# Somebody Tell the Dark Den to Stop!! (Unless I'm Wrong)



## Liquifin

Long story short- Dark Den got a MM B. albopilosum and i'm 100% that its nicaraguan. But hes planning to breed it with his honduran "hobby form" tarantula Annie, Please correct me if i'm wrong but that's a nicaraguan am I right? If so, comment him to don't breed them on the Youtube comments.

Reactions: Agree 6 | Funny 1 | Sad 1


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## BoyFromLA

You know Dark Den is around AB, right? He is under user name @petkokc. You can tell him via YouTube comment as well.

Reactions: Dislike 2 | Agree 2


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## Liquifin

BoyFromLA said:


> You know Dark Den is around AB, right? He is under user name @petkokc. You can tell him via YouTube comment as well.


He's barely active here on the boards. I already sent the message on Youtube comments. And it seems I'm not the only one posting about it as well on the comment section on Youtube.


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## cold blood

Mold...lol...spores on the tarantula omg
.
Humidity 

Doesn't know why the mold forms

Picking up ts with tweezers. 

Mold on the tweezers? 

Those re housing techniques 

C'mon, this is a comedy routine, right?

Handling video...well that wasn't very funny.

That MM is a Nicaraguan...our hobby's biggest gift of the last few years...pure Nicaraguan albos....our biggest fears, that people will breed them with hondurans and muddy the pure lines we were given.   No wonder why usfs considers all hobby ts as mutts.

Reactions: Like 5 | Agree 14 | Sad 1 | Love 1


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## Greasylake

cold blood said:


> our biggest fears, that people will breed them with hondurans


What if we form a cartel to control who gets mature males and to regulate the breeding lol. (Not like the shady cartels but like the oil ones)

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1 | Funny 11


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## Liquifin

We have to stop him. I know people might have criticism on this video. But he doesn't know better (hopefully). I'll be honest, if he hybridizes those T.'s i'm going to hate him forever "literally". What really makes my blood boil is that he and Exotics lair are the face of the T. hobby on youtube. And if Dark Den does it, then everyone else will follow, which is the problem. That's why "*WE*" Us tarantula hobbyist have to atleast inform him on youtube or here on the boards (but he's rarely online here) to stop.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 4 | Funny 2


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## boina

And I used to like and defend him... After this video that's it. @Venom1080 you were right. He's a show off without any real knowledge who does idiotic stuff.

@petkokc - for pities sake, start educating yourself!!! The stuff you told about mold was not only wrong but completely absurd from start to end!!

Reactions: Dislike 1 | Agree 7 | Funny 1 | Love 1


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## MetalMan2004

It’s been a bit since I’ve watched anything from him, but I’ve always liked his videos.  That was a different one to say the least...


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## Rigor Mortis

I don't watch Dark Den and now I'm reminded why.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 5 | Funny 1


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## Chris LXXIX

boina said:


> And I used to like and defend him... After this video that's it. @Venom1080 you were right. He's a show off without any real knowledge who does idiotic stuff.


Ah ah, I do remember this (now) semi 'vintage' thread about:

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/unboxing-of-everyones-favorite-t-3333.277419/

With Chris LXXIX's 'Extreme Wisdom', of course 




Heck, already passed three years. Time is indeed a cruel, gentleman, tyrant

Reactions: Like 2 | Dislike 1 | Agree 2 | Award 2


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## PhilMcWonder

I like the dark den
I watch his videos all the time. If you guys have such an issue with him, you can just talk to him :/
Especially if he is on this website.

Reactions: Like 1 | Dislike 1 | Agree 3 | Disagree 2 | Funny 1 | Sad 2


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## Liquifin

PhilMcWonder said:


> I like the dark den
> I watch his videos all the time. If you guys have such an issue with him, you can just talk to him :/
> Especially if he is on this website.


That's the problem. He's rarely on this site at all. He's more active on instagram and youtube than here.

Reactions: Agree 3


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## The Seraph

PhilMcWonder said:


> I like the dark den
> I watch his videos all the time. If you guys have such an issue with him, you can just talk to him :/
> Especially if he is on this website.





Liquifin said:


> That's the problem. He's rarely on this site at all. He's more active on instagram and youtube than here.


His last post was almost a _year _ago and I cannot talk to him since his inbox is full.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Rigor Mortis

PhilMcWonder said:


> I like the dark den
> I watch his videos all the time. If you guys have such an issue with him, you can just talk to him :/
> Especially if he is on this website.


Even if he were active here, he has such a large following on multiple platforms, it's difficult to reach people like that.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## antinous

It's always difficult trying to correct a big Youtuber, in any kind of hobby. They're either unable to read all the messages or have an ego that's too inflated to listen. Haven't tried contacting him myself so can't say anything about that. But it's a shame when more well known hobbyists like that are not well informed as it tends to pass on to their viewers/fan base. I'm not a fan personally, he seems like a nice guy and all, but some of the enclosures could be better, some tarantulas need more substrate/hides/water dishes.

Reactions: Agree 4


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## Liquifin

Rigor Mortis said:


> Even if he were active here, he has such a large following on multiple platforms, it's difficult to reach people like that.


Not gonna lie, if he hybridize those T.'s I would've walked into the dark den HQ grab the sac and burn it too ashes . But sadly I don't live in the UK. But right now i'm so mad, "I would literally fight him" if he does breed them (fingers cross he didn't). The fact that he doesn't know the difference in honduran and nicaraguan proves that he's not too updated in the hobby or at least know his stuff. But for real, if he does do it, I would really love to slumpt him out of misery for doing so . I pray he doesn't do it , because he "seems" like a normal guy who would know better.

Reactions: Agree 2 | Disagree 1 | Helpful 1


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## The Seraph

Out of curiosity, does anybody know his actual name? I was planning on just emailing him via phone number since his Facebook and Instagram is most likely swamped by fans. Hopefully it is not something like "Charles White".

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Liquifin

The Seraph said:


> Out of curiosity, does anybody know his actual name? I was planning on just emailing him via phone number since his Facebook and Instagram is most likely swamped by fans. Hopefully it is not something like "Charles White".


We only know his first name which is Marco, he states it some of his videos. But other than that, its a mystery for the rest of his name.


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## Venom1080

Liquifin said:


> We have to stop him. I know people might have criticism on this video. But he doesn't know better (hopefully). I'll be honest, if he hybridizes those T.'s i'm going to hate him forever "literally". What really makes my blood boil is that he and Exotics lair are the face of the T. hobby on youtube. And if Dark Den does it, then everyone else will follow, which is the problem. That's why "*WE*" Us tarantula hobbyist have to atleast inform him on youtube or here on the boards (but he's rarely online here) to stop.


The guy is a bad joke with great cameras and editing. Terrible face for the hobby. Why would he care anyway? He likes his views and nothing else.

He plays the victim card whenever he receives criticism. Saying everyone are just jealous jerks who want his following. I would be amazed if he bothered listening to anyone. 

@PhilMcWonder  see above. You only know the show behind the camera. Which is honestly bad enough for any experienced keeper..

@boina welcome to the dark side.

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 5 | Disagree 1 | Funny 1 | Beer 1


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## The Seraph

Liquifin said:


> We only know his first name which is Marco, he states it some of his videos. But other than that, its a mystery for the rest of his name.


Dang, though I guess it is best to remain private.


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## Liquifin

Venom1080 said:


> The guy is a bad joke with great cameras and editing. Terrible face for the hobby. Why would he care anyway? He likes his views and nothing else.
> 
> He plays the victim card whenever he receives criticism. Saying everyone are just jealous jerks who want his following. I would be amazed if he bothered listening to anyone.
> 
> @PhilMcWonder  see above. You only know the show behind the camera. Which is honestly bad enough for any experienced keeper..
> 
> @boina welcome to the dark side.


The Dark Den inspires the younger keepers and hurts the experienced keepers. This is the fear of Youtube, when the followers follow the leaders into their own deaths and misguiding's. I'm offended by the influence of youtubers.

Reactions: Agree 4 | Beer 1


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## SonsofArachne

Off topic: I'm thinking about getting one of these. I know one the forms is considered "fuzzier" than the other and I believe it's the Honduran. Am I right?
For the record I'm not planning on breeding, but if I did I wouldn't hybridize them. That's just dumb.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## AnObeseHippo

Liquifin said:


> I don't read the descriptions, it's extra blocks of text to me. LOL


No wonder it's a mystery then. You've never tried to solve it lol

Reactions: Funny 2


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## Minty

Liquifin said:


> Not gonna lie, if he hybridize those T.'s I would've walked into the dark den HQ grab the sac and burn it too ashes . But sadly I don't live in the UK. But right now i'm so mad, "I would literally fight him" if he does breed them (fingers cross he didn't). The fact that he doesn't know the difference in honduran and nicaraguan proves that he's not too updated in the hobby or at least know his stuff. But for real, if he does do it, I would really love to slumpt him out of misery for doing so . I pray he doesn't do it , because he "seems" like a normal guy who would know better.


He doesn't live in the UK either, he lives in Croatia, which is more than 1000 miles away from the UK. 



The Seraph said:


> Out of curiosity, does anybody know his actual name? I was planning on just emailing him via phone number since his Facebook and Instagram is most likely swamped by fans. Hopefully it is not something like "Charles White".


I do, but that won't help you find his email address. Pretty sure if you search his videos, you'll find a gmail address you can contact him on.



AnObeseHippo said:


> It's in the description of his videos so you can send fan mail.. His name is Marko Petkovich. What do you mean it is a mystery?  We share a first name. Let me see if I can work my Marko magic and telepathically stop him


No h on the end of the surname.

For the record, I like and enjoy a lot of his videos. Wasn't a fan of that tweezer pick up though. He said that's how scientists do it. I don't know any who work with tarantulas to ask, but I'm sceptical. I hope he listens to the feedback people here will offer him.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## The Seraph

I tried looking for information but it is all buried under a Croatian footballer and singer with the same name and I am using Bing. I will settle for a letter.


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## EulersK

*MOD NOTE*

Do *not* spread personal information on here. It doesn't matter if that information is made available by him in his video descriptions - he can change/delete those, but he can't do that here.

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 7 | Informative 2 | Helpful 3


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## Minty

The Seraph said:


> I tried looking for information but it is all buried under a Croatian footballer and singer with the same name and I am using Bing. I will settle for a letter.


Go to his 'About' tab, on his YouTube channel. You can find an email address there.

Reactions: Helpful 1


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## AnObeseHippo

The Seraph said:


> Imma gonna send him a letter . . . from the U.S. . . . to Croatia. Hopefully it will reach him in time, and he will actually read it.


Yo, edit my quote. Didn't think when I posted it. Might wanna drop his name out of there before a mod makes you.


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## The Seraph

AnObeseHippo said:


> Yo, edit my quote. Didn't think when I posted it. Might wanna drop his name out of there before a mod makes you.


It appears to be too late. Oh well, better to protect his privacy.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## antinous

Is anyone else creeped out by the 'cult' following that some YouTubers have? I find it utterly pathetic tbh. I've recognized some of your comments @boina and @Liquifin and it's saddening that people jump right to his defense like he's some sort of deity. I get it, he has great camera work, his videos are amazing quality wise, etc. but it doesn't mean what he does is 100% right. It's pathetic how many people jump and attack those who try to correct them.

Reactions: Agree 10 | Winner 1


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## EulersK

antinous said:


> ... but it doesn't mean what he does is 100% right. It's pathetic how many people jump and attack those who try to correct them.


It's partly why I stopped making videos myself. I never had the following he did, but the comments section was absolutely toxic. When other YouTubers got in on it and made videos specifically calling me out, I bailed on the whole thing. Not interested in the drama.

Reactions: Like 3 | Agree 3 | Sad 7


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## antinous

EulersK said:


> It's partly why I stopped making videos myself. I never had the following he did, but the comments section was absolutely toxic. When other YouTubers got in on it and made videos specifically calling me out, I bailed on the whole thing. Not interested in the drama.


Honestly, your videos were the only one that were bearable to me, along with Tom Moran's. I'm sorry that you were called out, but we honestly need more people like you making videos and less like him. And for the love of all things tarantula, we don't need fanboys/girls going around protecting their 'deity'.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 8


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## Liquifin

TBH it's a understandable wrong doing. Not everyone cares for T.'s perfectly. But if a youtuber followed the guidelines 100% the videos would not be very interesting in any way. Which is why Youtubers like exotics lair and the dark den do what they do. They are not bad people, which in reality they are just normal living humans like everyone else. It's understandable to see why actions and mistakes are like this on youtube. But then again no one is a perfectionists in the hobby. Criticism is a normal ongoing thing to suffer through for any youtuber in this world. No one likes negativity or perfectionists, but then again those comments can help wake up the fantasize dream of being a youtuber.

