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holyschist inspired me to go out and take some macro shots this afternoon.

So, here's a wolf spider for you all.

I KNOW. They are excellent.

I love all the fluffy spiders. We had a little black and white hopping one that lived on the windowsill/jade plant for ages. I could put a droplet of water out on the sill and it would come and drink and it would stalk mosquitos and POUNCE them. Which was the best. It was like having the world's smallest cat.

Jumping spiders are so much like tiny eight-legged cats it's ridiculous.

If I could, I would have them as full-time pets. I would breed a tiny spider army of poinging cuteness. I adore them. I've considered tarantulas but I tend to have bad skin reactions to things and I understand that the hairs of tarantulas are very irritating. I don't want to have to give away something I love. :(

New World tarantulas have urticating hairs, and if you have sensitive skin, I'd probably pass, even if you don't handle them at all. Arthropods in general are very easy to develop contact allergies to.

Old World tarantulas do not have urticating hairs, but they are strictly look-don't-touch pets, and tend to be significantly more venomous (won't kill you unless you're allergic, but can make you very sick. And they don't have that first line of defense, so tend to be more tetchy).

It's sad that I'll be 4EVER ALONE about spiders, they really are lovely. I'm allergic to some of the smaller ones. I get bit once in a while because they end up in the bed or under the desk and I piss them off or something. I used to get bit working at camp, too. The bites are pretty distinctive. I don't have anaphylaxis but I get hot goose egg swellings that then swell up again if I get bit by another spider any time in the next few months. It's surreal.

Maybe I'll put four extra legs on my dog. Yeah. :)

I think that is a pretty big strike against Old World tarantulas. :-(

You could buy wolf spiders for pets!

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?229045-FLORIDA-WOLF-SPIDERS-%285-Photos%29

Or maybe other spiders that are not tarantulas?

http://www.kenthebugguy.com/pet-spiders-for-sale.html

I had a wolf spider I caught as a pet once and it was awesome. You can buy flightless fruit flies at PetCo to feed them!

If she reacts that badly to bites from small spiders with mild venom, I'd probably avoid spider pets in general. :-( That kind of sensitivity doesn't improve on exposure, and even without deliberate handling there's always the possibility.

EEEEEE tiny!spider!cat.

I once had a very large house spider that lived in my bathroom. I regularly removed it from the bath so that I could have a bath, and one day it sat on the soapdish and carefully cleaned its legs while I washed. It was so big and so close that I could see all its mouth parts in detail; it was wonderful.

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