How soon after your first T did you get more?

[Mountaindani]

I think for me the two most important things were to research before choosing and to not get a tarantula who's correct husbandry requirements I might not be able to provide. So I picked species who were deemed 'beginner' because of my work schedule and I was a beginner. The research helped me with what to expect and the senior keepers here have helped me fine tune the care they get. I have my limit so I live vicariously through others here who get new T's. I basically got mine all at once. And I am not getting anymore, but there have been invasive preying mantis here and I definitely am on the look out for one of those

 

[tarantulas118]

one month. On august 17 I got my first T (Brachypelma Boehmei) decided it would take forever for it to grow and on september 24th I got an adult Theraphosa Stirmi (from a Brachypelma to a Theraphosa in one month was a pretty big jump) it died 2 months later in November and I haven’t got another T since… at least I still have my Lovely juvenile brachy

 

[darkness975]

I'm just curious about others experiences! I've spent the last few hours today watching videos and reading info from Tom's Big Spiders, and getting myself all amped up thinking I should go ahead and look into buying another T, possibly a sling. But I don't want to rush into slings because of how new I am already to keeping Ts, so I'm satiating my interests by reading more and looking at cool spider pics lol.

That being said... I am extremely tempted to get a C. Cyaneo/GBB, I saw some listed on Fear Not Tarantulas. They have 1" to 1.25" slings available, which I know would be a little more forgiving than a much smaller sling, but the temps here have gotten colder again so I would probably be best waiting for warmer temps anyways. In the meantime, I'm going to continue reading up

I was also very tempted with C. Elegans and D. Pentaloris, but the only availability I've found so far have been very tiny slings under 1/4", and I'm not so sure if I'm ready to try that yet. But one day I WILL have dwarf species because they're honestly looking to be my favorites so far!

I only recently got my first, a 2.5" male T. Verdezi. I've always been fascinated with tarantulas and their behaviors and I'm extremely happy with my first choice of T, because he is so interesting! He's often out and about when I come into the room, though he will retreat to his burrow once I'm visibly moving around in the room. I love seeing what he does with his burrow.
Today I noticed he pulled a small stone that was in the far corner all the way down into his den, which he has conveniently cleared out a window for in the opposite corner of where the stone was I wonder if it just fell in while he was moving around, but there's a decent mound of substrate it would have had to get rolled over to fall into the burrow entrance... Makes me think it might have been deliberate, which would be even more interesting!

A couple years from the time I acquired my first tarantula to my second.

 

[lukasrood]

I waited some years. I think it's a STUPID idea for anyone that has no experience w/Ts to get a bunch at once. I had no experience, thus I waited!

Well I think it’s STUPID not to get as many as you want, whenever you want. They are one of the easiest pets to care for and don’t take much room at all compared to many other pets. If you want to take your time, by all means do it. If you want to dive in head first that’s fine too. It all depends on your financial and space capabilities. It’s not rocket science keeping Ts and acting like it is, is truly stupid.

 

[8 legged]

Well I think it’s STUPID not to get as many as you want, whenever you want. They are one of the easiest pets to care for and don’t take much room at all compared to many other pets. If you want to take your time, by all means do it. If you want to dive in head first that’s fine too. It all depends on your financial and space capabilities. It’s not rocket science keeping Ts and acting like it is, is truly stupid.

...nevertheless, a large part of humanity does not manage to stay on the ball and still take adequate care of the animals in five years. Regularly one finds households with neglected spiders / reptiles etc... and it is precisely this attitude that leads to this. "Take what you want, when you want" has nothing to do with responsibility and common sense! That just shows a big hole where life experience should actually be!

 

[waynerowley]

I waited some years. I think it's a STUPID idea for anyone that has no experience w/Ts to get a bunch at once. I had no experience, thus I waited!

While I completely understand the point you are trying to make, that's a blanket statement...

