Update: Two more tarantulas have been adopted, and only one is left.
Juneau Animal Rescue is rehoming a bunch of tarantulas. They’re among the pets taken from a home after the rescue was alerted by police, and the organization had to get creative to find space for the animals and all their legs.
The 16 tarantulas arrived about three weeks ago along with a few other animals: two bearded dragons, a ball python, four cats and two dogs, according to Juneau Animal Control officer Karen Wood.
She said it’s not often that Juneau Animal Rescue receives this many animals from one home.
“We took custody of the animals by request of the police, and when that happens we hold animals for a 10 day safe-keep period,” Wood said.
The safe-keep period applies to arrests, hospitalizations and other short-term emergencies and can be longer, depending on the situation. After 10 days, if the owners don’t make a plan to retrieve an animal, they become the property of the rescue. The organization treats any medical issues, spays, neuters and microchips the animals, then puts them up for adoption.
The tarantulas could skip a few of those steps.
The ball python and twelve spiders have already found new homes. One is now a long-term resident of JAR, living in a terrarium upstairs by the staff desks. She’s dark, fuzzy and about the size of a Thin Mint cookie.
“This one’s our office pet,” Wood said. “So she’ll get to be like 6 to 7 inches.”
She said finding places to put all the animals was challenging. Normally, they put smaller animals like rabbits where they can make space, often a hallway.
But in that environment, one of the bearded dragons started turning black. Wood said that’s a sign of stress.
So, they moved the spiders and lizards into a room used for grooming dogs and brought in a space heater. Now, the bearded dragon is back to its normal tan coloring.
Three tarantulas and both bearded dragons are still available for adoption.
Juneau Animal Rescue has been struggling with capacity for years. The organization is looking to expand into a bigger space soon, with more room to house all animals that need shelter.
“We’re pretty cramped. This building’s been here a long, long time,” Wood said.
She hopes that one day, there will be plenty of space for tarantulas and lizards that need a place to stay on their way to their forever homes.
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the type of snake JAR took custody of. It’s a ball python.
