Why Tarantula Collective Is Taking In Tarantulas and Spiders

Tarantula Collective has always been about keeping, filming, photographing, researching, and teaching people about tarantulas and other invertebrates. Selling spiders was never the part of the hobby that interested me most. Lately, money has been harder to come by, and I’ve found myself taking more work in unrelated fields just to keep everything moving forward. At the same time, I’ve wanted to become more involved in breeding tarantulas for years.

This project is a way to bring those two things together.

My goal is to build responsible breeding projects here at the Tarantula Collective studio, document the process, and share what I learn with a larger audience. Breeding can be complicated, unpredictable, and sometimes frustrating. I want to show the entire process honestly, including the successes, failures, and lessons learned along the way. I also hope this encourages more captive breeding in the United States. Imports are becoming more difficult due to changing regulations, shipping complications, the Lacey Act, and other restrictions. The more species we can establish and maintain through responsible captive breeding, the less the hobby will need to rely on foreign imports.

What Will Happen to the Spiders?

I want to be completely transparent about what may happen to any spider that comes into our care.

Many juveniles and adults will become part of breeding projects here at the studio. Younger spiders may be raised for several years until they’re large enough to sex and breed. Mature males may be paired with females in my collection. If I don’t have the right female, I may loan or send the male to another reputable breeder who’s already working with that species. Not every spider will fit into an active breeding project. I may already have enough of a species, the spider may turn out to be the wrong sex, or there may not be a suitable pairing available. In those situations, the animal may remain in the collection, be sent to another experienced breeder, be rehomed, or be sold at an expo. Spiderlings produced here at the studio will also be made available once they’re established and ready for new homes.

This isn’t a traditional rescue. Please don’t donate or sell an animal with the expectation that it will remain at the studio for the rest of its life. Every spider will receive proper care, but some may eventually be bred, transferred, rehomed, or sold.

Supporting Tarantula Collective

Money earned from these animals will help cover feeders, enclosures, substrate, utilities, breeding supplies, travel, studio expenses, and the continued production of educational videos. The goal isn’t to collect spiders and quickly flip them for a profit. I’m trying to build something sustainable that allows me to spend more time doing the work I’m passionate about. That means producing videos, developing care guides, documenting breeding projects, attending expos, and helping more people become successful keepers.

How We Plan to Sell Tarantulas

We aren’t planning to become a large online retailer that ships spiders across the country right now. Our focus will be regional and in person.

The Pittsburgh Reptile Show and Sale will be our home show. We also plan to attend events throughout West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, eventually working our way toward larger shows in the Midwest.

Selling in person gives me the opportunity to speak directly with each keeper, answer questions, discuss the species, and make sure they understand what they’re bringing home. Whenever possible, we’ll also offer tarantulas that are already established in naturalistic or bioactive enclosures. I want to do more than hand someone a small cup and send them on their way. The goal is for people to leave informed, prepared, and set up for success.

Education will remain at the center of everything Tarantula Collective does.

Donations and Rehoming

I’m extremely grateful to anyone who considers donating a tarantula, spider, or invertebrate collection to Tarantula Collective. People leave or downsize the hobby for many reasons. They may be moving, dealing with health issues, running out of space, changing interests, or simply unable to provide the care the animals need. There’s no judgment.

Donated animals may be kept, raised, bred, transferred to another reputable breeder, rehomed, or sold to help support Tarantula Collective. Please only donate if you’re comfortable with those possibilities.

Purchasing Tarantulas and Collections

I’m also willing to purchase certain animals and collections, but I’m not able to pay retail prices or even top-dollar wholesale prices.

I already have access to spiderlings and tarantulas at wholesale pricing. When I purchase a collection, I also have to account for transportation, housing, feeders, enclosure upgrades, sex verification, losses, and the time it may take to raise an animal before it can be bred or sold.

Because of that, I’m mainly looking for package deals from people who are motivated to downsize or move a collection.

If you’re looking to sell, please include the lowest amount you’d be willing to accept for everything. That helps us quickly determine whether we’re close enough to work something out without wasting anyone’s time.

Established breeders looking to sell regular wholesale inventory probably won’t be the best fit for this project right now. As this side of Tarantula Collective grows, I hope to build more relationships with breeders and collaborate on future projects.

Species and Genera We’re Most Interested In

We’re open to considering many different tarantulas, but our greatest interest is in species that could become more difficult to obtain through imports in the future.

Some of the genera and species we’re especially interested in include:

  • Brachypelma species

  • Grammostola species

  • Tliltocatl species

  • Aphonopelma species

  • Pamphobeteus species

  • Phormictopus species

  • Psalmopoeus species

  • Caribena versicolor

  • Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens

  • Monocentropus balfouri

  • Harpactira pulchripes

  • Brazilian, Central American, and South American species that aren’t commonly bred in the United States

We’re particularly interested in juveniles, subadults, adult females, and mature males that could contribute to current or future breeding projects.

This list isn’t exhaustive. We’ll consider other tarantulas, true spiders, scorpions, and invertebrates depending on the species, size, sex, and projects we’re working on.

We generally have less need for large numbers of small, commonly available spiderlings. However, we may still take them as part of a larger collection or when they’re a species we’re actively working with.

Transportation

Bringing the animals directly to the Tarantula Collective studio is usually the easiest option.

Depending on the distance and the size of the collection, I may also be able to meet halfway, pick the animals up, or help coordinate safe shipping.

If you aren’t comfortable packing and shipping live animals, I may know an experienced keeper in your area who can help.

Interested in Donating or Selling?

Please include:

  • A complete species list

  • Approximate sizes

  • Sexes, if known

  • Mature molt dates for mature males

  • Your location

  • Recent photos

  • Whether enclosures are included

  • Whether you’re donating or selling

  • Your lowest price for the entire group

Thank you to everyone who’s reached out, shared the original post, donated animals, offered advice, or trusted Tarantula Collective with part of their collection.

This is a new chapter for Tarantula Collective, and I’m looking forward to learning, breeding, documenting the process, and sharing the experience with you.