Reactions: Agree 3 | Disagree 1


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## Garth Vader

Ugh.  YouTube makes everything lame.  Except for the hydraulic press channel.  I love that.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 4 | Funny 4


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## wingedcoatl

@EulersK are your videos still up? I'd love to check them out 

Edit: Found them!

Reactions: Funny 1


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## EulersK

Garth Vader said:


> Except for the hydraulic press channel. I love that.


Or "Does it blend?"



antinous said:


> I'm sorry that you were called out, but we honestly need more people like you making videos and less like him. And for the love of all things tarantula, we don't need fanboys/girls going around protecting their 'deity'.


To be clear, I didn't mind people disagreeing with my keeping. There is always something new to learn. But absolute basic aspects of my husbandry were being corrected for what pet stores suggested. And it was happening nearly every video. It gets exhausting.

Reactions: Like 4


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## Garth Vader

EulersK said:


> Or "Does it blend?"


Oh my I don't know about that one.  

I do like your videos, @EulersK - but I totally understand why you don't want to deal with it anymore.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Chris LXXIX

EulersK said:


> It's partly why I stopped making videos myself. I never had the following he did, but the comments section was absolutely toxic. When other YouTubers got in on it and made videos specifically calling me out, I bailed on the whole thing. Not interested in the drama.


Eric Bana is dead, long live Eric Bana!

Reactions: Funny 1 | Love 2


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## Dennis Nedry

Garth Vader said:


> Ugh.  YouTube makes everything lame.  Except for the hydraulic press channel.  I love that.


Which one? There’s like a million

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Chris LXXIX

Anyway, I want to spend a good word for 'The Dark Den'. He given/give really a lot of visibility to T's, that's a fact I can't deny. An helluva of followers, views, a well played social media use etc now since forever I keep saying that, since here we are dealing with venomous animals (something that is always at a _borderline _risk) the less visibility, the better. But that's only my opinion


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## Garth Vader

Dennis Nedry said:


> Which one? There’s like a million

Reactions: Like 2 | Funny 2 | Love 1


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## Greasylake

What about the waterjet channel?

Reactions: Like 1


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## Hisserdude

cold blood said:


> Mold...lol...spores on the tarantula omg


To be fair, I've dealt with that type of mycelium before, (likely _Leucocoprinus_ sp), and it's very dusty when touched, so the tarantula COULD have carried some spores over to new enclosure in its setae... But Petko probably introduced some spores by hand and tong as well, and if he didn't sterilize that substrate it probably already has spores in it, (as _Leucocoprinus_ and the like are brought into enclosures through unsterlized substrate), so it doesn't even really matter TBH...

And yeah he's pretty oblivious to some basic facts about many of the species he keeps, despite having a very large collection and meaning well, (for the most part). He should really do some more reading on the forums and such in his spare time... If he doesn't believe all his "haters", then he should at least pick up some notes from other people's threads here ya know? 

And for the love of god I hope he doesn't pair those _B.albopilosum_, or at the VERY least if he for some reason goes through with it he better label the offspring as hybrids, we have enough hybrids being sold as pure breds in the hobby... If he did go through with it that would be very bad for the hobby in general though, as it could send a message to a lot of newcomers that hybridization is fine and that it's "OK" to do, when in reality it should *only* be done by experienced breeders who will meticulously label all offspring produced as hybrids, or even better, simply not at all.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## boina

PhilMcWonder said:


> I like the dark den
> I watch his videos all the time.


And that's exactly the problem. You are new to tarantulas, you like him, he's entertaining and cool, and you have no way of separating the good from the bad from the nonsense in his videos - and among the good there's a lot of bad and nonsense mixed in.



Hisserdude said:


> and if he didn't sterilize that substrate it probably already has spores in it, (as _Leucocoprinus_ and the like are brought into enclosures through unsterlized substrate)


Yes, Leucocoprinus often is in the substrate. Other mold comes in from the air. If you sterilize the substrate the fist thing falling into it, it being a mold spore, a mite egg or a pathogenic bacterium, will have the pristine substrate all to itself and multiply like crazy. Sometimes, sterilizing the substrate goes well, because the first thing in it is some harmless saprophyte. If it doesn't go well you don't have a problem, you have a desaster.

Please, don't promote sterilization. It's better to just pick up a small spoon of earth from the outside to seed your enclosure to provide competition, or use springtails and isopods.

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 6 | Helpful 1 | Winner 1


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## Katiekooleyes

EulersK said:


> Or "Does it blend?"


I prefer the after dark version, "Does it fit?"

Reactions: Funny 2 | Award 2


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## Ungoliant

Liquifin said:


> Long story short- Dark Den got a MM B. albopilosum and i'm 100% that its nicaraguan. But hes planning to breed it with his honduran "hobby form" tarantula Annie, Please correct me if i'm wrong but that's a nicaraguan am I right? If so, comment him to don't breed them on the Youtube comments.


Well that's an interesting video.  I do like his video quality and have watched a number of his videos before -- he seems to be one of a handful that gets the concept of using a tripod instead of posting shaky handheld footage.

That being said, I can't say I would recommend picking up a tarantula with tweezers or breeding a Nicaraguan _Brachypelma albopilosum_ with a hobby form.

Nor do I worry about transferring mold spores; they're ubiquitous.  (It's more practical to address the conditions that allow mold to take over.)



EulersK said:


> It's partly why I stopped making videos myself. I never had the following he did, but the comments section was absolutely toxic. When other YouTubers got in on it and made videos specifically calling me out, I bailed on the whole thing. Not interested in the drama.





EulersK said:


> To be clear, I didn't mind people disagreeing with my keeping. There is always something new to learn. But absolute basic aspects of my husbandry were being corrected for what pet stores suggested. And it was happening nearly every video. It gets exhausting.


That's a shame; I always looked forward to your videos and still share them with people.

Perhaps just disable the comments section?  It doesn't matter what topic the video is about: YouTube comment threads often devolve into flaming garbage heaps.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## AnObeseHippo

I’m afraid the damage may have been done. I watch his videos regularly and I’m pretty sure they’re filmed about a week or so in advance. No clue how close to pairing he was though. He may have been planning to do it in a month


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## Potatatas

Back in the 90s there was a group of amibitous young gentlemen that thought long and hard about what motivates people to do what they do and they came up with the anagram "CREAM - Cash Rules Everything Around Me". They continued - "get dat money. Dolla dolla bill y'all".

And I think those fine gentlemen's discovery still holds true today and Petko needs content for the machine.

Reactions: Like 2 | Dislike 1 | Agree 1 | Funny 1


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## Venom1080

EulersK said:


> It's partly why I stopped making videos myself. I never had the following he did, but the comments section was absolutely toxic. When other YouTubers got in on it and made videos specifically calling me out, I bailed on the whole thing. Not interested in the drama.


Ah, always wondered why you stopped. Shame. One of like three tarantula channels I enjoyed. You should get back into it. Comment sections can always be turned off..

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 5


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## korlash091

One of the reasons i started in this hobby a year ago were his videos, i found them funny and he seemed to know what he was doing, but i have to be honest, since he moved to the new place, it looks like he just makes videos for the likes and to get more subscribers, handles a lot, and does a lot of stuff that if find weird, or just plain bad for the Ts.

Pd:sorry for my english

Reactions: Agree 7


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## AnObeseHippo

Potatatas said:


> Back in the 90s there was a group of amibitous young gentlemen that thought long and hard about what motivates people to do what they do and they came up with the anagram "CREAM - Cash Rules Everything Around Me". They continued - "get dat money. Dolla dolla bill y'all".
> 
> And I think those fine gentlemen's discovery still holds true today and Petko needs content for the machine.


I think it’s an oversight and not him being desperate for content... I don’t think he’s that messed up of a person.

Reactions: Like 1


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## cold blood

antinous said:


> Is anyone else creeped out by the 'cult' following that some YouTubers have? I find it utterly pathetic tbh. I've recognized some of your comments @boina and @Liquifin and it's saddening that people jump right to his defense like he's some sort of deity. I get it, he has great camera work, his videos are amazing quality wise, etc. but it doesn't mean what he does is 100% right. It's pathetic how many people jump and attack those who try to correct them.


The thing about him, is that when he started this just 3 years ago, his followers dont seem to realize he was a complete newb to ts at the time....even now, hes got a whole 3 yrs experience...sorry its just not enough to be called or thought of as an expert....and it explains his inconsistency and rampant mistakes.  Then look at someone like boina, making a correction and getting blasted by his followers who dont realize shes got way way more experience.

I really hate to see newcomers get lauded as you tube experts and followed like that....imo the followers are being decieved into thinking they are getting expert info.

Nothing personal, he does good camera work and is personsble...but IMO hes just an intermediate level keeper thats keeping waaaay too many ts considering his experience...and again, to someone with lots of experience, his lack of experience often shows in his vids.

And his followers have no clue because they cant recognize improper info.

Reactions: Like 4 | Agree 13 | Award 1


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## Chris LXXIX

cold blood said:


> The thing about him, is that when he started this just 3 years ago, his followers dont seem to realize he was a complete newb to ts at the time....even now, hes got a whole 3 yrs experience...sorry its just not enough to be called or thought of as an expert....and it explains his inconsistency and rampant mistakes.  Then look at someone like boina, making a correction and getting blasted by his followers who dont realize shes got way way more experience.
> 
> I really hate to see newcomers get lauded as you tube experts and followed like that....imo the followers are being decieved into thinking they are getting expert info.
> 
> Nothing personal, he does good camera work and is personsble...but IMO hes just an intermediate level keeper thats keeping waaaay too many ts considering his experience...and again, to someone with lots of experience, his lack of experience often shows in his vids.
> 
> And his followers have no clue because they cant recognize improper info.


Unfortunately that's a very common, worldwide practice, since the Internet 'social network' era 'exploded' -- no matter 'The Dark Den' for a moment, now.

All you have to do is using well technology devices (and indeed he's skilled), being funny a bit, being able to talk properly, being able to create a couple of DIY stuff (like his enclosures) and voilà... time will do the rest 

This 'medium' (I mean the Internet, today available to everyone, everywhere, combined with the social network users-base) very often basically stomped upon the old good - direct, achieved on the field - knowledge etc

This opinion of mine now isn't directed to Petko and his channel only but about basically almost everything, in fact every Youtuber with - some to  medium visibility - has an 'army' of followers prone to maule those that goes against their 'way of doing things' just that, ironically but obviously, including clueless ones.

It's a sort of 'monster' escaped from the scientist control, with a life of his own

Reactions: Agree 2 | Love 1


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## Potatatas

AnObeseHippo said:


> I think it’s an oversight and not him being desperate for content... I don’t think he’s that messed up of a person.


I'm just cynical about these things and always think big youtubers to be money hungry, click baiting, attention seekers. Plus he does put up 3 10min vids a week and that's a lot of content. To sustain that he needs to keep buying more pets or disregard his current pets need to be left alone for 5 mins.



cold blood said:


> imo the followers are being decieved into thinking they are getting expert info


I never realised he wasn't an experienced keeper! Had me fooled. saw hus huge collection and how confidently he comes across and to me it seemed like he has had these for years. I had heard he wasn't the best youtuber to take info from so I just check his vids for entertainment rather than proper info (Tom Moran all the way).

Btw some things he does is cringey as ....

Reactions: Agree 1


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## AnObeseHippo

Potatatas said:


> I'm just cynical about these things and always think big youtubers to be money hungry, click baiting, attention seekers. Plus he does put up 3 10min vids a week and that's a lot of content. To sustain that he needs to keep buying more pets or disregard his current pets need to be left alone for 5 mins.


I’d love it if he put up 3x10min videos a week. His wednesday ones are usually only 3-5 minutes long. Still a lot of content, but if he makes clips 30-60s long then with his large collections, he can do weekly feeding, or rehousing, or watering videos without needing to constantly grow his collection. I think he jusg likes collecting stuff (See: his can collection)

But as you said, you are being cynical and just assuming the worst of people.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Chris LXXIX

AnObeseHippo said:


> But as you said, you are being cynical and just assuming the worst of people.


Depends, points of view. Seeking to make cash (just for saying) by/from your own created stuff (like a YT channel is) isn't being a worst person (at least for me).

@Potatatas said that they are 'attention seekers', 'click baiting', and 'money hungry'. Now maybe this doesn't goes for everyone, but for a very, very huge portion (no matter which kind of YT channel) of Youtubers is indeed true.

But analyzing a bit what he said, nothing of that suits into being a worst person.

Click baiting, while annoying, is a reality. To gain some cash (depends) by monetizing the videos is a reality. And 'attention seekers', if viewed under another perspective, is a reality as well, for that, the uploader (no matter which) hope for gain visibility/views/audience.

