Is our hobby in decline.

[PanzoN88]

Do I find this hobby to be declining? No, could it? Only when YouTube goes dark. If anything the hobby seemed to explode in 2016. When the forum migrated, I noticed several unfamiliar names all over the place.

There are way more species to choose from now compared to when I started in 2014. H. pulchripes are becoming a common staple that almost everyone has in their collection now. I don't even think they were even available in 2014.

 

[Awm12390]

I myself have sold to those dealers as well .Ive also received species that werent readily available or newer to the hobby. They get here some how before private people begin to breed them we can agree on that. Anyways we're off topic, just trying to get answers in availability and just the community in general

 

[jrh3]

I myself have sold to those dealers as well .Ive also received species that werent readily available or newer to the hobby. They get here some how before private people begin to breed them we can agree on that. Anyways we're off topic, just trying to get answers in availability and just the community in general

I think your looking in the wrong places if you cant find pricing your willing to pay. I have no problem at all finding really good pricing. And I would rather deal with a hobby breeder anyday than deal with a big name website. Pricing is better and I have found the quality is better because they care more for their Tarantulas.

 

[Teal]

Most would argue the hobby is almost becoming too mainstream.

Yes indeed. And I don't like it one bit.

And I would rather deal with a hobby breeder anyday than deal with a big name website. Pricing is better and I have found the quality is better because they care more for their Tarantulas

100% agree. I have never (and will never) purchase from the places I see people recommending, like Jamie's and Swifts. I know they (at least Swifts) produces some of their stock... but the majority of slings available were purchased wholesale and the rest of the stock is imported (sometimes CB, sometimes WC depending on species). I'm not a fan of supporting a business when it comes to getting animals. I would much rather deal directly with a private, small scale breeder who cares more about producing healthy stock and contributing to the hobby than their profit margin. As far as prices... things like that always fluctuate. I am used to paying a little more because I am not dealing with wholesalers.

 

[Paul1126]

Overall, this forum feels less active. The majority of active threads are noobies asking the same questions over and over. I don’t mean this in a condescending way, but it felt like there was more in depth discussion from knowledgeable long time keepers before.

You're free to start a thread instead of complaining about the lack of "In depth discussion"

 

[sasker]

The majority of active threads are noobies asking the same questions over and over.

That's just because there are simply more people getting into tarantulas. If no-one is interested in keeping tarantulas, except for some old time hobbiests, then yes, you will have fewer noobs asking questions.

 

[CommanderBacon]

I really don't think change in the hobby indicates that it's in any sort of decline. I think the increasing number of casual and new keepers is a good sign, as well. A percentage of those keepers will get obsessed and start collecting more with time, as can be expected, and likely will start breeding or vending themselves.

 

[l4nsky]

Hola,

I believe it seems like the hobby is on the downward slope because there is no great concentrations of hobbyist anymore. Before, there were few places, like this forum, where people congregated to share knowledge. As it was alluded to earlier in this thread, the rise of social media essentially fractured the large aggregations of hobbyist into various smaller groups, and not just for this hobby. While it may seem like it's a decline, I believe it's quite the opposite. And as far as the content, this board is the largest and by extension, the most indexed by search functions. Therefore, when aspiring keepers start to google about care, this forum will inevitably be near the top, attracting all of the beginners and there questions.

Thanks,
--Matt

 

[jayefbe]

You're free to start a thread instead of complaining about the lack of "In depth discussion"

Who said I was complaining? I was simply making an observation. Why is that so offensive to you?

That's just because there are simply more people getting into tarantulas. If no-one is interested in keeping tarantulas, except for some old time hobbiests, then yes, you will have fewer noobs asking questions.

The noob questions existed back then too. It just wasn’t *only* noob questions. To be clear, I have no problem with noob questions. It just doesn’t feel like this is the avenue for serious T-keeping discussion anymore.

 

[Minty]

The noob questions existed back then too. It just wasn’t *only* noob questions. To be clear, I have no problem with noob questions. It just doesn’t feel like this is the avenue for serious T-keeping discussion anymore.

Just my opinion, but there's a more frequent, higher quality of tarantula discussion, on this website, than anywhere else I can see online.

 

[NukaMedia Exotics]

Na I'd say it's definitely just getting better. More species are available and at lower prices, it's only the pokies that you have to get in your own state now which isn't too big of a deal.

