Tarantula Terrariums Just in Time for Halloween

I swear I was going to post a photo of a tarantula at the top of this post- but I really couldn't do it to you all!  I don't even bat an eye when I have to deal with small spiders in the house.... but the big hairy guys  freak me out!  So the photo is near the bottom if you'd prefer to skip through it.

With THAT SAID!  You might love tarantulas!  And terrariums!  So perhaps you might consider trying a vivarium and keeping a tarantula in your terrarium?  Don Moyer at the Manteca Bulletin shares his experiences keeping tarantulas and other local critters in a terrarium.  **I do not advocate stealing living creatures out of the wild and keeping them in captivity forever - but when we were kids we enjoyed keeping insects or lizards for a few days and then turning them loose.  Don reiterates this idea:

"Almost all of our terrarium guests were, just that, short term visitors who would reside with us for a few weeks or months so that we could learn more about them and their habits. Eventually the horned toads, lizards, snakes and turtles got returned to the wild places from which they came. We did learn a healthy respect for wild creatures."

Oklahoma brown tarantula (Aphonopelma hentzi), Picket Wire Canyonlands, Colorado, U.S.A.  From WikiCommons Media, by Zenhaus **This photo is for viewing purposes only, I do not advocate or condone keeping this species of spider in a terrarium.