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Giant spiders as pets

 
  

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Cat Chant
09:35 / 14.11.02
Ganesh - my mother was neither a virgin nor a whore! She was a damn' fine woman! (and in fact still is).

Spiders, on the other hand, have the sinister otherworldly qualities of the virgin combined with the terrifying glimpse into the abyss of raw animal power that is the whore, and I don't like where I'm going with this metaphor so I'm going to have a little lie down. Did I ever tell you about the dream I had about the water snakes?

PS: Cockroaches, whilst undoubtedly not pleasant, as such, are not in flagrant violation of every principle that makes this Earth inhabitable. Spiders are. I refer you all to Babylon 5.
 
 
deja_vroom
09:44 / 14.11.02
Spiders, as every good Freudian knows, symbolise one's mother...

Oh, Ganesh, tell me a little bit more about this.

And, ok, being serious, I can't say really why I'm phobic about spiders, but the thing is related to the way they appear to be so alien. They're like aliens to me. Eight eyes, which are just little black (or red) balls, so you don't know where they're staring at. The fur. The way they move. The bigger birdeaters are known to hiss when facing danger. I don't know. Their body configuration, I guess, is what really messes with my head. I just don't seem right. And yet I find some sort of pleasure in watching them (from a safe distance, of course), seeing pictures of them or watching movies about big-ass spiders. Go figure.
 
 
Persephone
11:27 / 14.11.02
AAAAAAAGGGGHHH!!!!!

 
 
deja_vroom
11:31 / 14.11.02


AAGHHH!
 
 
The Tower Always Falls
23:40 / 15.11.02
I actually have a stuffed spider in my room. Not stuffed as in plush and glass eyes, but stuffed as in taxidermy. It's actually called a "Bird-Eating Spider". I believe it's from Brazil. It's about the size of my computer monitor actually. My mother bought it for me from some ancient man who wept as he handed it over and pleaded with her to "Take good care of him".

I don't hang it up anymore due to the crippling phobia of my sig other. But I do keep it in the closet right above where I hide birthday and Christmas presents for her. I've never had a surprise spoiled yet.
 
 
Less searchable M0rd4nt
18:17 / 17.11.02
You think big hairy spiders are gross? You think cockroaches are gross? I lived in a house once where we got invaded by big hairy cockroaches. You couldn't kill the buggers by dropping them, either. I think they must have been responsible for half the "missing cat" notices in the area.
 
 
wembley can change in 28 days
10:47 / 18.11.02
OOOeeeeeigh! In my hometown, there was a 'famous' lady who collected spiders and snakes as pets, and then she'd bring them around to schools and 'educate' children on their various killing apparati. We got to see little milk snakes weaving through her fingers and together with about 9 other kids I held a boa constrictor on my shoulders. Motherfucker but those things are heavy.

But to the point: finally she brought out the tarantulas, and she said "who would like to hold one?", in the same tone of voice usually employed with "what would you like for Christmas?" And Matthew Tweedie, the blondest boy in the class and forever the object of my adoration, pointed and said "Hanna will!" And they all looked at me, wavering on the knife edge between disregard and ultimate respect, so I said "sure."

If had the lightest, hairiest little feet, and I couldn't keep track of them all as it inched from my fingertips, up my hand and close to the inside of my elbow, where I first noticed just how juicy that vein looks. Dogs could smell fear, but do spiders have noses? I'm sure they have fear radar. All of a sudden, I felt the panic set in and the blood travelling closer to the surface of my skin even as I willed it all into my bone marrow, and I said, in the quietest, most calm voice, just in case the spiders have ears, "get it off."

Snake lady: What's that, dear?
Me: (calmly and sweetly) Get it off.
Snake lady: (taken in by my calm and sweetness) Oh, you're doing just fine!
Me: Get it off get it off getitoffgetitoffgetitoff--
(Spider removed.)

I have never fully recovered and have no desire to. Not that I wasn't the coolest kid in school that day.
 
 
grant
14:01 / 18.11.02
You ever wonder about Bird-Eating Spiders?:

The largest of them, the Goliath Bird-Eating Spider, can boast a 10-inch legspan... the size of a small pizza.

excerpt: Despite its common name, the bird-eating spider rarely eats birds. Occasionally, hatchling birds will be taken from nests on the ground, however, the bulk of the diet comprises insects, lizards, frogs, and other spiders. Although the fangs are long and robust and can easily penetrate human skin, the bite is not deadly. The venom is quite toxic, however, and bites may cause severe pain, nausea and profuse sweating.

