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The newest house pet craze is for the eight-legged kind

When it comes to raising pets, people normally think of cute cats and dogs as their first choice.

Students in Hsinchu City like furry pets as well -- but now they're beginning to take a shine to the eight-legged variety, much to the befuddlement of their elders, including their parents.

Large spiders that would make most people break out in a cold sweat if they stumbled across them in a dark closet have become the new pet favorite among the younger crowd.

Gaining momentum

Chou Wu-an, (周武安), a vendor of the arachnid companions, said that the trend actually began more than a year ago, but has been gaining momentum over the last few months.

Middle school to university-age students -- men and women alike -- make up the majority of new buyers for his pets, Chou said.

Hairy red spiders are the most popular pet Chou sells.

Despite their appearance, they are quite docile, he said.

In a very good month, Chou said he can sell around 30 to 40 spiders.

Spiders are classified as tree spiders or ground spiders, Chou said.

Tree dwellers

The tree dwellers tend more to make webs. Of this type of spider, the mombasa golden stardust baboon spider and the straight horned baboon spider are the most common, Chou said.

However, the baboon spiders are venomous and aggressive, which doesn't make them suitable for pets, he said.

The more common ground spiders, such as the Chilean rose and curly hair tarantulas, are for the most part gentler, he said.

Chou said it is cheaper and more convenient to care for a spider than for a cat or a dog.

Chilean roses

Young Chilean roses can be purchased for as little as NT$150, while the most expensive kind, the Singapore blue tarantula, sells for a still-reasonable NT$600, he said.

Looking after the spiders is also extremely simple.

All an owner needs to do is find a medium-sized box, put some water in it and feed the spider crickets or mealworms regularly.

With that, a spider can live for a good 10 years or even longer.
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