IMO what's worst is how much "fast" sometimes those things goes, including 'hardcore' followers behaviour, rather than what he said

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Liquifin

Chris LXXIX said:


> Depends, points of view. Seeking to make cash (just for saying) by/from your own created stuff (like a YT channel is) isn't being a worst person (at least for me).
> 
> @Potatatas said that they are 'attention seekers', 'click baiting', and 'money hungry'. Now maybe this doesn't goes for everyone, but for a very, very huge portion (no matter which kind of YT channel) of Youtubers is indeed true.
> 
> But analyzing a bit what he said, nothing of that suits into being a worst person.
> 
> Click baiting, while annoying, is a reality. To gain some cash (depends) by monetizing the videos is a reality. And 'attention seekers', if viewed under another perspective, is a reality as well, for that, the uploader (no matter which) hope for gain visibility/views/audience.
> 
> IMO what's worst is how much "fast" sometimes those things goes, including 'hardcore' followers behaviour, rather than what he said


First time I actually read a comment from you that sounds wise of wisdom , it's actually appealing . Normally you have the best jokes in the comments, i'm astonished.

Reactions: Love 1


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## EulersK

Ungoliant said:


> Perhaps just disable the comments section? It doesn't matter what topic the video is about: YouTube comment threads often devolve into flaming garbage heaps.





Venom1080 said:


> Comment sections can always be turned off..


Agreed, and I certainly considered that. But I do enjoy the back and forth with the 95% of constructive comments. It's the 5% of needless bickering I can't stand. One of the last straws was a comment thread that started by me bringing up the lack of an actual mouth in tarantulas, meaning they can't eat solid foods like reptiles do. This is spider anatomy 101. Some girl with one tarantula swore that she saw her spider eat a cricket whole, and either trolls or more uneducated folks swarmed like flies to back her up. I don't know, I may get back into them. Recently got a new job that affords me much more free time, and I did enjoy the act of actually making videos. We shall see.



cold blood said:


> I really hate to see newcomers get lauded as you tube experts and followed like that....imo the followers are being decieved into thinking they are getting expert info.
> 
> Nothing personal, he does good camera work and is personsble...but IMO hes just an intermediate level keeper thats keeping waaaay too many ts considering his experience...and again, to someone with lots of experience, his lack of experience often shows in his vids.


The exact same thing could be said of RobC's channel. I loved his videos when I first got into the hobby, but I very quickly realized he was just another intermediate keeper (at best) with the cash to lay down for a nice collection.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## Chris LXXIX

Liquifin said:


> First time I actually read a comment from you that sounds wise of wisdom , it's actually appealing . Normally you have the best jokes in the comments, i'm astonished.


Actually, son  (you are younger than me, so I have the right to call you 'son') I'm serious even when I blatantly joke, u_u

Reactions: Like 3


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## Liquifin

EulersK said:


> Agreed, and I certainly considered that. But I do enjoy the back and forth with the 95% of constructive comments. It's the 5% of needless bickering I can't stand. One of the last straws was a comment thread that started by me bringing up the lack of an actual mouth in tarantulas, meaning they can't eat solid foods like reptiles do. This is spider anatomy 101. Some girl with one tarantula swore that she saw her spider eat a cricket whole, and either trolls or more uneducated folks swarmed like flies to back her up. I don't know, I may get back into them. Recently got a new job that affords me much more free time, and I did enjoy the act of actually making videos. We shall see.


Youtube is always full of haters, you can't please everybody. When it comes to toxic comments, it usually stings the person. But honestly, you got to get back on your feet and do the things you stand for. Every time a person becomes toxic online, whether on Youtube, Discord, Reddit, etc. I really just troll them out to annoyance for fun with dumb jokes about science or memes . I realize that people take in toxicity differently. Every time it happens to me, I just laugh  and comment back in a troll to boil their blood even more. Despite knowing how serious they're taking it compared to me just playing around. Hey, I don't how high your tolerance to toxicity is, but my whole life has been like this. I tolerate hate very well now, unless they wanna get physical . It's good for some people to get toxic comments, because it reminds them to stay on tier with everyone else and not get generic over-tiered youtubers who think they are above everyone else at what they do, LOL.

Reactions: Like 1


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## AnObeseHippo

Chris LXXIX said:


> Depends, points of view. Seeking to make cash (just for saying) by/from your own created stuff (like a YT channel is) isn't being a worst person (at least for me).
> 
> @Potatatas said that they are 'attention seekers', 'click baiting', and 'money hungry'. Now maybe this doesn't goes for everyone, but for a very, very huge portion (no matter which kind of YT channel) of Youtubers is indeed true.
> 
> But analyzing a bit what he said, nothing of that suits into being a worst person.
> 
> Click baiting, while annoying, is a reality. To gain some cash (depends) by monetizing the videos is a reality. And 'attention seekers', if viewed under another perspective, is a reality as well, for that, the uploader (no matter which) hope for gain visibility/views/audience.
> 
> IMO what's worst is how much "fast" sometimes those things goes, including 'hardcore' followers behaviour, rather than what he said


Nah, but to be cynical (he said he is) is to be distrustful of human integrity. He’s questioning the morals of TDD, and that’s what I mean by assuming the worst. Since morals are part of how we determine if someone is doing their best or worst.

But I see where you’re coming from at the same time. I appreciate your input and I side with you. Just had to defend myself because... I don’t want to be wrong :^)

Reactions: Like 1


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## Chris LXXIX

Liquifin said:


> Youtube is always full of haters, you can't please everybody. When it comes to toxic comments, it usually stings the person. But honestly, you got to get back on your feet and do the things you stand for. Every time a person becomes toxic online, whether on Youtube, Discord, Reddit, etc. I really just troll them out to annoyance for fun with dumb jokes about science or memes . I realize that people take in toxicity differently. Every time it happens to me, I just laugh  and comment back in a troll to boil their blood even more. Despite knowing how serious they're taking it compared to me just playing around. Hey, I don't how high your tolerance to toxicity is, but my whole life has been like this. I tolerate hate very well now, unless they wanna get physical . It's good for some people to get toxic comments, because it reminds them to stay on tier with everyone else and not get generic over-tiered youtubers who think they are above everyone else at what they do, LOL.


You know, it's not even a question of comments 'toxicity' and whatever, for me. I mean, now the Internet is a solid 'reality', we know that kind of attitude since a while, no?

No, the issue is another. The issue (IMO) is (like I've said before when replying to @cold blood post) how fast (*insanely *fast) the attention/importance/kinda form of '_holy_' respect is easily gained, by playing well a couple of cards (such technology), on those medium.

Now I don't want to talk about people/users that aren't present here, but a fact remains a fact, so take Rob 'tarantulaguy1976', for instance.

Honestly, he collected a nice amount of bites; handling (yeah... handling, as if a _Theraphosa _spp. crawling on his back is 'handling' etc) and whatnot, yet he was viewed, even here in this site in the past, and still today by someone, as a sort of 'King/Guide' to place in a pedestal.

All of that isn't (at a 360° I mean) useful for the arachnid hobby, which btw, no matter the recent 'new wave/revival' (mostly involving _Theraphosidae_) our hobby gained... for that, rest assured, the arachnid keeping always was, today is, and even tomorrow *would* remain a quite 'controversial', heavy disliked, passion.

Now what happens, as was said above by @cold blood, is also that the perception of a keeper ability/experience etc can be easily fall into pure mystification.

Ain't saying that Petko, let alone Rob 'tarantulaguy1976' aren't good keepers, skilled, or else. *Not *at all. 
I'm saying that, doing certain things, certain acts, things can be perceived not in a 'clear enough' way... especially from those that moves/are moving their first steps in the hobby

Reactions: Like 3 | Agree 1


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## Liquifin

Maybe..... I should make a video to troll the T. youtubers . Seriously, I wouldn't mind taking the L for a troll.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## The Grym Reaper

cold blood said:


> hes got a whole 3 yrs experience





cold blood said:


> Nothing personal, he does good camera work and is personsble...but IMO hes just an intermediate level keeper thats keeping waaaay too many ts considering his experience...and again, to someone with lots of experience, his lack of experience often shows in his vids.


I had no idea he's only been around for about half a year or so more than me (I started keeping June 2016). He seems like a decent brer and his videos are somewhat entertaining but he wouldn't be my go-to for information even on YouTube.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## basin79

The Grym Reaper said:


> I had no idea he's only been around for about half a year or so more than me (I started keeping June 2016). He seems like a decent brer and his videos are somewhat entertaining but he wouldn't be my go-to for information even on YouTube.


It'd be great if youtube was NEVER the go to place for information. Fantastic if it is but forums like this are invaluable. Because if bad advice is given it's quickly picked up and debunked. On YouTube there's usually that many fanboy comments the good ones are lost.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2 | Winner 1


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## The Seraph

cold blood said:


> The thing about him, is that when he started this just 3 years ago, his followers dont seem to realize he was a complete newb to ts at the time....even now, hes got a whole 3 yrs experience...sorry its just not enough to be called or thought of as an expert....and it explains his inconsistency and rampant mistakes.  Then look at someone like boina, making a correction and getting blasted by his followers who dont realize shes got way way more experience.
> 
> I really hate to see newcomers get lauded as you tube experts and followed like that....imo the followers are being decieved into thinking they are getting expert info.
> 
> Nothing personal, he does good camera work and is personsble...but IMO hes just an intermediate level keeper thats keeping waaaay too many ts considering his experience...and again, to someone with lots of experience, his lack of experience often shows in his vids.
> 
> And his followers have no clue because they cant recognize improper info.





The Grym Reaper said:


> I had no idea he's only been around for about half a year or so more than me (I started keeping June 2016). He seems like a decent brer and his videos are somewhat entertaining but he wouldn't be my go-to for information even on YouTube.


Wow, I probably have more years of experience then him and I would not consider myself even remotely capable of making an educational tarantula YouTube channel.

Reactions: Like 1


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## basin79

The Seraph said:


> Wow, I probably have more years of experience then him and I would not consider myself even remotely capable of making an educational tarantula YouTube channel.


The more any tarantula keeper decides to makes a video promoting the positives is ALWAYS a good thing. Even if you get 1 comment saying, "do you handle your tarantula" and you respond to it with, "no as tarantulas get nothing from it and a fall could be fatal" it's a good thing.

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 1


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## Venom1080

EulersK said:


> Agreed, and I certainly considered that. But I do enjoy the back and forth with the 95% of constructive comments. It's the 5% of needless bickering I can't stand. One of the last straws was a comment thread that started by me bringing up the lack of an actual mouth in tarantulas, meaning they can't eat solid foods like reptiles do. This is spider anatomy 101. Some girl with one tarantula swore that she saw her spider eat a cricket whole, and either trolls or more uneducated folks swarmed like flies to back her up. I don't know, I may get back into them. Recently got a new job that affords me much more free time, and I did enjoy the act of actually making videos. We shall see.
> 
> 
> 
> The exact same thing could be said of RobC's channel. I loved his videos when I first got into the hobby, but I very quickly realized he was just another intermediate keeper (at best) with the cash to lay down for a nice collection.


A intermediate keeper with tons of successful breedings.. I still enjoy his stuff. Maybe because his collection is so similar to mine. 


Usually I'm telling beginners to have a thick skin when getting blunt advice. I'll tell you the opposite. Ignore the idiots. There's endless hordes of them. Even AB isn't free from them now and again lol. Facebook is the same. You just learn to deal with it.

Reactions: Agree 3


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## Liquifin

Venom1080 said:


> Facebook is the same.


Never been on the FB side of the hobby, how's it over there??? The only thing I hear from FB on the hobby is ludicrous things


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## Minty

basin79 said:


> It'd be great if youtube was NEVER the go to place for information. Fantastic if it is but *forums like this are invaluable*. Because if bad advice is given it's quickly picked up and debunked. On YouTube there's usually that many fanboy comments the good ones are lost.


Quality of forums can wildly vary, depending on the subject and the active users.


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## The Grym Reaper

basin79 said:


> It'd be great if youtube was NEVER the go to place for information.


I'd rather it wasn't but FB and YT are probably the first places a lot of people look. Then again, I suppose forums are only as good as the users on them.



The Seraph said:


> I would not consider myself even remotely capable of making an educational tarantula YouTube channel.


I wouldn't do it mostly because I'm awkward. Also because I'd struggle to get through a video without swearing 



Liquifin said:


> Never been on the FB side of the hobby, how's it over there??? The only thing I hear from FB on the hobby is ludicrous things


The politest way I could probably put it would be:

Kinda like here but much less civilised and far fewer people actually know what they're talking about.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2 | Informative 1


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## antinous

Minty said:


> Quality of forums can wildly vary, depending on the subject and the active users.


This is true, but on forums as old as this, you can read up on many threads pertaining to the same subject and make an informed decision then. That’s what I did before I joined and I was able to grasp the gist of basic tarantula keeping through that. Or even skimming through the posts of more experienced keepers, like I did with @Poec54, there’s a ton of valuable information that’s open to new hobbyists. (even though I kept asking about enclosure size for Pamphos and Theraphosas as well as their growth rate...don’t judge me I was young back then)

Reactions: Like 1


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## basin79

Minty said:


> Quality of forums can wildly vary, depending on the subject and the active users.


