Portsmouth Tarantulas is looking for a new space or they will go bust

Danielle Hardham, owner of Portsmouth Tarantulas, is looking for a commercial office space where her eight-legged friends can reside after she was given no notice that her current space is being sold, and the business needs to find a home quickly.

The mum of two was informed on November 25 that the property she was renting for her business was being sold and that she and her 2,000 spiders need to be out by January 13, leaving her with little time to find a base.

She has already got in touch with more than 90 office and unit spaces pleading for them to let her rent their spaces, but she has been unsuccessful in her mission which is casting a dark cloud over her dream business.

The 32-year-old has been running the business for eight years. Last year she packed in her job to take her passion on full time and she has seen it steadily rise in popularity, but she is ‘extremely anxious’ that she might see the business fold if no one helps her.

She has been searching high and low for a property to rent but fears that everyone has said no – due to their own fear of the arachnid which would be occupying their space.

She said: ‘I am extremely stressed. A lot of places are saying reasons why they don’t want us but it’s just because it is tarantulas and a lot of them are scared of spiders.

‘Just give us a chance, ask us questions and find out more rather than just saying no or ignoring us.’

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Danielle used to work in Asda and said that she feels as though she will be taking a step back if she has to work for an employer again – because she has finally found a job that she feels passionate about.

She said: ‘I enjoy what I do, I am passionate about it. I can give you all of the knowledge about what I do, but when I worked at Asda, I would go to work do the job and then come home.’

She is looking for a space that is between 600sq ft and 1,000sq ft and has said that her spiders are fine at room temperature and do not need UV heaters to keep them warm – thus eliminating a fire hazard – and they will all be kept securely in their enclosures.

She said: ‘We have had a lot of people who have watched our TikToks come in and they are absolutely terrified of them, but they said that I make them more normal and less frightening.’

The tarantula breeder will be devastated if she is forced to give up her profession and is pleading with anyone who has access to an empty offices or can help her to get in touch with her.

She said: ‘At the end of the day I take a wage from it and the wage pays the mortgage.’