The female bird-eating spider spends most of her life in her burrow. During spring or early summer. The male approaches the female's burrow and entices her out, hopefully without becoming dinner, to mate at the entrance. The female lays about 50 eggs into a 30mm diameter sack several days later, which is stored in the burrow and protected by a tough cover of silk. If the female leaves the burrow to hunt, she will often take the egg sack with her, secured between the palps and fang tips. While females may live in excess of ten years, the male usually dies after mating at around five years of age.


On the other hand:

excerpt: Tarantulas use their fangs for subduing their prey and carrying it to their dens (or to a safe location) for devouring at their leisure. They don't have teeth for tearing and chewing their meals so they regurgitate digestive juices onto their victim. These digestive juices break down the soft tissues so that the spider can slurp up its meal. All that's left when the spider has finished its meal is bones, skin, fur and/or feathers. The goliath bird-eating spider has been known to take young birds from their nests for its mealtime pleasure - hence the name "bird-eater". Tarantulas eat frogs, small snakes, beetles, lizards, and even bats.
You think that's creepy? Believe it or not there are people in South America who eat tarantulas. Many of us in developed countries are repulsed by the idea of eating insects or spiders, but it actually makes sense if you think about it. They are the most plentiful living things on earth and they are a good source of protein. I've heard tarantulas roasted in their own skins over a campfire are pretty tasty.


They have their fans.

---------

The Goliath Bird-Eating Spider (Theraphosa blondi) :



"This is not a species suitable for any freehandling. If it wont bite you sure get a dose of the itching urticating hairs. So I use a plastic box for transfers when cleaning the cage or mating. T. blondi is not a good beginner species."



------------

Lesser Black Bird-Eating Spider (Xementhis immensis)
[a.k.a. Purple Bloom Bird-Eating Spider (Xenesthis immanis)] :



"This species is very fast and aggressive and appears to do well in captivity when given the proper care. The Xenesthis immanis will readily flick urticating hairs, but these seem to be less irritating than other large species of tarantula."

--------------

Pink-toed Bird-eating Spider (Avicularia avicularia) :



"Avicularia species are quite adept at perching on smooth surfaces while enjoying a meal."

---------------

The Queensland Bird-Eating Spider (Selenocosmia crassipes) :



"The Bird Eating Spider is one of Australia's largest spiders. It is also known as the Barking Spider or Whistling Spider. The barking or whistling sound is a warning when the spider is disturbed and is made by rubbing their palps with their fangs."

---------------------

Salmon Pink Bird-Eating Spider (Lasiodora parahybana) :

"She is very aggressive but also very beautiful."




frog before:
frog after:


-----------
 
 
Slim
14:46 / 18.11.02
I had a friend who is an Army man. He told me a story where he was stationed in South America and huge ass spiders would drop out of the trees and land on his troop as they marched around. The spiders weren't dangerous, they were just hopping rides to get around. I cannot imagine anything scarier than a gigantic spider falling out of the trees and landing on your head. That being said, I don't feel bad by my "kill every spider I see" policy. Doesn't matter where I am or what I'm doing- I see a spider and I goosh the fucker.
 
 
Tuna Ghost: Pratt knot hero
17:42 / 18.11.02
I used to have the same policy, expecially since all the spiders I found were usually in my room. But one day I was over at my friend Pat's apartment (Slim can attest that Pat is the perfect stereotype of a ghetto thug drug dealer), I killed a spider that was entering his apartment through the air conditioner and he looked at me and said "damn, nigga. You had to take it's life?" And the way he said it has kept me from killing spiders ever since.

...of course, if a six inch spider fell on my head as I was walking with an assault rifle, that'd be one perforated spider. I wouldn't be able to help myself.
 
 
Cat Chant
18:42 / 18.11.02
AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
 
 
Mourne Kransky
22:59 / 27.11.02
aaaaaaaiiiiiiiieeeeeeeee!

Up to the fruit counter,
"Bunch of grapes please, and a Black Widow..."!

