Let's think this through. True, most of us have more than one tarantula. I'm in the thousands if you count spiderlings. On the other hand, nearly all of us started with one tarantula, myself included, and it is that tarantula I'm interested in hearing about.
Lol @cream cheese, sometimes I spend a lot of time fussing over roaches just because they are a fun diversion. I should have directed the post to tarantulas purchased early on in the hobbyist's career, among other things I might have changed with what I've learned from member's responses in this thread.
@Andrea82 - If I could to do it again, based on what I've learned, I'd have phrased the post differently. Important I think for all of us to know is that large chains buy from large wholesalers, and large wholesalers can only exist if they WC in the thousands, or at least tens of hundreds, perhaps with the occasional CB inserted due to chance availability. Here is an AB post from 2002 [bold added for emphasis]:Maybe if you rephrased and or separated the questions,you could get more defined answers. Or add a shout out to the newbies.
There are different questions in your poll,merged into one,imo ;
What was your first T?
Was a chaco or a rosea your first T?
Did you buy it at (insert large petstore name here), or did you buy it somewhere else?
These are the questions I see merged in your poll.
Thus, I would have changed the question to "did buy your first T from a large chain store?"
Thanks @jose, I thought the question pretty simple too, although with hindsight I suppose it could have been better focussed. Nonetheless, I think we all learned something along the way.
Awesome. 18 years ago, just when PetCo started ramping up. You and many other veterans who have posted here indicate that the theory of @Bugmom et al regarding an AB bias towards "hobbyists" vs. single-T owners is not quite on the mark. Sure, many owners will never own more than one T in their life and never hit the boards. I speculate most eventually exit the hobby and don't contribute significantly to hobby growth. They don't help answer the question of how pet stores and pet store chains selling WC Ts have contributed to growth of the hobby. Other single-T owners, at their stage in the hobby, are not often interested in posts much other than those concerning immediate matters related to their single T: what's it doing on its back?, why hasn't it eaten? etc. Everyone has to start somewhere. Is there better data to suggest that the majority of multiple T owners somehow started differently? The number of posts of single-T owners asking for help regarding their first T, often a G. porter/rosea or Avic. avic., argues against AB not being home to a sizable number of single-T owners. The questions are not always life or death matters. Rather than divide T owners into multiple vs. single, perhaps putting them on a spectrum, hobbyists all, is more prudent for the time being.My first T was a small rose hair female from Petco, 18 years ago. Soon after I started attending reptile shows and talking to vendors. I got an Aphonopelma sp. New River which I still have, and a gbb.
Now, collection is into the hundreds
But you could do it again,that's my point. Jiacovazzi already made a start
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True, but those aren't lovely, fluffy, itchy & chubby like Theraphosidae.
I'm fascinated by the use of one of our words, 'Vendetta', by USA people. 'Vendetta' sounds more cool than 'Revenge'.
We always used/use "Vendetta" for state "Revenge". "Blood feud" isn't used, only "Faida" but without mentioning the 'blood' part, because we know prior that blood is always involved, so we do not specify that. But "Feud" here is used mostly when those acts happens in the Southern part of the boot, where "families" hit very hard... and those acts lasts even for decades, notably even exporting those, like in Duisburg, Germany, ah ah... you never know what's inside a wall when you drill holes in some Regions like Calabria, lol, no joking; vendetta, on the other hand, is used for state a "revenge" that someone do against someone/something.