"Forums like this one".

Reactions: Like 2 | Funny 1


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## The Seraph

The Grym Reaper said:


> I wouldn't do it mostly because I'm awkward AF. Also because I'd struggle to get through a video without swearing


I would immediately begin to swear profusely at the slightest thing as well. I can actually speak confidently and well on the spot, but APPARENTLY I do not pronounce words properly (chips and ships are pronounced _exactly _the same, no matter what any of you "speech therapists" say. And who cares if I don't say "s" well, as long as people get the point!)

Reactions: Like 1


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## Venom1080

Liquifin said:


> Never been on the FB side of the hobby, how's it over there??? The only thing I hear from FB on the hobby is ludicrous things


I'd choose Facebook over arachnoboards tbh. Loads more people. Loads more solid photography. Learn about so many new species. 

Plus, most of my friends here are on Facebook too. 

Yes, there's handling photos. Just block and move on. Good to develop the ability to ignore people.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## basin79

The Grym Reaper said:


> I'd rather it wasn't but FB and YT are probably the first places a lot of people look. Then again, I suppose forums are only as good as the users on them./QUOTE]
> 
> Exactly which is why I typed a forum like this.
> 
> But if more sensible/competent pet owners made youtube videos the bigger the chance of potential new tarantula owners would see them.


Youtube DOES work the other way too. I've been educated in my comments section not necessarily about the video in question either.

The Internet is the vert definition of a double edged sword.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## The Snark

basin79 said:


> I've been educated in my comments section not necessarily about the video in question either.


Somewhat off topic but bears relevance. I've recently had a man, retired from Rolls Royce aviation, give me about a solid classroom year of turbine engine theory and design in the comments section of a series of Youtube vids.

Reactions: Like 1


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## ArachnoFreak666

Yeah I remember seeing him being called out in facebook groups for being a bad keeper and I even defended him a little, but after that video... i couldnt even make it past the part when he started trying to pick up the robustum with the tweezers, it was VERY cringe! Honestly it even looked like it left marks on the T afterwards, but i may be wrong. Either way its pretty scary thinking hes got that kind of following and is throwing that kind of bad info out there like that. I feel like he needs to slow down a bit and maybe brush up on some basics before he continues with his youtube channle. He addressed the negative feedback from facebook, i wonder if he will address this issue now?

Reactions: Agree 4


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## LV-426

Unfortunately you can’t tell a person what do. One of these days whatever he does to these Ts will bite him in the rear end eventually.


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## EtienneN

I don’t think he is a bad guy, just severely remiss in understanding his audience and what they will take away from watching him do stunts like the tweezer thing. I did feel really bad when his T. seladonia died. He does care about his animals even if he is misguided at times like this.
Tl, Dr: There are worse Youtubers than Petko.

Reactions: Agree 4


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## antinous

EtienneN said:


> I don’t think he is a bad guy, just severely remiss in understanding his audience and what they will take away from watching him do stunts like the tweezer thing. I did feel really bad when his T. seladonia died. He does care about his animals even if he is misguided at times like this.
> Tl, Dr: There are worse Youtubers than Petko.


The thing is, if people are making videos about tarantula care, or any animal care, they need to be sure that they’re doing everything as correctly as possible, or willing to address *all* of their previous problems within the next video or put some sort of update as they should know their viewers will try and copy them. Some of his animals lack water dishes, enough substrate, appropriate sized enclosures, and now the whole tongs thing is a even bigger problem. They should be doing research before stating any information as it should be implied that their fans will be following them/listening to them religiously. And yes there are worse youtubers out there, but he has a huge following and I’m just worried about some idiot smashing their tarantula with a pair of tongs after watching the video

Reactions: Like 1 | Winner 1


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## cold blood

antinous said:


> The thing is, if people are making videos about tarantula care, or any animal care, they need to be sure that they’re doing everything as correctly as possible


The very most basic part of teaching.....or it used to be back in the day, anyway.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Vanessa

There have been countless people who have tried to give him advice and it has been ignored. I have seen plenty of comments about the care he provides, some of them to the point but not antagonistic, but those people have been drowned out in a matter of minutes. He has chosen to do stupid videos dedicated to his 'haters', tastelessly making fun of suicide, instead of taking the time to step back and address their valid concerns. This has been done before with Brian Barczyk and Exotics Lair with the same results - people concerned about the animals are dismissed as haters and the animals continue to suffer.
I used to watch him until his collection got out of control and he was keeping sub-adults in take out food containers, that they could barely even turn around in, that they managed to escape from. He argued with me over that on Instagram and I commented that it would have taken him less time to completely rehouse that Brachypelma, than it took for him to type out this huge response on Instagram making excuses as to why he didn't. He didn't respond again.
The problem is that, valid or not, your concerns over the well being of his animals automatically make you jealous and a 'hater'. Not taking into account that, for many people, being a slave to YouTube and having your life exposed like that, is an absolute nightmare. I wouldn't be doing what he does for anything and I am the furthest from being jealous. There are plenty of people whose goals in life do not include having a ball and chain of a YouTube channel.
He has a lot of people that he has an obligation to 'entertain' in order to increase his subscribers and, most importantly, his Patreon following. People want fresh, new, material and there is no way to provide that without getting more and more animals. Different animals. Animals that he does controversial things in his videos with. Animals that he obviously hasn't researched properly. Animals who are antagonized to appeal to the lowest common denominator in this hobby - the wannabe tough guy. Animals are getting sick. Deaths happen at a higher rate than normal. Excuses are given that 'it happens' when it doesn't happen to responsible keepers. Care is substandard. This is not a new phenomenon... it's called hoarding and, just because this is considered a 'hobby', getting more animals than you can care for properly still makes you a hoarder.
The cult following thing is absolutely mind blowing. I have never blindly idolized some stranger like that in my entire life... not even as a child. It's creepy. But the validation from those people is what prevents him from looking at the situation rationally. 'Look at all the people who agree with me!' is always the answer. It's only going to get worse and the new people fashioning their care on his poor examples is going to be tragic for these animals in the long run.

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 8 | Informative 1


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## Hisserdude

boina said:


> Please, don't promote sterilization. It's better to just pick up a small spoon of earth from the outside to seed your enclosure to provide competition, or use springtails and isopods.


Better to sterilize than end up with an entomophagus fungus or even that pesky _Leucocoprinus_ IMO, I always sterilize my substrate and then add springtails afterwards, never had a problem. 

On the other hand, a friend of mine used unsterlized peat moss in several of his cockroach enclosures, and shortly afterwards most of those colonies succumbed to an entomophagus fungus and were wiped out. I myself have had this problem when using unsterlized leaf litter. Springtails don't protect against everything, but good sterilization will wipe out any entomophagus fungi, and you'll almost never run into it other than in unsterlized substrate. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure as they say, (and it's really hard to cure inverts of entomophagus fungi, believe me...).

Reactions: Disagree 2 | Popcorn 1


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## boina

Hisserdude said:


> Better to sterilize than end up with an entomophagus fungus or even that pesky _Leucocoprinus_ IMO, I always sterilize my substrate and then add springtails afterwards, never had a problem.
> 
> On the other hand, a friend of mine used unsterlized peat moss in several of his cockroach enclosures, and shortly afterwards most of those colonies succumbed to an entomophagus fungus and were wiped out. I myself have had this problem when using unsterlized leaf litter. Springtails don't protect against everything, but good sterilization will wipe out any entomophagus fungi, and you'll almost never run into it other than in unsterlized substrate. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure as they say, (and it's really hard to cure inverts of entomophagus fungi, believe me...).


You can't possibly get an entomophagic fungus from substrate like coco fiber - it's impossible. With every infection you always need a source organism, meaning another infected animal. I've never ever heard of that happening and I won't believe it until I've seen irrefutable proof that the substrate really was the source. Just because something happens at the same time doesn't mean there is a causal connection. Germans as a rule don't sterilize anything and I've never heard of anyone ever having an entomophagic fungus.

As I said: sterilization won't prevent anything, that's the whole point. Having a diverse population af saprophytes and detritivores, however, prevents a lot.

Edit: Ok, I think I need to be clearer and more exact than that. So:

1. Entomomagus fungi spores can be in soil, but:
You need a certain number to achieve infection. One lone spore, or just a few, isn't enough. Insects and spiders have defense mechanisms after all. So, your substrate needs to have been in very close contact with insects that died from entomophagic fungus. How is that going to happen with coco fiber?

2. Fungus spores get eaten by detritivores. If you have a good population of detritivores any possible spores will never make it to your tarantula. 

As I said: I use soil and leaf litter from the outside and so do quite a lot of people I know. No one I know has ever had an entomophagic fungus.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 3 | Informative 5 | Award 1


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## Luka98

Katiekooleyes said:


> I prefer the after dark version, "Does it fit?"


Whoa that came out of nowhere 

Also i loved watching the guy because he has those nice contrasty cameras that really make the T's pop when filmed but holly molly he can be sensitive. Idk if you guys saw the recent video of him vilifying some random dude that critiqued him once on facebook it's literally 20 minutes long, needless drama and 0 education. Also he can't be compared to RobC becuse when rob did stupid stuff like handling a 14 inch T. blondi he was like "im an idiot for doing this, this is a bad idea, dont do this ever" but dark den gets all defensive when he gets called out for doing dumb things it's kinda weird.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Irisiridescent

I can kinda understand why he's so sensitive. I understand completely people are concerned about his keeping but then there's people who will criticize *everything* he does. I bought two horses that were popular on social media. People marched in and told me what I needed to do and how I needed to do it. I quit updating after that. They wanted me to provide utmost five-star care like Thoroughbreds get and I can't do that. I still make sure they have food, attention, water, shelter, and vet care.

My point is it's easy to dismiss the people with real concerns as just "another armchair expert who thinks you need to do it 100% perfectly." Especially when you get vilified for every single "wrong" thing you do over and over.

Reactions: Agree 5


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## SonsofArachne

The only thing I will sorta defend Petco on is having to many animals. I've watched some of his videos and several featured him unboxing freebies his followers sent him. Admit it, if people started sending you free inverts you'd be happy to get them, at least for awhile. In fact, if anybody wants to start buying inverts and send them to me, be my guest. I'll even start a thank you thread here if you do

Reactions: Like 3


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## Irisiridescent

SonsofArachne said:


> The only thing I will sorta defend Petco on is having to many animals. I've watched some of his videos and several featured him unboxing freebies his followers sent him. Admit it, if people started sending you free inverts you'd be happy to get them, at least for awhile. In fact, if anybody wants to start buying inverts and send them to me, be my guest. I'll even start a thank you thread here if you do


Sign me up for it too! Just no Old Worlds, but I guess I wouldn't complain even if I got them. I just am still terrified of spiders too much to deal with OW, especially the OBT.


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## boina

Hisserdude said:


> Better to sterilize than end up with an entomophagus fungus or even that pesky _Leucocoprinus_ IMO, I always sterilize my substrate and then add springtails afterwards, never had a problem.
> 
> On the other hand, a friend of mine used unsterlized peat moss in several of his cockroach enclosures, and shortly afterwards most of those colonies succumbed to an entomophagus fungus and were wiped out. I myself have had this problem when using unsterlized leaf litter. Springtails don't protect against everything, but good sterilization will wipe out any entomophagus fungi, and you'll almost never run into it other than in unsterlized substrate. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure as they say, (and it's really hard to cure inverts of entomophagus fungi, believe me...).


There is another thing that just occurred to me:

Did you use sterilized substrate in that roach enclosures that got wiped out by an entomophagic fungus?

Because I can imagine the following scenario:

Some fungus spores may have adhered to the peat moss. When you put them in the enclosure they found a pristine environment. The soil fauna and bacteria were severly restricted in its diversity by sterilization, so there was no one around to eat the spores, as it is always the case in a natural environment. In a natural environment everything gets eaten by something, unless it's an apex predator. All there was in your enclosure, though, were the roaches. Heaven for the fungus.



boina said:


> If it doesn't go well you don't have a problem, you have a desaster.


You may just have provided the perfect example why sterilization isn't a good idea. I mean, you create an invironment where infection is possible and then take steps to prevent that infection... that doesn't make sense to me.

Reactions: Agree 3


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## Paul1126

Irisiridescent said:


> I can kinda understand why he's so sensitive. I understand completely people are concerned about his keeping but then there's people who will criticize *everything* he does. I bought two horses that were popular on social media. People marched in and told me what I needed to do and how I needed to do it. I quit updating after that. They wanted me to provide utmost five-star care like Thoroughbreds get and I can't do that. I still make sure they have food, attention, water, shelter, and vet care.
> 
> My point is it's easy to dismiss the people with real concerns as just "another armchair expert who thinks you need to do it 100% perfectly." Especially when you get vilified for every single "wrong" thing you do over and over.