Said on the tv news that three people had taken the little buggers home. Gonna have nightmares now...
 
 
Slim
23:49 / 27.11.02
I guess that's the difference between you and me, Johnny. I sure as hell would take a spider's life without thinking twice. As awful as it is, I've noticed that the smaller something is, the easier it is to kill it. I'm not talking in about physically, I'm talking mentally. I'd feel much more comfortable killing a spider the size of a quarter than I would one that's 6 inches long. Of course, I'd kill that one too but the mess it would make would disturb me.
 
 
Yagg
01:51 / 30.11.02
Cripes. Thanks for the creepy pictures, I will now have giant nightmares about giant crawly things. They're just so fucking ALIEN! You don't notice how alien until you see one that FUCKING BIG!

There was a pet store I used to visit that had 4 inch spiders in fishbowls for sale. They really looked kind of neat, but I'd be afraid it would get out in the middle of the night and come looking for the bastard that kept it in it's glass prison...
 
 
Yagg
22:06 / 30.11.02
There's a link at www.anomalist.com to a story about a 60 acre spiderweb found in a field up in B.C. A colony of jillions of tiny spiders created it. Really, "jillions," that's how many there were.
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
11:17 / 01.12.02
According to Mark Steel (I think it was, anyway- I was a bit pissed) on the News Quiz yesterday, a Tesco's spokesman was quoted as saying something along the lines of "well, at least it proves they were organic grapes, and there was no pesticide on them"...

...which made me say something I never thought I'd hear myself say- "Here's to pesticide!"
 
 
000
22:43 / 02.12.02
Coming from a city called 'The Spiders' in greenlandic (which is inexplicable, there are not that many around) and having stayed at homes for lengthy periods where there were an abundance of spiders, I have to say that it is alien to me how people can be so frightened by them; I mean if anything, then it should be people from the cold north, who should fear them because their territory doesn't support insect and aracnoid life for most of the year...

I am of the conviction that spiders should be liberally placed around a house, to prevent too much bugs & shit -- if there's anything I find annoying then it's bugs & shit.

And don't get me started about the ants that live in our fundament, every few weeks, a handful of the ants with wings appear in my bedroom. Grr. Spiders are cool and help you against futile insectoid creations.
 
 
Linus Dunce
22:57 / 02.12.02
You have ants in your fundament? And you want a giant spider to go up there after them? Dude -- you are a badass.
 
 
cherokeeirishmai
00:53 / 18.04.04
if yall go to big spiders in iraq they got spiders like huge dude their so cool!!!!
 
 
w1rebaby
01:01 / 18.04.04
Morning, trollbaby.
 
 
Tuna Ghost: Pratt knot hero
08:27 / 18.04.04
Just to update everyone...I still don't understand the attraction of giant spiders, but relations are better between myself and the small but proud nation of spiders in my basement. I've made a deal with them. They get unmolested roaming and hunting privileges so long as they stay the hell out of my mouth when I'm asleep. We are both much happier now. It freaks my girlfriend out a bit, especially since I absolutely forbid her (or anyone) to kill them, but it took a long time to reach this level of trust.

That's what it is, see. Trust. That's what helps me sleep at night. Sure it's a leap of faith, since god only knows what spiders do when you are asleep, but it's a smaller leap than theirs when they cross my path out in the open, far away from their silky home, with nothing for them to scurry under. They remember what it was like before the peace...when empty, dried up exo-skeletons would be found stuck under a stack of coins or impaled on a pencil point...purposely left in plain view as a warning to others...the cries of orphans filling the night...

Sorry. I got high and watched the animatrix and my mind turned to interspecies war and my experiences thereof.
 
 
bitchiekittie
13:36 / 18.04.04
oh I LOVE spiders. when I find them in my home I'm quite happy - like crickets, they're supposed to be lucky! of course, I don't live in an area where we get giant killer spiders that hide in your shoes waiting to KILL, which might make me see things in a much different light.
 
 
Bed Head
14:07 / 18.04.04
I hate flies, irritating fucking things. Spiders eat flies, therefore spiders rock. Frogs can look out for themselves. If someone could invent a spider that specifically eats ants I’d be even happier. I’m quite content to save for myself the satisfying job of killing every mosquito that ever crosses my path.

Its me and the spiders versus the evil beasties of the world.
 
  

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