My Favorite Tarantula Youtubers: Who To Follow
There’s probably never been a better time to join the tarantula keeping hobby to be honest. Any tarantula keeper who has been in this hobby for more than 10 years will tell you there was NOWHERE near the amount of information and research that is available to newbies now – and it is AMAZING! This is in part thanks to efforts and developments like forums (such as arachnoboards and tarantulaforums) and Facebook groups, and of course YouTube.
I particularly find YouTube to be so much more useful for tarantula information than forums and groups. I think groups and forums can be amazing if you have an emergency or need help with something/want to hear the experiences of others, but if you are more into observation and learning, I think YouTube is the way to go. With strange creatures like tarantulas, sometimes it’s extremely useful to see step-by-step tutorials rather than looking at a photograph or reading a post. That’s why I LOVE YouTube for tarantula keeping – it not only allows me to learn tons, but it allows me to enjoy the beauty of tarantulas.
Fortunately, there’s been a lot of tarantula keepers who have taken to YouTube to share their experiences, knowledge and journeys over the last few years. In this post, I’d like to share my favorites – not in any particular order. What I love about these channels is that they are all so different from each other, and I use them for different things.
Tarantula facts and care
Toms Moran of Tom’s Big Spiders barely needs an introduction. What can I say? He is a legend in the tarantula community and is full of so much knowledge. What I think separates Tom’s channel from the rest is his background in teaching – he truly is an expert and is amazing at delivering educational info in a matter of fact, almost scientific way. He is also incredibly trustworthy and a great human being. He was even kind enough to let me interview him and write an article for my tarantula magazine (that was a PROUD moment for me!). If you are looking for amazing species-specific tarantula care and facts, Tom’s YouTube channel is the way to go (he also has a pretty great website).
I mention the Tarantula Collective and its founder, Richard Stewart, quite a bit in my own videos. What I think is so special and unique about this channel is the way Richard has found a way to elevate the tarantula community by pairing his dedication to sharing his decades of experience along with his passion and eye for great cinematography. You can tell that Richard loves creating great films just as much as he loves his spiders and engaging with his rapidly growing community. His tarantula room is a work of art in itself! Richard makes creative videos that showcase just how beautiful and amazing tarantulas are while delivering great info with his approachable personality. I think this channel is great for the tarantula hobby because it brings people in and shows them how amazing these creatures are. They come for the info and stay for the view! Richard has also been wonderful in supporting other tarantula keepers and projects – my tarantula magazine included! Check out his awesome interview here! If you like what TTC is about, check out their website for more info and some really awesome tarantula merch!
Tarantula Kat is great because she is informative while also being fun and great at connecting people within the tarantula community. She regularly shares jokes about fellow tarantula keepers and invites people on her channel such as Rob Carman (tarantulaguy1976), Petko (The Dark Den) and takes jabs at Exotics Lair. Plus, she is a WOMAN! Not that it matters much, but it’s great to see a popular tarantula channel by a woman because much of this hobby is female. I think Tarantula Kat’s channel is great because it’s educational while also being really fun and quirky. She definitely adds her own unique style and I think she is really approachable and personal with her viewers. She is also really great at speaking up about sexism and unfair treatment of women on YouTube and in the tarantula hobby, such as when she addressed disrespectful comments about her weight. Have you ever seen a male tarantula YouTuber being judged for their weight? I certainly haven’t.
Oldies but goodies
Jon3800 no longer makes videos solely about tarantulas, but you can still find recent tarantula videos on his channel. He was one of the first YouTubers that I looked to for help when I got into the hobby several years ago and he has been at it for over a decade. As a beginner, learning from his experience and how he cared for his tarantulas was very useful to me and I still visit his channel if I need help with something.
I learned a lot from Rob Carman, his tutorials, and how he cared for his tarantulas. He was the first tarantula owner that demonstrated that is normal and fine to have an emotional attachment to your tarantulas (which he showed when he lost one of his favorite tarantulas, Zilla). He is another tarantula YouTuber that has been around for over a decade on YouTube. And while he took a break for a few years, he is now back to posting about tarantulas which makes me really excited! I really love his advice and his willingness to document and share his journey.
For entertainment
I will confess that I don’t watch tarantula channels very much for entertainment purposes, however I do have some go-tos:
Petko, aka the Dark Den is one of the most popular channels on YouTube and has done great things to help people realize how fun tarantula keeping can be. He is funny and easy to like, which is great in breaking down barriers and stereotypes that people who like spiders are a little weird. Petko is great at showcasing species and exposing newcomers to the really cool parts of owning tarantulas. And, not to mention, he was kind enough to let me interview him for my very first tarantula magazine issue!!!
Exotics Lair is the most popular tarantula YouTube channel with over 2 million subscribers. While I don’t think anyone really knows who Exotics Lair exactly is (he never shows his face in videos), I believe his style of filming has enchanted many people into getting involved in the tarantula hobby. While sometimes I believe he disturbs his tarantulas too much and his videos aren’t necessarily informative, I think his channel is a funny way to look at tarantula keeping that is far less intimidating to newcomers, and shows the silly relationships many tarantula owners have with their spiders.
There are TONS of other great tarantula YouTube channels I’ve found over the years, but these are the ones I continually return to. I hope you like them!