Most of us cringe at the thought of hundreds of spiders and creepy crawlies in our home, but one woman from Cardiff isn't fazed in the slightest by the creatures - gladly sharing her home with over 400 of them.
Now, Fiona Evans, 29, from Thornhill who owns hundreds of spiders, scorpions, and a snake is aiming to change people's misconceptions about tarantulas and reptiles.
And Fiona is not the only one with a love for the animals, having amassed a social media following of nearly 10,000 on her Instagram account known as "The Spare Room."
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The insurance broker by day used her account to show off her unique pets, including her impressive collection of tarantulas, scorpions, geckos and her snake.
Fiona said: "I got into spiders because they scared me and I kind of liked that. It's like for the same reason people watch horror films.
"I live with my partner and we share a cat - but the rest of the animals of mine. My partner is kind of neutral to it so he's not scared of anything - other than the snake!"
Despite being a mother to so many pets, Fiona has only had them for a year and a half.
She said: "Growing up, my mum had really severe arachnophobia so I couldn't have pets like that. I used to secretly keep spiders in empty Dolmio sauce jars and keep it quiet so my mum wouldn't know.
"So as a kid, I did have lots of little spiders but I never had any tarantulas."
Fiona's favourite tarantula is her Brazilian giant white knee, Nyx.
"She's got such a fiery personality. She's so pretty but also quite built and muscly. The tarantulas are definitely my favourite out of the pets. They are so fascinating. I could go on about them for hours.
"They don't have a muscular system. Their whole molting process is insane and I find it wild they shed their skin. Their only role in the ecosystem is to hunt and eat so they don't need exercise and barely ever move.
"This is why I got so many because you get one and you're like 'ok this one's been stood in the same spot for 6 hours so I want to get another one'
"They are also one of the few animals that have maintained their biology for over millions of years. Spiders have been found in amber and things like that.
"It's cool to see that they don't actually evolve that much - they are sort of perfect as they are."
Fiona says despite caring for so many pets, she still manages to have time for herself after work.
She said: "I wouldn't have so many if I didn't have the time and I have the time for all of them. I still have my work life and social life and all that.
"The only issue is the lack of space - I wish I could have more!"
As well as an impressive collection of tarantulas, Fiona also owns many geckos, frogs and a snake.
Fiona, who calls herself "The Tarantula Mother" online, says she even knows by memory which tarantulas need feeding or their cages cleaned.
She said: "I do bits and pieces here and there but after a while, you remember who hasn't eaten, who needs to eat, and who doesn't. When my spiders go into premolt and start to shed their skin, they won't eat at all.
"You get to know your animals quite well. Generally, I'll split it into two sessions and feed the bigger ones separate from the babies. I just have who I need to feed and whose cage needs to be cleaned etched into my brain."
Fiona says she is looking to get more pets soon.
She said: "There's a few tarantulas I would love to own but they are very expensive so are on my wish list for the future. I would love more snakes - they're pretty chill. It's mainly tarantulas though as I love breeding them.
"I've got a couple of spiders which are pregnant so I'm waiting for them to lay eggs. I have one who's just laid them. I've got a couple of mature males and I'm just waiting for a female to be ready."
Fiona laughs that the mating process for tarantulas is 'pretty gross.'
She said: "When the male spider mates the female, he deposits his sperm inside her and she keeps it in her in a little pouch. Then she'll make a web and put the eggs inside the web. Then she deposits her sperm on top of the eggs and fertilises them. It makes a cocoon of web around the egg. They kind of just sit for a little while in the web and after 30 days, I incubate them myself to make sure they hatch successfully.
"It's so cool, you get something called eggs with legs and they just look like tiny little baby spiders."
Fiona wants to prove to people that tarantulas are not as scary as they seem.
She said: "A lot of people's fears are to do with a lack of exposure. At a young age, you're told essentially to be scared of these animals.
"But the more you know about them and more you see around, the less scary they get.
"I have some of the most venomous tarantulas you can get and they are complete puppy dogs. I wouldn't go in and hold them but people make you believe they are super aggressive and they are not. They are just really reclusive and want to live a really calm life."
Fiona also wants to thank Ben and his team from Reptile Cymru on Cowbridge Road East.
She said: "I've received a lot of support from them - they have been very helpful!"
You can find out more about Fiona and her army of cool pets on her Instagram here.
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