What do you do when you see someone buying a T and your sure it's doomed to death?

[aliasx]

non specialty pet stores and wild caught importers/wholesalers [usually] suck

 

[Cerbera]

I believe you meant 'Amen brother', magician but either way - nice to know it's not just me to whom these things occur...

I had an hour spare yesterday, so I thought I'd try something. I phoned every garden center / pet store within a 10 mile radius of me, and asked to speak to their invert departments. First off I asked them what they have in stock, and then I asked them how their spiders are doing. And I make them go into serious detail, which quickly establishes which ones know what they're talking about, and which ones don't...

Well - it was good news all round yesterday. 3 places i called knew what they were doing, and cared very much about the happiness of their T's, 3 more didn't know very much, BUT WERE REALLY GRATEFUL FOR THE ADVICE, and only 2 spoke to me as if I had some sort of mental problem, and obviously couldn't understand why i was phoning to ask them how 'their' spiders were.

This last group will get a personal visit from me when I can fit it in, and will be given the relevent caresheets for the species they look after. And being in the UK, if these people ignore me, then I have the RSPCA on my side to go in there and sort them out if i can't.

So maybe there is hope out there for some of these pet store guys - alot of them appear to really want the help, and i've wandered into a fair few places recently that metaphorically jumped on me for information as soon as they realised I knew something about spiders...

and thats gotta be encouraging, hasn't it ? Still - why none of these people have the internet and couldn't go and find out for themselves remains somewhat more of a mystery...

Jay

 

[K MUELLER]

:clap: I am happy to say that I know a pet store near me that has a policy of refusing to sell any animal to a customer who they feel is not able to care for it properly!!! I just wish more stores where like this,but the all mighty dollar always wins out. later-Karl

 

[sgt.batguano]

this is why i try to adopt spiders or other animals from the classifieds in town here. we have a massive thug/stoner mentality crisis in my town. they blow all their rent money on herp and then proceed to huff pot smoke all over them to augment the cigarettes in the house. these primates are barely literate from my experience and have no respect for any creatures including themselves. actually my current red knee was rescued from nicotine hell. we had to scrub her tank to get rid of the odor. good thing they molt. its nice shes still alive after the all night "get stoned and throw the spider in girlfriend of the moments lap" fest that the owner was relating to me. they will all be repaid according to their deeds, remember the sparrow

 

[Tescos]

What do you do when you see someone buying a T and your sure it's doomed to death?

Point, laugh and continue making your own purches of beer, porn and the lastest copy of 1001 things to do with your spider when it dies.:}

 

[Stylopidae]

When I see phrases like 'MY spider' - the spider I 'own', even 'my pet' to some extent, I can't help but wonder what the attitude of those people actually is to 'their' animals. For me, the responsibility (and at bare minimum it absolutely IS a responsibility) of looking after an animal is more for her benefit than it is for mine, and it seems obvious to me that this is the way it should be. I do not want power over that spider - I see it more as my absolute duty and ambition, not to mention personal joy, to ensure her complete happiness and contentment for the rest of her natural life.

This doesn't worry me at all. I refer to the animals in my collection as my spiders/pets/specimens depending on who I'm talking to.

There's nothing really wrong with that, because they are live animals you have bought, paid for and now care for. They belong to you, for all intents and purposes. Both legal and practical.

I see it no different than saying 'my child' or something similar.

Instead, what disturbs me is the fact that a lot of people aren't willing to research the basic physiology/phylogeny of their tarantulas.

People breeding spiders who have no idea how to care for 300 to 400 slings. People breeding tarantulas because they think it'll make them money.

A certian amount of anthromorphization doesn't bother me at all...I'm guilty of that from time to time, usually when explaining something to someone.

However, what truly bothers me is when people speak about their tarantulas like they're miniature doggies and kitties and actually believe it.

To me, this signifies that they bought the animal for the wrong reasons and aren't willing to research and understand even the basic physiology of their new pet.

Oh, yeah...and to answer the OP's question:

STOP doing business with them. Do not sell the establishment your tarantulas until you are confident they're able to care for them properly.

 

[pippa]

What about the salespeople themselves?? My daughter said I got all crappy with a salesgirl when she was trying to trap up a Strip leg I was buying. She was scared of the thing first off, second she was chasing it around the tank with a little donut type box stressing the poor thing out. I stopped her, got her to get me a more suitable container and gently got it in myself, all the while educating the twit on stress and potential death from cuts etc. I was only buying it because it was obviously very stressed in a inappropriate environment. Retailers need the education first off and the mandate to not sell to some fool trying cheese off a parent

 

[butch4skin]

I think if you successfully breed the right species, you stand a good chance of making some decent money, though maybe that shouldn't be your primary motive. Still, if someone is capable of coaxing an eggsack from a P. subfusca or X. immanis, I'd imagine that they are probably a fairly responsible keeper.

