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Tarantulas: Cashing in on a hobby
Tarantulas are generally docile and rarely bite people. And a tarantula bite is typically no worse than a bee sting in terms of appearance and toxicity. The symptoms from most species of spider are mild to moderate, ranging from localized pain and swelling to stiff joints.
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David Wu has been interested in spiders since junior high school, especially tarantulas.
"Cool, exotic and seemingly frightening," said the property consultant and father of three who lives in West Jakarta, referring to the rather large arachnids known for their “hairy” bodies and legs.
However, his desire to breed tarantulas was not realized until a few months ago, when the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) first started being imposed and people found themselves stuck at home.
To kill time, David decided to buy several tarantulas.
At first, his children Samuel, 9, Airin, 8, and Candy, 4, “physically distanced” from the spiders with some giddy nervousness while David learned about the octoped, and only after he knew more did he encourage them to engage with the animal.
His children began to get accustomed to holding the giant spider. They took pictures and videos, under the watchful eyes of their father.
"You have to be careful. If you startle it, you could be bitten," said David.
Tarantulas are generally docile and rarely bite people. And a tarantula bite is typically no worse than a bee sting in terms of appearance and toxicity. The symptoms from most species of spider are mild to moderate, ranging from localized pain and swelling to stiff joints.
"At first I was afraid, but I [wanted] to hold it," said Samuel. He and his two younger sisters are no longer afraid of the animal, either.
Caring for the tarantulas has become a household affair, with David’s wife helping to feed them with crickets or cockroaches.
David is now breeding tarantulas not just as a hobby, but also for selling them as pets. The response to his first social media posting seemed to show that many people were interested in owning the hairy creatures.
He sells juvenile tarantula for Rp 20,000 (US$1.42) while adult tarantulas, which can be 10 centimeters or more, can fetch between Rp 1.6 million and Rp 2.5 million depending on the type.
David seems to be doing good business, having sold more than half of the 700 spiders he had raised. He has around 300 tarantulas left, 60 of which are adults.
"It’s not such a bad business. This hobby has brought in money," he said.
