Lisa’s wish: a tarantula as a pet

Once upon a time there was a little girl called Lisa who had always wanted a pet. Her friends all had cats, dogs or guinea pigs, but Lisa wanted something special. Something exotic and unique that no one else had.

One day the family decided to go on a zoo visit. Lisa was excited because she hoped to finally find the perfect pet. As she strolled through the rows of cages, aquariums and terrariums, she marvelled at the many different animals. From majestic lions to tiny frogs, there was everything to see. Suddenly, her eyes fell on a small terrarium where a tarantula sat watching her with its many eyes. Lisa was enchanted. She had never seen a tarantula before and knew she absolutely had to have it.

“Please, please, Mummy,” Lisa pleaded. “I want to have a tarantula. I will take care of her and she will be my best friend.”

Lisa’s mother was sceptical at first, but after Lisa promised to take care of the exotic animal, she finally agreed. A tarantula moved in with them, and Lisa named her Lola. She set up a cosy terrarium for her and watched her for hours while she got to know her new home.

But then Lisa noticed that Lola was very shy and timid. She needed a lot of time to get used to her new environment and often hid in her cork tube. Lisa also had to get special food that was not available in every pet shop.

It turned out that caring for a tarantula was much more difficult than Lisa had imagined. But Lisa did not give up. She researched and learned everything she could about tarantulas. She read books and visited websites and read through the husbandry reports there. Slowly but surely, she learned how to care for Lola and keep her happy.

And Lola thanked Lisa in her own way. She became more and more trusting and began to acknowledge and trust Lisa. She even built a spider web in her terrarium to rest in when she was tired.

One day, a funny thing happened. Lisa’s little brother was playing with Lola in the terrarium and annoyed her by tapping the glass with a small stick. The tarantula, which was normally calm and peaceful, suddenly reacted and started running around like crazy. Lisa’s little brother was so frightened that he fell backwards against the wall and cried out loudly in fright. Lisa and her family couldn’t stop laughing as the little boy shook himself and screwed up his face. From then on he called Lola “the scary spider”, but he was still fascinated by her and only ventured cautiously up to the terrarium to catch a glimpse of the tarantula.

Lola was great company for Lisa. Although tarantulas might be scary to some people, Lisa found her encounters with Lola calming. She liked how Lola moved slowly and carefully, how she ate her food and how she slept in her spider web. It was fascinating to watch how Lola explored her surroundings and how she built her cobwebs. Lisa was proud that she could take such good care of Lola and that Lola trusted her so much. The two of them were a perfect team.

Lisa’s friends and family were sceptical about her exotic pet at first, but when they saw how well she took care of Lola and how happy Lola was, they changed their minds. They even started to think of Lola as a unique and interesting pet.

Lisa’s teacher at school was also fascinated by the tarantula. She asked Lisa to bring Lola to school for a presentation, and Lisa did not hesitate. She explained to her classmates how to care for a tarantula and what kind of environment it needs. She also explained to them the importance of respecting and understanding an exotic pet before keeping it at home.

At school, Lisa received a lot of praise for her presentation and her teachers and classmates were impressed by her knowledge of tarantulas. Lisa was proud to share her passion for exotic animals with others.

In summary, Lola the tarantula was not only an exotic pet for Lisa, but also an opportunity to expand her skills and knowledge and share her passion with others. It was a unique experience that she will never forget.