Arachnid Mentorship

[Jumbie Spider]

I think we are all mentored from childhood with regards to spiders.
One of the very first things I learned was to step on them with my feet, or squash them with a slipper.
I didn't have the best mentors I'd say, because if I had only known from that young age that they actually hunt and eat other bugs that people consider pests, then I would have tried to preserve them instead of killing them.
Fast forward to today, any spiders found in my house by any member of my family are caught and not killed, and released back outside. You could say my family members had good mentorship.
But it was a bit rude of the first set of wolf spiders that invaded, to not ask if we've had our appropriate training. They basically made a huge assumption and took a big risk entering our home.
Anyway, I am going to start offering mentorship classes on Zoom starting next month, and will have reservations for up to 30 seats if anyone's interested. I won't disclose prices here as it's not the gentleman thing to do.

 

[CommanderBacon]

one of the things i really love about venomous snake keeping is it’s mentorship culture where new keepers just getting into it seek out and learn under established keepers (in some states it’s required to receive your dangerous animal permit) and i was wondering, why isn’t this a thing within arachnid keeping?

i realize people here might say it’s unnecessary or ridiculous or something but i would counter with - there’s a lot of benefits to such a culture/system - thoughts?

I actually think it's a great idea. I had mentors to help me through my early care questions, and I think that's ideal. It's certainly better to find someone who's interested in helping you on an ongoing basis and wants to see you succeed rather than encountering random people online who are only interested in telling you what an idiot you are.

 

[viper69]

Im going to start off with it being unessesary. Do you really need someone to guide you on how to keep dirt moist or dry? Or if it needs an arboreal, terrestrial or fossorial set up with plenty of ventilation? Thats really all you need to know about keeping tarantulas.

Agree- but clearly tons of people do need help

 

[0311usmc]

Agree- but clearly tons of people do need help

Mind boggling isnt it how something so easy can be so complicated.

 

[YungRasputin]

Mind boggling isnt it how something so easy can be so complicated.

i don’t really think it’s all so surprising - cooking is easy, it’s basic chemistry and step-by-step process yet many people either can’t do this or do this crappily - i think it’s equal parts science and art

 

[0311usmc]

i don’t really think it’s all so surprising - cooking is easy, it’s basic chemistry and step-by-step process yet many people either can’t do this or do this crappily - i think it’s equal parts science and art

Yeah i can agree with you there. i have a friend on my jobsite who eats frozen foods cooked in the microwave for dinner every night because he cant cook. Im blown away that there are people out there who cant cook either. Whats this world coming too, lol