New homes found for tarantulas dumped in freezing cold

An RSPCA animal centre has rehomed an intake of tarantulas who were abandoned in freezing temperatures.

The spiders were cared for at RSPCA Brighton Reptile Rescue after they were left inside rubbish sacks on a grass verge outside Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare in Lewes before Christmas.

Initially, ten spiders contained in plastic boxes were found outside the centre, but one tarantula died later.

The others were transported to RSPCA Sussex North and Brighton Branch’s reptile facility to receive specialist care.

While tarantulas are often viewed as low-maintenance pets, they have very specific requirements, which includes being housed in enclosures at certain temperatures and humidity depending on the species because they come from a tropical/sub-tropical environment.

Head of Reptiles at RSPCA Brighton, Fred Bark, said: “Tarantulas are fairly hardy, although the one that passed away was of a species that can be particularly affected by cold temperatures. Generally we know fairly quickly whether they are going to be okay when they come in to us.

“The intake was a mix of old and new world tarantulas, so they were different species from different parts of the world, which meant each one needed specific care. Most of them were not fully grown, but they were still big spiders.

“There are quite a few people who keep tarantulas in the Brighton area and once we established they were going to survive we notified some potential adopters. Owners need the right enclosures and the knowledge to care for them and once they’d satisfied us they could meet their needs we were able to rehome them all fairly quickly.”

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