The Tarantula Collective

09/15/2026

09/14/2026

We made the news!

Spider-Fest draws hundreds to Wheeling for exotic animal showcase

Details linked in comments

09/13/2026

TODAY IS THE DAY! Elizabeth here, and I’m so excited!!

After all the planning, emails, forms, posts, and probably a few moments of wondering what we got ourselves into, Spider Fest is finally here!

I want to start the day by giving a HUGE thank you to our sponsors who helped make Spider Fest 2026 possible:

Presenting Sponsor: Spider Shoppe

T-Shirt Sponsor:The Bio Dude

Supporting Sponsors: Redline Shipping, Tarantula Cribs, InvertebrateSellers.com

We really appreciate your support of Spider Fest and the invert community!

And to all of you coming today I’m really looking forward to meeting you! I’m still pretty new to the Tarantula Collective team, so I haven’t had the chance to meet a lot of you yet. Please come say hi! I’d love to put some faces to the names I’ve seen online and finally meet some of the people who make this community so great. I’ll be at the check-in table, so I’ll see you soon.

And I'm sure Richard won't be too difficult to find either. Just look for the guy with the long red beard and page boy hat running around like a chicken with his head cut off!

HAPPY SPIDER FEST! 💜

09/13/2026

I put together a quick video about Spider Fest 2026 so you know wha...

09/13/2026

Spider Fest is TOMORROW.

I don't think most people realize how many hours go into turning a seemingly bad idea about getting a bunch of people together to look at spiders into an actual event. This past week has been a blur of 16-hour days, boxes everywhere, animals arriving, enclosures getting set up, substrate everywhere, tables moving, signs printing, problems getting solved, and me discovering a whole new mess of problems I hadn't thought of yet.

I'm incredibly lucky to have a wife who somehow continues to support these ridiculous ideas and has put up with me basically living at the studio all week. My sister Elizabeth and my mom Paula have been working overtime helping make this thing a reality.

Brian and Louie from The Tie Dyed Tarantula have been integral to Spider Fest from the beginning. They're longtime friends, fellow West Virginians, and have helped us grow this thing every year.

WV Centipede Guy is back behind the tables with some MASSIVE centipedes and was here today helping us get everything ready.

Then there's Cindi from Memories of Violet, who missed basically all of Spider Fest last year because I forgot to find someone to work the door and she got volunteered. Sorry, again. This year she actually gets to vend, but because apparently I never learn, she's also helping run our new Spider Check, where you can safely leave your purchases while you go back and enjoy the show.

We'll also have ambassador animals out throughout the day. Tarantulas, geckos, snakes, millipedes, roaches... honestly, who knows what Pahri is going to wander out of the back room carrying.

Our sponsors have stepped up with some amazing giveaways, and the variety of animals available tomorrow is beyond what I dreamed this could become. We've somehow put together dealers representing so many different corners of the invertebrate hobby that Spider Fest is WAY more than just spiders.

I really appreciate everyone who has helped make this happen, and everyone traveling from literally all over the lower 48 to come look at spiders in a basement under a Dollar General in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.

Pics for attention bc I forgot to take some before leaving.

09/12/2026

🩷🕷️SPIDER FEST is almost here!🕷️🩷
We’re gearing up for the big day, September 13th, Spider Fest 2026! Here’s a little rundown of all the things that WE will be bringin’ to the party!👌🏻

🕷️TARANTULAS - and lots of em! We’ll have a selection of over 130 different species of captive bred tarantulas AND a variety of true spiders, mygalomorphs, scorpions, centipedes, and roaches!

🔲 ENCLOSURES - we’ll have a great selection of SpiderHaus and Tarantula Cribs enclosures — available in many different sizes and styles!

🪛SUPPLIES - tongs, flashlights, water dishes, syringes, a selection of Arachnidirt substrate by Tarantula Cribs, we’ve got it all! We’re also debuting a NEW tool that we’re pretty sure you’re gonna LOVE!👌🏻

It’s gonna be a GREAT day full of soooo many leggy dudes of ALL kinds — it’s definitely worth the trip! Check the link for more event details!

We hope to see you all there!

https://www.thetarantulacollective.com/spiderfest

IT’S SPIDER FEST BABYYYYYY👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

09/12/2026

SPIDER FEST IS TOMORROW! AAAHHH!!!
Hey, it’s Elizabeth!

We’re officially down to one more sleep until Spider Fest, so I’ve got two more vendors to highlight before we see everyone tomorrow!

First up is Memories of Violet Crochet and Crafts. If you’re looking for something a little different to take home, make sure you stop by their table and check out their handmade creations!

And then we have FangTrack, which is basically bringing some serious data nerd energy to the exotic invertebrate hobby. FangTrack is a market intelligence platform for the tarantula, scorpion, centipede, and isopod market. Think price history, deal scoring, and rarity tracking all in one place.

Do I even tell Richard about the price history part? Now every time he wants a new invert he's going to be able to pull that up and explain to me why “this is suuuch a good investment.” LOL!

So come check out these vendors, meet all of our other amazing sellers, and see what catches your eye!

And if you haven't grabbed your ticket yet, presale tickets are still available for just $5! Presale ticket holders get TWO raffle tickets instead of one AND have their own entrance line.

We're raffling off prizes EVERY HOUR, including substrates, isopods, three $100 Spider Shoppe gift certificates, and lots of other fun stuff!
Get your presale ticket:
thetarantulacollective.com/tickets

TOMORROW — September 13, 2026
11:00 AM–5:00 PM
47 Washington Ave, Ste 245, Wheeling, WV
See you soon, friends! 💜