Abstract
Tarantulas are animals that you either love or find disgusting. Some people are fascinated with them, whereas others fear them because of ignorance or aversion to what they consider dangerous on the basis of their appearance. Despite their reputation, many people study, maintain and use these spiders. The interest in keeping and propagating tarantulas has increased worldwide in recent decades. The aim of this chapter is to discuss the basic and ethical considerations involved in keeping these spiders in captivity (whether for research or as an enthusiast), as well as being aware of the origin and conservation status of the most common commercial species. As more has been learned about tarantula biology, there has been greater interest in how to breed them in captivity. However, few studies have addressed the reproductive biology of tarantulas. Despite this, many species are propagated successfully by enthusiasts, and the conditions for their reproduction are empirically known. We approach this chapter by dividing it into five sections: (1) natural history; (2) keeping and breeding tarantulas in captivity; (3) common ailments; (4) tarantulas’ popularity as pets and their husbandry; and (5) traffic, endangered species and responsible breeding facilities.
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Montes de Oca, L., Mendoza, J. (2020). Tarantulas in Captivity: Raising and Breeding. In: Pérez-Miles, F. (eds) New World Tarantulas. Zoological Monographs, vol 6. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48644-0_15
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