A former arachnophobe has not only overcome her fear but now keeps over 30 spiders at home as pets.
Hayden Shea admits that her friends think she’s “crazy” for the obsession with the eight-legged creatures.
Previously the Starbucks barista was afraid of them, now she loves spending time with the creepy crawlers.
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She started collecting the spiders two years ago and already has seven different species in her flat – including Regals, Audax, Hyllus Diardi, Fartilis, Apache, Tux and Mimicus,
She has “too many” to name all of them but her personal favourites include seven-month-old Honey, as well as Snowball, Halo and Emerald, who are each one year old.
But three-year-old Iris is the apple of her eye.
“I decided to start keeping them after I kept seeing them [posts about spiders] on Instagram,” Hayden, from Orange County, California, told What’s The Jam.
“And I eventually got over my phobia after my boyfriend’s dad caught one for me!
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“I take them out and around the house at least once a week.
“But I’ve never taken them out in public.
“I have an irrational fear that someone is going to harm them on impulse since most people are scared of spiders.
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“Some of my family think it’s cool and others are scared of them and think it’s weird.
“Some [friends] think I’m crazy.
“They [my spiders] are very intelligent compared to most other spiders, as well as very curious and usually friendly!
“I like to call the ‘arachnopuppies’ as they are pretty much the dogs of the arachnid world.
“If a spider likes you, it will nap on you, watch you, listen to you and curiously turn its head, and might let you pet it depending on how much it trusts you!”
Her partner is also continuously encouraging her to keep more spiders.
She said: “My partner has always been very supportive.
“He was the one who suggested that I keep the spider his dad caught.
“They stay in mine and my boyfriend’s room, while we live at his parents’ house.”
Hayden also makes sure to spend a lot of time with her pets every week.
She said: “I am constantly spending time with them.
“It takes me around three hours to feed the babies every other day.
“And then I take them out to make content every day.
“I hold and cuddle them a lot!”
Hayden’s spiders can live up to three years and will have 10-11 molts throughout their lives, with matured females laying eggs regardless of whether they have mated or not.
She added: “They do not bite unless they feel extremely threatened and their first instinct is to run rather than attack if they are frightened.
“Their eyes also move as they look around but it’s only visible with some of the species.
“I wouldn’t change me and my arachnopuppies for the world.”
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