Cramming adult Ts into small, bare enclosures. potentially hybridising Ts and showing off his ridiculous rehousing methods.
This is why this thread was started, he should know better.

I am so glad I found this forum, I'm a pain sometimes but the help I received with my first T was amazing, we all need a little advice sometimes.

Reactions: Like 3 | Agree 4


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## Irisiridescent

Paul1126 said:


> Cramming adult Ts into small, bare enclosures. potentially hybridising Ts and showing off his ridiculous rehousing methods.
> This is why this thread was started, he should know better.
> 
> I am so glad I found this forum, I'm a pain sometimes but the help I received with my first T was amazing, we all need a little advice sometimes.


"I understand completely why everyone is concerned." Yes, I totally agree. I do. I'm just giving a possibly explanation as to why it's often dismissed.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Paul1126

Irisiridescent said:


> "I understand completely why everyone is concerned." Yes, I totally agree. I do. I'm just giving a possibly explanation as to why it's often dismissed.


I understand what you are saying, but dismissing genuine advice because a small minority of people are not very nice is perplexing.


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## Irisiridescent

Paul1126 said:


> I understand what you are saying, but dismissing genuine advice because a small minority of people are not very nice is perplexing.


Text is toneless and even when people post genuine advice it can easily be seen as scathing. Especially when you're already upset at the people who are telling you to do everything 100% right.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## CheshireGleam

The person who really got me into tarantulas at first was Jon3800. I'm happy it was him too, rather than Dark Den or Exotics Lair. I like them both just fine too, much less so after this thread because it's definitely true. Probably going to unsubscribe, don't want to be a contributor anymore. I watched the whole catalog of EulersK's channel, really great content. Nice to put a face to name. Shame more people like him don't become the face of the hobby, at least on Youtube, when they should over people with hardly any experience comparatively. 

When I watched the video in question on this thread, I had no idea what variant of B. albopilosum he was showing, assuming he knew what he was talking about. I've been keeping T's for about nine months now and I feel bad for anyone else who gets potentially damaging information from him. Granted, I'm not in a position to be breeding already, but some newcomers are and could injure the hobby even more with false info like that. He should absolutely know the differences in the variants having been in the hobby for at least three years, let alone the fact he intended to breed B. albopilosum!

I'd be really surprised if he commented about this thread anywhere. His Halloween video, the one where he made light of suicide because people complained about his animal care , contained pretty much nothing in the way of apologizing for his mistakes. Just made hollow excuses and attempted to blame the audience for having to even bring the claims to attention. 

He advertises himself to newcomers in the hobby, not just T's since he keeps other pets, so Dark Den could go out of his way to correct his mistakes, then the newbies that watch him can avoid it. He's doing the opposite and it's sad that he can't take responsibility when he's putting himself out there for eyes to see.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## TreebeardGoddess

I'm a little late to this thread, but I gotta defend Petko here. He's one of the guys that got me into tarantulas, after tarantulaguy1976 of course! I'm still a new keeper, but having videos to watch from all levels of keepers really helps me. I try to take all advice with a grain of salt. It's similar to researching on here. There are so many people with different opinions and experiences, but it allows me to make a more informed decision. 
I do think everyone should open to constructive criticism - especially people who are more the "face" of the hobby. Hopefully, Petko will keep this in mind and remember that most of us just want him to take good care of his pets. I enjoy watching his videos, but no one is the end all expert on this.
...and YouTube comments are a wasteland that should be actively ignored!

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 3 | Funny 1


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## antinous

TreebeardGoddess said:


> I'm a little late to this thread, but I gotta defend Petko here. He's one of the guys that got me into tarantulas, after tarantulaguy1976 of course! I'm still a new keeper, but having videos to watch from all levels of keepers really helps me. I try to take all advice with a grain of salt. It's similar to researching on here. There are so many people with different opinions and experiences, but it allows me to make a more informed decision.
> I do think everyone should open to constructive criticism - especially people who are more the "face" of the hobby. Hopefully, Petko will keep this in mind and remember that most of us just want him to take good care of his pets. I enjoy watching his videos, but no one is the end all expert on this.
> ...and YouTube comments are a wasteland that should be actively ignored!


It's great that he brought  you into the hobby and that you were able to get many different viewpoints from different sources. However, that's not always the case. Just like any 'icon', he has..., let's call them over enthusiastic fans, that don't listen to anyone else but him. He's not a horrible keeper, he's leagues better than the ones that are misinformed and those who use the wrong substrate, etc. But there are many flaws with what he does. Like I mentioned before, his use of  tongs on the spiders, small enclosures, lacking of water dish, not enough substrate, etc. is something that is very basic and he could easily change. It doesn't seem like he takes criticism well, when in fact all 'icons'/YouTubers who are acting as a 'teacher', should be open to criticism and should be willing to change. Similar to Tom Moran and @EulersK , they should be openly saying what they're doing is not absolute and they can even be wrong (and even more important, be willing to change). But the thing is that if he's not able to change those basic things (sub, water dish, etc.), he doesn't make a very good teacher.

Reactions: Agree 5


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## Liquifin

TreebeardGoddess said:


> Hopefully, Petko will keep this in mind and remember that most of us just want him to take good care of his pets.


"Hopefully" is the thing we're hoping for. The biggest problem of being in a position like Petko is the fact that it's hard to tell a difference when someone is nit-picking-smack-talking. Or someone who is actually trying to help out by giving a heads up on what's wrong. Hopefully, Petko doesn't label them both as hate comments. And the biggest problem for the Dark Den is not Petko IMO, but his close-up worshiping Fans who label him as the face of tarantula keeping. I was one of the Dark Den original subscribers believe it or not. I remember when he actually read the comments back then a lot and commented back when you had a question or showed something wrong in his video. I remembered when he answered my questions back then. It was the most best feeling back then, when he had less than a few thousand subscribers/followers on youtube. I miss the old petko

Reactions: Like 1 | Sad 1


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## TreebeardGoddess

I too miss the old Petko; i love the enclosure build videos!
I really hate people who worship others like that, but I'm guilty of it all the time. Guess I'm a classic self-hater! But it's good to remind myself that everyone is just a regular person.


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## antinous

TreebeardGoddess said:


> But it's good to remind myself that everyone is just a regular person.


Sadly most people follow and conform, instead of thinking for themselves.


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## Nonnack

But youtube is for entertainment, it isn't encyclopedia or something. I watch Dark Den, because I just enjoy his videos, doesn't mean I agree with everything he does. I run my T collection my way. And you can't expect he will do everything as you think he should. 
Btw, grabbing T with tongs or fingers is common practice. Big breeders do it if they want to sex T fast and accurate, for example when going to expo.

Reactions: Agree 4


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## CheshireGleam

That's fair, it's just that some people look to him for real advice which can end up being problematic. I watch him for entertainment value too, not on how to care for my pets.


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## antinous

Nonnack said:


> But youtube is for entertainment, it isn't encyclopedia or something. I watch Dark Den, because I just enjoy his videos, doesn't mean I agree with everything he does. I run my T collection my way. And you can't expect he will do everything as you think he should.
> Btw, grabbing T with tongs or fingers is common practice. Big breeders do it if they want to sex T fast and accurate, for example when going to expo.


It is for entertainment, but people will take it as so and I've heard from various people that's the way they gather information. And when they're called out, they routinely say 'Well *insert YouTubers member name here* did it this way and they're experienced so that means I can do it too'. It's why I mentioned saying having a disclaimer is very important.

I've never heard of grabbing a T with tongs for sexing in my five+ years of keeping Ts, none of the breeders that I talk to do it that way either, but then again in Europe it could be different. But from what @boina (she's a user from Europe) mentioned, it doesn't seem to be common practice either.

Reactions: Agree 3


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## Nonnack

I have seen many, many stupid things in youtube that I will never try to repeat, I have my own mind, as everybody 
About T keeping, there is no only way. If I would show you how we do it in Poland you would probably say everything is so wrong. But Poland is doing pretty well in T keeping, breeding, and selling

Reactions: Agree 1


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## antinous

Nonnack said:


> I have seen many, many stupid things in youtube that I will never try to repeat, I have my own mind, as everybody
> About T keeping, there is no only way. If I would show you how we do it in Poland you would probably say everything is so wrong. But Poland is doing pretty well in T keeping, breeding, and selling


You're one of uncommon ones, as is everyone else on this thread. Not bashing anyone, but if you frequent the FB groups I do and read the comment section on YT videos, not everyone thinks like that. They're basically cult followers who replicate everything their 'idol' does.

Never said there was one way either, I have a close friend in the Netherlands who has his own way of caring (pinch grabbing which is something I don't do, but his T's are well cared for so that's all that matters) for his T's. Never said Poland isn't, but there are some things that are basic husbandry requirements, having a water bowl, enough sub. (for fossorials), etc. are some of the things that are universal.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Nonnack

antinous said:


> They're basically cult followers who replicate everything their 'idol' does.


Thats their problem. Just one word 'Jackass', I don't know what was funnier, watching original jackass, or ppl who tried to replicate them xD

I know what you mean, some ppl take example from wrong source, but there is nothing you can do about it. If someone is smart, he will always look for extra informations about topic he is interested in. If someone is 'cult follower', do you want to change cult leader to make him better in something?

Reactions: Agree 1


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## antinous

Nonnack said:


> Thats their problem. Just one word 'Jackass', I don't know what was funnier, watching original jackass, or ppl who tried to replicate them xD
> 
> I know what you mean, some ppl take example from wrong source, but there is nothing you can do about it. If someone is smart, he will always look for extra informations about topic he is interested in. If someone is 'cult follower', do you want to change cult leader to make him better in something?


Oh god you're bringing back memories from elementary school and junior high were idiots were riding their bike into a wall because they saw the people on 'Jackass' doing it....haha

That's true, but a little warning go could a long way, something like "This is the way I take care of my tarantulas, it could be wrong and I suggest doing your own research on the topics covered" could go a long way

Reactions: Like 1


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## FrmDaLeftCoast

Is it just me or am I the only one who never pictured Dark Den as the Face of youtube (for our Tarantula Hobby)? First 2 that come to mine - Exotic Lair and Tom's Big Spiders. Perhaps he has a large following overseas, but I doubt peeps from the States see him as the face of youtube. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy some of his uploads, but I can say that about a number of peeps (exp. Tarantula Kat).

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Hisserdude

boina said:


> You can't possibly get an entomophagic fungus from substrate like coco fiber - it's impossible. With every infection you always need a source organism, meaning another infected animal. I've never ever heard of that happening and I won't believe it until I've seen irrefutable proof that the substrate really was the source. Just because something happens at the same time doesn't mean there is a causal connection. Germans as a rule don't sterilize anything and I've never heard of anyone ever having an entomophagic fungus.
> 
> As I said: sterilization won't prevent anything, that's the whole point. Having a diverse population af saprophytes and detritivores, however, prevents a lot.
> 
> Edit: Ok, I think I need to be clearer and more exact than that. So:
> 
> 1. Entomomagus fungi spores can be in soil, but:
> You need a certain number to achieve infection. One lone spore, or just a few, isn't enough. Insects and spiders have defense mechanisms after all. So, your substrate needs to have been in very close contact with insects that died from entomophagic fungus. How is that going to happen with coco fiber?
> 
> 2. Fungus spores get eaten by detritivores. If you have a good population of detritivores any possible spores will never make it to your tarantula.
> 
> As I said: I use soil and leaf litter from the outside and so do quite a lot of people I know. No one I know has ever had an entomophagic fungus.


When I say entomophagus, I mean a particularly protein hungry _Trichoderma_ species that weakens the roaches immune system, kills them and then consumes their bodies. The enclosures that had the outbreaks in my collection all had one thing in common: I used leaves from one particular, unsterlized batch, and in every roach and beetle enclosure that had those leaves, the _Trichoderma_ followed, along with mass deaths. Some enclosures had coconut fiber that was sterilized and some didn't, so that had nothing to do with it, it was the leaves.

That's what I can tell you from my personal experience on this issue, it's possible that you don't have that specific species of fungus in Germany, so you don't have to worry about it, but in my experience, I've only ever benefited from sterilizing substrate, and on the other hand I've had quite a few problems arise from using unsterlized substrate and leaf litter/bark. Usually right after sterilizing substrate I _did_ have mold outbreaks, but they only lasted about a week after sterilization before my various springtails and scavenger mites ate it all up, and it was always rather harmless molds that don't bother larger inverts much, not the nasty yellow _Leucocoprinus_ sp. that turns the substrate into a single stinky mat, highly stressing out several roach and beetle species, or the protein hungry _Trichoderma_ sp...

Anyway, sorry for hijacking this thread lol, this is supposed to be about the Dark Den.


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## EulersK

FrmDaLeftCoast said:


> Is it just me or am I the only one who never pictured Dark Den as the Face of youtube (for our Tarantula Hobby)? First 2 that come to mine - Exotic Lair and Tom's Big Spiders. Perhaps he has a large following overseas, but I doubt peeps from the States see him as the face of youtube. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy some of this uploads, but I can say that about a number of peeps (exp. Tarantula Kat).


