Be Kind to Spiders Week 2022: The Someday Spider

You have often read about my passion for spiders, but I often get questions about the spider as a pet and the short answer is…someday.

I don’t just love the spider as an aesthetic, but the creature herself. Last August, the littles and I found a gorgeous black and white jumping spider. It was a perfect teaching moment for them to learn how we respectfully admire and return an outside friend to where they belong. They loved every moment and had no fear with handling our friend. Internally, I debated on releasing him or asking my husband if we could place an order for an enclosure instead.

However, I always find myself a little conflicted on keeping spiders. I feel like I would be taking them away from their purpose. To be out in the wild, maintaining those insect populations. I frequently do my duty of moving found spiders in the house to the outside. At the same time, I’ve found myself leaning more toward keeping one or two after a couple adorable jumping spider rescues.

To better educate myself, I have watched many tarantula keepers like Tarantula Kat and the Tarantula Collective. They have helped a lot in understanding what it is like to keep spiders. If done respectfully, it seems like a fun step to take. On that note, there are options out there to rescue like one might for a cat or dog too.

My husband and I have the discussion often. It stays as the someday spider. However, until our living situations change, it will remain that way. We presently live with a HUGE arachnophobe. Her fear is so bad that even the knowledge that a spider was being kept like a pet would be too stressful for her.

Still, we keep our mouse hovered on “buy” for a Tarantula Cribs enclosure “just in case” we find another jumping spider. Is there a spider someday in your future too?