Meet the man who lives with over 1,000 tarantulas — and travels up and down England helping people overcome their fear of the creepy crawlies.
Aaron Phoenix, 37, started collecting them in the summer of 2021 to help with his mental health and believes he was “born to save spiders”.
He keeps the spiders in two places – his “tarantula cave” in his home and a separate enclosure used for breeding – and says the largest is the size of a dinner plate.
After being published in the papers last year for his incredible collection, Phoenix has added another 300 arachnids to his spider home.
Thanks to the exposure, Phoenix has now traveled to England helping people who may have previously been afraid of animals to take an interest in them.
Phoenix, a specialist house removalist, from Yate, South Gloucestershire, said: “There are easily over 1,000 now.
“It seems like a lot, but in the world of spiders, it’s not.
“When you breed spiders, they can have anywhere from 20 babies to several thousand.
“I rescued over 200 spiders last year – I get messages all the time from people who have had large collections that want to downsize or have fallen out of love with the hobby.”
Phoenix first started collecting when doctors told him a hobby could help his mental health after a bipolar diagnosis.
The inspiration came from a pet tarantula he had as a teenager, but tragically had to give up.Â
His collection quickly grew – and now he rescues abandoned arachnids from all over the country, as well as working to be able to sell the animals to other collectors and spider lovers.
Phoenix said helping people overcome their fear of spiders has been “rewarding”.
He added: “After the last story came out, I had so many people message me showing interest in the different colors and species and a lot of people asked me to help them overcome their fears.
“So I’ve been traveling to people pretty much all over the country.
“It’s a lot of fun to do.
“A lot of people are fascinated by spiders, so to help someone go from being petrified to holding a spider in their hand is amazing.
“9/10 times I’ve gotten them to the point where they can hold one.
“It’s very rewarding to help people overcome their fears – although most of my family are still petrified of spiders!”
Phoenix also hosts children’s birthday parties and is focused on getting his breeding facility up and running.
As for the space needed to store 1,000 spiders, Phoenix says it doesn’t need as much as people might think.
He said: “Believe it or not they’re mostly just in one room.
“I have my own facility that I am setting up for breeding and I also have a separate room in my house.
“They don’t actually need a lot of space, unlike snakes.
“Many of the babies/spiders are kept in these bottle pots when they are young.
“I believe I was born to save spiders, to save them and to help people overcome their fears.
“When it comes to food and rehousing, I take precautions so they don’t run away.”
#spiders #tarantula #cave #helping #people #overcome #fear #creepy #crawlies
Image Source : nypost.com