benefits of owning tarantulas?

[Iska]

Hard to believe, but they're not everyone's favorite topic. When you're talking to someone you just met about your tarantulas, do they slowly back away, and then suddenly run? Happens to me all the time.

There's some great things about the hobby today, with all the species and information available, and our animals finally getting attention from taxonomists, but one of the things that I really like to see is all the women in the hobby. And not just with Brachypelma, but keeping OW's too. The hobby was male-dominated for it's first few decades, and it's good that it's no longer that way.

I'm currently a biology student with a focus in entomology (no courses yet specific to arachnids :'( ) so hopefully after I'm (FINALLY) done with school I can contribute to the scientific study and classification of them!

 

[Ellenantula]

Originally got into them to overcome arachnophobia; then thought it was sorta cool and edgy to have Ts. Now the delight of a midnight flashlight peek and their excellent feeding responses alone wins - I just love 'em. They are so precious to me now, I rarely mention them to anyone -- Raid jokes & the "I'd burn my house down if I was you" jokes wore thin. I keep Ts because they give me pleasure and joy.
Edited to answer OP question: The benefit to keeping Ts is simply that they make me happy.