A Tarantula at College??

[weavingarachne]

Hello All -

So I'm going off to college next year (wohoo!) and I'm just dying to get a tarantula (G. Pulchripes) while I'm there (maybe after a few months so I can settle in and make sure I have enough time and space to keep a T). I've never had a tarantula before, so I would like to know if anyone has any warnings to give me beforehand? I've already checked with the school and they said tarantulas are ok (as long as they don't bother any members of the dorm).

Is there anything I should know before I begin? Has anyone else ever kept a tarantula at college? Was the feeding situation okay (keeping crickets/roaches etc.)? Did any complaints come up from fellow dorm members? Is there anything extra I should do considering I'll be in a tighter space with a lot of people? Also, how can I prevent other people from messing around with the enclosure? Any warnings, words of advice, anecdotes, etc. would be appreciated!

If you think it would be wiser for me to wait until I'm not sharing a dorm, then please tell me. Again, I'm totally new to the tarantula keeping hobby, so I will gladly take the advice of more advanced people.

 

[Poec54]

Tarantulas in college? Sure, but they usually flunk out in the first semester. They just don't take it seriously.

 

[weavingarachne]

Tarantulas in college? Sure, but they usually flunk out in the first semester. They just don't take it seriously.

Nah - I'm going to teach mine how to study hard! We'll be winning the nobel prize together in no time!

 

[Olan]

It worked fine for me. My dormmates were already my friends though, so they knew what to expect.

 

[Ripa]

I keep a few inverts at college ATM. Bringing up an S. alternans with me I just got this spring break. Honestly, I think I'm getting too cocky, though, and plan to send back anything home which isn't a centipede next time I come here (home) to visit (since my mom hates centipedes). I keep redrunner roaches instead of crickets, BTW. They stink less, live longer, and don't make any noise (keep in mind that crickets will chirp, which may agitate other people in your room/ suite). Also, roaches aren't normally aggressive or bold enough to try and take meat chunks out of your pet if it isn't hungry and one manages to elude your sites.

Honestly, I would first establish relationships with your roommate. Then when you get the chance, you can sneak a T in there. Honestly in my case, my roommate isn't very bright in the light of inverts. He's afraid of spiders, but not centipedes. Ironically enough, I tell him everything I keep in my dorm is a centipede or millipede, and he's chill with it. We share two separate rooms and one common area.

Now watch after this comment is posted, I get jinxed in some form or another.

 

[King Sparta]

As long as you are not stuck in a room full of arachnophobes. Then you would definitely be unable to bring Ts in. But otherwise, I think your good.
-King Sparta

 

[cold blood]

Tarantulas in college? Sure, but they usually flunk out in the first semester. They just don't take it seriously.

Bahahaha, I didn't even see it coming:laugh:

Hello All -

So I'm going off to college next year (wohoo!) and I'm just dying to get a tarantula (G. Pulchripes) while I'm there (maybe after a few months so I can settle in and make sure I have enough time and space to keep a T). I've never had a tarantula before, so I would like to know if anyone has any warnings to give me beforehand? I've already checked with the school and they said tarantulas are ok (as long as they don't bother any members of the dorm).

Is there anything I should know before I begin? Has anyone else ever kept a tarantula at college? Was the feeding situation okay (keeping crickets/roaches etc.)? Did any complaints come up from fellow dorm members? Is there anything extra I should do considering I'll be in a tighter space with a lot of people? Also, how can I prevent other people from messing around with the enclosure? Any warnings, words of advice, anecdotes, etc. would be appreciated!

If you think it would be wiser for me to wait until I'm not sharing a dorm, then please tell me. Again, I'm totally new to the tarantula keeping hobby, so I will gladly take the advice of more advanced people.

I'm surprised they allow it, most dorms won't even allow a goldfish.

I'd wait to decide for sure, give it a while until you really get to know the type of person your roommate is...I personally, wouldn't even bring up the subject until you know their personality type or the friends they are making. I think a good roommate is critical for this to work. Just think about it, its ok, as LONG as no one is bothered by it...one good fight with the wrong type of persona and all they need to do is go to the school and say it bothers you and now you have to quickly find a home for your new t.

Good luck getting a good roommate, my first dorm room roommate (at a college for Natural Resources) was a known poacher...weird kinda guy that probably has a dungeon in his basement by now (with people he doesn't know chained up), I wouldn't have trusted him a bit....Problem is that you can lock the enclosure all you want to prevent escape and such, but things can be put in through the airholes (booze, poison, bleach, who knows) and you probably wont be able to bolt it down, and someone shaking it or knocking it down. You'd almost need to lock it away in your closet, but they don't generally lock (at least not in my day). Even your dresser can be rocked rather easily. Good roommate is key:wink:

Good species to look at would be an adult or sub-adult Eauthalus sp. red/yellow....they tend to be curious and one of the least likely to bite should you handle or allow it (you probably should discourage it, especially living in the dorm), they are active and while fairly good eaters, they grow slowly, so they don't require a lot of food, so you could feasibly just go to the store every week or two and get a single cricket, get more than it will eat and the chirping crickets WILL annoy someone...wax worms are good, but only last a few weeks from my experience. You can generally get a sub adult or adult female for 60-80 bucks, sometimes even less if your diligent in searching.

 

[El Consciente]

G. pulchripes should be fine.

That being said, I would ensure that your roommates are trustworthy and know to respect the animal's space, for everyone's safety...back when I was in school I had a pair of subadult P. imperators (Emperor Scorpions) that were kept in what I thought was a fairly secure, out-of-immediate-vision location...later it was brought to my attention that one of my roommates, who wasn't the sharpest crayon in the box, would open up their enclosure, put a cricket on his finger, and hold it in front of the scorpions to see what would happen... :wall:

I shudder to think of what would have happened if it were my P. regalis...

 

[DVirginiana]

Unless you know your roommates/suitemates REALLY well I'd wait till you've got your own room; most colleges have that as an option for juniors and seniors. If not, that amount of time would at least give you time to find a roommate that you know would be okay with a T. Also if you plan on using crickets as feeders you need to make sure the noise isn't going to annoy anyone.
I kept millipedes and a frog while I was in undergrad (we were only supposed to have fish...). Still have the frog actually. But I only started that after I got my own room because I knew that even if my roommate had agreed to them, she wouldn't have liked them.

 

[archaeosite]

Wait until you can get your own room, and invest in a locking cage (with a padlock or key).