A tarantula can be kept as a house pet. Tarantulas can be fed live crickets or other insects. When adequately provoked, Tarantulas will bite and their formidable fangs can produce painful puncture wounds. There is another route of envenomation by the tarantula - urticating hairs located on the abdomen serve as a deterrent to predators. These are hairs that cause itching and burning.
Bites are unlikely to cause problems other than pain at the site.
Skin exposure to the urticating hairs will cause itching and a rash. Skin exposures to the urticating hairs are managed by removing the hairs with tape. These pages are maintained and created by Glenda Crew.