At what point do you consider yourself intermediate?

[Haksilence]

tarantula husbandry is very simple, even for beginners. the extra steps for keeping tropical spiders like that is adding cross vent and keeping sub moist. i could keep those as my second spider and be fine. Poecilotheria and Cyriopagopus are two of the advanced genera out there, they are very fast and can be super defensive, not to mention their venom. very few people would be able to handle them as one of their first few spiders. mind you, im talking about a advanced keeper, not a breeder or taxonomist. breeding has nothing to do with caring for tarantulas, thats a whole different thing. some one could study and learn every discovered theraphosid genus out there, and they would be a beginner keeper if they ever got a tarantula. i consider the most advance spiders to be Lampropelma, Stromatopelma, Heteroscodra, Omothymus, and Cyriopagopus. Theraphosa, Pamhos, etc. are intermediate species IMO.

See this is where the speed/attitude vs husbandry/rarity comparison comes in for discussing difficulty level. I personally place more stock in the relative husbandry requirements and rarity than in defensiveness/speed. Dealing with defensive/fast species, within reason, only takes patience, common sense, and a catch cup. Husbandry requirements I feel carries more weight in the long run because that takes more experienced e overall.

I also do not consider venom potency a factor beyond the OW/NW split. There is next to zero scientific research to back up the x spider is more venomous than y spider and the result is going to be the same no matter what... It's gonna suck if you get bit. Some species MAY suck worse but you're not going to die nor are you likely to have any lasting complications, so potency beyond the OW/NW split shouldnt even be considered IMO.

There are a number of defensive OW I still consider intermediate, all of poecilotheria fall into this category, albeit in the upper threshold. Sure they can be fast, but they tend to prefer to hide and get out of light rather than charge at a disturbance like a stromatopelma or cyriopagopus. I find pokies far more predictable than other OW species.

I think you misunderstood on the taxonomy portion of my post. I believe for a keeper to be "advanced" they would need the knowledge to both keep the most difficult species, but also have the ability to scientifically identify individuals, this requires taxonomical knowledge. "Looks like xgenus yspecies" doesn't count, that's still intermediate keeping.

On breeding I believe, while breeding isn't for everyone, is one of the hardest part of the hobby and is 100% a variable when considering these things.
"Breeding has nothing to do with the care for tarantulas"
This is the part I disagree with most, breeding is the pinnacle of tarantula care, to successfully breed most species you need vastly superior experience on the husbandry requirements of a 0.1 with a sac and to get a successful pairing. Not the mention the potential of having to efficiently care for hundreds of fragile slings.

 

[Jeff23]

There are no true single levels as intermediate, advanced, etc. To me it is more about a bunch of different individual areas to understand. You may be an expert in one and a beginner in another.

Basic T Rules
Keeping an Arboreal
Keeping a Terrestrial
Understanding Substrate
Rehousing methods
Learning to diagnose issues and possible medical problems for T's (look at examples where other people have dealt with problems)
Understanding differences on NW versus OW - Being prepared for venom, urticating hair possibilities, etc.
Keeping a very fast Tarantula
Keeping a Tarantula with special moisture requirements
Keeping specific species of T's that differ from the standard rules
Breeding Tarantulas
Customizing enclosures and building your own enclosures
Learning to identify Species
Etc.
Etc.
Etc.

Each of these areas can be a continuous build process where you learn new things.
In general, the more tarantulas you own, the faster you develop your comfort levels and experience in dealing with the different areas. But getting too many tarantulas too fast also creates a higher risk in losing a T due to something going wrong where you are not prepared to catch it in time.

Edit* Added a couple more items after reading posts of others.

 

[Venom1080]

I mean, if you're breeding advanced species you first need to keep them, no?

what do you mean?

 

[Walker253]

With the internet containing places like this and places such as YouTube, it's so much easier to gain the knowledge at a rapid rate. I consider myself a "student of a the game". Because of this site, friends who know there stuff, YouTube and other sites, I have been able to progress quickly. This would have not been possible say 20 years ago.
I have a long way to go, don't get me wrong.

