Cheapest Pet Tarantulas

Pet tarantulas can vary widely in cost, with more expensive species costing many times that of the cheapest pet tarantulas. When you consider the other initial start-up costs, such as a tarantula cage and heater, finding a cheap pet tarantula ensures you can afford the whole setup – especially if you’re on a tight budget.

But where do you find pet tarantulas that don’t cost the earth?

Cheapest Tarantula Species

There are a number of reasonably-priced tarantulas that you’re likely to stumble across in your search. Typically some of cheapest species of tarantula are as follows…

Curly Haired Tarantula

The second most-commonly encountered cheap tarantula is the Honduran Curly Hair. Initially resembling the Chilean Rose Hair in many ways, a closer inspection will reveal that this species is covered in lighter curly hairs presented in a brown background.

Another docile and slow-moving species, the Curly Hair makes another ideal starter species, not least for the fact that it is often available as an adult at very competitive prices.

Click here to learn more about Curly Hair Tarantulas.

Salmon Pink Birdeaters

Salmon Pink Birdeaters are some of the largest tarantulas available on the market, and may grow to almost twice the size of Rose Hairs or Curly Hairs. They are therefore perhaps better thought of as a spider for keepers willing to give it the additional space that it deserves.

For those willing to invest in a slightly larger cage, however, the Salmon Pink is a stunning spider, covered in pinkish hairs. Their size also factors into their appearance, making them truly impressive beasts.

Salmon Pinks are very fast growing, easy to breed, and produce a large number of youngsters. As a result, the species is regularly bred in captivity, and specimens of all sizes are commonly available very cheaply indeed.

Click here to learn more about Salmon Pink Birdeating Spiders.

Where to Find Cheap Tarantulas

While the above species may typically be the cheapest commonly-available species there are of course a range of other ways to save money on your first tarantula. These additional tips can either help you to land one of the above species for even less money, or can sometimes help you secure a more exotic species for a similar price to the above common species.

Wild Caught vs. Captive Bred

Captive bred tarantulas tend to be more expensive than wild caught specimens. The reason is quite simple: the breeder has to put far more effort and money into producing captive bred specimens. In contrast, wild caught tarantulas can simply be imported as adults and then put up for sale. The costs involved can be far smaller, especially when tarantulas are imported in bulk.

That said, before you go out and select a wild caught specimen based purely on price, there are other factors to consider. For one, with an adult wild caught specimen you have no idea how old they really are – and therefore how long they will live.

You also can’t be sure if they have any parasites which might shorten their lifespan, or cause problems for any other tarantulas in your collection.

Lastly, and arguably most importantly, you also need to consider how you feel about removing specimens from the wild unnecessarily, potentially depleting wild populations, just to feed your hobby. In contrast captive bred specimens have none of these potential issues, and so I always recommend tarantula keepers try to focus their attention on captive bred specimens if at all possible.

Consider Tarantula Size

In general, smaller (younger) tarantulas cost less than larger specimens. There are a number of reasons for this, but most important is the amount of care and feeding that a captive bred tarantula has received before sale.

It is often possible to save money when buying a tarantula by choosing a smaller specimen than you might ideally like. That spiderling or juvenile specimen will soon grow into a large adult with enough love and care – the only difference is that buying a smaller specimen will require some patience on your part.

Indeed, while I occasionally buy the odd adult specimen, the vast majority of my current collection is made up of spiders of varying sizes, all of which were bought as youngsters and then carefully reared up towards adulthood. Such a policy has the very real potential to save you a load of money – or to enable you to buy several tarantulas for the price you would have paid for a single specimen.

Breeders vs. Pet Stores

We exotic pet hobbyists should do all we can to support our local reptiles shops, but they’re often a very expensive way to buy a tarantula. The reason is that many reptile stores buy their stock from breeders and reptile shows before marking them up considerably.

It is often cheaper, therefore, to buy your first tarantula from a breeder. You can meet these at reptile shows, or via the Internet. Unlike a pet store, however, there is less redress if anything goes wrong – so choose your breeder carefully to ensure you receive the level of support and customer service needed alongside competitive pricing.

Rescue Opportunities

Lastly, be aware that exotic pet owners have an unfortunate habit of putting their pets up for adoption when the novelty wears off. While most experienced tarantula keepers know that their specimens have inherent value, many newer keepers simply want to get rid of their tarantula as soon as possible – frequently offering them for a very low cost, or even for free.

A great way to save money on tarantulas is therefore to keep an eye on your local newspaper, and visit local pet rehoming shelters. There are also many local Facebook groups for exotic pet keepers, as well as websites like Gumtree and Preloved, where exotic pet owners attempt to adopt out unwanted animals.

If you’re able to be patient in order to pick up a bargain then keeping an eye open for rehoming opportunities can often be your very best source of free or low cost tarantulas.

In Closing

As you can see, there are lots of cheap tarantulas available if you know where to look, and what to look for.

That said, it would be remiss of me not to point out the importance of having a proper budget to provide all the equipment that owning pet tarantulas requires. While there is nothing wrong with trying to save money, it is also important to have enough of a budget for cages, heaters, substrate and so on – as well as ongoing maintenance costs such as buying feeder insects regularly.

Photos c/o The Reptilarium & wwarby