Pets: Eight-legged friend's beautiful but boring

In fact, all Justine's two children, Georgia and Jacob, 11, and Nigel's daughter, Ella, 12, asked for out of their parents' newfound wealth was a tarantula spider and a Shetland pony.

While a pony may be a wee bit more on the pricey side, buying a tarantula will hardly put a dent in the family's fortune – many can be bought for between 15 and 30.

Perhaps that's one of the reasons why they are growing in popularity as pets in Britain.

But for anyone thinking about such a spider as a pet, be warned. All but a few of the 30 tarantulas at Edinburgh's Butterfly and Insect World were donated by owners who could no longer cope with them. But, explains assistant manager and human-insect liaison officer Kevin Thom, that's not because the eight-legged creatures were running rampage Hollywood-style, devouring the family dog. "They are very low excitement," he explains. "They basically do nothing."

The animals, he says, are often bought by young lads and are given names such as Psycho and Attila, but such owners become less impressed when they see how little they do – and how long they survive. "Some can live up to 30 years," says Kevin.

Nevertheless, for those who need a low-maintenance pet which takes up little room and who appreciate the tarantula's unusual beauty, they can be good pets. "They can go weeks or even months without food – I have even heard two years quoted to me," says Kevin. "So you can go away on holiday and leave them."

There are more than 800 species of tarantula which live in the wild worldwide. They can be divided into two types – tree climbing and burrowing, and Kevin says burrowing varieties are much more practical as pets as they are slower moving and less feisty, so less likely to bite if handled incorrectly. "None of them are deadly but some do have a painful bite," he says.

The Chilean rose tarantula is one of the most common varieties kept as a pet, for its attractive metallic pink centrepiece, its docility and because it only grows to around a four-inch leg span. Always buy through a reputable dealer and ensure the creature has been bred in captivity.

They can be kept in a relatively small tank and it is normal for them to be inactive. Kevin says: "If a tarantula is moving about the tank a lot there is something wrong, perhaps with the temperature or humidity."

Check there is a local supply of food – tarantula need live prey, such as locusts or crickets, but pet shops which supply reptile owners should be able to help – and water, but remember they can drown in just two cms of water.

Handling should only be done very carefully and not at all if it is a tree-climbing variety or if there is a child in the house – and that is as much for the spider's protection as the human's, as a one metre drop can kill a tarantula. Never stroke their backs – they have irritant hairs on their abdomen which can cause swelling and irritation if they get into the eyes.

While the commonest varieties of tarantulas are fairly cheap, if money was no object, Kevin says some more exotic tarantulas are on the market, available in vivid blues and crimsons – but with price tags running into hundreds of pounds.

Edinburgh Butterfly & Insect World, Dobbies Garden World, Melville Nursery, Lasswade, 0131 663 4932, www.edinburgh-butterfly-world.co.uk