Tarantula 30cm - Soft Toy

Physical Characteristics
Tarantulas give some people the creeps because of their large, hairy bodies and legs. But these spiders are harmless to humans (except for a painful bite), and their mild venom is weaker than a typical bee's. There are hundreds of tarantula species and they vary in color and behavior according to their specific environments. Generally, however, tarantulas are burrowers that live in the ground.

Habitat
Tarantulas are found in most of the world's tropical, subtropical, and arid regions.

Behaviour
Tarantulas are slow and deliberate movers, but accomplished nocturnal predators. Insects are their main prey, but they also target bigger game, including frogs, toads, and mice. The South American bird-eating spider, as it name suggests, is even able to prey upon small birds.

Breeding
After mating, tarantula females seal both eggs and sperm in a cocoon and guard it for six to nine weeks, when some 500 to 1,000 tarantulas hatch.

Diet
Tarantulas feed primarily on insects like grasshoppers, beetles, other small spiders and arthropods, and will sometimes eat small lizards. A tarantula doesn't use a web to ensnare prey, though it may spin a trip wire to signal an alert when something approaches its burrow. These spiders grab with their appendages, inject paralyzing venom, and dispatch their unfortunate victims with their fangs. They also secrete digestive enzymes to liquefy their victims' bodies so that they can suck them up through their straw-like mouth openings.

Strange and Interesting Facts
After a large meal, the tarantula may not need to eat for a month!