On the whole, tarantulas are low maintenance, don't take up much space and fairly easy to care for (at least those we class as 'beginner' species). Once you have the kit, then looking after 2, 3, 4 is not much different to keeping 1. If someone has done their research and is serious about the hobby then I can't see the issue with them starting with a handful over just one. For one thing keeping just one means that most of the live food bought to feed them will die before being fed!

But just so I'm clear:

• It is irresponsible to buy any animal without thoroughly researching their care requirements and being able and prepared to meet them for the lifetime of the animal
• It is irresponsible to buy an animal whose care requirements are far beyond your experience - it puts the welfare of the animal at risk. We all have to start learning somewhere, and you only get experience by doing. But don't start the journey with a T that has somewhat complex/tricky care requirements if you have no experience looking after the simpler ones.
• It is irresponsible to buy an animal that poses a risk to your health, and the health of other members of your household, no matter how easy it may be to look after, if you have zero experience of keeping that animal (or kind of animal).

As always, stupid is as stupid does. I see no issue with starting this hobby with multiple Ts when approached the right way.

Wayne

 

[Wenzer]

I meant to come back to this thread sooner to reply! I actually feel like what Viper said is a pretty fair, albeit very blunt, point of view on the topic. In a public forum where anyone will come along and read here, I do think it's safer to make it a blanket statement that it's generally not a great idea to jump quickly from a first T into owning multiple Ts of multiple different species,

...nevertheless, a large part of humanity does not manage to stay on the ball and still take adequate care of the animals in five years. Regularly one finds households with neglected spiders / reptiles etc... and it is precisely this attitude that leads to this. "Take what you want, when you want" has nothing to do with responsibility and common sense! That just shows a big hole where life experience should actually be!

^because, like how 8 legged said, not every new owner is willing or able to...

- Research and consider as many parts of T care as they can, especially when concerning multiple different species and/or with varying habitat requirements

- *continue* to keep up on care information and remain open-minded to new or differing methods of keeping Ts, especially if it could improve the quality of life of their Ts

- gauge or expect how they might react/be able to handle certain species or temperaments, especially if their first T is very calm, non-aggressive or slow moving

I do think it's entirely possible for someone to have a successful try at owning multiple different species of Ts with little to no prior experience, especially if the person has taken the time to research not just the species they get, but also what they should expect as a possibility when owning ANY species or individual T. And without being able to know whether the person reading this thread is doing as much as they can to prepare and educate themselves, I think it's just generally safer to say that it's good to wait before getting in over their head

As for myself, I don't actually intend to buy another T just yet, I just like to indulge in my temptations by looking at them online but I personally feel that once I've decided on a species and have exhausted as many research options as I can about it, then I'll be able to evaluate for myself when I may be ready to get more. Not everyone is able to or willing to be as positive in their introspection as others, though, so waiting and getting more hands-on experience is never a bad thing either!

... I hope this all made sense. At least somewhat haha

 

[Wenzer]

While I completely understand the point you are trying to make, that's a blanket statement...

On the whole, tarantulas are low maintenance, don't take up much space and fairly easy to care for (at least those we class as 'beginner' species). Once you have the kit, then looking after 2, 3, 4 is not much different to keeping 1. If someone has done their research and is serious about the hobby then I can't see the issue with them starting with a handful over just one. For one thing keeping just one means that most of the live food bought to feed them will die before being fed!

But just so I'm clear:

• It is irresponsible to buy any animal without thoroughly researching their care requirements and being able and prepared to meet them for the lifetime of the animal
• It is irresponsible to buy an animal whose care requirements are far beyond your experience - it puts the welfare of the animal at risk. We all have to start learning somewhere, and you only get experience by doing. But don't start the journey with a T that has somewhat complex/tricky care requirements if you have no experience looking after the simpler ones.
• It is irresponsible to buy an animal that poses a risk to your health, and the health of other members of your household, no matter how easy it may be to look after, if you have zero experience of keeping that animal (or kind of animal).

