Introduce Yourself

[cheetah13mo]

Hi Arachnoboards! My name is Jeremy. I don't really know how to post threads though but now, I'm learning the ropes...

Welcome and enjoy.

 

[riderr]

Hey guys! I'm Lukas, 26 and from Germany. I've been reading here for quite some time, then registered but didn't introduce myself. So here we go. I currently own four T's (A. metallica, L. parahybana, C. cyaneopubescens and B. smithi). So far you all have been amazing and helpful so I hope I'll keep learning to help others one day.
Great community! Glad to be here

 

[TartKart]

Hello everyone Brian here. I live in Southeast PA. I have always liked spiders,scorpions and mantids but just recently started to get into keeping them as pets. Dont have anything special to speak of atm really.....my wife is not a fan of spiders at all.....so dont have any Ts to my name (yet) just some i have caught around the yard. 2 wolf spiders, 2 bold jumpers,a woodlouse (cause my sister in law was gonna kill it but i told her i would relocate it....lol) and a funnel web grass spider all slings that were the size of a pencil eraser when i caught them. Kinda suprised my wife let me keep any of them so I guess I am warming her up into letting me get a few Ts when I can but till winter is over just going to have to stick with what I have. If anyone has any ideas of interesting non Ts plz feel free to let me know of any,also am looking into possibly getting a black widow when spring hits and I can find one( i know there boring and only scary to people that have no idea about spiders really but ill b honest I am kinda boring myself so theres that) but I am trying to educate my kids and friends that spiders arent the savages they thought they are and they just need to be respected except yellow sac spiders...dont care for them at all.....already bitten my kids a couple of times,so yeh I guess i should end my rant before it turns into a 10 page essay but if anyone has any comments or advice for me...keep it to urself...LOL j/k plz feel free to tell me. I am not a sensitive person so no need to sugar coat just be honest.

 

[Marijan2]

Hello everyone Brian here. I live in Southeast PA. I have always liked spiders,scorpions and mantids but just recently started to get into keeping them as pets. Dont have anything special to speak of atm really.....my wife is not a fan of spiders at all.....so dont have any Ts to my name (yet) just some i have caught around the yard. 2 wolf spiders, 2 bold jumpers,a woodlouse (cause my sister in law was gonna kill it but i told her i would relocate it....lol) and a funnel web grass spider all slings that were the size of a pencil eraser when i caught them. Kinda suprised my wife let me keep any of them so I guess I am warming her up into letting me get a few Ts when I can but till winter is over just going to have to stick with what I have. If anyone has any ideas of interesting non Ts plz feel free to let me know of any,also am looking into possibly getting a black widow when spring hits and I can find one( i know there boring and only scary to people that have no idea about spiders really but ill b honest I am kinda boring myself so theres that) but I am trying to educate my kids and friends that spiders arent the savages they thought they are and they just need to be respected except yellow sac spiders...dont care for them at all.....already bitten my kids a couple of times,so yeh I guess i should end my rant before it turns into a 10 page essay but if anyone has any comments or advice for me...keep it to urself...LOL j/k plz feel free to tell me. I am not a sensitive person so no need to sugar coat just be honest.

there's specific place here for discussions about true spiders http://arachnoboards.com/forums/true-spiders-other-arachnids.12/ you are most welcome to come here

 

[mlm100604]

Hey All,

Welcome to Arachnoboards. Please take a moment to introduce yourself. Let us know who you are and what brings you here.

Feel free to post a picture of yourself here.

This thread is for personal introductions only, please let us know what inverts you have here.

Hope you enjoy your stay

The Arachnoboards Team

Name's Michael. New to collecting T's. Just got a Rosey. Wanting to get a Chilean Flame, after a bit. Loving it. Spiders are fascinating and I can't wait to learn more. Just not sure where to do that.

 

[Marijan2]

Name's Michael. New to collecting T's. Just got a Rosey. Wanting to get a Chilean Flame, after a bit. Loving it. Spiders are fascinating and I can't wait to learn more. Just not sure where to do that.

Welcome, we have "Tarantula chat" and "Tarantula questions and discussions" categories here, so that's great place to start reading and/or ask questions. Enjoy your stay

 

[mlm100604]

Welcome, we have "Tarantula chat" and "Tarantula questions and discussions" categories here, so that's great place to start reading and/or ask questions. Enjoy your stay

Thank you very much. I look forward to it!

 

[Venom1080]

Name's Michael. New to collecting T's. Just got a Rosey. Wanting to get a Chilean Flame, after a bit. Loving it. Spiders are fascinating and I can't wait to learn more. Just not sure where to do that.

no need to wait, chilean flame (Euathlus sp red?) is a great beginner species.

 

[louise f]

no need to wait, chilean flame (Euathlus sp red?) is a great beginner species.

It is the best IMO <3

 

[checkmate]

I'm Daniel from Long Beach, CA. I'm new to the hobby. Have enclosures (8x8x14 from Jamie's) and they're all set up but no T's yet. Just checking the temp and humidity differences throughout the day to see if I need a larger water dish, more ventilation, check for mold, etc. I'm sometimes gone for days at a time.

Haven't chosen a T yet but will likely buy a juvenile or adult from Jamie's. I've read maybe half of the T Keeper's Guide and will reference that and these boards. Love all the pictures of everyone's enclosures. Will post pictures once I'm set up with my T's.