No, I'm with you. He's definitely not the face of the tarantula hobby. In my eyes, that goes to RobC... for better or for worse.

Reactions: Like 1


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## boina

Nonnack said:


> Btw, grabbing T with tongs or fingers is common practice. Big breeders do it if they want to sex T fast and accurate, for example when going to expo.


Really? I've seen a lot of pinch grabbing, but I've never seen anyone use tweezers.



Nonnack said:


> If I would show you how we do it in Poland you would probably say everything is so wrong. But Poland is doing pretty well in T keeping, breeding, and selling


I've seen how some Polish keepers keep their tarantulas and yes, I think it's wrong, because some at least seem to keep their tarantulas in tiny boxes. Just because a tarantula can breed under adverse conditions doesn't mean we should do it or, even worse, promote it. There are some things that are universal and no breeding success will make me consider stuffing tarantulas in tiny boxes a good, or even defendable practice. (Your own enclosures are phenomenal, of course). I strongly believe that with animals "It's mine, therefore I can do what I want with it" should not be used to justify animal abuse.

I've a lot of issues with German keepers, too, mainly they keep everything too wet and sometimes too warm in my opinion because of the ridiculous: 'but in nature!' argument. Tarantulas die in the conditions but they won't even consider changing them. And they starve their tarantulas, because they "shouldn't be too fat". Fully adult tarantulas in Germany are often tiny because of starvation and then they tell you that's their natural size...

Again, there are things that are opinions (handling, pinch grabbing, etc.) and then there are things that are simply facts.

Reactions: Like 5 | Agree 2 | Award 1


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## Nonnack

boina said:


> Really? I've seen a lot of pinch grabbing, but I've never seen anyone use tweezers.


I personally don't grab spiders, I just keep them for fun, so I don't have to sex them quickly. But yeah, lot of ppl use tweezers, mainly for sexing old worlds.


boina said:


> because some at least seem to keep their tarantulas in tiny boxes.


I agree, there are two types of 'big' T keepers in Poland, real breeders, and sellers. Guys like, Spidersworld, Spidersonline, Arent, even thou they have hundreds of adult females still provide decent glass enclosures (but still different that are suggested here in forum ). But T keeping is getting more and more popular here. And lately I see (mostly on facebook) more ppl who just keep it for money, squeezing  T into tiny enclosure just so they can keep more.

Reactions: Like 1


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## CJJon

I used to really like Petko. Not so much anymore though. His collection is getting too close to becoming a hoard. 

My prediction: He won't last. It's too hard to keep doing what he does. He does put out regular content, but that pace is hard to keep up.


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## EtienneN

He stopped doing Wednesday videos. I think that might hurt his follower numbers. Then he’ll have to be even more “creative” to keep the fans watching.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## CJJon

This thread will probably end up a video rant on his site.

Reactions: Agree 2 | Funny 2


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## antinous

CJJon said:


> This thread will probably end up a video rant on his site.


If it does, I hope he takes everything with a grain of salt and take this as an opportunity to improve, instead of an ‘attack’. After all, this is a small hobby and we all need to be working cooperatively instead of attacking each other.

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 5 | Funny 1


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## nicodimus22

I don't think that he has ever presented himself as a teacher, to be fair. It's just not his goal with the channel...entertainment is more what it's about.

If people want educational, they should seek out someone like Tom Moran.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Chris LXXIX

CJJon said:


> This thread will probably end up a video rant on his site.


Let's hope

Reactions: Agree 3


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## cold blood

Nonnack said:


> But yeah, lot of ppl use tweezers, mainly for sexing old worlds.


I think the notion that a lot of people do that is just incorrect....like boina, I've never seen or heard of anyone using this highly suspect method of grabbing a t in my 20 years in the hobby....IMO it's a ridiculous practice that basic logic should tell you is a poor idea.   What's wrong with putting a t in a catch cup to sex them?  Totally harmless and non invasive and just as effective at performing the job at hand.

I'd bet 99% of people seeing or hearing about this supposedly common technique, have never heard of it.

IMO it's a completely unnecessary risk.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 11


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## CJJon

I just saw the tweezers video. Whoa!   Then he blew blew the mold off it! \

Just jumped the shark...


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## Nonnack

cold blood said:


> I've never seen or heard of anyone using this highly suspect method of grabbing a t in my 20 years in the hobby....IMO it's a ridiculous practice that basic logic should tell you is a poor idea.


Really? Grabbing T and gently pushing its a abdomen to spread spermathecea, makes sexing fast and very accurate. If you have, like one hundred of juvi maculata to sex it makes sense. Strange that in 20 years you have never seen or heard about this.


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## Nightstalker47

Nonnack said:


> Really? Grabbing T and gently pushing its a abdomen to spread spermathecea, makes sexing fast and very accurate.





Nonnack said:


> If you have, like one hundred of juvi maculata to sex it makes sense. Strange that in 20 years you have never seen or heard about this.


You wouldn't be seeing spermathecae, its only visible on molts....that's basically just forcefully vent sexing. Which IMO, would be a *terrible* idea to attempt with juvie H.macs. 

Great way to get tagged and/or injure the spider.

Reactions: Agree 5


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## Nonnack

Heh, I don't want to argue. Do everything as you think is best. ;P

Reactions: Lollipop 1


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## basin79

If you see anything on YouTube that looks odd or you don't know check here. Even if it's heat mats. There are members on here who know they're perfectly safe if used right.


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## Potatatas

He's just put up a new video where he mentions the difference between Nicaraguan and Honduran B. albos. But just said that he hopes pairing won't cause any problems so he's still going ahead with it. I am in a no fit shape to comment so someone else do the honours while the vid doesn't have many views

Reactions: Sad 2


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## Liquifin

Potatatas said:


> He's just put up a new video where he mentions the difference between Nicaraguan and Honduran B. albos. But just said that he hopes pairing won't cause any problems so he's still going ahead with it. I am in a no fit shape to comment so someone else do the honours while the vid doesn't have many views


I seen the video already, and TBH he's not gonna budge. I think we can pretty much say at this point, no ones going to change his mind. He's to desperate to want to get a successful sac, since all of his current breedings/eggsacks have been unsuccessful. His fans are too strongly eager to see some tarantulas go for it.

Reactions: Sad 3


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## Liquifin

@cold blood @boina I finally got a contact with the Dark Den in the comments. Basically what he is trying to say is that since the "Hobby" form is already hybridized. If it pairs with the Nicaraguan; the offspring will be still considered "hobby". Since the "hobby" form itself has already been labeled as hybridized along the line. So here is his statement that I got from him:

"Regarding the pairing, I don't plan to label them as Nicaragua, they will stay hobby form and be labeled as such, just if I went out and get a hobby form male, same result. Will address it in the actual pairing video."

Here's what I replied back with:

"I understand what you are trying to say. But breeding those two will strongly encourage all other new hobbyist to hybridize other species of tarantulas. Which you need to tell the fans that hybridizing other species of tarantulas is not good in the tarantula hobby and explain why. Because everyone (your fans) in Mondays video stated that hybridizing other tarantulas in the tarantula hobby is not bad at all, which in actuality it is bad for the tarantula hobby."

Reactions: Like 3 | Funny 1


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## The Seraph

Liquifin said:


> @cold blood @boina I finally got a contact with the Dark Den in the comments. Basically what he is trying to say is that since the "Hobby" form is already hybridized. If it pairs with the Nicaraguan; the offspring will be still considered "hobby". Since the "hobby" form itself has already been labeled as hybridized along the line. So here is his statement that I got from him:
> 
> "Regarding the pairing, I don't plan to label them as Nicaragua, they will stay hobby form and be labeled as such, just if I went out and get a hobby form male, same result. Will address it in the actual pairing video."
> 
> Here's what I replied back with:
> 
> "I understand what you are trying to say. But breeding those two will strongly encourage all other new hobbyist to hybridize other species of tarantulas. Which you need to tell the fans that hybridizing other species of tarantulas is not good in the tarantula hobby and explain why. Because everyone (your fans) in Mondays video stated that hybridizing other tarantulas in the tarantula hobby is not bad at all, which in actuality it is bad for the tarantula hobby."


*Sigh*
Hopefully he will listen to you, but it can be hard to hope with him.


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## Nightstalker47

Liquifin said:


> @cold blood @boina I finally got a contact with the Dark Den in the comments. Basically what he is trying to say is that since the "Hobby" form is already hybridized. If it pairs with the Nicaraguan; the offspring will be still considered "hobby". Since the "hobby" form itself has already been labeled as hybridized along the line. So here is his statement that I got from him:
> 
> "Regarding the pairing, I don't plan to label them as Nicaragua, they will stay hobby form and be labeled as such, just if I went out and get a hobby form male, same result. Will address it in the actual pairing video."
> 
> Here's what I replied back with:
> 
> "I understand what you are trying to say. But breeding those two will strongly encourage all other new hobbyist to hybridize other species of tarantulas. Which you need to tell the fans that hybridizing other species of tarantulas is not good in the tarantula hobby and explain why. Because everyone (your fans) in Mondays video stated that hybridizing other tarantulas in the tarantula hobby is not bad at all, which in actuality it is bad for the tarantula hobby."


What an absolute moron. That really speaks volumes about his priorities.

Reactions: Agree 8


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## Liquifin

Nightstalker47 said:


> What an absolute moron. That really speaks volumes about his priorities.


Got a New Reply from him, He states:
Oh I stated in multiple videos that I'm strongly against hybrids, will of course talk about this in the breeding video ^^

That's good that he's going to mention about hybridization in his next video, so I replied:

GOOD  The sooner the better 

But I wonder what people are going to take from this.....

Reactions: Like 1


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## lazarus

He got the male in December 2nd (that was when the Terraplaza expo took place) so most likely he's already paired them, he mentions upcoming video in the comments. He's very ignorant to what "hobby form" really is, I hope the paring is unsuccessful.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## dangerforceidle

Nightstalker47 said:


> What an absolute moron. That really speaks volumes about his priorities.


Agreed.  Monday's video earned an unsub from me.  Breeding talks within the video aside, he used "HANDLING" in the title to draw views -- that's a step too far with his click-bait titles for me.

Whether he wants to be seen as an educator or not, he has released several "how to" videos, and several instructional videos targeted towards people new to tarantula keeping.  He is seen as a source of information by his viewer base now.  He needs to be more considerate of the implications of his actions with such a large audience who trusts that what he is doing is correct.

The replies to hybridization and plans to forge ahead have fully justified my decision to unsubscribe.  Shame.

@basin79  I'm going to need more content from you to fill the gap.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## Greasylake

Liquifin said:


> That's good that he's going to mention about hybridization in his next video


Actions speak louder than words...

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 4


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## Stormsky

Liquifin said:


> @cold blood @boina I finally got a contact with the Dark Den in the comments. Basically what he is trying to say is that since the "Hobby" form is already hybridized. If it pairs with the Nicaraguan; the offspring will be still considered "hobby". Since the "hobby" form itself has already been labeled as hybridized along the line. So here is his statement that I got from him:
> 
> "Regarding the pairing, I don't plan to label them as Nicaragua, they will stay hobby form and be labeled as such, just if I went out and get a hobby form male, same result. Will address it in the actual pairing video."
> 
> Here's what I replied back with:
> 
> "I understand what you are trying to say. But breeding those two will strongly encourage all other new hobbyist to hybridize other species of tarantulas. Which you need to tell the fans that hybridizing other species of tarantulas is not good in the tarantula hobby and explain why. Because everyone (your fans) in Mondays video stated that hybridizing other tarantulas in the tarantula hobby is not bad at all, which in actuality it is bad for the tarantula hobby."


I mean it would be ideal if he didn’t breed the two and did it properly, but at least now I understand the logic behind what he’s doing and he’s technically right about it. However, if he’s going to go through with it, he NEEDS to make it abundantly clear to everyone how this is a special case that should never be attempted with any other species.(or at all for that matter)


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## antinous

Stormsky said:


> I mean it would be ideal if he didn’t breed the two and did it properly, but at least now I understand the logic behind what he’s doing and he’s technically right about it. However, if he’s going to go through with it, he NEEDS to make it abundantly clear to everyone how this is a special case that should never be attempted with any other species.(or at all for that matter)


Not true actually. Saying that all the ‘hobby form’ ha seven hybridized is false. To prove that they are, we’d need to genetically test them. Since it isn’t proven, they should still be kept separate.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 4 | Informative 1


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## Nonnack

I really don't understand this thread. Guy just have a entertaining youtube channel about something we like. But no, he have to do thing like this, not like that. Omg if you don't like it just don't watch it. And don't worry, you will not get his sling in US.