As always, stupid is as stupid does. I see no issue with starting this hobby with multiple Ts when approached the right way.

Wayne

I didn't see your post until after I made my last one, but I could probably just delete mine because I think your explanation of your reasoning was much more concise and clear than mine haha

 

[8 legged]

I've written about this before...the problem is that some of the little things have ramifications for the general public. I can now only speak of Germany. There has been a nasty report in the newspaper every week, at least since the pandemic. "Home discovered with 100 neglected Pall Pythons, home searched with over 80 - some dead _ tarantulas" etc... These reports are piling up and attracting public attention. In times of PETA and all the lunatics that triggers petitions, laws and bans. And here, I like to use the Viper term: it's incredibly STUPID when the hobby kicks its own ass!!!
I see myself as a responsible and, above all, transparent holder, but I am also affected when the above restrictions apply. One certainly cannot say that every beginner is/behaves the same. If people have successfully started here with a large number, then that's great and I'm happy for the people. But if they then claim and generalize that this is not a problem and everyone should buy as much as they think, then that is irresponsible and - to put it mildly - very naive! I think a large proportion of the readers here are far from the age of majority and, precisely for this reason, should not receive such misleading statements from adults. What you might like to forget: whoever turns to the hobby bears a certain responsibility for the community - whether you want it or not. Without this awareness, one should perhaps rather not reveal anything about one's interests to the public.
But different countries different customs! The fact is: here in Europe we have permanent problems with authorities and animal welfare due to incompetent, irresponsible keepers. So I ask myself: why is that when it is so simple to do justice to these animals?

 

[Wenzer]

I've written about this before...the problem is that some of the little things have ramifications for the general public. I can now only speak of Germany. There has been a nasty report in the newspaper every week, at least since the pandemic. "Home discovered with 100 neglected Pall Pythons, home searched with over 80 - some dead _ tarantulas" etc... These reports are piling up and attracting public attention. In times of PETA and all the lunatics that triggers petitions, laws and bans. And here, I like to use the Viper term: it's incredibly STUPID when the hobby kicks its own ass!!!
I see myself as a responsible and, above all, transparent holder, but I am also affected when the above restrictions apply. One certainly cannot say that every beginner is/behaves the same. If people have successfully started here with a large number, then that's great and I'm happy for the people. But if they then claim and generalize that this is not a problem and everyone should buy as much as they think, then that is irresponsible and - to put it mildly - very naive! I think a large proportion of the readers here are far from the age of majority and, precisely for this reason, should not receive such misleading statements from adults. What you might like to forget: whoever turns to the hobby bears a certain responsibility for the community - whether you want it or not. Without this awareness, one should perhaps rather not reveal anything about one's interests to the public.
But different countries different customs! The fact is: here in Europe we have permanent problems with authorities and animal welfare due to incompetent, irresponsible keepers. So I ask myself: why is that when it is so simple to do justice to these animals?

I can agree with you wholeheartedly.

I use to foster parrots, usually larger ones but I've worked with as small as parrotlet to as large as a mollucan cockatoo, and even in the avian pet keeping community (at least here in the US) I see similar news headlines way too often... Sooo many people that hoard tens or hundreds of birds and just let them breed nonstop, don't take proper care of them at all, etc...
I would say birds are way more demanding in care than Ts, and I know even a large parrot's bite doesn't carry the same type of inherent risk as a venomous tarantula, but the point I wanted to make is that the situation like you described is just so common in not only the Tarantula/invertebrate world but with many different corners of pet keeping. It's simply more responsible for any potential owner, new or old, to do their research and ensure they want to and are ready to commit to a pet, and to try and justify that a newbie should start with as many of whatever Ts they want just because they're low maintenace is not a point of view that I can agree with.

 

[viper69]

While I completely understand the point you are trying to make, that's a blanket statement...

