Boston Animal Shelter Looking for a Home for Gwen the Tarantula

What has eight legs, eight eyes, and fangs? It sounds a lot like the monster in my nightmares, but in all seriousness, it could be your next adopted pet.

A young tarantula has just arrived at MSPCA-Angell in Boston and it is looking for its forever home.

When I think of a pet, a tarantula doesn’t exactly come to mind; but for arachnid lovers, it doesn’t get bigger or hairier than this humongous spider that is looking for a place to call home. Earlier today, MSPCA-Angell shared a video of Gwen, a pet spider that was surrendered a few days ago after her owners moved to a new home and could not take her along.

“Gwen is most likely a female ‘Rose Hair’ tarantula, though we cannot 100-percent confirm her gender,” wrote the MSPCA. She is only four years old and has the potential to live another 15 years.

The MSPCA shared a video of Gwen in her new terrarium, crawling around the wood chips and taking in her new surroundings. It looks like Gwen is bigger than my hand and it’s quite shocking to know that a spider can be that large.

Did anyone else’s skin start crawling or is that just me?

While spiders are not my cup of tea, the MSPCA is hopeful that they will find the perfect owner. Mike Keiley is the director of adoption centers and programs at the facility and explained how Gwen has created quite the buzz among staff members. Gwen is one of only 10 tarantulas that have ever been surrendered to the MSPCA.

“It’s always interesting for our staff and volunteers when a tarantula comes into our care as they are so unusual for us to see at the adoption center," Keiley said.

Do you love spiders? Adopt Gwen by contacting adoption@mspca.org. Just know that I won’t be coming over any time soon.