 

[dragonfire1577]

I do see there are lots of new keepers which is awesome people are getting interested, but I do feel I've seen lots of price jacking recently. Maybe because new keepers dont know what to pay or because of increased demand but seeing an LP listed and possibly selling for 40 bucks is just absurd. I just feel people have gotten a little greedy with pricing although lots of private smaller breeders are still great. I get species new to the hobby are expensive but there is a clear distinction between pricing a new species up to cover import fees and gain some profit and increasing a cheap common species price by like 400%.

 

[weibkreux]

Maybe the forums isn't that active like it used to be because there are lots of information from other websites that aren't there before or maybe some new keepers tend to ask questions in FB groups only to find that the more accurate answers can be find here.

 

[viper69]

So I been out of the tarantula world for 4or5 years now but wanted to start collecting again.i do Still have my adults from previous purchases which is cool. My question is with poecilotheria sp. Now being on the endangered spieces list and a major crack down on imported wild caught t's has our hobby in america taken a turn for the worst? Theres very few tarantula available on the market and those that are have considerably gone up in price. Any imput would be much appreciated.

No, the hobby continues to grow at a rapid pace for these animals.

 

[mennobak]

Yes indeed. And I don't like it one bit.

I kind of agree , eventhough I myself am kind of new to the hobby. I believe a lot of people (moslty kids/teens) come because of the youtubers . Personally I think it's just like a hype for them , sooner or later it will probably die down and a lot of "noobies" will stop because they realize this hobby is not for them.
I don't have any problems with this hobby becoming to mainstream as long as everyone is at least responsible (not everyone is cut out to work with venomous animals)
I would be happy if someones passion started by watching some guy on youtube. (I've seen a lot of people who started this hobby by seeing one in a pet shop and in the end is it really a problem how you got into it?) I just don't like it that the people who are here because of the "hype". But like I said sooner or later this will probably blow over. Hopefully.....

 

[Johjie]

I kind of agree , eventhough I myself am kind of new to the hobby. I believe a lot of people (moslty kids/teens) come because of the youtubers . Personally I think it's just like a hype for them , sooner or later it will probably die down and a lot of "noobies" will stop because they realize this hobby is not for them.
I don't have any problems with this hobby becoming to mainstream as long as everyone is at least responsible (not everyone is cut out to work with venomous animals)
I would be happy if someones passion started by watching some guy on youtube. (I've seen a lot of people who started this hobby by seeing one in a pet shop and in the end is it really a problem how you got into it?) I just don't like it that the people who are here because of the "hype". But like I said sooner or later this will probably blow over. Hopefully.....

Seeing a "pink toe" in a pet store when I was 16 is how I got into the hobby. My mom only bought it because she liked its "toes" and got me some books on tarantulas.

 

[scott308]

I was looking at tarantulas at NARBC last weekend, and somebody asked one of the vendors what the most colorful tarantula is. The seller said it would probably be P metallica and pointed to the picture of one on their display. After the seller walked away, I told the potential buyer that he might want to look at a Green Bottle Blue. He said he was familiar with them, but was expecting them to shoot up in price since Ants Canada just got one. I told him I didn't know who that was. He said it was a YouTuber who posts ant videos and has millions of subscribers. So, apparently those looking to sell GBBs are gonna get rich! You don't even have to be a tarantula YouTuber to have an (alleged) impact on the hobby.

 

[Ungoliant]

From what I've seen in the states our normal sellers have less then half the normal stock, I remember looking through pages on pages of inventory now I see just a handful of tarantulas per seller.

To me it's not a big deal if individual sellers don't carry that many species, because collectively, there is huge variety.

 

[Justin H]

It just doesn’t feel like this is the avenue for serious T-keeping discussion anymore.

I'm curious! What kind of serious discussions are you looking for? Could you give an example?

I'm relatively new to the board, and I'm also a part of Facebook groups and participate in a couple of other areas. This board seems to have the most constructive and informative discussions. However, Facebook has more discussions among breeders with more advanced issues than I see on here. I'm curious what you're looking for!

 

[ForestMonster]

First - sorry for my english, I'm trying my best : )
I quited hobby for a time, now I'm back and I'm LOST. Theres soooo many new species, it feels like its difficult to achieve something. Back in the day when someone succesfully breed, for example, Poe mettalica - that man was king! People schared pictures of theirs collection and there was a lot of comments like "dude, that murinus is BRIGHT". There was just a handful of species known as holy grails. Now theres a lot of rare species, but nobody talk about them, because is TOO MANY of new species. The thrill is gone, haha. And now is so many of sp. this, sp. that, sp. your mum, a lot of genuses are faken mess. Thats it, I'm old and grumble ;D