Nipper

This is Nipper a Red Kneeded Mexican Tarantula and he's very difficult to photograph. As soon as he sees a movement, he goes running into his burrow.

Nipper is hardly a cuddly pet, but he is very fascinating to observe. Red Knees like to burrow, and Nipper has made himself a home under a piece of bark. Most days he will come out and walk up the side of his tank and around inside.

We have to buy live crickets for him to eat. Spiders will only catch and eat live prey.

As spiders grow, they regularly shed their skin to grow. The old skins are called sheds. It looks just like a spider, as they come out in one piece. The spider looks so much bigger after a shed. It usually takes a few days for him to recover and return to full activity. He will eventually grow to about the size of my hand.