Keeping North America's MOST DEADLY SPIDERS .. as PETS?! the Brown Recluse & Black Widow

In today's video we talk about keeping the MOST DEADLY and DANGEROUS spiders in North America as pets. But are they really all they're cracked out to be?

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Tarantula Kat
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[koolkat]

Why do people always feel they have the right to judge people who aren’t doing harm to others?!? Just finished binge watching all of your videos! Loved watching your pet family grow! Only question I have is, how does your landlord feel about all of your pet kids? 😂

[jawramik]

My first pet spider was a beautiful juvenile female western black widow I found in the bathroom at work. 😂 A year later, I still have her, as well as 2 tarantulas and a wolf spider. Black widows make amazing pets. They're so fascinating to observe, and they provide quite the show at feeding time. I highly recommend them to anyone looking for a hardy, low-maintenance spider. They're totally non-aggressive and are not at all inclined to bite, so even though their venom does pack a punch, it's really not something to be overly concerned about. I feel like you'd have to actually TRY to get bitten in order to take a bite.

[chriswwe]

Your videos are actually helping me with my arachnophobia but I still won’t get a spider as a pet at least for a while

[shelbysushi]

Let’s not forget that black widows first line of defense is to play dead! 🕷️

[tammyblankenship]

People seem to always hate on what they don't understand. I became a widow owner for the first time back in February and my western black widow girl, Belladonna, is one of my favorite spiders in my collection. She is super chill. Even to the point I've had to coax her to get her food that was dropped in her web. I wouldn't mind owning a brown recluse, but doubt my bf would be okay with that. He wasn't fond of me getting a black widow, but he's became a little more okay with it once he realized she couldn't escape her enclosure. lol

[EFergDindrane]

Everyone in the South grows up looking for recluse spiders and being told to wear gloves when you do stuff in the attic or garage. And that's it. Just don't be stupid, seek medical attention if you get bitten, and that's it. Stay calm. I was actually bitten by a recluse when I was a toddler (obviously I don't remember it), and I have a tiny divot scar on my thumb from it. I was a toddler, and I survived. I have a bigger scar from burning myself on the oven. :p I'm not saying I want one as a pet, because I probably HAVE some in the walls of my apartment already, ha. LOVE them and leave them alone if you don't want to take care of them like Kat does. Just... let people be, man. Kat has feelings and a life. I'm sure you do something that SHE would think was dumb and selfish.

[KimberlyEnvious]

When I was in first grade I had to be hospitalized from a spider bite that turned out to be a brown recluse. Turns out I had rolled over onto one in my sleep and it bit my back. Can't blame the little thing for self defense, and I can attest that there wasn't any rotting or anything. Just vomiting and weakness that I remember.

Anyway, I still love bugs and spiders and all sorts of critters today, and I thank you for sharing your collection with us, I love them all!

[frogprincess]

You always handle these types of comments so well. Much more grace and patience than I would. People truly need to educate themselves before making stupid comments. You do a great job educating us. You are amazing!

[falcon]

I take my zoology class to the insect lab at the local university. Grad student there keeps widows as pets on his desk. He regularly handles his widows and I thought he was crazy.

Once I watched him handle a feather leg baboon tarantula and I KNEW he was crazy. He's never been biten though.

[melissaalexandralully]

I’ve been bitten twice by black widows. The bites were both a little crazy, but I’m still fine! I was put on antibiotics for over a month each, and just had to keep the bites clean. I still have a bruised area from one that’s very light now, but it took a long time to heal. I was nauseous and had headaches for a few weeks, but that went away. Moral of the story? If they do bite you, more than likely you’ll be fine. One of them bit me while I was in bed. Spiders are everywhere. Lol people are silly. And yes, if you’re a child or sick or elderly, you may have a more severe reaction. More than likely, you’ll be ok! Also, I’m in Utah, from Vegas. We have these everywhere! They’re so misunderstood. I love your channel Kat! Thank you for bringing light to these adorable and amazing creatures ❤️

[jacobhoward]

Literally every spider bite seems to be blamed on the brown recluse where I live, and they don't even live here.
Glad that you brought up the dog attack statistics. A lot of people give flack about keeping invertebrates in your house for the safety of your kids but our dogs are more likely to kill us. 😅

[YoMama]

It’s cute you named her “brownie” after her species name. I named my rescue stray cat “Callie” because she is a calico cat.

