Invertebrates

The invertebrate hobby is animal-keeping distilled to its strangest and most affordable: a tarantula, a mantis or a colony of isopods costs little, takes up a shoebox of space, and opens a window onto 400 million years of evolution. These are watch-don't-cuddle pets — most are handled rarely or never — but their behaviour is mesmerizing, from a tarantula sealing itself in silk to moult, to a mantis striking in a twentieth of a second. Husbandry is small-scale but exacting: the right humidity and ventilation, correct temperature, and appropriately sized live prey are everything. Research two things before buying — venom and legality. Old World tarantulas and scorpions carry more potent venom and faster tempers than New World species, and some invertebrates are restricted or illegal in parts of the world. Kept correctly, many females live surprisingly long — a Chilean rose tarantula can reach twenty years.