Kelvin Wiley

Was this your first time ever seeing a spider drink before? Even something as highly venomous as my female Southern Black Widow (Latrodectus mactans) can look quite cute while taking sips of water! All organisms require water to sustain them for life. Spiders are no exception. It’s pretty fascinating, at least to me, to watch her use her little mouth to lap up tiny drops of water from the sides of her enclosure. After misting her enclosure, she will sometimes even drink the water droplets that have landed on her web as well! *Hand drawn stickers added to my store’s website for purchase via link in bio!*⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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My female Trinidad Chevron Tarantula (Psalmopoeus cambridgei) is getting so big! I’ve had her for over 4 years now! Like their name suggests, these tarantulas are native to the country of Trinidad. They’re an arboreal species of tarantula, meaning that they live on and inside of trees and other plants. The females of this particular species live for about 12 years, while the males only live for about 4 years. Feeding her is never an issue! She has one of the biggest appetites out of all of my tarantulas! *Hand drawn stickers added to my store’s website for purchase via link in bio! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already! Link in bio also :)*⁣

Every time I go to feed my female Venezuelan Suntiger Tarantula (Psalmopoeus irminia), it’s always an exciting experience to watch! Launching out with great speed, she accurately sinks her fangs into the body of the cockroach. Like a dog that won’t leg go of its bone, she continued to stay in contact with her prey. *Hand drawn stickers added to my store’s website for purchase via link in bio! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already! Link in bio also :)*⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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This lovely arachnid is my female Dark Fishing Spider (Dolomedes tenebrosus)🎣. Fishing spiders are one of my favorite kinds of spiders, due to their unique way of living and catching prey! Like all species of fishing spiders, the Dark Fishing Spider’s body is covered in tiny hydrophobic hairs. These specialized hairs repel water off of the spider’s body, preventing them from getting wet! Many species of fishing spiders rest on top of the surface of water to catch prey. However, the Dark Fishing Spider typically doesn’t reside on water. Instead, they usually rest on the bark of trees and fallen logs to wait to ambush unsuspecting prey. ⁣ *Hand drawn stickers added to my store’s website for purchase via link in bio! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already! Link in bio also :)*⁣⁣
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Have you ever wanted to raise baby jumping spiders before? Well I just uploaded a new video onto my YouTube channel on how to raise baby jumping spiders! You can find the video via the link in my bio. Speaking about jumping spiders, this beautiful arachnid that I found is a male Mongolia Green Jumping Spider (Lyssomanes viridis). Out of all of the different families of spiders, jumping spiders make up the most diverse family of spiders! These small eight-legged jumping beans belong to the spider family known as Salticidae. There are over 6,000+ species of jumping spiders within this family, making them the largest group of any family of spiders! Like all spiders, they are predators who are on a constant hunt for prey. Equipped with 8 very well developed eyes, these spiders track and stalk down their prey. Once a suitable prey item has been spotted, they pounce onto their prey and sink their fangs into it, releasing venom in the process. *Hand drawn stickers added to my store’s website for purchase via link in bio! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already! Link in bio also :)*⁣⁣
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Despite the many different tarantula species that I’ve kept over the years, as well as the one’s that I’m currently keeping, one of my favorites goes out to the Trinidad Chevron Tarantula (Psalmopoeus cambridgei). This tarantula species is what’s referred to as a New World tarantula. New World tarantulas are any species of tarantula that are native to North and South America. Old World tarantulas however are any species of tarantula that are native to Africa, Asia, Europe, and Australia. Most New World tarantulas possess urticating hairs, which are tiny barbed defensive hairs that can cause skin irritations when they make contact with the skin. All species of Old World tarantulas however lack urticating hairs and instead possess a higher potency of venom than New World tarantulas. Although the Trinidad Chevron Tarantula is a New World tarantula, this species lacks urticating hairs and instead relies on potent venom to not only protect itself, but also to subdue its prey with! *Hand drawn stickers added to my store’s website for purchase via link in bio! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already! Link in bio also :)*⁣⁣⁣
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Listen to the sound of the crunching! The Burgundy Goliath Birdeater (Theraphosa stirmi) is an absolute beast of a spider! It’s the second largest spider on the planet by weight, next to the largest, the Goliath Birdeater (Theraphosa blondi). This is a feeding video of my adult male Burgundy Goliath Birdeater feeding on some Death’s Head Cockroaches (Blaberus craniifer). These large ferocious spiders are practically blind, and can only visualize light and shadows. Due to their poor vision, they rely on vibrations to detect their prey. As you can see in the video, these spiders viciously attack their prey like a hungry lion! Using its two sharp dagger-like fangs, they easily pierce into its prey’s exoskeleton and begin to inject venom. Its venom slowly paralyzes its prey, as well as liquifies the prey’s insides. The Burgundy Goliath Birdeater then uses its two large fangs to mash up its dissolving prey into its mouth! *Hand drawn stickers added to my store’s website for purchase via link in bio! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already! Link in bio also :)*⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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While I was trying to feed my female Venezuelan Suntiger Tarantula (Psalmopoeus irminia), she decided to take a little stroll outside of her enclosure. In an instant, she can virtually teleport from one place to another! The speed on this particular species is insanely fast! As their name suggests, this tarantula is native to Venezuela, as well as Brazil and Guyana. The females of this species can live for about 12 years, while the males only live for about 3-4 years. Venezuelan Suntigers lack the ability to flick urticating hairs like how most New World tarantulas can. Despite this, these tarantulas possess a higher potency in their venom, which they use to both subdue prey, and to defend themselves with! *Hand drawn stickers added to my store’s website for purchase via link in bio! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already! Link in bio also :)*⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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While doing some enclosure maintenance, I took out two of some of my favorites tarantulas in my collection. My female Venezuelan Suntiger Tarantula (Psalmopoeus irminia), and my female Trinidad Chevron Tarantula (Psalmopoeus cambridgei), are two arboreal species that lack urticating hairs. These tree dwelling tarantulas pack a much stronger venom to make up for their inability to flick hairs when threatened. I’ve had both of these tarantulas for years now and can’t wait to see their growth as they grow older! *Hand drawn stickers added to my store’s website for purchase via link in bio! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already! Link in bio also :)*⁣
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The diet of tarantulas mostly consists of insects and other arthropods. However, many of the larger species of tarantulas, such as my female Mexican Redknee Tarantula (Brachypelma hamorii), have been documented to feed on vertebrate prey as well. Prey, such as small lizards and mice, have made their way on the menu of these large sized spiders. My Mexican Redknee Tarantula typically feeds on the cockroaches that I breed. However, on rare occasions, I like to treat her with a dead pinky mouse! *Hand drawn stickers added to my store’s website for purchase via link in bio! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already! Link in bio also :)*⁣
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Usually my Orange Baboon Tarantula (Pterinochilus murinus) is pretty chill with me taking her enclosure’s lid off to feed and to give her water. However, I struck a chord with her one day when I went to take her lid off. If you’re familiar with Orange Baboon Tarantulas, then you already know how defensive this particular species can be. Rearing back and flashing her venomous fangs, she took a few good strikes at me. I don’t take it to heart though. We all have bad days sometimes.⁣
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