 

[Venom1080]

I think you misunderstood on the taxonomy portion of my post. I believe for a keeper to be "advanced" they would need the knowledge to both keep the most difficult species, but also have the ability to scientifically identify individuals, this requires taxonomical knowledge. "Looks like xgenus yspecies" doesn't count, that's still intermediate keeping.

On breeding I believe, while breeding isn't for everyone, is one of the hardest part of the hobby and is 100% a variable when considering these things.
"Breeding has nothing to do with the care for tarantulas"
This is the part I disagree with most, breeding is the pinnacle of tarantula care, to successfully breed most species you need vastly superior experience on the husbandry requirements of a 0.1 with a sac and to get a successful pairing. Not the mention the potential of having to efficiently care for hundreds of fragile slings.

the first half ive said what i want and cant think of anything to add that wouldnt be a repetition of my last post. thats all just personal opinions.

i did misunderstand what you meant by taxonomy, thanks for clarifying, i agree.

breeding is proof that you are keeping tarantulas well. thats for sure, maybe i cant say anything because ive never bred any tarantulas, but i feel (myself as a example here) that i dont need to breed to prove im a good keeper, my spiders have what they need, and are growing well in a very comfortable environment. Overall, i think some one can say they are a advanced keeper with out breeding to prove it.

 

[Haksilence]

the first half ive said what i want and cant think of anything to add that wouldnt be a repetition of my last post. thats all just personal opinions.

i did misunderstand what you meant by taxonomy, thanks for clarifying, i agree.

breeding is proof that you are keeping tarantulas well. thats for sure, maybe i cant say anything because ive never bred any tarantulas, but i feel (myself as a example here) that i dont need to breed to prove im a good keeper, my spiders have what they need, and are growing well in a very comfortable environment. Overall, i think some one can say they are a advanced keeper with out breeding to prove it.

I can agree with all that and there are certainly some advanced keepers who've never bred, I'm just saying it's a another level pushing towards that "advanced" threshold. A step in the right direction without being a "necessary" step

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Listen to me

Enjoy the Theraphosidae passion, aka (I will use a Latin word for you for describe that) Aracnofilia (basically love for Arachnids).

Always common sense, the right approach. Respect, respect, and then again respect.

We learn something new day after day. We share/shared the same T's, and we ended up with different experience. I was into breeding, not anymore today (due to dumb Italy "grey area" laws). "You" not? You will one day. If not, fine either.

That's the key of this passion (I refuse to call it "hobby", we are talking about living creatures, not Blu Ray or games).

Stay safe, enjoy arachnids (and centipedes, F-Word buy centipedes... we need more enthusiasts, eh eh).

 

[Chris LXXIX]

As for you, @Methal, keep up your "work" my man. This passion lives only about educated and respectful (on the issue, I mean) people, and not. You don't belong to the second league, IMO.

You know, as you Yanks love to say: "poop <-- add the s-word, because "poop" is IMO horrible to hear -- happens, and then you die".

"issues" happens. Not the end of the world. Love T's.

 

[viper69]

I can agree with all that and there are certainly some advanced keepers

I recall from my earlier years in the reptile hobby, still in it longer than Ts, breeding was often considered the pinnacle of ownership. All my friends would ask me "why aren't you breeding...", "because I can't be bothered..". At that time you were the consummate keeper if you bred. However, over time, talking to many people over the decades at shows, both w/herps and Ts, and esp. w/the internet, I no longer believe that at all.

I've seen people on this forum and elsewhere who have barely been in the hobby (less than 5 yrs), own a few species, and started breeding, successfully I might add. Are they the consummate keeper compared to the person who has never bred but has been in the hobby for even 10 years and owned more or even the same amount of species? No.

People focus on different things. Some know way more about breeding than I, but I know way more about Ts in general compared to some of them. Does that make me a more consummate keeper..No it doesn't.

And, if you go the "all things being equal" route, I don't think the person who decided to breed is a better keeper than the one that didn't. S/he just decided to do something different.

In my humble opinion, it's far easier to determine (even w/subjective terms as beginner/expert) which Ts are beginner/expert than which owner is beginner etc.

As an analogy

Is a photographer who develops his own film better than the person who doesn't? Not necessarily.