 

[indytat]

I work for a corprate nationwide petstore (everyones favorite...yeah right),and I have worked w/ T's my entire life not just there but I have no problem NOT selling one to a person who says stupid things and OBV. cant care for it so I say stick your nose in there buisiness we are her to save whatever we can most teens i see who are trying to buy T's (not all) and the same ones I see swerving to hit the squirel crossing the road no respect for animals let alone "COOL SPIDERS"

 

[Truff135]

Cheshire-
You'll probably laugh when I tell you this but, I do talk to my T every once in a while. I'll tell her she's a pretty girl, and that I hope she had a nice meal etc. No, I don't really believe she can understand or even hear what I'm saying for that matter, but I don't know, it helps me to build a bond with her anyway. In fact, I'm even known to tell my pretty Miniature Rose bush and African Violet that they're pretty and ask if they're growing happily LOL. I just for some reason feel the need to let my things know I care for them regardless of whether or not they can reciprocate that emotion. I'm a weird one, I'll 'fess to that. But I also very much respect her and don't get upset that she hasn't emerged from her burrow in two weeks (well she did once when my husband was home - I was at work). But still you get the idea. I find them just as fascinating as adorable, and respect them for what they are. I don't expect her to get a warm fuzzy feeling when I hold her but I still enjoy her nonetheless. I don't really think this post had a point LOL, but it's past 1 am and I'm tired and felt like blathering about this for some reason!
Have a good weekend ya'll!

 

[vvx]

Let me answer the question with another question.

What do you do when you see someone buying a rat and you're sure it's doomed to death by snake?

My guess is most people wouldn't give this a second thought. After all, it's a food item. But really, wouldn't the rat feel more pain from it's death than an invertebrate? People always feel it's horribly unfair when you kill their preferred animal, but don't give a second thought to animals they deem as unworthy -- for example I don't care about the cow that died to make this cheeseburger I'm eating.

What do others think when they see you buying crickets and they're sure they're doomed to death?

 

[Truff135]

Let me answer the question with another question.

What do you do when you see someone buying a rat and you're sure it's doomed to death by snake?

My guess is most people wouldn't give this a second thought. After all, it's a food item. But really, wouldn't the rat feel more pain from it's death than an invertebrate? People always feel it's horribly unfair when you kill their preferred animal, but don't give a second thought to animals they deem as unworthy -- for example I don't care about the cow that died to make this cheeseburger I'm eating.

What do others think when they see you buying crickets and they're sure they're doomed to death?

While that's a very good point, I think what's really being said here is the ignorance of people buying something as a PET and not knowing their pet from a potato. Yes, to me it is sad to see rats going to someone's house to be the main course but at least it's for another natural cause - the snake's food. Same with crickets. Yes, I do feel a little sorry for the crickets but again - T's food. But when someone buys an animal, any animal, out of sheer stupidity or ignorance and you know it's going to die for no good or natural reason, that is what's upsetting. But I do see your point.

 

[sunpoe]

Cheshire-
You'll probably laugh when I tell you this but, I do talk to my T every once in a while. I'll tell her she's a pretty girl, and that I hope she had a nice meal etc. No, I don't really believe she can understand or even hear what I'm saying for that matter, but I don't know, it helps me to build a bond with her anyway. In fact, I'm even known to tell my pretty Miniature Rose bush and African Violet that they're pretty and ask if they're growing happily LOL. I just for some reason feel the need to let my things know I care for them regardless of whether or not they can reciprocate that emotion. I'm a weird one, I'll 'fess to that. But I also very much respect her and don't get upset that she hasn't emerged from her burrow in two weeks (well she did once when my husband was home - I was at work). But still you get the idea. I find them just as fascinating as adorable, and respect them for what they are. I don't expect her to get a warm fuzzy feeling when I hold her but I still enjoy her nonetheless. I don't really think this post had a point LOL, but it's past 1 am and I'm tired and felt like blathering about this for some reason!
Have a good weekend ya'll!

That is cute I find I talk to all of my animals, even though I have gotten some weird looks from family and friends.

 

[butch4skin]

I never see people buying spiders, as I never go to petstores. They're such a rip off.