Reactions: Dislike 2 | Agree 2 | Disagree 2 | Sad 1


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## antinous

Nonnack said:


> I really don't understand this thread. Guy just have a entertaining youtube channel about something we like. But no, he have to do thing like this, not like that. Omg if you don't like it just don't watch it. And don't worry, you will not get his sling in US.


I’m not sure what you’re not understanding? It’s mentioned multiple times that people _will_ copy what they see, especially if it’s from their ‘idol’. Sure he’s not doing it in the US, but that doesn’t mean people in the US (or anywhere for that matter) won’t copy him. I’m not going to repeat everything I said before because I’m sure everyone understands it, but disclaimers are necessary to make sure people understand what he’s doing isn’t always ‘right’.

Reactions: Like 2


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## PanzoN88

I'm subbed even though I have never even watched any of his videos, now I don't think I ever will judging by what I'm reading.


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## basin79

dangerforceidle said:


> Agreed.  Monday's video earned an unsub from me.  Breeding talks within the video aside, he used "HANDLING" in the title to draw views -- that's a step too far with his click-bait titles for me.
> 
> Whether he wants to be seen as an educator or not, he has released several "how to" videos, and several instructional videos targeted towards people new to tarantula keeping.  He is seen as a source of information by his viewer base now.  He needs to be more considerate of the implications of his actions with such a large audience who trusts that what he is doing is correct.
> 
> The replies to hybridization and plans to forge ahead have fully justified my decision to unsubscribe.  Shame.
> 
> @basin79  I'm going to need more content from you to fill the gap.


I've been supping. What would you like know?


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## Nightstalker47

Nonnack said:


> I really don't understand this thread. Guy just have a entertaining youtube channel about something we like. But no, he have to do thing like this, not like that. Omg if you don't like it just don't watch it. And don't worry, you will not get his sling in US.


So we should all look the other way? I think not.

Its _very_ irresponsible and potentially damaging to the hobby and our species as we know them. Its one thing to do it unknowingly but hes well aware of the circumstances, and is deciding to go through with it anyway. 

The Nicaraguan albos have been in the hobby for what...two years now, and they are already being hybridized. Its a real shame that some people cant see the bigger picture.

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 4 | Award 1


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## Nonnack

But you know there are hundreds or thousands of breeders who doesn't have youtube channel .?


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## antinous

Nonnack said:


> But you know there are hundreds or thousands of breeders who doesn't have youtube channel .?


Yes, we do know. But are they making videos that new hobbyists see? No. What you do behind closed doors is your own problem. Making videos and showing it to people on the internet for people to mimic and trying to justify yourself is a complete different story.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 4


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## dangerforceidle

Nonnack said:


> I really don't understand this thread. Guy just have a entertaining youtube channel about something we like. But no, he have to do thing like this, not like that. Omg if you don't like it just don't watch it. And don't worry, you will not get his sling in US.


It's one thing to care for an animal with methods different from the 'accepted' methods within this community, so long as the animal stays healthy.  It's also one thing to create entertaining videos for viewers where you manipulate the animal in such a way that allows you to record better footage.  However, it's another to do things that put animals in unnecessary risk, or knowingly create hybridized animals. To then film those things and release the footage to an audience the size of his following is plain irresponsible.  A lot of his viewers do not even keep tarantulas, they simply like his content.  He is essentially misinforming people beyond the bounds of other tarantula keepers.

As stated, I will no longer watch his content.  I didn't comment on his videos with a rant about why I don't like how he has changed, I didn't "dislike" any of the content on youtube.  I simply unsubscribed from his channel and won't watch any more.  His desire for new viewers has begun to cross lines for me personally.  

He can be entertaining without knowingly hybridizing animals in order to breed successfully, or allowing them to run around the desk while rehousing, or handling them.  He states he does not condone handling or won't normally, but in nearly every video with tarantulas lately he has handled at least one, and the most recent he even puts it in the title.  Actions speak louder than words.  


basin79 said:


> I've been supping. What would you like know?


Just keep doing you and release about 1000% more videos.

Reactions: Agree 5 | Funny 1


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## Spiderlife

I


korlash091 said:


> One of the reasons i started in this hobby a year ago were his videos, i found them funny and he seemed to know what he was doing, but i have to be honest, since he moved to the new place, it looks like he just makes videos for the likes and to get more subscribers, handles a lot, and does a lot of stuff that if find weird, or just plain bad for the Ts.
> 
> Pd:sorry for my english



This is exactly how I feel.

I LOVED this channel when it was a guy looking after his inverts, showing us his upkeep, feeding and projects, building etc. He had principles, he even did a video about his views on handling etc.

But now...? He says he's not doing weds videos because their lack of interest isn't bringing in enough subscribers?
He's holding inverts in nearly every video? He's even going to create hybrids?????

Ugh, I'm so so disappointed. I really wanted this guy to succeed but he's forgotten why he started all this.

Reactions: Agree 5


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## Vanessa

Liquifin said:


> Got a New Reply from him, He states:
> Oh I stated in multiple videos that I'm strongly against hybrids, will of course talk about this in the breeding video ^^


So, he says that he is 'strongly against' creating hybrids, but he is going to go ahead and do it anyway? Why does anyone need any more reasons than this to not support, or defend, him? Why does saying that he is a poor example of tarantula keeping create so much backlash when he displays that complete lack of good judgement when it comes to these animals and the hobby? Why is he not embarrassed? Does doing stupid things that you think is wrong on YouTube pass for transparency nowadays?
"I know it's wrong, but I'm going to go ahead and do it anyway and I am going to share my hypocrisy and poor judgement with as many people as I can on social media."... good grief.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 4 | Love 1 | Winner 1


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## FrmDaLeftCoast

antinous said:


> I’m not sure what you’re not understanding? It’s mentioned multiple times that people _will_ copy what they see, especially if it’s from their ‘idol’. Sure he’s not doing it in the US, but that doesn’t mean people in the US (or anywhere for that matter) won’t copy him. I’m not going to repeat everything I said before because I’m sure everyone understands it, but disclaimers are necessary to make sure people understand what he’s doing isn’t always ‘right’.


I think you should give newbies more credit than what I've been reading. To believe we would ignore everything we've learned from from the likes of Tom Moran and forums like this one, is  somewhat absurd. Perhaps your giving Dark Den way too much credit. He has some legit videos, but no one sees him as an idol. At least not in the states...

Plus even if someone like Tom Moran posted a video on how he's realized all tarantulas can and should be handled. Do you think we would go ahead and do as told? That's a negative...and this is coming from a newbie.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 3 | Optimistic 1


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## antinous

FrmDaLeftCoast said:


> I think you should give newbies more credit than what I've been reading. To believe we would ignore everything we've learned from from the likes of Tom Moran and forums like this one, is  somewhat absurd. Perhaps your giving Dark Den way too much credit. He has some legit videos, but no one sees him as an idol. At least not in the states...
> 
> Plus even if someone like Tom Moran posted a video on how he's realized all tarantulas can and should be handled. Do you think we would go ahead and do as told? That's a negative...and this is coming from a newbie.


Have you read some of the comments on his videos? I'm not bashing every new person in the hobby and not every new person in the hobby is like you. From my experience posting something on his videos, as well as other replies posted on @Liquifin's comments, I don't think I am. Sure there are a good amount of people who will do the research before getting one, but just like in any other hobby, there are others that won't.

What video was that? I watch all of his videos, and he didn't say that all can be handled, he said some are more than others, but he doesn't speak on the matter really.

Reactions: Like 1


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## FrmDaLeftCoast

antinous said:


> Have you read some of the comments on his videos? I'm not bashing every new person in the hobby and not every new person in the hobby is like you. From my experience posting something on his videos, as well as other replies posted on @Liquifin
> 
> What video was that? I watch all of his videos, and he didn't say that all can be handled, he said some are more than others, but he doesn't speak on the matter really.


Let me clarify this...Tom Moran has never ever said anything of that nature. If you read my comment you will notice I wrote "If" before I made that statement. It was given as an hypothetical example.


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## antinous

FrmDaLeftCoast said:


> Let me clarify this...Tom Moran has never ever said anything of that nature. If you read my comment you will notice I wrote "If" before I made that statement. It was given as an hypothetical example.


Whoops, my apologies, read through that too fast. I blame the coffee...

But, just want to add, it sounds like I'm attacking new owners, which I'm really not. I've just spent many years in the reptile hobby, plant hobby, and now the invert hobby and it's pretty much the same story over and over. A good deal of new hobbyists do their research, while others 'impulse' buy, do a quick YouTube search and gather all their info from their.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Minty

antinous said:


> Have you read some of the comments on his videos? I'm not bashing every new person in the hobby and not every new person in the hobby is like you. From my experience posting something on his videos, as well as other replies posted on @Liquifin's comments, I don't think I am. Sure there are a good amount of people who will do the research before getting one, but just like in any other hobby, there are others that won't.
> 
> What video was that? I watch all of his videos, and he didn't say that all can be handled, he said some are more than others, but he doesn't speak on the matter really.


I think a lot of the people who jump to his defence without question, will likely be very young, probably 14 and under.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## antinous

Minty said:


> I think a lot of the people who jump to his defence without question, will likely be very young, probably 14 and under.


The comments I got were apparently from people older than 'I've been alive' apparently. Also on groups, it's a mix of teens and adults. Which was quite shocking to me, as I thought the same as you.


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## The Seraph

I cannot understand people who blindly follow others without question. The word of one person is not divine scripture, so don't treat it as such. It is much more logical to follow many sources and find the better solution through analysis.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## EulersK

Liquifin said:


> Got a New Reply from him, He states:
> Oh I stated in multiple videos that I'm strongly against hybrids, will of course talk about this in the breeding video ^^


It seems that he doesn't understand that this actually is a hybridization...

Reactions: Agree 3


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## petkokc

My general idea was, B. albopilosum "hobby form" is already messed up and impure so there is not much damage it can be done as long as they are labeled as such.

But after rethinking it long and hard I decided not to do it and to try and get true Nicaragua female instead. Thanks everyone for the input.

P.S.

To everyone mad at me over this or any other reason, I NEVER claimed in ANY of my videos that I'm an expert. In fact, I often mention it in my videos, that I'm just a regular keeper with exception of knowing how to make funny and entertaining videos. Just because others put me on the pedestal, it doesn't give anyone the right to degrade me. Instead, try being nicer and teach others the right way.
If someone really loves my videos, can you blame them for being defensive if you open with "he is a moron", even if I do something stupid.
I also always point people to this forum for any information they need, I really don't want to change that.

Reactions: Like 18 | Agree 4 | Disagree 1 | Funny 1 | Helpful 2 | Love 1 | Optimistic 1 | Award 1 | Cake 1


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## Zevil

Problem solved I guess?


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## Nonnack

Heh, sooner or later there will be another thread like this. Because there will be something not professional in Dark Den video, how could he show it to ppl, they will blindly follow him. XD

Reactions: Meh 1 | Face Palm 2


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## Dennis Nedry

petkokc said:


> My general idea was, B. albopilosum "hobby form" is already messed up and impure so there is not much damage it can be done as long as they are labeled as such.
> 
> But after rethinking it long and hard I decided not to do it and to try and get true Nicaragua female instead. Thanks everyone for the input.
> 
> P.S.
> 
> To everyone mad at me over this or any other reason, I NEVER claimed in ANY of my videos that I'm an expert. In fact, I often mention it in my videos, that I'm just a regular keeper with exception of knowing how to make funny and entertaining videos. Just because others put me on the pedestal, it doesn't give anyone the right to degrade me. Instead, try being nicer and teach others the right way.
> If someone really loves my videos, can you blame them for being defensive if you open with "he is a moron", even if I do something stupid.
> I also always point people to this forum for any information they need, I really don't want to change that.


Well the good thing about that is if you get a true Nicaraguan female and pair her you’d be able to sell the true Nicaraguan slings for a lot more than if you were to sell the mutt slings under the hobby form name.

Also glad that you actually reply to others rather than ignoring it or doing something ridiculous like crying on camera about the haters and abuse you get for views (looking at a certain big snake youtuber)

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 3


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## Potatatas

petkokc said:


> My general idea was, B. albopilosum "hobby form" is already messed up and impure so there is not much damage it can be done as long as they are labeled as such.
> 
> But after rethinking it long and hard I decided not to do it and to try and get true Nicaragua female instead. Thanks everyone for the input.
> 
> P.S.
> 
> To everyone mad at me over this or any other reason, I NEVER claimed in ANY of my videos that I'm an expert. In fact, I often mention it in my videos, that I'm just a regular keeper with exception of knowing how to make funny and entertaining videos. Just because others put me on the pedestal, it doesn't give anyone the right to degrade me. Instead, try being nicer and teach others the right way.
> If someone really loves my videos, can you blame them for being defensive if you open with "he is a moron", even if I do something stupid.
> I also always point people to this forum for any information they need, I really don't want to change that.