 

[Megaraptor12345]

Hi, I'm a 12 year old boy from Europe and I own no tarantulas (believing tarantula keeping to be a cruel and nature devastating practice). I like to download and read all the latest scientific papers on new tarantula species.

Nice to be a part of a community.

 

[Venom1080]

(believing tarantula keeping to be a cruel and nature devastating practice)

that is a very ignorant and uneducated point of view.

 

[Marijan2]

Hi, I'm a 12 year old boy from Europe and I own no tarantulas (believing tarantula keeping to be a cruel and nature devastating practice). I like to download and read all the latest scientific papers on new tarantula species.

Nice to be a part of a community.

Welcome to the AB
While i value your own opinion, it is not true. On the first sight i admit it could be viewed as cruel, but when all informations are accounted it is polar opposite of that. Given that vast majority of species in hobby are captive bred(over 90%) and founding stock is often based on just 10-20 specimens, it has very little devastation to nature. There are of course exceptions, but pretty much they are to be blamed on those specific countries(and individuals) for bad practices.

 

[Megaraptor12345]

Oh. I didn't know that. I just think most tarantulas (if they could) would decide to wander free rather than stay in a tiny glass cage somewhere.

 

[Megaraptor12345]

that is a very ignorant and uneducated point of view.

In what way?

 

[Marijan2]

Oh. I didn't know that. I just think most tarantulas (if they could) would decide to wander free rather than stay in a tiny glass cage somewhere.

That is only true for mature males. All the tarantula species(and by all i really mean every single one) live in very small places and wait for prey to come to them. They never move too far from their burrow

 

[Marijan2]

In what way?

Also to say, captive specimens have constant stream of food, and are safe from harsh outside elements(heavy rains and floods, harsh temperature variations etc.). They lay 100's and in some species 1000's of eggs because their die-off in nature is super high, while in captivity well over 50% of them survive to adulthood. They also breed readily in captivity, which is good sign they are thriving in man-made enclosures and conditions

 

[Megaraptor12345]

That is only true for mature males. All the tarantula species(and by all i really mean every single one) live in very small places and wait for prey to come to them. They never move too far from their burrow

I knew that, what I meant was: wouldn't they get a bit bored in a small glass cage in a room somewhere with very little variation in life? I certainly would! But I get your point and anyway they don't have enough brains to be bored, do they? Moreover, this thread is for introductions, not arguments (I'm not blaming you by the way, I started it).

 

[Megaraptor12345]

A

Also to say, captive specimens have constant stream of food, and are safe from harsh outside elements(heavy rains and floods, harsh temperature variations etc.). They lay 100's and in some species 1000's of eggs because their die-off in nature is super high, while in captivity well over 50% of them survive to adulthood. They also breed readily in captivity, which is good sign they are thriving in man-made enclosures and conditions

At least the wild ones know what true freedom is like. Anyway, can we stop talking about this now? This is not really the place to fight about it. If you want to continue arguing somewhere else I'd be happy to.

 

[cold blood]

Oh. I didn't know that. I just think most tarantulas (if they could) would decide to wander free rather than stay in a tiny glass cage somewhere.

I knew that, what I meant was: wouldn't they get a bit bored in a small glass cage in a room somewhere with very little variation in life? I certainly would! But I get your point and anyway they don't have enough brains to be bored, do they? Moreover, this thread is for introductions, not arguments (I'm not blaming you by the way, I started it).

I agree Marij, but education is more important.

Tarantulas by nature, are home bodies, often living in the same hole (in the wild) their entire lives, and often in the immediate vicinity of where they were hatched. These are not animals that require exercise, or room to explore, they don't even have brains, just a cluster of nerves, referred to as "ganglion", and therefore they are instinctual and reactive. They are incapable of boredom. Exploration isn't in the cards. Home is their comfort zone, and they never want to be too far from it...mature males, as mentioned, are the exception, as they wander in search of females...which is why most ts seen in the wild crossing streets and such are mature males.

A great example of this occurred in Florida. Several decades (70's) ago B. vagans were released into an orange grove...where they took hold....now decades (and many generations) years later, that now wild colony of B. vagans remains isolated in that specific area...not because other areas are not good for them, but because they just don't travel and explore...an exploring tarantula is a vulnerable tarantula, as they make nice meals for all kinds of birds, small mammals and reptiles.

Captivity, in a proper enclosure, is a slice of the ideal life for a tarantula, free of all the pitfalls of wild life, like inconsistent or severe weather, food droughts, pesticides, predators or human construction, etc.

Like mentioned, in the wild, an egg sac may have single digit % survival rates (or less), in captivity its almost always over 90%, with near 100% survival rates on an almost common basis.

The days of taking animals from the wild are dwindling as most countries prohibit it, and the hobby has responded, with the majority of stock being 100% captive born and self sustaining. If the hobby is self sustaining, it has no need for wild caught specimens and therefore can't have an impact. The biggest impact on wild tarantulas is deforestation and rampant pesticide use, neither of which involve the hobby...and on top of it all, many hobbyists simply refuse to buy wild caught stock, preferring captive born specimens.

Many of the most vulnerable species to captive collection have been protected now for decades (CITES). These laws are taken very seriously. Many other countries are simply deforesting these animals to extinction without a thought of the species at all, the hobby is the last place for many of these species to survive inevitable extinction.

Welcome to the boards young man, its a great place to learn.