But if she says she’s taking them out, it is not safe to assume that she is unboxing cartoon figurines. You might as well dash for the closest exit, since Rui, Yuji, Kara, Marceline, and Gaara are tarantulas that Khong keeps as pets in her bedroom.
And they’re venomous too but nothing to fear, said Khong matter-of-factly, as “their venom is not that strong to kill a human instantly” before adding quickly, “unless you’re allergic to it.”
The Melaka-born Khong got her arach-kids from a friend who operates an exotic pet store one year ago. It was supposed to be just one tarantula at first but “suddenly he gave me five!” This in no way bothered her, as she considers them to be “very beautiful”.
Of course, this is not a sentiment her family and friends share. And understandably so.
“Every time I bring up the topic of spiders, my parents tell me to give them away. When my friends find out they’re all venomous, they think I’m crazy!” the Sunway-based Khong quipped, earning her the moniker Spider Girl.
If you are curious as to the origin of the unique names, Khong happily shared it was to pay tribute to her favourite animated characters. More than that, each of her tarantulas have unique markings on their body that reflect their namesake.
For example, Gaara is a Red Rump Tarantula, a cutie with red setae on the abdomen, just like the Naruto character who has bright auburn hair.
Marceline, a rear-horned baboon tarantula, lives up to its “Adventure Time” vampire counterpart.
“Marceline webs a lot, making its enclosure look very gothic, with vampire-ish vibes,” Khong pointed out.
Yuji, named after a character in ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’, is a Venezuelan Sun Tiger whose abdomen features an exquisite tiger stripe pattern. In the anime, Yuji was nicknamed The Tiger of West Junior High.
But unlike the anime character who’s friendly and extroverted, Khong said Yuji the tarantula “constantly hides in its own burrow and is super feisty”.
In fact, all her tarantulas, even those that are supposed to be docile by nature, are feisty. Some of them even tried to attack her. So, Khong, who’s currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in communication, handles them with a stick.
She admitted that her eight-legged companions, who eat mealworms once a week, are also little escape artists, which makes cleaning their enclosures difficult.
“Since they’re now in their juvenile state, they tend to be faster and more energetic. They will suddenly speed up out of nowhere and then disappear!
“The New World tarantulas are easier to catch because their moves are more predictable. But when it comes to the Old World ones, they like to hide in unexpected places like the small gaps in my table,” Khong recounted.
Old World tarantulas originate in the eastern hemisphere and are faster and more aggressive compared to their slower and more docile New World counterparts which are found in the western hemisphere.
Coaxing her tarantulas out of hiding and putting them back in their enclosures is not something Khong looks forward to.
“I’ll usually record myself and post it publically on Instagram stories or sometimes I’ll live stream the whole thing. This is so that if I have any tarantula-related ‘accidents’, my viewers would be able to call the ambulance!” Khong said with a laugh.
She shared a humorous anecdote about her curly-haired tarantula called Kara that fooled her into thinking it was dead.
“It was just lying on its back, with its legs curled up. So, I was like, I need to mourn for this tarantula. But the next morning, while I was about to throw its enclosure away, I saw an exoskeleton and Kara digging into the soil and hiding. It was actually moulting!”
Moving forward, Khong plans to custom-design terrarium enclosures for her five web-spinning pets as they live in plastic containers now. She also intends to expand her spider collection with jumping spiders.
“They are smaller and cuter. They can also think and recognise their owners and be trained. So, it will be more fun and I can have more interactions with them,” Khong concluded.
This article was written by Dinesh Kumar Maganathan. Read more pet stories here.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PET: FMT Lifestyle readers are invited to send in pictures (landscape format) and a short video (if any) of their furry, scaly or feathery friends to [email protected]. Don’t forget to include details like your pet’s name, age, breed and a short story about them.