What made you interested in T's?

[AusBugKid]

I have seen posted a few times phrases akin to "...buying Taranntulas (or any invert) for the wrong reasons."
I don't disagree at all, as sometimes "I want a big scary bug to impress my friends" seems like a weak reason.
But what exactly got YOU interested in the hobby?

I'll go first. I had crippling arachnophobia for most of my life. Scorpions were okay, other bugs I loved; but the sight of any 8 legged, tailless, venom spewing nightmare beetle would send me into a fit of quivering, undressing and dancing-on-the-spot fear as I became convinced there were hundreds more all over my body.

Then it changed, I had kept scorpions for a few years, and would stop by my local petshop to see what was in stock. Most times I would glance over the Tarantulas in deli cups, trying not to look at what dwelled within. But as I ran out of interesting scorpion species in Australia (we don't have many) I figured I'd start exploring other branches of the hobby.

My first step was to research, and I found evidence that the huntsmans local to me would not bite readily, if at all. So, when summer came around, I found the smallest huntsman I could and handled it. All went well!

I started handling bigger and bigger spiders until I could comfortably let the biggest in my house (affectionally nicknamed Britney) walk on my face. It was over, I had done it. Some 19 years into my life and something that I had been terribly afraid of was no longer scary, but actually fascinating.

From there I bought my first T, a Selenotypus plumipes sling, and entered this fascinating hobby.

Tl;dr: what made you start keeping T's, or any invert for that matter.

 

[Venom1080]

It was cheap. And could eat mice. Didn't really start caring for them till I saw what kinds of spiders were out there, and watching feeding vids on YouTube.

 

[AusBugKid]

It was cheap. And could eat mice.

That seems like an uncommon criteria for a pet, brutal

 

[Venom1080]

That seems like an uncommon criteria for a pet, brutal

I was 8 or 9. I didn't really have much criteria. Also, I wasn't allowed to have a snake. So giant spider it was. Still never fed a mouse. But plenty of toads, and one baby bird.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

They're cheap.
They don't take up much space.
They make very little noise.
They're very low maintainence.
They're just fascinating.
The more I researched them, the more I realised that they're basically my spirit animal (big, hairy, crap eyesight, reclusive, loner, think everything is either food or a threat, will probably bite you).

 

[0311usmc]

I started getting into creepy crawly's when i was a kid in elementary school. At that time internet did not exist. I started reading books about snakes, scorpions and tarantulas. Fell in love with tarantulas more than the rest of them. Still love tarantulas to this day 20+ years later, especially old world tarantulas. My favorite is the p.muticus by far.

 

[Ratmosphere]

Started off with keeping large rhino/stag beetles years ago which evolved into caring for true spiders, then tarantulas.

 

[aphono]

Grew up in a rural area. Wandering males of an Aphonopelma species were common.. kept one of them for a while. Rather liked the little thing and then tarantulas in general ever since. So a couple decades later and a whole lot more time on my hands.. decided to get a couple as a pet/minor distraction thing. There's a little bit more than "a couple" of them now though, ha!

 

[PanzoN88]

The phobia

 

[Chris LXXIX]

It's simple: they are adorable and lovely.

I was always interested in arachnids since I was a brat (I'm almost 40 now, btw) but in all honesty, despite the fact that certain species of the so called 'true spiders' can be awesome (I love personally 0.1 A.bruennichi, among others) I would ended probably keeping at home no one of those.

With T's you can't resist. How you can resist to those "big" eyes and such a gentle giant size, those hairs...?

I mean, you can't. Now, ain't I right? Ain't he (Chris LXXIX) right?

 

[TRection]

Used to collect bugs alot as a kid, i have always found arachnids the coolest but was never allowed to keep any. Now that im older and have much more freedom, my interest started to creep back in after seeing all the different Ts at a pet expo. The reason i like them is because they are so fascinating and alien to me, their behavior and the quirkiness of some individuals coupled with their movements and overall beauty, their like nothing else on earth.

 

[Ellenantula]

Originally got into Ts to overcome arachnophobia but then fell in love with them. To me, they're just not like other spiders.
Watching the feeding videos on youtube was captivating too -- really made me want to try having a T.
And it was an amazing experience to watch my G rosea take down her crickets (like 6 crickets in my first feeding and she did her best to to try and hold them all at once).
I just wanted to make sure I fed G rosea enough and that she wouldn't go hungry. I fed large quantities... often. She was the best eater ever until she fasted 14 months.
Hey, I was still a newbie!

 

[Stormsky]

I honestly don't know what got me interested in them. I used to be scared of spiders to a point. Suddenly about 2 years ago, I'm pretty sure a link in my brain snapped and within a day, I suddenly found spiders extremely interesting and started looking up how to care for tarantulas. Finding out how simple they are to keep fueled my interest even more and after a bit of research, I got my first tarantula, a B. hamorii(B. smithi at the time). Now I'm really into them and own 9, with twice as many on my wishlist.

 

[KooBea]

I watched a documentary years ago about eating insects and arachnids which ended by showing an elderly woman pull a beautiful black tarantula from its burrow, rip out its chelicerae and eat it. I just sat there with tears in my eyes looking at this poor stunned creature, this is when they stopped being scary things I hated to scary things I could enjoy.

 

[AusBugKid]

What an awesome collection of stories.

They're cheap.
They don't take up much space.
They make very little noise.
They're very low maintainence.
They're just fascinating.
The more I researched them, the more I realised that they're basically my spirit animal (big, hairy, crap eyesight, reclusive, loner, think everything is either food or a threat, will probably bite you).

You seem like an OW kinda guy

I notice a trend in not only using the hobby to get over phobia, but a sudden or rapid change from fear to interest, and then from interest to adoration.

 

[Haemus]

My parents made us read to them as kids. Unlike my older siblings, I found fiction boring. So I would read books about tarantulas, spiders, sharks, or dinosaurs to my parents instead. Pretty much any animal that could kill a human was interesting to me lol

Like many others, it wasn't until researching on AB did I feel confident enough to own a T. I attended a local reptile expo, and after conversing with a few dealers, walked away with a G. pulchripes. That was 6 tarantulas ago, and I'm looking to add a B. albopilosum in sept

 

[spotropaicsav]

They're cheap.
They don't take up much space.
They make very little noise.
They're very low maintainence.
They're just fascinating.
The more I researched them, the more I realised that they're basically my spirit animal (big, hairy, crap eyesight, reclusive, loner, think everything is either food or a threat, will probably bite you).

Edit-Im a huge fan of practicality when it comes to acquiring/keeping pets, that said, keeping tarantulas and observing them is thrilling for me as well.

 

[Kendricks]

My favorite is the p.muticus by far.

God damn cultists!


Personally, I never thought about spiders as pets, until one day I found a garden spider in my rooms corner.
Instead of removing it, I got curious and started some research.
I knew immediately I'm gonna get a Tarantula.
I seriously thought
"I will just get one. One is enough!"

Hehehehe...idiot me!

 

[0311usmc]

God damn cultists!


Personally, I never thought about spiders as pets, until one day I found a garden spider in my rooms corner.
Instead of removing it, I got curious and started some research.
I knew immediately I'm gonna get a Tarantula.
I seriously thought
"I will just get one. One is enough!"

Hehehehe...idiot me!

Well EXCUSE me for having good taste. Your favorite is probably a G.rosea or a brachy.

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Well EXCUSE me for having good taste.

Bravo! All hail to our benign Mother the Goddess*, my Brother

* 0.1 Pelinobius muticus PBUH (Peace Be Upon Her)