. Beautiful xxx
Great video! You’re very pretty btw
Thanks!
Do you sell/ship your t-guide in paper? Also do you ship to Europe? Thx in advance ✌️
Thanks so much for your question! There is the ability to buy in hard copy (with free digital version) however it's unfortunately pretty expensive due to not being able to mass produce it and the print quality :( I use MagCloud for this service and they are good but expensive (I haven't been able to find a good cheaper option). I believe they ship to Europe. Here's the link if you're still interested: www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/1473934
Thanks for answering 😁
The price is what is to be expected of hard copy encyclopedia. It looks great 👌
@@redaacheache6868 Thanks so much!
I don't really think the subject of euthanasia is one of ethics, per se, but of what's best for the spider... however, I do believe that, putting yourself in the spiders position would be beneficial... so, that being said, would you rather:
1. Be fed to a cannibal
2. Freeze to death slowly
3. Asphxiate via CO2
4. Die instantly by being crushed by a 50 ton weight.
I don't think there'd be many people who'd have to think about it too long. There's graphic videos on youtube of a construction crane that collapsed into a Mosque that'll show you how instant death is from crushing.
Nahhh dude
Great point and way to look at this from a different angle!
@@TarantulaHeaven I just think that if, god forbid, I was at a point of having to end one of my spiders suffering, I'd make it instant.
It is odd though, that logically you are right the instant death from crushing is the best option, yet lots of people seem more disturbed by the crushing than any of the other options, when I have seen it discussed on pet forums etc. But maybe that is because crushing takes what feels like more active violence from the owner. Even though we know logically it should cause the least pain if done right, I can imagine it being a very hard act to do emotionally, and have that responsibility to make it a fast clean shot as well as check that was the case. So then perhaps it's confusing our own emotional pain with what's best for the pet.
@@taranchies1505 Wow, nice reply. And I think you're right. There's a world of difference between actively crushing your spider, and just putting it in the freezer and checking what the situation is a day, or 2 later. Just leaving the spider in there to freeze to death would objectively be "easiest" for us to do. But it's not about us. It's like the difference between shooting someone with a sniper rifle from 200yds, or stabbing them. The latter being much more up close and personal and as you say, entailing more active violence.