I’m buying a pet tarantula
You have picked out the type of tarantula you want and are ready to buy it. Now you need to have all the supplies ready when you bring your new pet spider home. Below is a list of what you will need to give your tarantula a proper and healthy habitat. It is a general care sheet manual for tarantulas. For information about specific species, there is a list of tarantulas in the sidebar.

Tarantula Care Sheet

A five or ten gallon screened-top terrarium. An aquarium with a screen cover is fine as long as it can be secured.

One to threee inches of substrate such as sterilized potting soil or bed-a-beast. Burrowing tarantulas will need a deeper substrate.

A hide area. Half-logs available at most pet stores work well.

A shallow water dish.

Optional decorations to make the cage look more natural. Plastic or silk plants, branches, backgrounds, rocks, and vines.

Heating pad on one side of the tank. The pad will be attached to the bottom glass.

Lighting is optional. If you would like a light for the tarantula’s tank, a lamp with a red light works nicely.

Gut loaded crickets or other insects.