April 22, 2004

Pet of the Week: Sid

Sid used to live quite precariously, hiding under parked cars at the New Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum parking lot. That was until Terri Sanislo-Williams spotted the California brown tarantula one day, scooped him up and rescued him from certain death. Sanislo-Williams is a park interpreter for Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation at the museum and animal aficionado. Now Sid has his own home: a terrarium with all the trappings to make for a happy life for the eight-legged arachnid.
“They make great pets,” Sanislo-Williams said gently picking up Sid. “They don’t bark, there are no fleas, you don’t have to clean up after them and they don’t eat very much. And he’s cute. I just love him.”

Sid walks on a table; carefully stretching out his long delicate hairy legs as Sanislo-Williams guides him. More fragile than they look, a fall could be fatal. He is soft to the touch and quite curious of his surroundings. Many people are afraid of the tarantula’s venom, but they actually have a very low toxicity to humans. Tarantulas are native to the southwest United States, with a lifespan of about three years, and they are important to the balance of the environment, because they eat small insects.

And Sid even has a part-time job. The spider makes special guest appearances at the museum for arranged visits. He is also a guest star at the “Creature Feature” event in October at the museum. “He really creeps people out at Halloween,” Sanislo-Williams laughs.

Sid’s back in his comfortable habitat with rocks to climb and small branches to hide under. He settles in a corner partially hidden but still watching his world. He spies on his neighbor, Charlotte, a black widow spider who lives in a glass covered house next door. This is definitely a safer home than the parking lot.

—By Jeanne C. Lewis

Photo by Jeanne C. Lewis

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