[tonywhitburn]

Here in Mexico we mostly have brown widows. Or at least where I live. So when I finally got to have my first black widow I was head over heels. I named her Carrie and she was wonderful. Even laid some eggs and enjoyed a cricket every other day. Only had her for about a year since she was an adult already, but she helped me greatly to love these beautiful and misunderstood creatures.

You have a great channel, I'm so glad I found you!

[tsmerk]

I've seen many different news stories about dogs biting children of chewing on their face. Never saw a pet spider in the news!

[wastelandsniper]

Primarily because of you, Dave (Dave's Little Beasties), and Tom Moran my dislike of spiders has completely turned around. I've never been phobic, but I would definitely not be very calm if one got on me (not screaming, but there would definitely be at least a little bit of a flail and slap). I am now super interested in them, and I've got five tarantula slings in various stages of growth that I enjoy feeding and watching. They are incredible creatures, and I feel like my life is richer now that I understand them to a (small) degree.

[derp_dragons]

I really like how you adress concerned comments. Because yes, the might be over the top, but it's obvious that these kinds of comments come from people who don't know much, if anything, about spiders and are scared. Responding in this calm and educative manner is such a great way of dealing with worried people. And anyone else also gets to learn something new about certain spiders, too. 💚

[biggtrux]

Ugh. The brown Recluse scares me more thanthe black widow because of their habit of wandering around. I found a young black widow in a box of grapes when I was a produce worker at a Whole foods. How it survived the refrigerated truck and then our cooler I'll never know. But it did so I took it home and kept it as a pet all summer. Full grown she was beautifully glossy black with a fiery red hourglass.

[kristinahplays]

My sister got bit by a brown recluse and she was one of the few that the venom did quite a number on. She didn’t check her rubber boots and was greeted by a bite. I’ve always been terrified of most spiders and her getting bit made that fear even worse. Thank you for this video. It did help me quite a bit!

[thebarkers]

Super glad I watched this specific video of yours. We lived in SoCal for two years in the middle of the desert and Black Widows were a major pest for us. I remember one summer I found around 12-14 in about two weeks. Of course people were killing them left and right and I let them be. Mind you I have two kids who were 4 and under a year old at the time. They knew to not bother them and they actually laid three clutches in one summer and protected those things with their life. When they went away for the day under the stucco of our house, the clutch went with them. This just proves to my husband that I wasn’t crazy for leaving them be! Thanks again for another informational and educational video!

[angielovesowls]

🎉We live in East TN and my daughter does as well. Her house was totally filled with brown recluse they lived in the cabinets and under furniture in a tough little web hammock. If you got up at night and went in the kitchen and turn the light on they would sit frozen on the counter top. She called a pest company and he examined the attic and there were bunches of them up there and in all the closets. He told my daughter that the only way to do any thing was to leave the house for a couple of weeks and they could tent the house and set off bombs of spider spray insecticide in the attic and the whole house. There were also lots of black widows in all the windows and under her back deck. She soon moved out of that house and got a brand new double wide up on the job where he worked, totally spider free! I was cleaning closets and boxes and got bit by a brown recluse in the soft part of my thumb and pointer finger.. I had a bad sore get started and had to go to the dr. He said the tissue was necrotic from bacteria that went in when I got bit. It took several weeks to heal up! Now I’m careful when I clean closets or boxes that have been sitting in dark areas. it’s so odd that the brown recluse don’t catch their prey in a web, they hunt them chase them down and eat them!