On the whole, tarantulas are low maintenance, don't take up much space and fairly easy to care for (at least those we class as 'beginner' species). Once you have the kit, then looking after 2, 3, 4 is not much different to keeping 1. If someone has done their research and is serious about the hobby then I can't see the issue with them starting with a handful over just one. For one thing keeping just one means that most of the live food bought to feed them will die before being fed!

But just so I'm clear:

• It is irresponsible to buy any animal without thoroughly researching their care requirements and being able and prepared to meet them for the lifetime of the animal
• It is irresponsible to buy an animal whose care requirements are far beyond your experience - it puts the welfare of the animal at risk. We all have to start learning somewhere, and you only get experience by doing. But don't start the journey with a T that has somewhat complex/tricky care requirements if you have no experience looking after the simpler ones.
• It is irresponsible to buy an animal that poses a risk to your health, and the health of other members of your household, no matter how easy it may be to look after, if you have zero experience of keeping that animal (or kind of animal).

As always, stupid is as stupid does. I see no issue with starting this hobby with multiple Ts when approached the right way.

Wayne

And yet we see many people who collect them like Skittles early on and problems occur.

 

[viper69]

Well I think it’s STUPID not to get as many as you want, whenever you want. They are one of the easiest pets to care for and don’t take much room at all compared to many other pets. If you want to take your time, by all means do it. If you want to dive in head first that’s fine too. It all depends on your financial and space capabilities. It’s not rocket science keeping Ts and acting like it is, is truly stupid.

It isn’t rocket science who wrote that it was- yet plenty of people make mistakes that could have easily been prevented.

 

[viper69]

...nevertheless, a large part of humanity does not manage to stay on the ball and still take adequate care of the animals in five years. Regularly one finds households with neglected spiders / reptiles etc... and it is precisely this attitude that leads to this. "Take what you want, when you want" has nothing to do with responsibility and common sense! That just shows a big hole where life experience should actually be!

True! And common sense isn’t common obviously.

 

[lukasrood]

...nevertheless, a large part of humanity does not manage to stay on the ball and still take adequate care of the animals in five years. Regularly one finds households with neglected spiders / reptiles etc... and it is precisely this attitude that leads to this. "Take what you want, when you want" has nothing to do with responsibility and common sense! That just shows a big hole where life experience should actually be!

In my eyes that’s what taking any animal on as a pet, whether a T or a puppy it’s a responsibility. You must know what your getting into and how to properly care for them. Once you take on that responsibility your committed. What’s a few more? If someone can’t take adequate care of 15 or however many T they probably can’t take of 1 adequately.

 

[8 legged]

I have no idea to what extent and especially how long you've been doing this hobby, but I wouldn't expect such a devastating argument in a conversation with an experienced colleague...

 

[lukasrood]

It isn’t rocket science who wrote that it was- yet plenty of people make mistakes that could have easily been prevented.

No one wrote that it…. That’s generally a term one uses when someone is making something seem more difficult than it really is.

 

[Mountaindani]

Well I think it’s STUPID not to get as many as you want, whenever you want. They are one of the easiest pets to care for and don’t take much room at all compared to many other pets. If you want to take your time, by all means do it. If you want to dive in head first that’s fine too. It all depends on your financial and space capabilities. It’s not rocket science keeping Ts and acting like it is, is truly stupid.

They really are the simplest of my pets. And I have to agree. If I had more room I'd get more. It isn't the complex care that stops me. It's planning adult enclosure space for my slings.

 

[Mountaindani]

And yet we see many people who collect them like Skittles early on and problems occur.

I wish I had more room for skittles

 

[viper69]

I wish I had more room for skittles

Don’t we all, that’s why I focused on small species much later on

 

[Introvertebrate]

How soon after your first T did you get more?

One thing I'd suggest, is to get your roach colonies up and running before you invest in a bunch more Ts. That could take months, and in the meantime you'll be buying lots of crickets.