Meet Jo Jo The Tarantula At The Stoughton Public Library

STOUGHTON, MA — The Stoughton Public Library has a new guest and his name is Jo Jo. He has eight legs with pink fur at the ends and spends his days spinning webs and eating crickets. Jo Jo is a Pink Toe Tarantula.

Jo Jo received his name as the result of a naming contest. Children's Librarian Amy Dean said the winner of the contest was only three. The library gave him a book about tarantulas as a prize for winning.

Dean said Jo Jo was only two months old when the library got him from H2O Art. H20 Art is a group of aquatic life specialists based in Stoughton. She said they come by every once in a while to take care of the tarantula.

Dean said having Jo Jo at the library piqued a lot of interest and curiosity for the children that visit. She said, "Almost every child that comes in, the first thing they do is go over and look at Jo Jo's cage to see where he is and what he's doing."

When Jo Jo is fed some crickets, Dean said there is usually children gathered around Jo Jo's tank. "It always fun too when the kid's come on a day when the crickets have been put in the cage," Dean said.

Right now, Jo Jo is still just a baby tarantula. Dean said Pink Toe Tarantulas can grow to be about five inches when they reach adulthood.

The Stoughton Public Library received a S.T.E.A.M. grant a few years ago to be used for science education purposes. Dean said this created funds geared towards purchasing natural life.

Before the grant, the library had another tarantula. According to Dean, the previous tarantula along with a fish tank, which was purchased with grant money started an interest in having animals at the library.

Dean said kids are asking more questions about tarantulas and are asking for books about them at the library. The Stoughton Public Library does have a few available. Dean said the library had to buy more because those books became so popular with the kids.

For the rest of the summer, people can come visit Jo Jo at the Stoughton Public Library at 529 Washington Street. The library and Jo Jo will move to its new location at 84 Park Street when construction is completed.