I think the main worry would be that you end up with 100s (no idea how many eggs are in a sac) of Nicaragaun looking slings and you'd have to make it clear to everyone you give them to that these are definitely not the pure Nicaraguan. Now, out of the 100s of people you give slings to I'm sure there would be a small few that still insist they are pure Nicaraguan because they are more sought after than "hobby forms".

Kudos to you for taking onboard people's concerns though. I'm sure you've been here long enough to know that a lot of members hearts are in the right place and care a lot about the tarantula hobby but care much less about the keepers feelings and will tell you bluntly what you're doing wrong. I've experienced this a lot as a newbie to the hobby and it always bruises the ego to be told I'm doing something wrong especially when you've put a lot of thought into something. But in the end the members are usually right and just want every T to get a safe home.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 3


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## The Seraph

petkokc said:


> My general idea was, B. albopilosum "hobby form" is already messed up and impure so there is not much damage it can be done as long as they are labeled as such.
> 
> But after rethinking it long and hard I decided not to do it and to try and get true Nicaragua female instead. Thanks everyone for the input.
> 
> P.S.
> 
> To everyone mad at me over this or any other reason, I NEVER claimed in ANY of my videos that I'm an expert. In fact, I often mention it in my videos, that I'm just a regular keeper with exception of knowing how to make funny and entertaining videos. Just because others put me on the pedestal, it doesn't give anyone the right to degrade me. Instead, try being nicer and teach others the right way.
> If someone really loves my videos, can you blame them for being defensive if you open with "he is a moron", even if I do something stupid.
> I also always point people to this forum for any information they need, I really don't want to change that.


Good for you! Best of luck with finding and breeding a Nicaragua variant female.

Reactions: Like 3 | Agree 1


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## Chris LXXIX

petkokc said:


> My general idea was, B. albopilosum "hobby form" is already messed up and impure so there is not much damage it can be done as long as they are labeled as such.


A same statement was made (altough not in the 'virtual' world) "eons" ago here in Europe, and, in result of this, we had an helluva of _Hysterocrates _specimens kinda 'mutt' 

Glad you changed your mind, man.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## SteveIDDQD

Well it seems this was solved pretty easily in the end.  See what happens when humans communicate and be nice to each other?

Reactions: Like 4 | Agree 1


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## FrDoc

Now, will someone please drive a wooden stake through the heart of this thread!

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1 | Funny 1


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## Venom1080

Good ending. But I'm not quite over this one yet.

Reactions: Like 1 | Dislike 1 | Agree 1 | Funny 3 | Sad 1


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## Eva

petkokc said:


> To everyone mad at me over this or any other reason, I NEVER claimed in ANY of my videos that I'm an expert. In fact, I often mention it in my videos, that I'm just a regular keeper with exception of knowing how to make funny and entertaining videos. Just because others put me on the pedestal, it doesn't give anyone the right to degrade me. Instead, try being nicer and teach others the right way.
> If someone really loves my videos, can you blame them for being defensive if you open with "he is a moron", even if I do something stupid.
> I also always point people to this forum for any information they need, I really don't want to change that.


You know, there is such thing as responsibility if you're a public figure. Putting your hands up and saying that you don't know anything is not it. And was the last sentence a threat?

Reactions: Agree 4


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## StampFan

CJJon said:


> I used to really like Petko. Not so much anymore though. His collection is getting too close to becoming a hoard.
> 
> My prediction: He won't last. It's too hard to keep doing what he does. He does put out regular content, but that pace is hard to keep up.


Its not hard to keep up putting up videos when its almost his full-time gig....a million views on videos and a Patreon can be very lucrative when you live in an area with a dirt cheap cost of living.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## petkokc

Eva said:


> You know, there is such thing as responsibility if you're a public figure. Putting your hands up and saying that you don't know anything is not it. And was the last sentence a threat?


Just because people like my videos I'm not allowed to make mistakes and be human like the rest of you? Are you serious?

@Venom1080 Maybe you aren't as knowledgeable keeper as you think you are if you are shocked about someone using tweezers to hold tarantula by it's carapace. It's something that plenty of breeders are doing when managing their tarantulas.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 3 | Disagree 4 | Funny 2 | Sad 1


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## Chris LXXIX

petkokc said:


> Just because people like my videos I'm not allowed to make mistakes and be human like the rest of you?


Who said that here *everyone *is a human?  <--- Cyborg

Reactions: Like 2 | Funny 4


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## Irisiridescent

petkokc said:


> Just because people like my videos I'm not allowed to make mistakes and be human like the rest of you? Are you serious?


Pretty much is what some people are saying. "You have a responsibility." That means you can't make ANY mistakes. I shared my story with horses. I was constantly questioned and no explanation I gave to what was going on was enough. 

This seems to become a common thing when people become popular. There are others who will watch for any mistake to vilify and act like they're the most horrible person and they need to get rid of whatever creature it is.

This is the dark side of Internet popularity.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## petkokc

@Irisiridescent It seems to me that regardless of what you do, there are always certain individuals that have the need to show their superiority. No matter if it's about tarantulas, DSLRs, cars or skateboarding tricks. They are always there.

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 3 | Sad 1


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## EtienneN

While people love to love someone, I think they love to hate people even more. That is the perversity of human nature and it's summed up in the German word _Schadenfreude, _deriving pleasure from another's misfortune. We should have a word for that in English. It's ubiquitous in all cultures and people. With the Internet it gets blown WAY out of proportion, unfortunately.


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## Chris LXXIX

EtienneN said:


> German word _Schadenfreude_


Hate to say this, Etienne (which btw is _Stefano_, in Italian ) but -- only @Kendricks will understand this, I know- - the word needs to be written:

SCHADENFREUDE!!!1!

For that Germans screams. Always. Aside @boina

Reactions: Like 2 | Funny 1 | Love 1


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## Eva

petkokc said:


> Just because people like my videos I'm not allowed to make mistakes and be human like the rest of you? Are you serious?


I do not know why you think that people need you to be perfect. What I meant was that if you do happen to make a mistake, you should admit it instead of bickering and then being all defensive.

Reactions: Agree 6 | Award 1


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## antinous

Irisiridescent said:


> Pretty much is what some people are saying. "You have a responsibility." That means you can't make ANY mistakes. I shared my story with horses. I was constantly questioned and no explanation I gave to what was going on was enough.
> 
> This seems to become a common thing when people become popular. There are others who will watch for any mistake to vilify and act like they're the most horrible person and they need to get rid of whatever creature it is.
> 
> This is the dark side of Internet popularity.


I don't think anyone's saying that and I do think you're digging into it too deep. Everyone makes mistakes. Every single keeper on here has, and YouTubers have too. Nothing wrong with mistakes whatsoever. How you learn from those mistakes is what's important. Similar to how when I post about something and someone corrects me, I will edit my post and change how I reply from then on. With YouTubers, it's important to admit those mistakes as many people watch and learn from those videos. 

@petkokc Many of the people were hyped up on the fact that you were wanting to breed two different locales to muddy the Nicaraguan lineage of _B. albopilosum_. And when a user had notified you, you had said that you were going to continue on breeding them, which worked people up more. Not going to lie, it did bother me a bit. But I'm glad you had changed your plan on breeding them! Even though I don't particularly agree with some of the setups for your tarantulas, I'm not going to attack you for it. This is a hobby where we all must be working together.

Reactions: Agree 6 | Love 1


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## petkokc

Eva said:


> I do not know why you think that people need you to be perfect. What I meant was that if you do happen to make a mistake, you should admit it instead of bickering and then being all defensive.


Uhmmm, once again, are you serious?
I literally said that I changed my mind after hearing everyone's opinion, isn't this that you are doing now bickering?

Reactions: Like 1 | Disagree 4 | Funny 1


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## Liquifin

Everyone, calm down..... No one needs to get hostile. I thought this thread was already over?? Seriously though, everyone calm down.

Reactions: Agree 5 | Funny 1


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## petkokc

@antinous Majority of my subscribers aren't keepers and they were generally hyped about the pairing.
I still stand behind the fact that it wouldn't directly muddy the Nicaraguan lineage because I would never label them as such, but it would definitely send the wrong message.
And also slings could end up looking more like Nicaragua then Hobby form and someone later could mistaken them for actual Nicaragua form. Therefore definitely a mistake.
Once I find Nicaragua female I will clear the situation in a video.

Reactions: Like 9


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## SteveIDDQD

I think sometimes people just have to agree to disagree and move on...


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## boina

@petkokc - just a short note about mold, because that was in the video, too.

If you want to prevent mold from spreading you should NOT blow on it. Mold spores are very light weight and will stay in the air for _days_. Every air movement, like from walking around, will whirl them further, until they will find their way through the ventilation holes into the next enclosure. If there are mold spores on the tarantula (unlikely, to say the least) just let them be, they have no chance of taking hold.

Mold is generally harmelss but can be annoying, I admit, but blowing on it is about the best way I can think of to spread it _everywhere_.

Reactions: Like 3 | Agree 5 | Informative 3 | Love 1


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## Eva

petkokc said:


> Uhmmm, once again, are you serious?
> I literally said that I changed my mind after hearing everyone's opinion, isn't this that you are doing now bickering?


You insinuated that we had better be nice to you or else you might stop recommending Arachnoboards to your viewers. I am not a very active member, but I am rather fond of the site and it ticked me off, resulting in a need to stand up for it - so much for bickering.
I don't want to continue in a conversation that is unproductive, so I am not going to push it any furter. However, I disagree with the way you handled the situation.

Reactions: Like 1 | Dislike 1 | Agree 3


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## Spiderlife

I'm glad you're gonna find a Nicaragua female.

Because I have one of each type and I'd LOVE to see a pure pairing! I'd be able to compare the two types, and eagerly anticipate any slings and how they'd look growing up.

Essentially that's what we all want isn't it? To enjoy healthy and happy spiders.

So enough of this, it's done and dusted. Let's move on

Reactions: Like 3


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## petkokc

Eva said:


> You insinuated that we had better be nice to you or else you might stop recommending Arachnoboards to your viewers.


I did not, that is you assumption. Read the sentence that comes before the last one, as is intended, and you will maybe figure it out. Or just keep is out of the context to fit your agenda of what kind of person I am 



boina said:


> @petkokc - just a short note about mold, because that was in the video, too.
> 
> If you want to prevent mold from spreading you should NOT blow on it. Mold spores are very light weight and will stay in the air for _days_. Every air movement, like from walking around, will whirl them further, until they will find their way through the ventilation holes into the next enclosure. If there are mold spores on the tarantula (unlikely, to say the least) just let them be, they have no chance of taking hold.
> 
> Mold is generally harmelss but can be annoying, I admit, but blowing on it is about the best way I can think of to spread it _everywhere_.


Yeah, makes sense, although I was mostly referring to small pieces of dirt with mold on it that were on the actual tarantula.

Reactions: Like 3 | Agree 1


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## Minty

Good news that the pairing isn’t going ahead. That also disproves a lot of the nasty assumptions about Petko made in the past week or so.

Reactions: Like 1 | Love 1 | Optimistic 1


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## Venom1080

petkokc said:


> Just because people like my videos I'm not allowed to make mistakes and be human like the rest of you? Are you serious?
> 
> @Venom1080 Maybe you aren't as knowledgeable keeper as you think you are if you are shocked about someone using tweezers to hold tarantula by it's carapace. It's something that plenty of breeders are doing when managing their tarantulas.


I have never heard of a reason to do that. Name me one. And blowing mold spores off of it isn't exactly a good reason.

Reactions: Agree 7


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## Nightstalker47

petkokc said:


> Or just keep is out of the context to fit your agenda of what kind of person I am


Agenda?

Your not a victim for receiving criticism on an open public platform, especially when its very _well founded_. Now when you choose to ignore this criticism and the validity behind it, unless your back is literally against the wall...it gives off a bad impression. At the end of the day, all the "haters" actually had the best intentions in mind.

Now that you have come around, look at the situation for what it is...objectivity goes a long way. For the record, had no one said a thing...I can almost guarantee you would've gone through with your breeding project and never looked back, further muddying up the species. Just some food for thought.

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 6 | Award 1


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## The Seraph

@petkokc, could you delete some conversations in your inbox? I was reminded that it is full and people cannot contact you via Arachnoboards. It would be beneficial to have some space so people can speak to you if the need or want arises. Apologies if you found this offensive and best of luck to you in tarantula keeping.

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 3


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## Minty

Nightstalker47 said:


> Agenda?
> 
> Your not a victim for receiving criticism on an open public platform, especially when its very _well founded_. Now when you choose to ignore this criticism and the validity behind it, unless your back is literally against the wall...it gives off a bad impression. At the end of the day, all the "haters" actually had the best intentions in mind.


Some “criticism” was OTT and nasty.

Reactions: Agree 4


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## viper69

Greasylake said:


> What if we form a cartel to control who gets mature males and to regulate the breeding lol. (Not like the shady cartels but like the oil ones)


That already exists, I think it's called Germany.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 4


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