Ew! A spider!

[basin79]

For me it's not so much comments that I get but more the fact that no one really cares. The most annoying (or somewhat disappointing) is the fact that there is no one around me that shares my enthousiasm I guess. Whenever one moults, or does something interesting or peculiar, I get excited and want to share that with my family but all I get is THAT look, if you know what I mean.
Like this morning my recently moulted T. cyaneolum did something funny (she was laying down flat, all legs spread out and when I approached to see the hilarious sight up close, she jumped up) so I told my mom but she just always pulls that 'ugh, disgusting' face.
A little frustrating but I hope over time she'll warm up to them.
Thank god for this forum, where my enthousiasm for my T's is actually shared .

Just do as I do. Whatsapp friends and family with pics, videos and stories no matter. Worse case scenario no one cares. Best case you eventually wear them down and they realise tarantulas are phenomenal.

 

[Colorado Ts]

Agreed...I would enjoy hearing your stories about your tarantulas.

 

[Ellenantula]

I figure there must be something wrong with the people who make comments about Raid, stomping spiders or burning down their own freakin house if they found a T in theirs. Really? You'd burn your own house down? Almost makes you want to sneak in their home and lay an exo on their floor just to see what they'd really do.

Why take away from someone else's joy at exotic pet ownership?

If I gotta look at your pics (pets, kids) then be polite about mine (and at least I don't jam my phone in their faces and force to them look at my Ts).

I've even experienced similar hate re: parrots. Is a rotisserie joke really that clever or funny? Or how someone else would chop my snake in half with a hoe or something if my snake ever got near them (trust me, you'll never get near my snake).
I suppose I just remind myself that 'my' pets don't 'count' to other people, so I don't share about them any more. And it's okay -- at least I'm happy with my guys.

 

[AracnoDreams]

Lol my husbands favorite thing probably is that his mother in law hasn't been to our house in like 10 years

 

[Colorado Ts]

Bought a couple of tarantulas from a guy with an add on Craigslist. It was pretty obvious that the wife had laid down the law...he did not want to sell off any of his tarantulas.

 

[RezonantVoid]

I've progressively warmed my family over to them, I suppose living alongside several hundred invertebrates calls for adaptation. Now, my mum regularly asks how my first batch of EWLs is growing, "how's the big Rubiseta going?", and "why is the-one-thats-always-outside (it's burrow, not enclosure) not outside?". She can remember at least the words "Phlogius" and "Featherleg", but I guess Selenotypus and Coremiocnemis are a bit too much to ask.

My brother has been chronically arachnophobic since forever, but now thoroughly enjoys watching feeding sessions and in particular the trapdoors.

For insensitive people who tell me to kill them, they usually warm up a little with a short low quality video of my Champagne Robustus female happy dancing to some background music

 

[SonsofArachne]

I've even experienced similar hate re: parrots. Is a rotisserie joke really that clever or funny? Or how someone else would chop my snake in half with a hoe or something if my snake ever got near them (trust me, you'll never get near my snake).
I suppose I just remind myself that 'my' pets don't 'count' to other people, so I don't share about them any more. And it's okay -- at least I'm happy with my guys.

Its seems to a lot of people if it's not a dog or cat its doesn't count (and to most dog people cats don't count either).

 

[Vanisher]

I held a speech at my daughters elementary school about spiders and tarantulas. Thins like this i think is a good call!

And yes, we have besides my tarantulas, a cat and a rabbit, and i tell you people. Those animals are very very philty! I.often says to my girlfriend: Now i remember why i prefer tarantulas!

 

[Cavedweller]

For insensitive people who tell me to kill them, they usually warm up a little with a short low quality video of my Champagne Robustus female happy dancing to some background music

You can't say that without showing us

 

[Eukio]

I usually haven't run into issues like this. At worst, "I am phobic, so please don't bring them out if I am around." I was once accused of abusing my child by investing in tarantulas over a dog and called a freak because arachnophobia is common, but those instances are few and far between.

 

[Colorado Ts]

I'm a science teacher, so I have a disguise....if I didn’t have tarantulas, people would get suspicious....seriously suspicious.

 

[RezonantVoid]

You can't say that without showing us

I don't upload to YouTube (yet) so that would be rather difficult, but I do have a GIF on here somewhere of her dancing in a circle, and tripping over her foot in the process

 

[Cavedweller]

I don't upload to YouTube (yet) so that would be rather difficult, but I do have a GIF on here somewhere of her dancing in a circle, and tripping over her foot in the process

I definitely need to see that gif

 

[Sami]

I'm more tired of people asking how many I've got, and then looking at me like I've just admitted I'm some freaky hoarder when I say I've got 22 of these "monsters".

I mean, anyone who lurks on here knows that's like, not even that many.

 

[RezonantVoid]

I definitely need to see that gif

 

[Brachyfan]

I'm more tired of people asking how many I've got, and then looking at me like I've just admitted I'm some freaky hoarder when I say I've got 22 of these "monsters"
I mean, anyone who lurks on here knows that's like, not even that many.

I get that all the time and I don't even have 22. I have 21 lol!

 

[Marika]

I saw my brother and his wife today and they asked about my inverts (they don't usually ask). I mentioned that one of my Ts had died.

"Did one of its friends eat it?"
"I don't keep them together. It had a bad molt."
"Ew"
"It got stuck, I managed to get it free but it died later anyway."
"When's the funeral?" (mocking)
"Haha "

I know they don't like inverts, but I was still disappointed. I'm glad my mom likes spiders, so I can tell her about my Ts and show pics.

 

[Comrade]

I'm extremely new to the whole tarantula scene, but whenever I bring up the fact that I am taking care of a sling, I've only heard a "kill it with fire" once, which is nice

 

[Andrea82]

Yeah! It's not designed to engage people for very long, and at the end of the conversation, I'm supposed to direct them off to a related item/exhibit, but I think in person, it can lead you to pointing out features on your live specimens and really get a good conversation going.

I like that it is designed to not invalidate what the guest is feeling, but help them understand whatever it is a bit more without shutting them down, and hopefully get them to question more and fear less.

Definitely going to use this, thank you so much for posting!

 

[Rigor Mortis]

Can't wait for Thanksgiving when my mother tells everyone that I've recently upped my spider count to 5, and watch their faces contort in horror and go, "Dear god, why?!" Should be fun. Some of my family members do enjoy the conversations about my 8-legged friends though.