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Original poster

Would you use a CM that had a pet tarantula

34 replies

monkeymonkeymoomoo · 27/04/2007 11:56

?

Seen an excellent CM that has an outstanding OFSTED report but she has a pet tarantuala and that (probably unreasonably!) puts me off!

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Blu · 27/04/2007 20:54

I would consider it a bonus too.

AlittleworstforwareUpsadaisy · 27/04/2007 20:51

hmmm possibly maybe would curb the pot4ential fear of spiders

Spidermama · 27/04/2007 20:49

I would consider it a bonus.

ThePrisoner · 27/04/2007 20:47

My back garden has a complete menagerie in it, and Ofsted didn't have a problem - we have snails, slugs, ants, birds, wasps, worms, caterpillars, spiders and, dare I say it, hedgehogs too. The children delight in showing me anything they find.

monkeymonkeymoomoo - have you read the childminder's Ofsted report? Perhaps it mentions where the spider is, how she ensures it's kept enclosed etc.

twentypence · 27/04/2007 19:23

Ds's kindy has a loud bird and a rat and some frogs. So a tarantula wouldn't bother me, though I wouldn't want one myself.

MaloryTowers · 27/04/2007 19:07

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WriggleJiggle · 27/04/2007 19:06

I HATE spiders, but wouldn't see a problem with a cm keeping one as a pet. I presume it is safely enclosed. As they are fairly delicate creatures I can't imagine the cm getting it out for the children to play with. I guess for me there could be a huge advantage to it as well - dd would probably grow up not to be scared of them, and then she could rescue me when I find them lurking around the house!

Original poster
monkeymonkeymoomoo · 27/04/2007 19:05

THink a poet would be an asset to any CM

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MaloryTowers · 27/04/2007 19:05

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MaloryTowers · 27/04/2007 19:05

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Original poster
monkeymonkeymoomoo · 27/04/2007 19:04

Why is that Mallory?

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MaloryTowers · 27/04/2007 19:03

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Original poster
monkeymonkeymoomoo · 27/04/2007 19:02

She has a dog as well! And that doesn't bother me

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Califrau · 27/04/2007 18:59

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wannaBeWhateverIWannaBe · 27/04/2007 18:58

if it escapes it's going to hide - it won't lie in wait behind a door ready to jump out on you/your dd. You probably have dozens of spiders in your house that you don't even know about.

and if your dd decides she wants one there's a simple answer - no.

I hate spiders and am not that struck on snakes/other reptiles and I have moral objections to them being kept as pets but that's a discussion for another topic, but it wouldn't bother me if my ds went somewhere where someone else was keeping one as a pet.

fryalot · 27/04/2007 18:54

If it escapes, it will find the darkest corner it can find (although it's not really likely to escape)

If she decides she wants a spider, show her a cobweb and tell her to wait.

Original poster
monkeymonkeymoomoo · 27/04/2007 18:49

I think it is the 'what ifs' that bother me... ie. if it escapes or even worse what if DD decides she must have a spider

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wannaBeWhateverIWannaBe · 27/04/2007 18:42

but it's not you that has to look after it so what is the harm? Im assuming it's not kept in her livingroom so you probably wouldn't even see it when you dropped off/collected your child.

Aloha · 27/04/2007 18:42

No! A, I am phobic about them so would hate to be in the house and B I, perhaps unfairly, think anyone who keeps spiders and snakes is wierd.

Earthymama · 27/04/2007 18:41

You have to wear gloves or gauntlets to hold them as they shoot out their spines as tarantulas hate being handled. It's not nice to treat wild animals like this so 'No, I would not'

NannyL · 27/04/2007 18:40

NO way.... but then im terrified of spiders.

wouldnt have a problem with any other animal... but spiders no way!

Original poster
monkeymonkeymoomoo · 27/04/2007 18:39

Arachnids??

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Original poster
monkeymonkeymoomoo · 27/04/2007 18:39

It is safely housed, I have two dogs and two cats so don't mind a menagerie of animals but.... spiders.... shudder... I'm sure DD would love to see it.

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wannaBeWhateverIWannaBe · 27/04/2007 18:38

why ever not?

my ds would be in his element. in fact he was eyeing one up at the local pet shop a few weeks ago and later said "we could have a spider mummy, it would live in a tank". err ... not a chance.

fryalot · 27/04/2007 18:38

I used to have a tarantula as a pet and I can tell you that they make excellent pets for the lazy (honestly) You rarely need to clean them out, you don't need to take them for walks, or even get them out if you don't want to, they just lurk, and you only feed them once a month.

There is nothing dirty or dangerous about large pet spiders, it is just the thought of something so big and hairy with so many legs that puts people off.

(sorry, forgot which word we're supposed to use instead of spider, so I used the word spider)

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