Does A House Spider Make A Good Pet?
The Bean's been asking for a pet for a year or so now, and I keep refusing. He created his own pet by adopting a house spider and naming it Spidey. It was great! I was totally off the hook of caring for a pet so I played along big-time.
He'd tell people about our pet. Some parents looked at me like I was insane; some thought it was genius. Spidey lasted all summer. Until the security system installer vacuumed him up.
I actually found myself getting somewhat attached to Spidey. Weird, huh? But this spider showed some personality.
Bean's train table is near a fireplace with a brick surround. Spidey lived in a corner of the bricks. We first noticed him (just guessing, here. I have no idea how to tell the gender of a spider.) calmly sitting on his web, watching the Bean play with his trains. I'd get close to the web and he'd dart inside the hole. After a while, he'd inch (more like millimeter) his way back out until he was relaxed on his web watching the Bean Live Stage Show.
Once a month we'd find a live pill bug and throw it on the web to make sure Spidey had food. He never left his web; never wandered around; never bothered us in any way. Bean would run downstairs to see if Spidey was out and put on a show with his toys. He'd act out the Diego episode we just saw on tv, do a dinosaur re-enactment, Godzilla-style, or whatever crossed his inventive little mind. He turned his body so that Spidey could see all the action. Spidey would come out to the edge of his web to watch. And, of course, we would talk to Spidey. Mostly just say hi and bye.
But now Spidey's gone, and the pet topic is coming up even more fervently. I'm breaking down and looking at getting a goldfish. I'd kind of rather have another Spidey. Do all house spiders have personality, or did we just kill Charlotte?
Fish smell. And buriel at sea is never pretty (unless accompanied by a flaming sail boat). Stay with spiders.
Seriously, just leave your doors open all day and you'll have plenty of "pets".
Rocks work! (At least they did in the '60's - could have been the good meds...) My little dudes love to color them up with sparkle paint and googly eyes. Pros: Low maintenance, hard to kill. Cons: About as interactive as my husband at 3 a.m.
Hahaha, too funny! I'm sure Spidey-2 will find the Artist Previously Known As Spidey's hidey-hole and take up residence. He might not have as much personality (:lol:) but he should still make a suitable audience for The Bean Show. ;)
Having a unique pet is the best! We have a small snake. If you get to know the facts they are cleaner than other small animals and cannot 'bite'. They are fun to feed a worm and do not stink or require frequent cage cleaning. Ours lasted through last winter....with help from the internet we discovered that they hibernate.
We have graduated to a bit larger cage and frozen pinkie mice for food. The cats love to watch it too. And it doesn't leave pet hair all over my bed. WAY more fun than this mom thought it would be. They can keep it. Oh yes, and it's cheap.
"Bugs" fascinate me - insect, arachnid, all of them! As a young child, I kept pet bugs. Do it again. Just make sure what kind of spider you have - or try a different critter this time. Mom didn't like my pet black widow - even if it was in a jar.
This time, though, get a small bug cage found at your local toy store or specialty toy or child education store. Have fun creating a mini-habitat. This presents fine educational opportunities.
This reminds me: I still have my favorite bug book from so many years ago - Ants Are Fun!
@ronnieledesma
This article is hysterical. I personally am looking at every spider in my house for a litle personality!! I even felt sorry for one the other day, that I let him crawl onto a piece of tissue and brought him/her outside. It's changed my outlook towards spiders, but not the cockroaches!!
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