Tarantula trouble

I had friend who once had a tarantula for a pet. Although they seem menacing, tarantulas are not usually very dangerous. Their bite is somewhat venomous, but tarantulas will not bite you unless provoked. In fact, their venom is not lethal at all, and is thought of more as a bee sting than an actual bite. Tarantulas overpower their prey through sheer physical size and strength rather than through poison and toxin. Some tarantulas, in fact, can grow to be as big as dinner plates when stretched out. They are truly beastly spiders. The only especially fragile part of them is their abdomen. If you have them as a pet, take care not to drop them from too great a height. This can often happen by accident while handling them. Some tarantulas can live up to twenty years or more in the case of the female. Male tarantulas have a much shorter lifespan: from a few months to two or three years.